my $20,000 bicycle – for sale

this is my bike – I’ve had it for about 6 years now and I reckon it’s worth about $20,000, would anyone like to buy it?

What? too much?!? don’t be so hasty, let me fill you in on the details:

Initial cost $250, maintenance and accessories $400. I’ve ridden it the 7 km. to work almost every working day for six years. Conservatively 210 days per year.

If I had paid for public transport that would be $5.50 per day (it’s now $6.10, but six years ago, it was about $4.50, so I’m making a bit of an average here) – that’s $1155 per year – for a total of $6930. True, if I had purchased period tickets, I might have cut the figure by $1000. So if you’re currently a zone 1 public transport user, I’ll let it go for just $5,000.

… but what’s it worth to you if you drive a car? Well, the figures can get pretty rubbery, but lets say you went with the RACV’s 2006 RACV vehicle operating costs, even the smallest car is going to set you back $111.20 per week. Do the six year average guesstimage and come up with around $100 per week to be kind. That’s $4,800 per year, or $28,800 over six years! and they haven’t even counted the cost of parking! The cheapest street parking around here (if you can get it) is $4 per day (another $5000 over the 6 years!).

I get to my desk at work in 25 minutes. By car it takes at least 40 – that’s 15 minutes at each end of the day that I get for free. If you’re on flexi-time, that’s more than a day off per month! So, not only are you saving money – you’re getting extra time to enjoy it – could it be any better?

So, you’re convinced now – the bike has many useful operating years ahead of it, so I reckon it’s worth at least $5,000. If you currently drive a car I’ll let you have it for a shade under $20,000 – come on!! it’s still a bargain! I guarantee, you’ll be SAVING MONEY!

Oh, wait – I forgot about the 20 minute’s exercise I get twice a day. I probably should add in the cost of a gym membership… 😉