If I Could Bike It To Work

I have to drive 30+ miles each way on two highways to get back and forth to work each day. Most certainly that is not my worst commute. I had double the mileage a few years ago and I thought gas prices were high then. Three weeks ago, I paid $2.99 for discounted gas Costco. A week later I paid $3.15 for cutrate gas at Safeway (yes, a few of them have gas). The other night, I paid $3.19 at Costco again. When I have to fill up for next week's trek, I wonder how much it will be?

Gasoline prices, which for months lagged behind the big run-up in the price of oil, are suddenly rising quickly, with some experts saying they could approach $4 a gallon by spring. Diesel is hitting new records daily, and oil settled at a record high of $100.88 a barrel on Tuesday.

The increases could not come at a worse time for the economy. With growth slowing, energy increases that were once easily absorbed by consumers are now more likely to act as a drag on household budgets, leaving people with less money to spend elsewhere. These costs could worsen the nation's economic woes, piling a fresh energy shock on top of the turmoil in credit and housing.