My commute’s a piece of cake: eight miles to work and never any traffic. But I woke up one morning last week and wondered how I’d get there without a car. Turns out it was easy.

Friday morning I set out from home on my bike. Destination: Wal-mart, where the CDTA’s #7 bus arrived at 8am. I’d studied YouTube videos showing bus bike racks, so I knew what to do. It went on the rack just like it supposed to and I bought a $3 ticket that would allow me to ride all day. In downtown Albany I switched buses and a few minutes later I was dropped off around the corner from work. The ride home was similarly easy —and the rain added a little dimension to the experience.

Some people may look at this as an empty gesture, but I’m not so sure. If I can leave the car at home two days a week I’ll save two gallons of gas. A drop in the bucket, but what if a million people joined me, or ten million? That would be significant. But let’s see if it still seems like a good idea in December.