Environmentally Conscious - Sort of

As someone who enjoys the great outdoors (cycling, running, hiking ... you get the picture), I try my hardest to be at least environmentally conscious, if not environmentally conservative. Yes, for those of you that know me, I realize that driving a small SUV does not qualify under environmentally-anything. This is why I struggle with the concept. My BMW is convenient, comfortable and, more importantly, can fit 3 bikes and 3 people INSIDE. Again, if you know me, you know I am adverse to my bike being outside my car when traveling. So, I struggle to find ways to manage my addiction to convenience vs damage to the environment.

Arch McKown, former President of all things great in cycling (Team Snow Valley, now ABRT/Latitude), referred me to TerraPass - a carbon offset program where you can basically "buy" your way out of environmental guilt. That worked for a little while.

Then DC Velo made the huge move to include GREEN on their kits ... in the form of the Clean Currents logo. This wasn't just a logo for them, though - Clean Currents gathered data and donated clean energy credits to make the DC Velo events carbon neutral ! I thought that was pretty cool, seeing that we cyclists try to be "green" but we burn a ton of energy getting to and from events.

With all of this inspiration, I considered riding my bicycle to work in Fells Point. Unfortunately, I'd have to go through some pretty ... interesting ... neighborhoods so I quickly nixed that idea. Carpooling, while a good idea, is just not an option for someone as independent as I am. Since Baltimore missed the boat on mass-transit, thats out of the question. I considered - briefly - trading in my car for a hybrid ... but I'm not convinced that hybrids are the answer. The energy it takes to make them and then the uncertainty in how to dispose of the hybrid batteries makes me a little leery of declaring them "environmentally conservative". Besides. When I test drove the prius, they told me that seat-warmers were not an option.

Instead, I bought a Vespa. Yes, a scooter. And I love it. I've been scooting to work for about two weeks now (weather permitting). I actually got the scooter in early February, but its more of a warm-weather thing ... so last month, Tom Buzas at Battley Harley patiently helped me pick out a helmet and I was on my way. I figure if I scoot to work 2-3 times a week (not wednesdays, since I can't carry my bike on the scooter to get to greenbelt) I'll save $25+/week in gas. Yes, I'm an accountant, so I've done the math. Pretty cool if you ask me.

As a side note - I did have to get my motorcycle license and tag/insure the bike since its a 200cc motor (required for anything above 49cc - ie for anything that goes more than 30mph without you pedaling it). The instructors at motorcycle class could immediately tell that I was a cyclist - the skills to corner transfer nicely.

Another side note- No, I do not offer motopacing ... at least not for the competition !