Every morning, as I leave my apartment, I check the front passenger tire on my car to make sure the slow leak hasn't become a fast one. I whisper a prayer of thanks to whatever power that be might be listening when the engine starts, and cruise to the stop sign at the end of my street. When applying my brake, my right rear tire goes thump, thump, thump. It's like the brake's grabbing it or something.

My "check engine soon" light stays on. My mechanics tell me it's the transmission, and for $400.00 it can be fixed. Ordinarily I'd ignore it until it stopped running, but my tags expire in December. To get tags, you gotta pass emissions, and you can't pass emissions (at least in Rutherford county) if your "check engine" light is on. Disconnecting the light does no good, as their tests are computerized, and can detect that there's a problem even without the damn light. I don't dare drive on expired tags because I have no car insurance, and couldn't afford that double whammy.

I continue on my way to work, and notice a cop sitting in the BP lot. He looks at me, probably wondering whether he'd rather finish his donut or write me a ticket for going six miles over the speed limit. He chooses the donut, and as he lifts his coffee to his lips I see the price of gas has topped $3.00 a gallon. I'm feeling kind of sick.

Does anybody else see the insanity here?

I no longer belong to this world. Well, in a couple weeks I won't, anyway. You see, a former acquaintance of mine used to say, "I find my happiness is inversely proportionate to the number of motorized engines with which I'm forced to deal." With this, I heartily concur.

I've bought a bicycle. Not just any old bicycle, but a higher end/performance model. It cost around $1,000.00. Now, I know Winter's on the way with rain, snow, and cold. I know that drivers here in Middle Tennessee are some of the worst on the planet. I know my commute to work is a little more than 20 miles. I've weighed all this against the positives, and the positives win.

When I think back, most of my worries in life have had to do with transportation, chiefly with whatever vehicle I was driving. Things like insurance, tags, mechanical failures, gasoline, and cops. I remember the feeling so well, hearing my mechanic say, "Well, bud, we found some pretty serious things wrong with your car." The word, "serious" usually translates as "expensive." I used to just go along, believing "I've just got to have my car."

One big positive is that I can spend less time in the gym. I figure my ride to work will take at least 45 minutes to an hour. That's my entire cardio workout, twice a day. Also, I'll save between $40 and $60 a week in gas. What else could I do with that money other than piss it away on gas?

For me, the recent hike in gas prices makes this decision a no brainer. I understand that someone with a family or a work situation that requires a lot of travel might not be able to make this work for them. For me, however, it's perfect.