Commuting - Going car-less

I have a friend who works on Wall Street in NYC. He lives in Manhattan, and walks to work (30 blocks each way). He doesn't own a car, although he could easily afford one. He and his family rent a car when they want to go out of town. He says he saves $500 a month in parking fees alone, not to mention parking tickets.

Going carless ultimately paid my way through university.

Last night after filling up my girlfriends car, I began to think about how much I save by not having a car. She/we put about 50 miles a week on the car, so gas prices are not really a factor. When only factoring in routine maintenance, gas and insurance, I estimate she spends $1500-2000 per year. Even though I bike to work and she takes the bus to school/work, what it all comes down to is that it is expensive to own a car, even if you don't use it.

When you live in a city (espicially with transit such as subway nearby), the need for a car really dimishes. I can walk to the grocery store, to the bike shop (well, I'd rather ride there) and pretty much everything else I need, otherwise I have 2 subway stops on different lines less than 5 minutes from the house. Why would I need a car on a daily basis? Espcially since I go to school 4 blocks away!

The more I avoid driving, the more I feel the strength of independence from tyranny.

I can't describe how amazingly powerful that makes me feel. Cycling for transportation has added a dimension to my life that
makes life itself much more precious. Even the simplest of pleasures are magnified.

I enjoy a simple fresh breeze, green trees, the sweet smells of foliage, the sky, clouds, animals, people, food, drink, relaxing, talking, dreaming...

I don't feel like I have to "get something" new to be satisfied, now. I am already rich!

"The world is so full of a number of things
That I think we should all be as happy as kings."

(Robert Louis Stephenson?)

I'm still amazed by the attitude of others when it comes to being carless.

We have a family car which my wife needs to get around the place with the kids etc. I ride my bike.

I still get people saying "Surely you didn't ride in this weather?"

I have no choice - I don't have access to a car during the week and they know that. (Not that I'd want to drive anyway.) I wonder if people think I can just pull a car out of thin air on those days that the weather turns nasty.

Going car-less is a long term goal.. Driving to work tonight, took about 7 traffic lights just to exit the interstate.. Driving is so insane, people are about to crack.. I am so much more relaxed when I bike to work.. To go car-less I need be about 10 miles closer to work.. Someday, my wife will have the only car, and usually I will bike commute to work.
I will be proud. I have encountered others who took the leap and they were proud..

My coworkers are always focusing on the weather . . . "Wasn't it cold this morning?" Or, "guess you didn't ride in today" while they look out the window at a light rain.

I don't get it. I get to experience something new with the weather day-to-day. I get to be in the outdoors. Every morning's commute is a new adventure.

Besides, haven't all these folks concerned about the weather ever heard of that great invention--clothes? If its cold, I dress for cold. If its wet, I dress for wet.

We've all probably heard that old saying about "not smart enough to come in out of the rain," but what about "not smart enough to put on a rain jacket or fleece vest?"

Dave

My office is the same. I always hear, did you really ride?, are you crazy?, do you need a ride home? I only excepted a ride home once, well actually it was not all the way home. It was snowing really hard. I told a fellow employee the route I was riding home on and to look for me. I made it 5 out of 8 miles before he caught up to me. The snow was deep and packed in places....making it hard for me to keep the bike under control...with cars sliding all over the place. So in the van went the bike.

Everyone at work thinks I'm crazy, they tell me all the time, My family thinks I'm crazy, they tell me also, At intersections I've had people in cars tell me the same. But we know differently, don't we? The truth be known, they are just too dammd lazy and caught up in the rat race to truely enjoy the real world. The world is a much better and more beautiful place when looked at from the seat of bike. Why do we ride? Because we want to, that's why. It's as simple as that.

Regarding weather:

I have actually come to enjoy weather that most other folks find uncomfortable. If I am dressed properly (Gortex is magical stuff), I can actually appreciate rain or very cool temps.

As a matter of fact, since I have been commuting with the bicycle or on foot, I am able to be comfortable across a wider range of temperatures, even indoors. My co-workers seem to be too hot or too cold most of the time, and I hardly notice. I chalk this up to improved blood circulation. Or maybe my body has just gotten to be very adept at regulating it's temperature.

regards
Dan

To all you folks that are able to ride bikes to work... I am jealous and happy for you. Wish my job allowed it.

:beer:

Garbar. This is directed at you. Do you think motorists in Temecula are about at wits end. Temecula puts in like 7-10 homes a day. Each month, the traffic seems to take on new dimensions.. Two days ago I commuted by bike the trip 1 3/4 hour. By car yesterday- one hour.. But much less frustrating..
The freeway is the worst place to be if you want to move.. Coming down the 1-15 hill from the south, you always suspect the freeway has stopped due to a traffic accident.. Going out Winchester Road, the cars drive insanely.
Do you find bike commuting faster? Co-workers are so frazzled- I think they are considering different jobs to get out of this rat race caused by the horrendous traffic. I almost think once you get into central San Diego the traffic moves better than Temecula..?
How are you doing. Does the speedway on our favorite wine route, cause our bike commute on the wine road to be less desirable ?

Originally posted by cyclezealot
Garbar. This is directed at you. Do you think motorists in Temecula are about at wits end. Temecula puts in like 7-10 homes a day. Each month, the traffic seems to take on new dimensions.. Two days ago I commuted by bike the trip 1 3/4 hour. By car yesterday- one hour.. But much less frustrating..
The freeway is the worst place to be if you want to move.. Coming down the 1-15 hill from the south, you always suspect the freeway has stopped due to a traffic accident.. Going out Winchester Road, the cars drive insanely.
Do you find bike commuting faster? Co-workers are so frazzled- I think they are considering different jobs to get out of this rat race caused by the horrendous traffic. I almost think once you get into central San Diego the traffic moves better than Temecula..?
How are you doing. Does the speedway on our favorite wine route, cause our bike commute on the wine road to be less desirable ?

I don't think their at wits end yet. My buddy is on our traffic commission. Our infrastructure, which isn't much, is getting taxed during rush hour. However, the rest of the time, it's pretty easy to go anywhere. I go to No SDcty for my bike related issues and it takes 30mins on Sat. No matter how you cut the pie, traffic in the surrounding Temecula Valley is much easier to cope with verses SDcty or Octy, which is where I moved from. SDcty is way worse :( during rush hour. Our building community is going crazy. :confused: And, everyone commutes either No or So on the 15frwy. What sad is that our slow growth committee is struggling to get new supporters because housing prices are going crazy. Everyone I know is doubling their home investment, we've almost tripled. :D

As for bike commutes, I don't know what to tell you. Most of my riding is on the wkend, so I don't have to contend with traffic like you. I've quit riding on 79, N or S or Rancho CA north, due to crazy commuter traffic. It's tough finding places to ride these days. Oh well... :beer:

Originally posted by mrfix
Everyone at work thinks I'm crazy, they tell me all the time, My family thinks I'm crazy, they tell me also, At intersections I've had people in cars tell me the same. But we know differently, don't we? The truth be known, they are just too dammd lazy and caught up in the rat race to truely enjoy the real world. The world is a much better and more beautiful place when looked at from the seat of bike. Why do we ride? Because we want to, that's why. It's as simple as that.

I wish I wrote that.

Garbear.. My drive through Temecula is at the 5-6 pm rush. CA 79 is nuts..You wait so long to make turns at intersections without lights, people are going nuts. You can not get out without taking a risk. I generally do not ride in Temecula other than my work commutel- so I do not experience conditions when they are slower.. The wine road is a great ride and on the ocassional Saturday's I get over there, it is very enjoyable. St route 79 which I use has mostly wide bike lanes and I see lots of other cyclists using it..
Maybe should traffic come to a halt in Temecula, we will see a greater percentage of cyclists. During the rush hour that seems a possibliity.. Developers run that town. I see no chance of slowing down the growth.. From what I hear the advocates of slower growth show up at public meetings, they are treated as weirdos...
All I know at one time my commute via auto took 25 minutes- it now can take 15 minutes to get off of a freeway exit ramp..

Garbear.. I have always commuted by bike to work in Temecula on Friday nights. Since I have to do an extra OT day, (PM shift) I did the unusual and drove my car.
Just getting from downtown Fallbrook to Interstate 15, it took me about 30 minutes. Thought there must have been an accident up ahead. No ! Never saw one.! It was just so much traffic entering the Freeway and the freeway backed up- it backed up traffic for about 5 miles almost all the way into town... Traffic moved about 5 miles an hour for about 4 miles. Much of the time it was totally stopped...What caused the freeway to back up that much?? I have no clue. At the freeway intersection I decided to use surface roads- but as said, the surface road was backed up due to the inablility of the freeway to move traffic..I think...
God, such commutes causes a person to see red. I was about 20 minutes late. I was totally frustrated before even getting into Temecula traffic.. Since I almost always commute by bike on Friday nights, Mabye this could be NORMAL?
As stated on an earlier entry, the commute by car used to take about 35 minutes. Tonight it took about 1 hour and 15 minutes. By bike as I speed by the non-moving cars- it takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes..
And we wonder why there is so much road rage. We can only take so much.. Maybe if we are lucky and gas goes to $7 a gallon, we will have other alternatives and a car- less society and a saner population.

Intown, the road design is "grid," offering a number of pleasant options for the bike commuter. There are some drawbacks, such as on-street parking and rough pavement. But the low speed limits are great.

Suburban riding has two options for me: arteries with two lanes, or four lanes. The four-lane arteries are really better, because they are wide, smooth, and allow traffic to pass more easily; most cars pass me on these roads without even leaving the lane. The two-lane arteries were once less congested, but they have outlived their usefulness. I ride them because I have to.

No wonder more people are moving back to the old neighborhoods--they can get to work in 10 or 15 minutes.

Garbear, I don't understand, your job doesn't allow you to bike? How can they dictate the ways and means their employees make it to work? Do they force everyone on mass transit?
I guess I feel fortunate that both of my jobs allow me to commute. I also live in a pretty decent city for bike commuting. The politics here are pretty screwy though.
I have enjoyed the adventure of going car-less myself. It happened this summer. It is really cool to be riding over the traffic clogged hiway and see the steel coffins sitting there. There is the exhileration of looking up at the night sky and see Orion on the way home. There's the smells at night of cooking, log fires, decaying leaves, restaurants, along with the traffic.
I think I enjoy two things most, it's the look on the face of a driver who sees me ride by after he's acted the fool at the last light and raced to get in line at the next, and I pedal past all smug to the front of the line. The other is talking about commuting with others, not necessarily other riders, but normal people who say things like "it's too cold."
There is just something about not having a car, it is more than just not spending money on gas, insurance, parking space, tickets, moving it on snow days, parking, up keep. Well, you know all the work and cost...

Originally posted by naisme
Garbear, I don't understand, your job doesn't allow you to bike? How can they dictate the ways and means their employees make it to work? Do they force everyone on mass transit?


NO, none of the above... I am one of those CEO's :D that dictates corporate policy. :( I live over an 1.5hrs from my office, across a small mtn range and lots of ugly :mad: freeway traffic. Consiquently, I only go into my office when it's absolutly necessary. Otherwise, I work from my office at home. :p

As I posted last Friday it took me about 30 minutes to drive about miles.. I talked to a friend and she was coming from the other direction. No the 30 minute drive is not normal. There was an accident, it just became completely cleared before I got to the crash scene...
It was another case of drivers refusing to wait for constant on-coming traffic to clear and making a left turn into traffic, because turning is impossible..

I'm 35, have never had a car and never will.
I live in Seattle, my commute is about 8 miles if I go the shortest way. I have no insurance payments, no car payment, no gas. going car-less is a lot easier than people think. You just get used to a different way of doing things. I don't hate cars, but I do think they're way overused. We're a country of stressed out obese junkfood eaters and that's part of the reason why.

PLEASE, INSPIRE ME! I want desperately to go carless. My wife has a car, why do I need one? I keep finding weak excuses to keep the beast. I NEED HELP:irritated

What really blows is the summer. It is hot and humid out here during the St Louis summers. :mad: Riding to and from work is no big deal, since I can change at work (I wear a uniform). However, there are many times I must leave work during business hours, and I don't have time to change out of my long-sleeve shirt and pants. Quitting my job is not an option.

Going carless is really pretty simple. You will make some intelligent lifestyle changes and decide that you don't have to drive all the way across town to save 5 cents on a bag of "on-sale" apples or to go to a gym that takes you 35 minutes in the car to get to/from.

The biggest thing is that everybody will think you are a kook. Your close friends and family will eventually understand, but others just won't get it.

I am carless and still go all over town to save 5 cents in fact I usually find more than that on the road on the way lol.I agree with others viewpoint it is really a lifestyle choice of avoiding mindless consumption and unnecessary stress to finance it and spending more time actually enjoying life.

I began commuting full time a year ago and could not amagin driving anymore. I sold my truck ,but kept a car for my wife and grand kids. My family thinks im nuts for riding everywhere in all kinds of weather . I can't stand driving anymore and sitting in traffic and when i go somewhere with my wife she drives. All I can say is I like the freedom and the relaxation a bike gives me.

:beer:

Originally posted by Puckloki
I'm 35, have never had a car and never will.
I live in Seattle, my commute is about 8 miles if I go the shortest way. I have no insurance payments, no car payment, no gas. going car-less is a lot easier than people think. You just get used to a different way of doing things. I don't hate cars, but I do think they're way overused. We're a country of stressed out obese junkfood eaters and that's part of the reason why.

you are doing better than i am! congrats I have been pretty much carless fro the last 2 yrs but i have not owned one in over 5 yrs now! just fianlly got the nuts to stop bumming rides everywhere bought a bike trailer for grocery shopping and the like and there we are my commute is much less than yours so its no big deal its really much easier than people think.

I am back to owning one of the friggin' things. I justify it with I've got to have transportation to fall back on in the likely hood of a big snow or below zero conditions.
It also sucks. I just got a bill for the insurance on the beast, and it's a bite into my already strained budget. I was hoping to go a whole year without a car, at least a year.

We have a small 1.5litre 4 cylinder car that is serviced regularly and is fairly new. I have thought about going car less, but in reality for us it isn't going to happen anytime soon.

We have just built a new house in the hills (35km from the city) and spend most weekends going to hardware stores and gardening places for supplies. Renting a car is not possible (no car rental companies). Taxi, forget it, there is no taxi that will put plants, compost bags, manure bags in their vehicle. Not to mention the 45 minute wait. So we drive and try to minimise our mileage. I don't know why we bother though as everyone else in our street drives EVERYWHERE regardless of the short distance. I could get a bike trailer, but that isn't a solution. We were looking for a particular tree and found a nursery that was 20km away, we bought the tree, looked around some and were home within an hour. On a bike it would have taken me over two hours and it was 36ºC, and my wife would have had to stay at home, as she doesn't ride much.

If I lived in the city I would definitely be car less, but then I would kill myself, as I work in the city and hate it.

CHEERS.

Mark

If the auto industry depended on us for sales, they'd go under! :D

I've been car-less in the city for over 10 years now. It was a conscious decision that the world and I could do with one less car. I was always either paying for the car or paying to have it repaired.

For six years I have been a year-round bicycle commuter. Round trip is about 20 km and it takes around half an hour each way.

My co-workers also think I'm nuts (especially since I'm twice the age of most of them), but I really enjoy it and it has been really good for my health.

Year round cycling in Canada does have it's difficulties. In the winter you have to have the proper equipment. Last year I only lost 3 days to public transit, this year it is already 6 and It's only January. I go at any temperature. The coldest it has been so far is -25 C with a wind chill factor of -35. Wind Chill is a Canadian way of letting you know how cold it feels when you factor in the wind.

I take a dedicated commuter bike path downtown. The city does not see fit to clear it of snow, so when the worst weather comes, I have to go on arterial roads. I choose one with a streetcar line (also known elewhere as a tram--a little electric train type thing).

You may wonder why I choose to ride with streetcars when other routes don't have the slippery tracks. First off, I know where the streetcar is. It's on the tracks, unlike buses that can be anywhere. Streetcars don't pollute so I'm not sucking diesel fumes and because they stop every block to take on and discharge passengers, passengers who have to walk one lane to the curb, it slows down cars in a delicious manner. On these routes bikes are often faster than streetcars and sometimes faster than cars.

When I started doing this, I was the only cyclist on the road (other than crazies like bike couriers). This year I see winter cyclist almost every day I go out, sometimes there are lots of them so it appears to be catching on.

For one of my university courses I had to make a presentation to my class on any subject I wished. I chose the advantages of bicycle commuting. Using figures supplied by the Canadian Automobile Association, I discovered the average Canadian urban motorist spends more than $CAN 11,000 a year on his/her car. That includes payment, repairs, fuel, parking, insurance etc.

Not only am I a lot healthier, I'm also a lot wealthier than I once was.

Pass it on.

Originally posted by DanFromDetroit
Regarding weather:



As a matter of fact, since I have been commuting with the bicycle or on foot, I am able to be comfortable across a wider range of temperatures, even indoors. My co-workers seem to be too hot or too cold most of the time, and I hardly notice. I chalk this up to improved blood circulation. Or maybe my body has just gotten to be very adept at regulating it's temperature.

regards
Dan

I have noticed over the last 2 yrs I run the heat a bit lower as well less ac in the summer. When i figure up how much I save biking, i do not figure this in. Mabe it should be listed as secondary benefit along with lower medical bills and the like.

Please, tell me what do you do to avoid falling dawn on the icy slippery surface?

What tires do you use?

My life was out of control... Drinking, drugs, etc. was the only thing I looked forward to. A DUI fixed all that. With no license, the alternative was bicycle commuting. Now I'm happy, healthy, and have kicked out the vices. I feel lucky that I was "caught" before I hurt myself or someone else. I also feel lucky that I'm not a driver anymore. I never knew how fullfilling it was to not have to rely on a car for transportation. Now I "exercise" for 1.5 hours a day in leu of sitting in grid-locked traffic for 1 hour. It sucked getting a DUI, but my life would have sucked more if I hadn't gotten one...

Originally posted by Zaphod
My life was out of control... Drinking, drugs, etc. was the only thing I looked forward to. A DUI fixed all that. With no license, the alternative was bicycle commuting. Now I'm happy, healthy, and have kicked out the vices. I feel lucky that I was "caught" before I hurt myself or someone else. I also feel lucky that I'm not a driver anymore. I never knew how fullfilling it was to not have to rely on a car for transportation. Now I "exercise" for 1.5 hours a day in leu of sitting in grid-locked traffic for 1 hour. It sucked getting a DUI, but my life would have sucked more if I hadn't gotten one...

That's a cool story. Glad that it all has worked out for the best.

In reply to Max, asking about what you do on slippery surfaces.

I encounter ice occassionally. It is most dangerous when hidden by a layer of fresh snow. Although this is Canada, I live in the southern part, I'm actually as far south as about northern California. We don't get that much snow here and what we get often doesn't stay. That being said, there has been snow on the ground year since Christmas.

If you're not that lucky, try Velotique. They have studded tires

http://www.velotique.com/WinterBike.htm

The prices shown are in Canadian dollars.

Most of my road conditions are wet or slushy. In conditions like that you can use a knobby tire and learn to turn your bike without tipping it. Most of us have learned to turn by leaning into the corner and making the bike go on somewhat less than a 90 degree angle.

I keep my bike at 90 degrees at all times and instead use my body to cause the turn. If you are a sailor, I would call it 'hiking outboard'.

My technique is easiest done when you are not peddling. The pedal on the inside of your turn should be down. Position your bum in such a way that the cheek on the outside of the turn is on the centre of the saddle. While holding the handlebars firmly start pushing your body into the turn (and over the edge of the bike).

I know it sounds crazy and hard, but it really works. I haven't fallen since I started doing it.

Allan.

I also wish I could go carless, but my main problem is winter snow and colder weather.
If my commute was shorter the above wouldnt be a problem, but I
am 40K from work with 90% on open country roads.
So for now I just do it from April to October wait out the winter months with bike repairs and jogging.

Cheers.

:) I love reading this because it's been nearly 4 years sense going car-less you guys and gals give me the strength to keep going.:)

I had fun this week with the car, and one more reason to get rid of the beast. I rode Mon-Wed. Thursday I had appointments that needed me to drive. After three days of below zero temps I went to start the cage, and it wouldn't pop. Angry I got out locked the door and slamed it shut. Not till I was at the back end of the car did I realize I'd locked the friggin' keys in the car. I sighed laughed and went back inside to change to riding gear and call in late. Fortunately work and my appointments were understanding, and I could do it by bike.
Cars are such a hassle.

Originally posted by Puckloki
[B We're a country of stressed out obese junkfood eaters and that's part of the reason why. [/B] not only the US, all 1st world countrys seem to be going that way !
my wife has a car that i drive occasionaly but i use the bike for most things , i didnt ride to work one day last year & that was the worst day of a tropical cyclone !