Living Car Free - What's your major hurdle in becoming car-free?

I think there are quite a few car-free wannabees out there. I'm certainly one. I think I'm headed in the right direction, but slowly... Here's a couple of things I'm working on:

* although I commute to work daily, I seem to lack the energy for the 1/2 miles trip to the grocery store. I do it sometimes, but always feel I'm not equipped enough for dragging the groceries back. I have to make too many trips, daily in fact. Solution: thinking about buying one of those used Burley kid haulers... or maybe a single wheel trailer.

* absolutely despise going anywhere after dark on the bicycle. I bought a $50 Cateye light, but it seems to run out of battery when I least expect. Solution: maybe buy a wheel generator + light from Peter White Cycles sometime. I think you can get set up for about $150 or so. However, still have the problem that I hate travelling at night on bicycle.

Anyway, those are my current hurdles. What are yours?

Rain.

250 miles from the house to the current jobsite:cry: only good thing is that the company pays for the mileage. I have been on the search for a local job that pays similarly but so far no luck.'

Aaron:)

1. Bad weather
2. There are times in which I really need to get somewhere across town, and I don't have an hour to spare.

I guess I was lucky, in a way...I had no choice but to become carfree. No permit=No car. I'd always been pretty carlite since college...so I knew what to expect...I've had to go more practical with the style of bikes I ride...but in a way I've enjoyed building machines I wouldn't have been caught dead riding 10 years ago.

One thing that sucks is how limited my employment has become do to riding a bike...my major source of employment has been industrial trade work for the past 12 years and usually requires driving having a truck to tote tons of tools from jobsite to jobsite....I don't miss the aggravation of hauling around all my tools , but I miss the money at times.

What I love is the sense of independence and simplicity my life has (d)evolved into...rain...yep I hate it...and I hate toting rain gear all the time not knowing when I'm gonna get stuck in a downpour...but I deal with it. Riding at nite...yep it's dangerous and I don't always feel uber safe...but I have lites ,I carry backup batteries and use relective stuff...knock wood not been runover yet.

It's always easy to come up with excuses not to want to do things...I really don't want to finish my bathroom remodel this weekend...but I will.

Carfree is definately a big effin change for anyone...most Americans ain't programmed that way...it can be done. I don't think I'll ever get my liscense back...screw it..I don't need it.

lol - I think the question could be - what is your barrier to become not-car-free (car dependent?)?

Money to buy a car

Red tape/licencing/drivers tests/etc

No Place to Park/Parking fees

Insurance

Danger of car accidents

Price of gas

Loss of personal time due to traffic congestion

Given all these I'm kinda surprised so many people actually have cars. Perhaps we should look into it - it seems to be a major social problem. :)

having to haul kids around to their places

What keeps me car-lite is that I live in a mid-western rural small
town that is one of the many hollowed out towns left over from
the old days of better times. There are NO mass transit means
at all within several hundred miles of where I live nor are there
any medical faclities within 30 miles. All on bad 2 lane roads. :eek:

To shop for food I must drive 25 mi or 17 mi one way to stock up
once a month. However, much of what we need I bring to us buy
shopping the net alot. Many web stores offer free shipping which cuts
our expenses even more.:D

When I'm in town I bike/trike my way around using a car only when I
MUST leave town which I limit as much as possible.

60 days a year with temps above 110, and 120 over 100 (AZ desert) and 4 children, and our area lacks public transportation. I don't mind the commute in the summer, and my children love their bicycles, but as they say, children and the elderly need to be careful in the extreme heat. In fact here it is the last day of September and 105 degrees.

I am a non-car-owner, but my partner (with whom I live) still has a car. She wants to sell it, but hasn't taken the plunge yet. We want to have the ability to use a car easily just in case the need arises and fortunately there's Philly Car Share, which just recently eliminated monthly/yearly fees for their non-premium members.

We use the car occasionally when we're going somewhere out of town or when the weather's not so good. (I ride my bike in all kinds of weather but she doesn't do the same.) The car also gets used for carrying stuff that doesn't fit well in or on top of my 45-gallon bike trailer.

Anyway, those are my current hurdles. What are yours?
I've never driven a car a day in my life (keep in mind I'm only 20) so going car-free for me is no problem without any hurdles.

Hurdles I can see are if you have kids or live in a rural area where it may take a while to get to.

* absolutely despise going anywhere after dark on the bicycle. I bought a $50 Cateye light, but it seems to run out of battery when I least expect. Solution: maybe buy a wheel generator + light from Peter White Cycles sometime. I think you can get set up for about $150 or so. However, still have the problem that I hate travelling at night on bicycle.


Get an LED light. They're not expensive, and batteries last for 200+ hours. I bought my LED light three months ago, I ride at night several times a week (I'm fond of music and beer), and I'm still using the original batteries. (But I keep a couple of extra batteries with me, just in case...)

There are NO mass transit means
at all within several hundred miles of where I live

Yeah, I forgot about this when I made my list above. If you are bike commuting and wish to be car free, you really need a Plan B for when the weather is bad or the bike is in the shop. Where I live, there is public transportation. However, last time I tried it (more than 5 years ago...) it took 1.5 hours to get to work. However, it might be better these days. I need to try it out some day. I'll add that to my list.

Boils down to real estate costs and my salary. I could be car free, but I have bills to pay (school loans) and I don't want to pay a such a substantial percentage of my income for just housing. My work is 34 miles away, doable in the summer, but not now. I do, however, in some weeks drive to work, bike home, then bike back the next morning, then drive home; my work's flexible hours let me do this, otherwise it wouldn't happen. Note that I just graduated and I'm at first job in my discipline, so I expect to make sacrafices like living so far from work.

Owning a car isn't an expense for me, gas + insurance + parts (I do all work, just did the brakes thursday) is still far less than any compareble place near work (<10 miles), plus I'm closer to family and friends.

But I still dream of the day where I can ditch the car have everything within 10 miles.

Hurdles...
An S.O. with a car, which fosters my laziness which prevents me from doing things other than commuting/joyriding with my bike.
If I didn't have the "you can always pick that up on this week's grocery/mall run on the weekend" sitting in the back of my mind, I'd do more errands on the bike..that and a lack of good mounting mechanisms for my lock+cable.

* although I commute to work daily, I seem to lack the energy for the 1/2 miles trip to the grocery store. I do it sometimes, but always feel I'm not equipped enough for dragging the groceries back. I have to make too many trips, daily in fact. Solution: thinking about buying one of those used Burley kid haulers... or maybe a single wheel trailer.


FWIW if you are thinking of getting a bike trailer and you find the price discouraging, check out bike trailers at your local __mart store. Last time I looked they were around $100. Not a bad price to pay to see how you and your bike function as a cargo hauler.

Hurdles...
An S.O. with a car, which fosters my laziness which prevents me from doing things other than commuting/joyriding with my bike.
If I didn't have the "you can always pick that up on this week's grocery/mall run on the weekend" sitting in the back of my mind, I'd do more errands on the bike..that and a lack of good mounting mechanisms for my lock+cable.

Yup it is the car me and SO bought just before we got married. she needs it for groceries, even though I'm trying to do the European thing and stop by the market every night on the way home to pick up fresh foods for dinner. I just can't seem to convince her that me with the bike, a couple of large panniers, and a backpack can keep our pantry stocked. (she uses transit to commute).

I hate that car, and I hate the 320 dollar monthly payment on it. That's more than half our mortgage payment, and we only spend an hour a week in the car. as Opus said, "Phbtthhhtttt!" and god forbid I use it for something it is really useful for like two bales of straw or four hundred pounds of compost. Then I get read the riot act for making it dirty. Like we intend to start eating out of the trunk any time soon.

sigh. why do we pamper these stupid machines so much? I've considered skipping the maintence on it in the hopes of killing it off.

In some ways I'm lucky. She agrees with me that keeping it in the garage is a dumb idea, so we have a wood shop/bike repair garage that is also storing much of the produce from my garden.

... (she uses transit to commute).
In some ways I'm lucky. She agrees with me that keeping it in the garage is a dumb idea, so we have a wood shop/bike repair garage that is also storing much of the produce from my garden.
Sounds like she is halfway there. You should look at it this way: by the time you get the car paid off, she will probably see it your way. Your current car will be in pristine shape and maybe you can sell it for a good price.

My hurdle in going from car lite to car free is my love of snowboarding, hiking, biking, and camping in the mountains nearby. I hear that they have shuttles for boarding but the shuttle costs almost as much as it does for me to maintain my old prizm. And hiking and camping in secluded places isn't exactly "get a cab" material. ;)

Mainly it's a lack of mass transit here. There is one bus line that runs north and south on US1. I've checked the schedule, and being that it is basically one bus running a loop, it takes forever to get anywhere. In the next city north of me it does branch out a little bit, but not nearly as far as I need to go. I could bike but a suit looks terrible after an hour on a bike in S. Florida.

snow

I think there are quite a few car-free wannabees out there. I'm certainly one. I think I'm headed in the right direction, but slowly... Here's a couple of things I'm working on:

* although I commute to work daily, I seem to lack the energy for the 1/2 miles trip to the grocery store. I do it sometimes, but always feel I'm not equipped enough for dragging the groceries back. I have to make too many trips, daily in fact. Solution: thinking about buying one of those used Burley kid haulers... or maybe a single wheel trailer.

* absolutely despise going anywhere after dark on the bicycle. I bought a $50 Cateye light, but it seems to run out of battery when I least expect. Solution: maybe buy a wheel generator + light from Peter White Cycles sometime. I think you can get set up for about $150 or so. However, still have the problem that I hate travelling at night on bicycle.

Anyway, those are my current hurdles. What are yours?

For the first hurdle: if you lack the energy to ride 1/2 mile on a bike (That's about 3 minutes, even at low speeds), you should probably see a doctor. You might have an undiagnosed condition that makes even minor exertion difficult. If the doctor passes you, maybe you just need more exercise. It can take a few weeks of progressively difficult riding before you are in good enough shape to do your daily riding. Don't give up now! good health and fitness are worth the initial struggle. It feels so good to know that you can move your body for a long time, and cover some good distances under your own power.

For the second hurdle: I'm not buying it. A $50 cateye is probably an LED light. The batteries will go at least 30 hours, and they drain gradually to give you some warning before they totally black out. I change mine on the first day of every month, just to be on the safe side. 30 hours of battery life is more than a month for all but the longest commutes. As for "hating" night travel: maybe you hate it because it is something you're not usd to it. I hated it a first, but after a few trips I came to cherish my nightly commute. Give it a chance--you might grow to love it.

gerv--what are the real hurdles? These ones really don't seem so insurmountable. Maybe you just don't really like riding that much? If so, that's fine--just find something else that you do enjoy for exercise and fun. But do something!

If you do decide to keep riding, just hang in there, keep trying. Before you know it, it will be just as easy for you as it is for me and the millions of other people who ride bikes for transportation. Mostly...Have fun and keep moving! :)

Kids...my youngest DD had a minor cold this weekend that took a turn for the worst overnight. I rushed her to the nearest clinic when she started to complain of shortness of breath. Scary, very scary. She's OK, severe bronchitis, fortunately they were able to get it calmed down. Family is quite a distance away. I suppose I could have called an ambulance. Hard to give up peace of mind...

For the first hurdle: if you lack the energy to ride 1/2 mile on a bike (That's about 3 minutes, even at low speeds)
I do 15 miles a day bike commuting, so when I say I'm "lazy", I mean I hate going to the grocery store 5 times a week to buy smaller amounts. It's more "shopping aversion" than laziness. I think a used Burley trailer is in my future.


As for "hating" night travel: maybe you hate it because it is something you're not usd to it. I hated it a first, but after a few trips I came to cherish my nightly commute. Give it a chance--you might grow to love it.
Good point. I used to hate biking in the rain... but when I did it a few times, I realized it was fun.

Get an LED light. They're not expensive, and batteries last for 200+ hours. I bought my LED light three months ago, I ride at night several times a week (I'm fond of music and beer), and I'm still using the original batteries. (But I keep a couple of extra batteries with me, just in case...)
+1

Right now the biggest obstacle is trying to get a job. The career field I'm trying to get into requires multiple trips for testing, interviews, meetings, etc. Which wouldn't be a big deal except I'm testing with multiple agencies and I need the car for my ~120 mile trips. It's a PITA.

1) Job - it's 21 miles each way, on narrow/fast roads, with inconsiderate/ignorant motorists, and I often have to use my vehicle for work purposes. I've already explored alternate routes, and be run off the road numerous times.

2) Kids - The wife thinks she could sometimes bike them to pre-school, it's about 7 miles each way. What about on rainy, snowy, ill-temperate >90 or <45 degree days? The kids love to go on bike rides, and I'd like to keep it that way.

BTW, I love riding at night with my HID light.

There is no hurdle, its just not something that I want to do, that is not change my lifestyle - instead have the ease to go hiking or backpacking on weekends, ability to go to concerts/shows/events that are >20mi from my house, doing my own yard and house remodel and picking up my own large/bulky supplies. So I am glad I have a paid for 2dr Explorer to do those things.
This does not mean I use it when cycling is a better option, I cycle commute every day to work, ride to the start of every club ride or cycling event (or don't sign up if >30mi away), I do all my local errands (shopping, groceries, dr, dentist) on bike too.

Al

Having always chosen to live in locations with nice climates. I'd say bad weather. My club members won't go out if it is drizzly.

Get an LED light. They're not expensive, and batteries last for 200+ hours. I bought my LED light three months ago, I ride at night several times a week (I'm fond of music and beer), and I'm still using the original batteries. (But I keep a couple of extra batteries with me, just in case...)

I have an LED light too. The batteries do seem to last forever. However they are not nearly as bright as a halogen, HID, or ect light. I bought and mostly use my halogen light because of my frustration over the brightness of my cateye LED.

Currently, another year or two of school. i'm finding I don't have the energy and the dog doesn't have the bladder control for 4-6 hours round-trip commuting on top of 8-12 hours on campus.
After school: Work supplies and shows. I'm in school for ceramics/pottery and [hopefully] blacksmithing. The tools I can manage, but picking up 1000lbs of clay. I'm hoping I can get steel stock delivered. Shows I have to have my own setup for, and haul myself...along with my work-for-sale.

I am finding ways to make the car a work-only vehicle and do everything else by bike.

*EDIT* Almost forgot: puppy transport. Pooch weighs half what I do.

work. cant commute to work without a car because nj public transportation is virtually nonexistant and it'd be too long of a bike ride.

Organization. I may be riding a bike, but in the mornings, I am still in a hurry and my brain isn't at 100% yet.

I need to collect my work stuff, just as I would in a car, but I also need the bike stuff - lock, cable, weather-related clothing, helmet, lights, and any other odds and ends - and most of it needs to go into my panniers. After 20 years, I have some systems worked out, but it's still a pain.

BTW, I love riding in the dark, which happens every morning this time of year. I have good lights, and I love the relative quiet. Watching the sun come up is great.

Why am I not car free?

Money.

I have some now.

I was car free for 3 years when I was dead ass broke.

Organization. I may be riding a bike, but in the mornings, I am still in a hurry and my brain isn't at 100% yet.

I need to collect my work stuff, just as I would in a car, but I also need the bike stuff - lock, cable, weather-related clothing, helmet, lights, and any other odds and ends - and most of it needs to go into my panniers. After 20 years, I have some systems worked out, but it's still a pain.

BTW, I love riding in the dark, which happens every morning this time of year. I have good lights, and I love the relative quiet. Watching the sun come up is great.
Yeah, seeing a beautiful sunrise puts the whole day in the proper perspective: Comapred to the big sun and the big world, my work problems are pretty small. And a quick ride in the early morning chill will wake you up better than 12 pots of coffee! Ever try packing everything in your panniers the night before, then just grab them in the morning and ride?

I need to figure out how to ride 34 mph then I would do it more often I only have a half hour to get out of school and show at work

running errands in bad weather when I'm sick.

running errands in bad weather when I'm sick.
You soon get used to bad weather, and find the right gear to deal with it. If you're sick you should be home in bed watching Scrubs reruns.

running errands in bad weather when I'm sick.
I talk to people in my town who seem to have given up bike commuting because we are getting temperatures below 40F. They seem terrified of cold weather and biking.

That's too bad because it isn't that awful on a bike on a winter's day when it's in the 20s and 30s. In fact, it's downright exhilarating. You need the right clothes, but there's nothing to fear.

I know there are some days when the weather is truly awful. But, if the weather's pretty icy or with blizzard-like conditions, maybe you shouldn't be driving a car either. I don't know if it's because of global warming or what, but last winter I counted about 10 of these days. The rest of the winter wasn't bad.

I get tired.

I have a 2 year old.

My wife needs a car because she doesn't really ride much.

I go racing and need a car to travel there.

But I am about 4/5ths there. If everybody in the US did things the way I do, we'd be a damn sight better off.

My hurdle in going from car lite to car free is my love of snowboarding, hiking, biking, and camping in the mountains nearby. I hear that they have shuttles for boarding but the shuttle costs almost as much as it does for me to maintain my old prizm. And hiking and camping in secluded places isn't exactly "get a cab" material. ;)

I'll second the above! I ride almost everyday but usually drive somewhere West of Denver to hike, ride or ski. I haven't done much riding for utility purposes but am beginning to thin out the posessions and break the buying everything in sight cycle.

But I am about 4/5ths there. If everybody in the US did things the way I do, we'd be a damn sight better off.


I haven't done much riding for utility purposes but am beginning to thin out the posessions and break the buying everything in sight cycle.
Good for you both. Do you find this forum to be a useful source of information and encouragement?

My biggest hurdles up to this point have been the easy access I had to a car and the cold rain. I no longer have car access so my choices are to walk 10 blocks to the bus and pay for the bus, or ride my bike about 4 miles to work. I'd much rather ride! Once the car was out of the equation I find it very easy to get up every morning and hop on the bike. Thanks to this forum and some bikey people at work I've got proper rain gear and have learned how to dress for the colder weather.

Now my hurdles are carrying groceries home and the fact that only one of my close friends has a bike. Whenever we go anywhere in a group it is mostly by car and sometimes by foot.

Well, that always is a *most* interesting topic, I've always thought. The reasons we choose to fence ourselves in from getting to our dream/goal/whatever are quite tenacious and self sabotaging. We always think somehow our own little excuses are valid enough... heh, heh. Well, these are mine:

1. I live 2100 ft elevation and 10 miles from the edge of town, which is at sea level.

2. I am unemployed, and whenever I *do* go into town, it's to get a bunch of stuff.... like groceries mostly.

Given those two major reasons, I have to say I am bound and determined to achieve total Car Liteness. Is it okay for me to hang with you on this CarFree Forum???? ~jen

Jen, Feel free to hang out and I think Car lightness is a cool thing. For me there is nothing wrong with cars per se, it’s their over use that is the problem. FWIW you sound like a good candidate for a compromise between motorized travel and human power. How about a human electric hybrid bike with cargo capacity for groceries and power to climb those hills? http://cleverchimp.com/products/stokemonkey/

my biggest hurdles are waking up to ride to school, my truck just there tempting me to sleep in a lil longer, riding in the rain, night work, i used to ride all summer to work at night but the winter is a different story in jersey. i think if i didnt have my truck and i was a little bit better on getting up i'd be car free. i'd deff. be car free if i was in the city again but sadly i'm not.

my biggest hurdles are waking up to ride to school, my truck just there tempting me to sleep in a lil longer, riding in the rain, night work, i used to ride all summer to work at night but the winter is a different story in jersey. i think if i didnt have my truck and i was a little bit better on getting up i'd be car free. i'd deff. be car free if i was in the city again but sadly i'm not.
Thanks for your support! A person's ability to live car free is strongly influenced by long term decisions, such as where to live and which job to take. From time to time we get opportunities to make new long term choices. For people who want to have an option for carfree living, when the time comes for new long term choices, just remember to factor in the things we talk about here in the LCF subforum. Until then, wave when you see us out there on the road!

I am a single parent with 50% custody of my 6 year old daughter. (One week with me, one week with Mom - We live 3 miles apart in the same school district) If I tried to become "car free" then I can definitely envision my ex-wife trying to use said lack of vehicle as grounds for me to lose custody. In the eyes of the Friend of the Court I am quite certain that they would equate no car with not being able to properly care for my daughter. They may ask questions like these....

1) How would I get her to the ER if something terrible happened?
2) How will I get her to school in bad weather? (I live in Michigan - SNOW)
3) How cold will she get when I haul her around on a bike in winter?
4) How wet will she get when i haul her around on a bike in the rain?

I am not car free nor do I plan on it but I would be interested in hearing others feedback on the points I have raised. I am sure there are other single parents with custody issues that would concern them if they were to pursue becoming car free.

Hi Lance, indeed the situation presents many obstacles to becoming car free at this point in your life. I don't see a problem, though, because you are not currently car free and you said you do not plan to become car free.

work. cant commute to work without a car because nj public transportation is virtually nonexistant and it'd be too long of a bike ride.

Where in NJ are you? I'm in South Jersey and I can get by with my bike, and the various bus routes in the area, plus the Patco line to Philly, and NJT to AC....you can also take your bike on the train/bus/light rail too. Check out the River line, each train can store up to 6 bikes each.

my biggest hurdles are waking up to ride to school, my truck just there tempting me to sleep in a lil longer, riding in the rain, night work, i used to ride all summer to work at night but the winter is a different story in jersey. i think if i didnt have my truck and i was a little bit better on getting up i'd be car free. i'd deff. be car free if i was in the city again but sadly i'm not.
This is a problem with motivation, not a problem with logistics. That warm cozy bed is calling your name and keeping you from doing things that you really want to do. So get up off your lazy butt and start cranking. :)