First week car-free

[kafkaesque]

My roommate and I have been car-light for a few years, meaning the two of us share one car. We have lived in three different cities either as neighbors or roommates and it has worked out with only minor inconveniences. Mostly due the fact that she is a grad student and takes the bus to school; I used to drive to work everyday.

I started bike commuting a couple of months ago. The car did not get used a lot but it was nice to have it available - for heavy grocery trips (cat litter, dog and cat food etc) or bad weather, or when I over slept, picking up friends etc.

So, roommate is out of town for 5 weeks and took the car, she left one week ago.
Now I ride to work with no backup and can make no excuses. I would sometimes only ride 3 or 4 days a week. Rode all last week and it was great. Made some small trips to the local grocery this weekend. It has been really cool. So far I have not missed it at all, we will see how that goes.
I did stock up on stuff before she left and have not had to make any heavy loaded trips yet. Next week though.

[vulpes]

Sometimes it just takes the nudge of necessity to move us in a different direction that we end up wishing we had taken long before. That's what happened with me and I'm loving it.

With the proper equipment, i.e. racks, panniers, baskets, maybe a trailer, and/or more frequent trips to the store, I think you'll find that you can do all your shopping by bike. I don't have any trouble with 20 lb sacks of potatoes, dog food, or charcoal for the grill along with the rest.

May all the hills slope away from you and the wind always be at your back.

[acroy]

Good job!
i went entirely car-free for a week a few years back when all 5 (yes 5) cars were out of commission ;)
since then car-lite but always bike to work.
Cheers and enjoy

[kafkaesque]

Sometimes it just takes the nudge of necessity to move us in a different direction that

True. This morning was a perfect example; I was pumping up a tire and blew out the base of the valve stem. I was already running a little late, normally I would have just said to heck with it, I will drive and fix this later. Today just a quick call to the office, the tube change was fast and I was back on the road enjoying the breeze of the lakeside ride. Easy.

[likeakidagain]

welcome to the carfreelife!