About a year ago I made a major move from a small US city to come teach at a medical school down here on a small (40 square mile) Caribbean island (Nevis). In an attempt to undo the damage of 25 years of stress, increasingly sedentary life, I came down and did not buy a car. For the first 9 months I either walked several miles to school or bummed rides. (I ended up getting a car but giving it away after a month because it was making me lazy). Recently, I brought a used Trek and have been riding the snot out of it. Roads here are very bad, lots and lots of trails, however, and it has been a real joy after not riding for the past 30 years. Being on foot/bike in a new country (there are about 10,000 people total on Nevis) has been quite an eyeopener and a great deal of fun. I am still figuring out all sort of logistics (some related to island life, some related to bicycle life) but hope to be able to make car free stick. May be harder when my wife and daughter move down permanently next year.
Do I have to start dressing funny now?
jeff-o
09-29-06, 09:14 AM
Wow, your new life sounds idyllic! I'd recommend an Xtracycle (search for it on the web). It will greatly increase your carrying capacity, which I assume is one of your "logistics" that needs to be worked out.
atman
09-29-06, 09:59 AM
Xtracycle is a good recommend, obviously I'm a big advocate. For your situation, bad roads and lots of probably sandy trails, I'd consider looking into the Surly Pugsley instead. The super-huge wheels seem custom designed for your type of terrain. Surly is making an Xtracycle-compatible frame, and you'll certainly be able to kit that out with balloon wheels if not actually the Endomorphs that go with the Pugsley. That won't be around until next year, however: I bet someone else on the island of Nevis would snap up your old pugs in a heartbeat if you decide you need a new heartthrob Surly longtail, and with a rear rack the pugsley is all the bike one person should need on an island. The Pugsley can be ridden along beach and sandy trails that other mountain bikes can't even touch.
gwd
09-29-06, 10:26 AM
Do I have to start dressing funny now?
No.
Roody
09-29-06, 12:00 PM
It sounds like you're doing great on Nevis. Do a lot of people there ride? I never understood why people on small islands would even want cars. If I was the dictator of Nevis, I would ban them, and make the country like Mackinac Island here in Michigan--no motor vehicles whatsoever. Carfree would be great for tourism!
swwhite
09-29-06, 02:31 PM
If you have a computer at home, and an internet service provider that provides you with free web page space, how about getting a small webcam, pointing at some interesting scenery, and putting a regularly-updated picture on the internet. Nothing personal. We here in the land of snow and ice just like to look at scenes of warm places now and then, and imagine how nice it might be to be there.
crtreedude
09-29-06, 02:41 PM
Or, you could start a thread on commuting in Nevis for us... ;)
Isn't it great when you decide to get off the endless treadmill and live your life again? Be prepared, it gets crazy when you are living, but it is better than seeing year by year slip away, and you can't remember what you did, because none of it was different.
So many people want to make their life comfortable - but that really is about making your life boring. Granted, sometimes I wish my life was a bit more predictable... One of the greatest things about not having a car is that most people will assume that you aren't rich. After all - if you were a Rich Gringo, you would have a car.
After they know you better, they will figure you are just smart... :)
krazygluon
09-29-06, 03:47 PM
Do I have to start dressing funny now?
Do you mean biker funny (lycra) or islander/ex-pat funny (hawaiian shirts and cufoffs)
Either way you only have to breathe eat and sleep...the rest is up to you, though you could try wearing bike shorts and a hawaiian shirt everywhere just to see the reaction of your students?
Congrats on the move and successful emancipation from the cage.
donnamb
09-29-06, 11:26 PM
Do I have to start dressing funny now?
Absolutely not.
NevisBob
10-03-06, 11:42 AM
Thank you for all of the advice; I've been looking at some of the cargo-bike websites. Many people here on Nevis have bicycles, and there is a growing segment of the student body that commute that way. Nevis also hosts an Olympic-style triathalon each spring, and the one bike shop on the island is run by a couple of local folks who are enthusiastic cyclists. Part of the problem with a more widespread use of bicycles is that this is a volcanic island (dormant) that is very hilly. My ride to school takes about 20 minutes going and 10 coming home.
It is a great life, and I am indeed happy to be out of the cage. Anyone who can teach in a medical school should look into the life; work only a few hours a day and live on an island. Strangely, one of the things I am still working out about commuting is handling the livestock that shares the road. Herds of goats, sheep, and cattle (yes, real cattle with horns) roam freely over most the populated areas. This morning I nearly knocked over a sheep (they are particularly stupid critters) when it froze than tried to dart in front of the bike. The large critters (cows and bulls) tend to feel they should have right away, and are usually in not in groups of more than three or four. I find them more intimidating on foot, but haven't heard of anyone having problems with them. I've surprised monkeys and mongoose on some of the trails; the monkeys respond sort of aggressively.
To date, I've been able to carry most of what I need to buy in a small backpack (there's are farm by the school where I buy most of my vegetables and a small store within walking distance from my house) and the only time I have been really caught is when I need to be two places at times that are outside of my current range. Nevis has little buses that run places for between 2.50 and 3.50 ec (about 1-1.50 us) that are a different kind of adventure.
Many of the cyclists I see here are people on vacation (Nevis is interesting in that is has almost no medium range tourism, only a few very high tourist hotels -Four Seasons, Montpelier where Princess Di used to hole up- there probably aren't 400 hotel rooms on the island), who tend to wear a lot of spandex. I'm very happy in my t-shirts while riding (I tend to wear a lot of colorful shirts and sandals when I teach) and was relieved to learn that I can enjoy my bicycle without dressing like spiderman.
I'll try to figure out how to get some photos posted.
Bob Mankoff
knobster
10-03-06, 02:31 PM
Sounds like a great life you've got going there Bob. Very jelious. I would look at the animals on your rides as a gift as most of us here only see animals with rigamortis.
becnal
10-03-06, 11:49 PM
Xtracycle's are damn cool, but they are also overkill for most people. A "normal" bike will do you fine. Rock on! :)
gwd
10-04-06, 10:02 AM
Sounds like a great life you've got going there Bob. Very jelious. I would look at the animals on your rides as a gift as most of us here only see animals with rigamortis.
I live in the most densely populated ward of the city and of mammals I see raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, deer, beaver and of course rats. I'm not counting pets and what I'd see if I walk through the zoo.
The birds are too numerous, hawks, eagles, crows, waxwings, hummingbirds, herons, goatsuckers... This summer I finally saw a wood thrush the city bird, they seem reclusive, you can hear them in the spring.
I'm keeping my eye out for a coyote. The newspaper says they live in the park but I've yet to spot one.