Friday, June 8, 2007

Eccentric and fun modes of transportation

Earlier this week I mentioned that Bluevelo, a Toronto-based distributor of velomobiles (human-powered cars), was selling some incredible-looking machines for about $10,000 and up. Well, their site is now listing the Dutch-designed Alligt Alleweder kit (pictured above) for a bargain $3,495 for a limited time.

Since I've decided to bike to and from work rather than take the subway there and joggle home, I could almost justify this cost. My subway pass costs about $1,000 per year (kindly donated by my generous mom), so this vehicle would pay for itself in under four years. And think of the fun I'd have!

I've always had a fascination with the human-powered commute. When I was a kid, I ran ran, walked, skateboarded or biked everywhere. When I was training competitively for the marathon, I ran to and from work every day for a daily total of 16-20 miles, depending on my route. In my recent training for the Salt Lake City Marathon, I've been joggling home from work and doing tricks the whole way. I've become addicted to having fun and exercising on my commute. I could never, ever drive a car to work, and taking the subway both ways every day would be pretty miserable too. I need me-power.

So maybe I'll do my little part to save the planet, make a statement, turn some heads (I'm now used to that), stay fit and have fun and get myself a nice, shiny velomobile!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Far be it from me to rain (snow?) on your parade, but wouldn't you still need a subway pass for the winter? (I'm not saying the velomobile would be a bad idea, just that it might take a bit longer than four years to pay for itself.)

Michal The Joggler Kapral said...

I think they're good for the winter too, as long as there isn't a monstrous amount of snow.

Joanna said...

Michal, you must totally buy this. Can't think of anyone more perfect for it. You can have a new nickname: the bullet.