Sunil Gulab
"we have a responsibility to sustain — if not enhance — our natural environment and our nation's economy for future generations." —steve johnson, u.s. environmental protection agency administrator
About Sunil
Sunil works for Facilities Management in the Environmental Health & Safety Department, ensuring laboratory and radiation safety throughout campus. Sunil takes the environment into consideration not only when working, but on his way to work as well. He rides three to four days a week, weather permitting, from Lynn on the North Shore to Boston College. That’s about 18.5 miles, mostly on pleasant back roads and along the Esplanade Bike Path. It takes Sunil a leisurely 90 minutes; however, he has made it in 75 minutes, a personal best.
The Route
Sunil rides through Lynn into Saugus, then Revere, and then Chelsea on Route 107. He crosses over into Everett and rides on Route 99 until he reaches Memorial Drive. He passes the Museum of Science and gets onto the Esplanade Bike Path. This is Sunil’s favorite part, because, even though there is a plethora of joggers, walkers, dogs. and other bikers, it is along the Charles River, which always provides a gentle breeze and great scenery. Sunil then has a choice: He can either follow the Charles through to Allston/Brighton, which is a mile longer, or cross over to Beacon Street and head towards Cleveland Circle and on to St. Clement's Hall on the Brighton Campus.
After getting to campus, Sunil uses the showers in the IT wing of St. Clement's or those at the Plex. He keeps his bike in his office, but there are plenty of bike racks throughout Main Campus.
Why He Does It
Sunil says of his weekly bike trips, “Eighteen miles and 90 minutes on a bike may seem long, but time does fly when I am having fun! It’s but 15 minutes longer than what it takes for me to drive to work, and quicker than the subway. And the best part about it is, I get to eat what ever I want and as much as I want.”
What He Recommends
“I would recommend that people expect themselves to get sweaty riding in and not to worry about that. Instead, focus on the road, make sure you ride defensively and that you are aware of all around you. You can let the shower take care of the rest. And please make sure you have a lot of reflective gear and lights if you ride at night.”
MassBike offers great advice for biking to work and safety tips for riding in traffic.
Savings
Sunil drives a 1998 Nissan 200SX, which averages 32 miles to the gallon. If Sunil bikes almost 40 miles a day, three or four times a week, for 36 weeks, that’s 4662 miles biked in a year. When compared with driving his Nissan averaging 32 miles a gallon, Sunil:
- Burns 146 gallons of gas less per year
- Saves $438 a year in gas money (at $3 a gallon)
- Emits 1.3 fewer metric tons of carbon dioxide per year
- Burns 237,636 calories a year (with 165 lbs. used)
What if Sunil drove a 1998 Ford Explorer averaging 19 miles per gallon? By bicycling to work, he would:
- Burn 245 fewer gallons of gas per year
- Save $735 a year in gas money (at $3 a gallon)
- Emit 2.2 fewer metric tons of carbon dioxide per year