2000 miles with infinite MPG

[RedDevil]

Yup, I decided to save gas by only driving downhill. Works like a charm!

No, really. I have walked about 2000 miles in the last 7 months.
That's about 2 to 3 hours of solid paced walking. During weekends and holidays, like right now, I even extend my strolls around the block to 4 hours and 24 kilometer. I started the new year in style.

It all started when I got mini strokes last February. After some back and forth between my local doctor and the cardiologist the verdict was angina pectoris, and a angiograph revealed one coronary artery was 80-90% blocked. I got a stent and the attacks were gone.

Before that I had over 500 mini strokes. I started recording them in an attempt to correlate them to external factors like food or exercise. I found that pasta, alcohol and big meals in general increased the strokes, and so did lack of exercise - even though the strokes did occur often during exercising, exercising was the cure rather than the cause.

With the stent in place and a company fitness program to aid me developing healthy habits, I reduced my intake of processed foods and free sugars, started eating lots of vegetables and fruits, reduced meats and diary... and started walking.

So I've done about 2K miles (over 3000 kilometer) in the last 7 months.
I bought 4 pair of walking shoes, all of them are quite worn already, and I have a pair of older Nordic Walking shoes that I use for the lunch break walk at work which are in a continuous cycle of developing problems and getting repaired.

Meanwhile I walk for leisure mostly, but will also do shopping and such. I even got stuff from DIY shops on foot. I use a rucksack if needed and always have a pair of thin folding grocery bags on me; many a time I chanced upon a supermarket bargain and came home with the bag handles cutting the blood stream to my fingers

And I drive less. When I bring my daughter to Scouting or table tennis practice I leave the car there and spend the time she's in walking, shopping, etc.
One day I might just walk to work for giggles, but that's over 20 miles... Maybe once this summer?

[Frank Lee]

I walk a lot too, as much for doing my errands as recreation. People act like that's such an alien concept.

[MeteorGray]

Good messages to prompt New Year's Resolutions!

[basjoos]

Its not quite 0 mpg if you consider the amount of water you have to drink to replace water lost by sweating. Water losses via sweat probably isn't a big problem when walking in the cool climate of the Netherlands (I lived in Vaals in the 1970's) but when hiking here in the summer in South Carolina, I figure about 20 miles per gallon of water.

[Grant-53]

Walking and pulling a wagon was one way to do local errands in a one mile radius. A streamlined bicycle could be effective up to 20-25 miles.

[RedDevil]

It wasn't quite 0 mpg but I did not consume any gasoline and only a modest amount of alcohol
I did burn calories of course, but that was the plan. My New Years resolution last year was to get back down to my pre-Christmas body weight of 90 kilograms. When I had the diagnosis and started walking in earnest I was already down to 87, but got it down to 77 by the end of summer and stayed there.

This years New Years resolution is to keep working on my health and to spend more time studying and practicing and doing fun things together. Mens sane in corpore sano.

Before the strokes I was very tired at times but did not know why and thought it could be psychic. The strokes and the stent showed otherwise.
Even so, we had a hard time last year with my father-in-law dying of cancer and troubles at my Asperger's son school, and of course my wife was very worried with me almost dying. But we got out of the tunnel and try now to enjoy life again.

[Lemmy]

I cycle a lot. I had a heart attack in 2014 and that served as a warning. I've arthritis in my big toe so running was out, so cycling it was.

I love it. Its enjoyable, mentally refreshing, and good for me. I started incorporating it into my life using the bike for work, errands and shopping, and have massively reduced car use. I'm never late home because traffic jams don't affect me, and the savings in fuel and maintenance are well worth having. I retire in 4 years, and although I live in the countryside I intend to be completely carless. I shall just do it, instead of making excuses like the great unwashed car driving public do.

Electric cars won't save the planet - walking and cycling might though.

Well done on your achievement.

[Grant-53]

I' m recovering from blood clots in the lungs and want to get my weight under control too. Stretching and cycling are key to my plans. Streamlining the city bike is a prime objective. We are in a hilly area so a triple crank gear set up is needed. A car is still needed here but changing the ratio of miles traveled is possible.

[toc]

Wow, so what kind of aero mods did you do ?
Did you add an underbody cover to eliminate drag?

[Frank Lee]

I added an underbody cover to reduce chances of arrest. (Also, it's really cold here- the cover reduces shrinkage!)