I am unfortunate enough to have a fairly substantial commute to work—28 miles one-way. I am going to have to find a way to seriously cut back with climbing gas prices. Don’t worry. This isn’t going to turn into a bitch session about gas prices. They are high and should probably be higher to pay for road maintenance, pollution cleanup, oil industry subsidies, and the like, but there’s no use in complaining. I want to do something about it.

I would really love to get a fully-electric vehicle of some sort. I would like a car so I could get rid of mine altogether, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon. I have considered an electric scooter, but I can’t find one that fits my needs. They seem to max out at about 30 miles per charge with a charge taking around eight hours. I could charge at work, but I would prefer to have the juice for a round-trip.

Public transport is not an option for me. I can’t afford a Prius which would still leave me dependent on fuel. I love to ride my bike, but I’m wondering if it is practical for me to ride to work and home. It would be rough in the rain.

So, I’m left with a problem with no real solution. The best solution is to either move close to work or work close to home with the latter being the only way for me. (I don’t intend to leave my beloved Knoxville for Jefferson County.) However, I hate the whole “courtship” process that comes along with finding a new job. Does anyone have any ideas? Any K-town employers want to hire me?

For the meantime, I’m going to try hypermiling. The changes I will have to make are easy (relative to moving, changing jobs, or buying a new vehicle) and the rewards are plentiful if you listen to the hype. I’m going to try it for a while and report back with my results.