Bike commuter saves about $65 per week
In the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as fears mounted that high energy costs could hurt the economy, President Bush issued a call to Americans on Monday: Conserve the nation’s stressed gas supply by driving less. But one local man was already ahead of the game.
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Reed Caster, owner of Caster’s Bicycles and Fitness in Warwick, bikes to and from work – weather permitting. It takes Caster about 75 minutes to bike the 25 miles between work and his home in Barrington, cycling at a vigorous 18-mile-per-hour clip along the East Bay Bike Path.
He does some quick math to calculate the amount of money he saves commuting on two wheels rather than four. With the price of unleaded regular gasoline hovering just under $3 a gallon, it currently costs Caster about $100 to fill the 35-gallon tank in his cargo van. At that rate, Caster estimates he is saving about $65 a week.
The legion of local Red Sox fans who listen to games on the radio already know that Caster rides his bike to work. In recent weeks, he has aired a 30-second ad during Red Sox games on 630 WPRO-AM in which he urges listeners to buy a Caster bike or tune up the old one and start saving money.
Some people are doing just that, Caster said.
“Some customers have said they’ve been driving to work six miles away from home, and they’re going to bike in,” Caster said.
Business at the bike shop has already been brisk in recent weeks, not dropping off after the busy summer season the way it usually does in September, Caster said.
While Caster can’t attribute the increased business directly to the increasing cost of gasoline, he has a hunch.
“It certainly can’t hurt,” he said.
