Would you trade your car for a bike? 3

Comments View as Flat

1. 

   Elena Posted 6:06 am
   05 Aug 2009

   Heck, I'd almost trade my car for a keg of Fat Tire Single Track.  Can't buy the stuff in Florida for some reason. Seriously, though, my family did sell one car last year and is now a single car family.  I have a great commuter bike and I bus and bike to work now.  My husband telecommutes most days.  I've noticed a few of my neighbors have also recently gone the one-car or less route and are loving it and reaping the health and financial rewards.  I can only hope it's the start of a trend.... we'll see.  Thanks for the great story!

   Permalink

2. 

   JB Quercus Posted 7:20 am
   05 Aug 2009

   We also sold our second car and now just have 1 - and for a family with three small kids in Chicago that is no small feat. Summer is easy, we can load the kids on bikes and one is old enough to ride her own or we walk. Winters are goign to be a little tougher. But really, we have bus and train lines just a few blocks away, and school, grocery stores, library, the YMCA and our offices are all within walking distance - some of those closer than others! It is kind of just a matter of setting aside the time and not being so lazy. Hopefully come February I will still feel the same way!

   Permalink

3. 

   katmainomad Posted 1:31 pm
   05 Aug 2009

   Yes! I have! I live in Anchorage, AK, so we get about 7 months of winter, and I have to admit to a lot of bus riding then - I shlep one child, now 6. I do bike in winter with studded tires, I have moved to about a block from work so I just need to bike the kid to camp/school everyday and hit the library, or natural food store conveniently on the way home, or the farmers market/ friends houses also less than 4 miles away. And I do now own 2 bikes (summer and winter), a bike trailer and a trail-a-bike. I am certainly no athlete or amazing person, but I do 15 miles a week day in the summer to get the kid to camp and back, with some hills and the extra load of kid/trail-a-bike. It isn't always super convenient or ecstatic, but generally I love my bike and how fluid and mobile and great it makes me feel! And, unlike a car, I can usually do most of my own maintenance (with the help of a book or friend), and what I don't have time to learn to do myself is cheap. My child is also very happy to bike with me (on his own bike when we have the time), and doesn't mind pouring rain, long distances, mud splattering him, etc - kids are great to keep motivated.You can do it! You will feel healthier, satisfied with your self, environmentally righteous, richer, and like a good problem solver (when you figure out how to work in your errands, carry a wierd load, etc). Every once in a while you will have to drop something, because you don't have the time or energy to bike that far or rent/borrow a car to get there and the buses don't hack it, but usually those things aren't that important anyway!

   Permalink