Living Car Free - the outdoors

Hi, I'm new to the fora. I just had a question for you all. I ride my bike to work most of the time and use my car for errands such as grocery shopping (which I'm considering phasing out). I was mainly wondering though if there were many outdoors enthusiasts in this crowd. How do you cope? I love to hike, camp and backpack and unfortunately have to drive to reach these destinations. I'm not sure if selling my car and then occasionally renting for this purpose would be practical - last time I did the math it was not. I get the impression that many if not most here are urbanites but perhaps I am wrong. No, I am not trolling; I am genuinely curious.

Thanks!

I take the train into the woods or to a town close enough to hike into the woods.

I like to hike, camp, and backpack too ...

Option #1 ... cycle to "the outdoors" ... make a cycling tour of it.

Option #2 ... rent a car for those occasional weekend. I bet owning a car costs more than about $500 ... but you can rent a car for 5 weekend adventures for $500.

Option #3 ... cycle to the nearest airport ... fly to another part of the country or world ... cycle from there!


I've done all three.

I do lots of out door things. I cycle to local parks/natural areas to do little day hikes and mushrooming. I take longer bike/camping/fishing/etc tours on long weekends. Then there is always the car rental option for when i need(or want) it.

I start from the front door. In winter it's cycling or xc skiing (though there's just one ski route available from my front door, better than nothing I guess), in summer it's cycling and paddling. I'll put the kayak on trailer, hook trailer to bike and ride some 4 kms to the sea shore.

If I want to get outdoorsy somewhere else, I make it a bike tour like Machka suggested or go by bus, train or plane. In a pinch I'll rent a car.

--J

All that stuff you mention is just a few minute walk away from where I live. If not I can just bike to where I wanna hike or do what ever and go for it.

i've a pretty extensive outdoor past -- hiking and backpacking, downriver and backcountry paddling, mtn. biking...but that seems to have faded into the past.

this happened largely because i grew tired of the driving time involved in these things. i spent so many weekends driving to the river and shuttling vehicles that i came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth it to spend 8 hours driving so that i could paddle for 3 or 4.

the same goes for backpacking and mtn. biking.

now, i ride from home. sometimes to the trails, sometimes on the road.

I do hunting, camping, mountain biking, backpacking, and bike touring.

I think the touring option is a good one to think about. Get a map of your region, draw circles centered on your house. Within the 10 mile circle, you can travel for part of a day. The 20 or 30 mile circle is a full day trip. Try 50 miles for 2 days, 75 for a long weekend. For trips outside the region, either go when you have more time, or use one of the non-bike options others have mentioned.

If you're young and not so settled in, think about relocating to a small or medium sized city with nearby outdoor recreation. There are probably a couple cities in every state that fit this description. Find someplace near tthe mountains, the beach, fishing lakes, a trail system. As long as you have to live somewhere, you might as well live where you can indulge your passions without a car.

Do you have a mountain bike? Sounds like you'd love it.

Option #2 ... rent a car for those occasional weekend. I bet owning a car costs more than about $500 ... but you can rent a car for 5 weekend adventures for $500.

$500 to rent a car for a weekend? :eek: I've done that, and the most it's ever cost me is about $90 for the whole weekend, and usually only around $60-70. You just have to be diligent and shop around (check the yahoo car rental section). Christ, you could rent a freakin' limo for less than $500 for the weekend.

That said, it seems to me that unless you partake in outdoor activities every weekend, it's still probably cheaper to rent a car than own one. Let's break down the fixed cost of owning a car: insurance, registration, parking (for those living right in the city). Depending on where you live, it costs a minimum of $50/month (insurance, registration) to just own a car. For those of us in the city (with added costs of parking, higher insurance), minimum monthly costs are closer to $100+. Add in variable costs like gas and maintenance, the minimum operating cost of owning a car is around $150-200/month, plus you have to buy the vehicle.

It usually cost about $30-40/day to rent a car (including insurance), or $70-80 a weekend. So even if you rent a car every weekend, that total monthly cost is around $300. So owning a car seems to make sense if you go out every weekend, but if you do it less than 3 weekends a month, renting is more economical.

I enjoy they outdoors, but as I'm getting older I not into the extended 'adventures' that entail spending 2+ days away from home - it's just too much hassle. These days, I'm happy to just rent a car in the morning, drive to a trailhead and spend the day doing whatever (hiking, snowshoeing, etc.), and return the car the next day. Also, the busses around here (Puget Sound) have fairly extended service. I live in Seattle, but it's pretty convenient for me to catch a bus to Issaquah (a smaller area about 15 miles east of the city) where there are decent trails.

but you can rent a car for 5 weekend adventures for $500.

5 weekends for $500 = $100/weekend

This summer, I'm going to take a greyhound as far north into maine I can, then hitchhike to Baxter SP to go backpacking around Kahtadhin. Basically take public trans to the end of the line where hitching becomes possible.

You can rent a car for $40/weekend around here with the Enterprise 1/2 off weekends. It used to be $33, when they had the $10/day weekend special.

$500 to rent a car for a weekend? :eek: I've done that, and the most it's ever cost me is about $90 for the whole weekend, and usually only around $60-70. You just have to be diligent and shop around (check the yahoo car rental section). Christ, you could rent a freakin' limo for less than $500 for the weekend.



NO! You misread what I wrote. I said you could have 5 weekends of adventure for $500.

It costs approx. $100 to rent a car for a three day weekend including insurance and everything.

Dmitrivich, you live in a great cycling community, and can go either east or west from Davis to do some great cycle camping. East toward Cache Creek and Berryessa - the wildflowers this time of year are splendid. West to Folsom Lake - (all the way on the bike path, too!) where there is a nice campground. Then when you see how much you enjoy it - head for the Eldorado Nat'l Forest about 30 miles west of Placerville. Up near Ice Hous Res. That is for when you have 3-4 days minimum. The thing I miss most about Sac is the proximity to great outdoor activities and camping.

Dmitrivich, you live in a great cycling community, and can go either east or west from Davis to do some great cycle camping. East toward Cache Creek and Berryessa - the wildflowers this time of year are splendid. West to Folsom Lake - (all the way on the bike path, too!) where there is a nice campground. Then when you see how much you enjoy it - head for the Eldorado Nat'l Forest about 30 miles west of Placerville. Up near Ice Hous Res. That is for when you have 3-4 days minimum. The thing I miss most about Sac is the proximity to great outdoor activities and camping.
I think the bigger picture here is that almost any community has great outdoor areas nearby. I live in a very industrial midwestern city, right near the downtown. I know how to get to beautiful farmland for road riding about 4 miles from my house in the city. There are two nature areas for quiet walks about 2 and 5 miles out. There are great mountain biking (and nature) trails within 9 miles.

But i concede that for many of us there is no true "wilderness" within easy bike range. That's one thing I miss about having a car. One problem with Greyhound is that you have to crate and pay to take your bike. If you belong to the League of American Bicyclists you can take your bike (crated of course) on many airline flights. Find an airport near the area you want to explore, fly there and bike right out of the airport.

i've a pretty extensive outdoor past -- hiking and backpacking, downriver and backcountry paddling, mtn. biking...but that seems to have faded into the past.

this happened largely because i grew tired of the driving time involved in these things. i spent so many weekends driving to the river and shuttling vehicles that i came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth it to spend 8 hours driving so that i could paddle for 3 or 4.

the same goes for backpacking and mtn. biking.

now, i ride from home. sometimes to the trails, sometimes on the road.


Ditto here! These days, I find it amusing that so many people consider themselves "outdoorsy", yet spend the majority of their outdoor time in an automobile (usually the "outdoorsman" drive Subarus :rolleyes: ).

I'll admit that since I've been carless, I miss being able to get into the backcountry easily. But so far it's been a good trade.

I hear where your comming from!
I am an avid kayaker, mtn. climber, and rappelling is a major hobby of mine.
Well, I cant carry a kayak on my back and ride 50 miles to a destonation, nor can I do this with 100 lbs of rope to the nearest cliff.
My father has an extra car that he lets me borrow for trips like this, as does a lot, well all of my friends have cars and I've gotten most of them addicted to rappelling off big cliffs. So, when I get in the mood to jump face first off a 400 ft cliff, holding a rope, there is useally a line of buddies that want to go aswell.

NO! You misread what I wrote. I said you could have 5 weekends of adventure for $500.

It costs approx. $100 to rent a car for a three day weekend including insurance and everything.
Oh yeah, my bad sorry :o

I live in San Francisco and while there are lots of cool places that you can ride a bike to, the best mountain biking is not close enough. Skiing and rock climbing would take some serious time to get to on a bike, but if you have the time, it is possible to do (although riding a bike to Tahoe in the winter might be a little too hardcore for almost anyone). But here's the thing - almost everybody I know owns a car. It might not be the purist thing to do, but I just hitch a ride with my friends. I would love to have the problem that I can't find anybody who owns a car, but for now there is no shortage of drivers out there.

Once I hired a guy from the back country to come pick me and my bike up and drive us several hours out of town. We found him on the internet. He had a regular business doing this with his van. He hauled a couple other guys that same day. He came promptly at 4:30 am or so and got us to the drop off point at about 9 am. I forgot the cost it was back in 2000. It seemed reasonable. Some AmTrak lines have stops in biking distance to remote areas but I've only used AmTrak for motel or B&B bikiing trips. My neighbor took the train once to spend a week or so on the Apalachian Trail. He just hiked from the station to the trail, no bike.

i've a pretty extensive outdoor past -- hiking and backpacking, downriver and backcountry paddling, mtn. biking...but that seems to have faded into the past.

this happened largely because i grew tired of the driving time involved in these things. i spent so many weekends driving to the river and shuttling vehicles that i came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth it to spend 8 hours driving so that i could paddle for 3 or 4.

the same goes for backpacking and mtn. biking.

now, i ride from home. sometimes to the trails, sometimes on the road.

I am of the same mind. I used to be quite the avid outdoorsman (xc ski, camp, snowshoe, mtn bike, hike, climb, backpack), but the driving just doesn't seem worth it anymore. Oddly, everything thinks I'm nuts for not skiing/boarding. It is only 30-60 miles to 10+ ski areas. The traffic alone makes it unbearable, and couple that with all the lemmings, it just isn't worth it to me.

I still camp a bit with the family, but I went from untraminimalist to clark griswall with the family truckster with gear galore. (I still carry the same amount regardless of 1 night or 1 week, but my philosophy isn't shared with the 'boss'.)

I had more 'fun' outdoors doing field research/grant work years ago. Got paid (not much) to do something I loved in an environment that couldn't be beat. The boat/truck/chopper, etc. ride to the locale was part of the fun for me.