RE: [RC] Gas Prices: Impact to Summer Ride Season? - David LeBlanc
It doesn't make that much difference to me, and I'm
probably an extreme case. We get between 9 and 10 MPG. Except for a few rides,
we normally don't travel more than 400 miles to a ride. So that's about 80
gallons of fuel. If it went up by $0.50/gallon, that's only $40 more than we're
spending now. Compare that to the typical $140 in ride fees (for 2), $100 in
groceries, money spent eating out to and from the ride, the roughly $200 worth
of wear, tear and depreciation on the truck going to each ride, and the expenses
associated with keeping several endurance horses fed, tack, vet care, etc, etc,
etc and another $40 is a nuisance.
If it went up by $1.50/gallon (a bit less than double what
it is here now), then I would probably cut out some of the rides that are ~600
miles away, unless it is a multiday.
We may as well get used to it - there's a finite amount of
oil out there. It isn't something that's renewable. Internal combustion engines
directly linked to the drivetrain are probably one of the least efficient ways
to convert combustion to forward motion. These hybrid cars have the right idea.
That's essentially the way locomotives work - why can't we have trucks that
work the same way?
The answer of course is that there's a whole bunch of
infrastructure built around the way things are. We'll need an incentive to
change. We already have the technology to consume lots less fuel (esp. cars). We
just need to use it.
From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Truman
Prevatt Sent: Saturday, March 06, 2004 4:19 PM To:
ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] Gas Prices: Impact to Summer
Ride Season?
Many people travel in the summer months to rides, a lot a long
distance - e.g. from the hot muggy East to the West. Is anyone out there
thinking of changing their plans and staying home because of gas prices that
are predicted to spike at close to 2.50 to 3 bucks a gallon by mid summer?
Diesel may not hit that price but it won't be far off.
Truman
--
We imitate our
masters only because we are not yet masters ourselves, and only
because in doing so
we learn the truth about what cannot be imitated.
