Fuel The Burn - My Carbon Footprint

I love to ride bikes and cannot remember a time in my life that I have been without one. As important of a role as the bicycle has played in my life it has fallen by the wayside in my hometown. Living 6 miles out of town makes driving that much more convenient and my bicycles have become more of garage coat racks and shiny ornaments that lean against the shed.

For my energy conservation project I plan to rescue my bicycles from a life of neglect and see what kind of fuel savings I will have in commuting to school on two wheels instead of four. I anticipate saving money and creating less carbon emissions. Come rain, snow, or sun I plan to compare driving and fuel consumption to a life at the cranks of spoked wheels and a greasy chain. The big question and challenge: can I ride to work as many or more days as I drive. I think its gonna be a long winter.......

The data for milage will be recorded for commuting to school and back as well as errands around town. Like many Alaskans I own a big truck, a 2000 Dodge 2500 (3/4ton) diesel which actually does well on highway mpg (19-20). At the time of purchase a truck sounded like a good idea, looking back I probably should have gone with the subaru. Recently, some unforseen mechanical gremlins, of the large sort, have kept it parked in the driveway with parts and pieces filling the bed. So my nice big truck has been relegated to being a shiny flower pot. Perfect. To begin my study I am driving an '89 Nissan pathfinder which in its current state maybe, and I stress maybe gets 11 mpg. Both vehicles are high mileage, 167,000 on the truck and 196,000 on the pathfinder. As I will continue to explore the cost and emission savings associated with the manpower vs. fuel power I will watch to see what kind of differences the cold makes and record warm up times.

So.... can I get to work using nothing but self propelled power as often as I burn fossil fuel or will I give in to the comfort of a heated cab, good tunes and leather seats and console my attempt with "it sounded like a good idea at the time"?....