Living Car Free - I've been driving

I feel like a sell-out!

My grandpa gave me use of his truck since he's too old to drive. I haven't ridden my bike in two weeks, prior to this I rode about 15-25 miles a day for the past 4 years or thereabouts and never drove. I can feel my muscles shrinking, my lung capacity diminishing, ahhhh!!

It is very handy having this truck to get to school which is about 18 miles each way. I would've cycled it in the past but there are no safe roads to it so I was cycling to downtown and catching the bus from there.

Everyday I see my bike sitting there wasting away and I decide to drive the 2 miles to the coffee shop or the library,etc instead of pedaling.

I need some motivation....yell at me about how I'm a cager, supporting middle eastern dictators, global warming, runoff pollution. It's like I'm stuck, I just gotta go park the truck at my grandpa's and tell him to take the keys cause this driving thing isn't good!!!!!!!!

Ah, there's no reason to feel like you're letting anyone down. Make whatever choices you are happy with.

Go car lite. Truck to school. Bike to everything else that's under ten miles, or whatever you're comfortable with.

Or even better, drive everywhere for a month or so. Figure out how much you're saving in just gas per month by riding.

A neighbor who has two kids and has been car free for at least 15 years received a car as a gift a few weeks ago. She told me she drove the kids to the playground, 1.5 block away so they could get some exercise, then drove them two more blocks to drop off a friend. Its incredible how quickly she got back into the drive everywhere mentality. She wasn't under any time pressure, even if she was strapping the kids in and out of the car seats and finding parking at the three locations eats up a good chunk of the walking time on such short trips. Plus, its a pleasant safe walk among the three destinations. Maybe there is a novelty factor here.

I need some motivation....yell at me about how I'm a cager, supporting middle eastern dictators, global warming, runoff pollution. It's like I'm stuck, I just gotta go park the truck at my grandpa's and tell him to take the keys cause this driving thing isn't good!!!!!!!!

SPANK! SPANK! SPANK! SPANK!!
OK......OK..........already. The "new" is gone off the truck now park the damn thing an' let's get on
with a the car-free good life again.

ENOUGH OF THIS BACK SLIDING!!!:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Try cycling a few times a week - see which you like better. Or put the bike in the back of the truck an ride partway.

Or put the gas money you save every time you ride in into a travel fund - that may motivate you (I'm assuming that's what you're looking for).

Or put the bike in the back of the truck an ride partway

I think this one is a great suggestion. In major cities, it's normal for cars to have trip-average speeds of 25 miles per hour or less. If there's a portion of your commute that's like that, (you know the drill--traffic lights or stop signs every 30 seconds, freeways with bumper-to-bumper traffic) try to at least make sure you ride instead of drive in that part of the city. If the close-to-home part of the commute is the slow part then that might give you an excuse to keep the truck parked away from home, where you'll have no temptation to use it for trips under 10 miles.

Take a spark plug out of the truck and mail it to yourself. That'll give you a few days to re-evaluate.

Take a spark plug out of the truck and mail it to yourself. That'll give you a few days to re-evaluate.

NOW thats A GOOD idea

Take a spark plug out and eat it, that will also give you a few days to think about it.

You could find some parking really far away and then have to bike to drive.

Take a spark plug out and eat it, that will also give you a few days to think about it.
:D

Get it OVERHAULED by Chip Foose. That should buy you a week and then the truck will be so slick you won't dare drive it for fear of chipping the paint! ;)

And think of the sweet bicycle themed design he will concoct. The first truck with a brooks saddle for a driver's seat.

Same thing happened to me: I got a car, and, because of my inherent laziness, the bike collected dust on the balcony while I was busy tooling around town, pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as if I were a Republican. My solution was to donate the car to charity, and I haven't regretted my decision even once. Carless is way saner, both mentally and financially.

Ditch the automobile completely. It's the instrument of the Devil, and will rob you of your soul and give you jelly where your legs used to be.

It's the instrument of the Devil, and will rob you of your soul and give you jelly where your legs used to be.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, jelly!

I'm back to being CarFREE!!

Until last week I had been using the company car because I was out of town working, no that that project is over I am totally car free. I gave the truck to my older brother.
I can tell I haven't been riding for a few months. Did 20 miles yesterday, wasn't sore but the hills seemed a lot bigger than they previously did.

It feels great to be back on the bike!



ciao

Welcome back! Did you actually follow any of the advice here? Did you eat or mail a spark plug?

Same thing happened to me: I got a car, and, because of my inherent laziness, the bike collected dust on the balcony while I was busy tooling around town, pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as if I were a Republican. My solution was to donate the car to charity, and I haven't regretted my decision even once. Carless is way saner, both mentally and financially.

Ditch the automobile completely. It's the instrument of the Devil, and will rob you of your soul and give you jelly where your legs used to be.


As if Democrats don't drive and pump the same gasses into the atmosphere?

:rolleyes:

Someone find me a cold fish to slap my _itch up....