November was the month of pets, and also I only had a few fun rides, but nothing big. I did start to run a little bit, and have been doing a ton of walking, and am still trying to get my steps each day! All of the below numbers are as of November 30, 2024.
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| My accountability buddy |
Mileage To Date:
Total Days on the Road: 252
Total Days Ridden: 154
Days Ridden in October: 1
Total Miles Ridden: 8,600
Miles Run: 43 (the most miles I have run in a month since March!)
Average Steps per Day: 10,200 (phew!)
Accommodation To Date:
Airbnb: 12
Established Camp: 35
Friend: 36
Housesitting: 47
Motel: 70
Warm Showers: 9
Wild Camp: 40
Train: 3
Total Days: 252
Total average cost per day: $32
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| As seen on my Thanksgiving day run |
Total Cost: November
*Please note that I eradicated my travel category since basically all my costs are what I would have categorized in travel before.
Accommodation: $75 (↓ from October) Includes any place where I rested my head for the night. In November this included housesitting (29) and a motel (1).
Dining Out: $174 (no change from October) Includes coffee, ice cream shops, snacks and meals at a restaurant, including bakeries and the train canteen. This was still down about 30% from the average for this trip. Once again, being in one place helped, but basically the majority of this amount was in one day spent at the Seahawks game. Those beers are pricey!
Groceries: $234 (↓ from October) Includes food and snacks from a grocery or convenience store. This is down 23% from the average for this trip. This is likely due to the fact that by housesitting especially for longer periods, I tend to be able to shop less often and cook more real food rather than eating grab and go type things.
Health: $234 (same - insurance premium) Includes my health insurance and any costs for health care (which I have luckily not had!!!). I am hoping that next year I will be able to lower the amount of the premium, but I do expect to pay out of pocket for some things (for example, I need to get my teeth cleaned and I am going to need new contacts) while I am abroad.
Misc.: $195 (↑ from October) Includes CFA membership, shipping, gifts, personal care. This month was higher due to gifts.
Shopping: $2,058 (↑↑↑↑ from October) Includes costs associated with cycling maintenance, cycling gear, running and camping gear and other clothing or toiletries. And electronics!! Sigh. I had been holding off on buying a new laptop because I cannot carry two on the bike and did not want to do any organizing while on the road, but now that I am more settled, I bit the bullet. And it hurt. Hopefully this laptop lasts me as long as my last one, which lasted about ten years. I calculate this as a cost per day of about $0.27, which is pretty darn good! To get that cost per day with the new one, it will need to last 15 years. Wish me luck. This is not all electronics though; I did finally buy some new undies (yay!), some TP (double yay!) and a couple of merino tops that I found on sale and could not pass up.
Transportation: $27 (↓ from October) Included an Amtrak ride and a few local bus rides.
Utilities: $273 (↑ from October) Includes a monthly breakdown for the following, even though some of them are charged only once per year: phone, subscriptions, credit card fees and internet security (NordVPN & McAfee).
Total Spent: $3,286 (↑ 20% from $2,750 average and ↑ 37% from October*)
Verdict: *If I had not bought the computer, this would be my lowest cost month for travel. However, these things happen, so I am keeping it in. Also, full disclosure here, I also still had some home related costs over the last months, so my total spend this year will be more than I have ever spent in one year.
I am looking forward to next year when it will be more of a "clean slate" and am still considering trying to have a budget of around $2,500, although I know that since my first destinations are in Europe this will not be as easy. However, 2026 will probably be in a lower cost area and so I feel that even if I am over in one year, I will be under in others. Also, I love me some croissants and am not going to skimp on things like that. Croissants are the new ice cream!
To end this number heavy post, here are a few recent stats!
Favorite Ice Cream: My little cousin (she is 13) made homemade ice cream for Thanksgiving. Yummy.
Favorite New Town: I really enjoyed Bellingham, but also Northeast Seattle is very pretty too. Towns near water really are the best. Seattle itself is not "new" but I really do like it too.
Favorite New Water Related Venue: See above, but I will say Lake Washington, even though there have been some good Puget Sound views too.
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| Lake Washington |
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| Lake Union |
Favorite Food Item: I had an excellent carnitas taco at Tacos Tecalitlan in Burlington, WA.
Favorite Book: The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
Okay it's your turn!! Have you read The Mountains Sing? Are the Christmas decorations out in your neighborhood yet?
