This is my bike:
This is the MAX
Saturday, on my bike ride home, the MAX and I both left the general vicinity of OHS at the same time. Well, actually, the MAX had a slight headstart (it was just leaving a stop before I crossed the street behind it).
Here is the route I take vs. the route the MAX takes:
(you can tell which is which by the handy key I drew)
The MAX costs $4.75 for an all day pass. Almost $1,000 for a whole year.
My bike cost me $200 3 years ago. I bought a bell for it (with a dinosaur), and recently had to replace a tire... so all in all, that averages out to about $80 a year, $.22 a day.
Saturday, both the MAX and I reached the Rose Quarter at exactly the same time (represented on above map by where the two routes meet on the east side). I pulled ahead for half a block but then the MAX blasted past me... until I caught up to it again at the Albina/Mississippi stop (a few blocks before the route crosses the freeway marked 30). I managed to keep up for another block, before it lost me again, right around where Interstate Avenue become a 30 degree incline. I reckon the MAX beat me home by about 8 minutes (that's including the amount of time it would take me to walk from the Prescott station to my house).
I've seen other people fly past me up that hill where the MAX lost me - on their fancy 5lb bikes with more than just the one gear and wearing aerodynamic helmets... So, somewhere, out there, are people who can beat the MAX in a race. So why should I take the MAX (aside from the rain)?
Sure, a car would beat us both, but that's kind of like cheating. Plus, you miss all the scenery, like the geese swimming in the Willamette and all the trees turning bright red. You miss the smell of the Widmer Brewery (which kind of smells like Grapenuts soaked in whole milk covered in sugar). You miss the feel of the rain soaking through your stockings, and the incredibly satisfying feeling of trading them for dry jimmie jams as soon as you get home (dry clothes never felt so good!)
Also, you had to buy gas. Sucker!
And there's all that stuff about the environment too, but whatever. Biking is just way funner and infinitely more satisfying. Like finishing a New York Times crossword without looking anything up.
This is the MAX
Saturday, on my bike ride home, the MAX and I both left the general vicinity of OHS at the same time. Well, actually, the MAX had a slight headstart (it was just leaving a stop before I crossed the street behind it).
Here is the route I take vs. the route the MAX takes:
(you can tell which is which by the handy key I drew)
The MAX costs $4.75 for an all day pass. Almost $1,000 for a whole year.
My bike cost me $200 3 years ago. I bought a bell for it (with a dinosaur), and recently had to replace a tire... so all in all, that averages out to about $80 a year, $.22 a day.
Saturday, both the MAX and I reached the Rose Quarter at exactly the same time (represented on above map by where the two routes meet on the east side). I pulled ahead for half a block but then the MAX blasted past me... until I caught up to it again at the Albina/Mississippi stop (a few blocks before the route crosses the freeway marked 30). I managed to keep up for another block, before it lost me again, right around where Interstate Avenue become a 30 degree incline. I reckon the MAX beat me home by about 8 minutes (that's including the amount of time it would take me to walk from the Prescott station to my house).
I've seen other people fly past me up that hill where the MAX lost me - on their fancy 5lb bikes with more than just the one gear and wearing aerodynamic helmets... So, somewhere, out there, are people who can beat the MAX in a race. So why should I take the MAX (aside from the rain)?
Sure, a car would beat us both, but that's kind of like cheating. Plus, you miss all the scenery, like the geese swimming in the Willamette and all the trees turning bright red. You miss the smell of the Widmer Brewery (which kind of smells like Grapenuts soaked in whole milk covered in sugar). You miss the feel of the rain soaking through your stockings, and the incredibly satisfying feeling of trading them for dry jimmie jams as soon as you get home (dry clothes never felt so good!)
Also, you had to buy gas. Sucker!
And there's all that stuff about the environment too, but whatever. Biking is just way funner and infinitely more satisfying. Like finishing a New York Times crossword without looking anything up.
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