How are you dealing with the gas crisis?

Let's be honest here - it is a *crisis*. How can we call it anything else? Inflation? Pfaw! This is something that the majority of Americans cannot do without. One cannot simply stop driving to work. If you're lucky, you might be able to setup a carpool, but that doesn't always work out.

Personally, I had already made great strides towards minimizing my dependence on gas. We manage to survive with only one vehicle, and since we moved to a small town we don't drive much. Unfortunately, we still have to fill up now and then. Yesterday, I spent nearly $75 at the pump. Not only was my car running on empty, but I had to fill a portable container so that I could also gas up my lawnmower. And even though we only fill up about once a month now, it still stung. We tried riding the bus for a while, but found that it never runs when/where we need it to, and they recently raised the cost of a monthly pass so much that I could buy a new bike every month for the cost of passes for my family. So what is the next step?

While the recent announcement of a hydrogen-powered vehicle is exciting, it isn't going to be available to most Americans for quite some time (if ever). And those hybrids are great but still overpriced. I have noticed more motorcycles and scooters on the road lately, but I don't see those as viable family transportation without additional sidecars. Our home is for sale right now, and our new location will be closer to town, so we plan on biking more often at that point. Unfortunately, I still have to buy myself a bike, so that is going to set me back at least a hundred dollars (and that would be for a Wal-Mart special). Another thing that bothers me is the fact that our town doesn't have any bike racks. While it may seem silly to want to lock-up a bike that only costs me $100, that would still be $100 lost if it were stolen.

Now don't get me wrong - I trust the locals in this town. I'm just not so sure about some of the residents of neighboring towns, or some of the rowdier tourist-types who might have their hearts set on some mischief. So what are my options? For one, I'm going to talk to some of the establishments downtown about setting up bikeracks. I'd bet that I could get some donations to cover the cost. We've got a ton of "green-minded" individuals in town as it is. Another option might be to pick up one of those razor scooters that folds up in your backpack. Or I could even try skateboarding, although the steep grades of some of the roads is a bit intimidating.

I guess I could walk, too...