A Math Problem

My oldest daughter started Kindergarten last week.  I won't lie, I cried.  I thought I would be ok until the principal started talking about walking down the Kindergarten hall and seeing hope in their bright, little faces.  Cruel woman.

So now my morning routine has changed.  I drop Ella off at school and then have an hour before I need to be at the studio, so I'm going to try to spend that time at the Y every day.  And so I have two questions I'd like to put before you.

1. Will coming to my shows be safe now that I'll have such bulging pectoral muscles?  Will you get hurt just taking in my Herculean form?  And I'd like to answer your question with a question:  Is pain necessarily a bad thing?

2. There are two YMCA's near my route.  One is much closer, but traffic is terrible going to and fro.  The other is a few miles further, but traffic is not near as much of an issue.  According to Google Maps, it will take me the exact same time to go from Ella's school to either Y to my studio.  22 minutes.  One is a 4 mile drive, the other is 11.

My question is: which uses less gas?  The shorter drive, or the one where the engine is more engages and less stop and start?

I know you are geniuses (how else would you know to listen to my music) and so I look forward to your brilliant answers.

Comments

[David]

Andy, I saw your facebook post this morning about naked men at the YMCA. I've been going to the Y for a few months now before work and completely agree with you. My eyes are assaulted with views of overweight naked men on a daily basis. It's quite disturbing at first, but you'll get used to the horribleness. Nothing like starting the morning off right!

[Andrew Groves]

Andy, MythBusters tested this and determined that a longer, less stop-and-go route would be more fuel efficient. So take the 11 mile drive.

[peter b]

The answer depends on your driving style and the vehicle. If you drive economically, most vehicles will use less fuel on the 11 miles trip. But regardless, I'd suspect avoiding traffic frustration is worth it's weight in fuel.

[thom]

A true genius would have a trained pterodactyl to FLY to the Y, thus avoiding all traffic. Who's the genius now?

[Blake H]

It's definitely the 4 mile route, but you forgot 1 factor in the equation; your sanity. It's frustrating to have stop and go driving. Plus, if traffic is usually bad that means there's more risk for a longer delay which could cut in to your pectoral stimulation time and be frustrating.

But sticking to your question. Even if you use twice as much gas per mile on the 4 mile route as you would on the 11-mile route, you're still using less gas. You'd have to get 2.7x better gas mileage on the 11-mile route for it to benefit you gas use-wise.

Ex.:
4 miles at 15 mpg = .27 of a gallon
11 miles at 30 mpg = .37 of a gallon
11 miles at 41 mpg = .27 of a gallon

It's doubtful and nearly impossible that you'd get 2.75x better gas mileage going the long way.

Ah, the decisions of the white middle class, how burdened we are.

Beware of moobs,

BH

[Jeremy Shulse]

The 4 mile trip will yield much better gas mileage. According to fueleconomy.gov, a 2000 ford F-150 (most popular vehicle sold in the US) gets, on average, 14 city 18 highway. so a 4 mile stop and go route would use about .3 gallons while an 11 mile highway trip would use .6 gallons... twice as much. Unless there is a Taco Cabana on the longer route, take the 4 mile route.

as for the shows, the only state that would allow guns that big would be Texas, which coincidentally has a Taco Cabana or BBQ joint on either route. Extrapolating that data (do I get bonus points for that phrase?), you must do shows in Texas... Houston, or thereabouts.

[Ben Eicher]

I believe that the route which goes by the Krispy Kreme store will save the most in gas. By stopping and getting doughnuts it will destroy any strongly held internal motivation to continue on to the Y and therefore make this question, moot. Also it will prevent you from having to do math which is always a good thing.

[Josh H.]

Why not jog instead of drive to the shorter one? Built-in cardio.

The sad part is...that was a seriousl answer.

But also, I would say that if you must drive, go to the one that's less traffic.

[Geof F. Morris]

Blake's answer is the correct one: even if you figure that you cut your mileage by 40% doing stop-and-go traffic, you're still going to come out ahead on the shorter trip.

Trust me, I'm a rocket scientist.

[Ben Welstead]

P90 X at home. That's your answer. Of course I've never done it, but there are a bunch of people around me these days with ripped abdominals that are much better at lifting things than I am.

[Nick Flora]

This is the nerdiest group of posts I've seen in awhile. I should give you all e-swirlies.

[Stockment]

I was gonna say you need to ask the resident rocket scientist, but he has already spoken so....yeah I've got nothing to contribute.

[thom]

Nick, you wound me...

[shane]

Blake's mad math skills aside, two factors his equations did not consider are 1) the difference in maintenance costs between the two routes (stop and go short route is much worse on your car) and 2) the human factor: which route, to you, is the more pleasant drive?

really, the last one, in the end, is all that will matter...