Living Car Free - When will you be too old for car-free?

Despite still being fairly young, i have noticed over the last few years that it has started to get cold in the winter! Last year my enthusiasm was maintained through a combination of very mild winter and a new bike. This morning, though, i needed my lights again for the first time in months and i am remembering the cold, wet, dark winters that i (we) cycle through and thinking of how dry and warm a car is even though i don't actually like driving, particularly my commute.

So long do you think you will be able to put yourself through being car-free year round?

that's hard to say exactly but I think in general you would gradually slide away from the bike towards other means of transport as you age.

having said that I'd always seek public transport, a recumbant bike, car pools and the like, instead of an 'either/or' bike & car situation.

I say all this because in my 20s I could ride to work 5 days a week with no problems; in my thirties i usually needed one day off or i started getting tired and cranky. Now, at 43, if I ride more than 4 days in a row to work my neck and back get achy and I definitely lose some zip in my legs. I have to balance out my commuting and weekend long rides (A long ride on weekend leads to 2 or 3 days commuting at best the following week; 4-5 days commuting in a week means I have less ooomph - if any - to offer the following weekend).

ymmv, of course.....In addition to the alternate transport i mentioned, I am trying to mix more crosstraining in as I age to keep more flexible, strong and limber. weights are good (low wt, high reps) and yoga has been an absolute godsend in the last 5 years or so!:)

One of my heroes is a woman who's about 80 years old, lives out in the burbs where almost everyone drives, and doesn't have a car. She rides a nice old bike (fenders, rack, 6-speed, one derailler, sprung saddle, cruiser bars) and she's in great shape for her age.

Oldest member of my club 78 yrs old --- commuted from first grade to 2 yrs ago.

I'm not car free but I think it would be easier when your kids are on their own. And a lot of older people are car free involuntarily if they can't drive or can't afford a car. The key is to live somewhere that supports it: a downtown condo, or right off main street in a town that still has a working main street.

nevah! at least till i can't ride no more ;)

In my 30's I thought there might be a time when it would become impractical because of dangers on the road. But I've learned that the solution was to move to a nicer neighborhood where I can bike safely. Twenty years on, I can see that at some point I might not be able to go on. But till then...

Right about when they pry my bike from my cold dead fingers.

This poll is ridiculous. The older people get the less capable they are of driving. Your eyes and your reflexes usually go way before your legs do.

I was too lazy to ride yesterday (rain not age) and today I'm feeling stiff and achy. Ride every day and you'll prevent most of the problems of premature aging. (Of course you'll still get old, but you'll more likely stay in good shape til the end.)

I'm 52. I pay attention to my body and provide it with challenges all the time. I'm stronger now, and a faster rider, than I've ever been. The trick is to keep trying stuff that's hard for you. Fitness is progressive, never static.

When will you be too old for car-free?

If the fates are willing, right about the time that the worms sharpen their cutlery.


I was too lazy to ride yesterday

Sell your car, and then that won't happen. :)

Age has nothing whatsoever to do with when to stop cycling.

Physical ability and desire are the important factors.

I assume I will be riding the bike and then wipe out and end up being buried right there (or road kill)

Another vote for "they'll have to pry the bike out of my fingers".

I'm forty now.

Ten years from now, I intend to be a better rider in every way than I am today.

Thirty years from now, I'll be a little slower, but I'll be smarter...and if there's a way to haul my aging bones over that mountain range, I'll find it.

And in fifty years, I hope they'll be saying, "...and then one day last fall, the old son-of-a-***** just rode off and never came back. They never did find him. Maybe he's still riding..."

Another vote for "they'll have to pry the bike out of my fingers".

I'm forty now.

Ten years from now, I intend to be a better rider in every way than I am today.

Thirty years from now, I'll be a little slower, but I'll be smarter...and if there's a way to haul my aging bones over that mountain range, I'll find it.

And in fifty years, I hope they'll be saying, "...and then one day last fall, the old son-of-a-***** just rode off and never came back. They never did find him. Maybe he's still riding..."

:beer: I just turned the big 4 - 0 myself, and I think I'm gonna use that as my philosophy.
Old eskimos float off on icebergs, and old cyclists pedal off into the sunset.

Being car free involves more than bicycling. Cycling is great when you can do it, but you can't always: weather, illness, time. Even living downtown is no guarantee, because some things have moved out and you may have to go to them in the far suburbs. Car free must also include convenient access to decent rapid transit. It's not just a matter of age either, because nobody, not even the young and healthy are guaranteed that health. I'm all for promoting cycling, but it's only one aspect of being car free, even for cyclists. There has to be public, rapid transit that goes where people live and where they need to go.

Being car free involves more than bicycling. Cycling is great when you can do it, but you can't always: weather, illness, time. Even living downtown is no guarantee, because some things have moved out and you may have to go to them in the far suburbs. Car free must also include convenient access to decent rapid transit. It's not just a matter of age either, because nobody, not even the young and healthy are guaranteed that health. I'm all for promoting cycling, but it's only one aspect of being car free, even for cyclists. There has to be public, rapid transit that goes where people live and where they need to go.

That is true. A couple of years ago I tore my Achilles tendon and could not ride for several months.

I assume I will be riding the bike and then wipe out and end up being buried right there (or road kill)


I have a business card wrapped in plastic and taped to the underside on my Brooks.

It simply says

"I died happy"
:D

Sell your car, and then that won't happen. :)

I haven't had a car for years. I got a ride to work in my landlord's Cadillac.:o
He lives one flight down from me, and works one flight up. So at least I wasn't causing any additional car usage.

My dad's neighbor is 76. He rides the DALMAC (300 miles) and a couple other big rides every year. I'm 52 and he's a big inspiration to me.

The poll, it is silly. 60's? Pfff. MAYBE in my 80s...

The poll, it is silly. 60's? Pfff. MAYBE in my 80s... Lots of them young snot-nose kids figure life's practically over at 50 and 60's is just unfathomably deep old age and decrepitude. :D

Being car free involves more than bicycling. Cycling is great when you can do it, but you can't always: weather, illness, time. Even living downtown is no guarantee, because some things have moved out and you may have to go to them in the far suburbs. Car free must also include convenient access to decent rapid transit. It's not just a matter of age either, because nobody, not even the young and healthy are guaranteed that health. I'm all for promoting cycling, but it's only one aspect of being car free, even for cyclists. There has to be public, rapid transit that goes where people live and where they need to go.

Agreed.

I'll also add there are plenty of these towns all over the nation. I live in one. However, if the time comes when you can no longer cycle, does this mean you should drive in your poor condition?

This is an important question because as the population ages, millions of the elderly who should not be driving will be on the road. Statistics show they are just as dangerous as teenagers when it comes to driving a motorcar. Many end up killing and injuring thousands of individuals including themselves.

The question should not be if I'm too old to become carfree. The right question is I'm I going to be too old to remain car dependant!

One thing is certain, I don't want to be 80 years old, overweight, failing health with poor vision living in the burbs without any public transportation, miles from a local hospital.

Hopefully there will be a point in my life where I own enough land that transportation won't be an issue because I'll be getting all I need from my land, and whatever roams across it.

It's just silly to put an age limit on being car-free. Being car-free probably extends your useful life span. Take my grandfather. He wasn't car-free, but he only used the car for vacations. He smoked, and drank three glasses of wine a day, sometimes quite a bit more. He walked at least ten miles a day. At the age of 70, he could walk teenagers to exhaustion. He was active, fit, and mentally sharp until shortly before his death of lung cancer (go figure) at the age of 83. This is what I imagine will be the case with any active person who takes care of himself. I figure I can bike, walk, maybe even run until I fall over dead at a ripe old age. It's not the clock that incapacitates you; it's the sedentary lifestyle. The world is full of old people who keep on doing what they do because they didn't have the option of sitting in cars and packing on the pounds. They should be our role models.

I'm 41 and I'll bet that driving a car (at least one that burns fossil fuels) will no longer be a viable option in society as I get into my 60's, 70's, 80's.

Anyhow, this whole thread is irrelevant since I fully intend to live, and ride, forever. :D

I don't have a car now and I don't plan on having one ever. If my age and ability become an issue down the road I am prepared to move to a more compact city that will better suite my lifestyle.

I have a friend who is now 75. He has been car free ever since he retired. He is in great shape for 75. He can carry a couple days worth of groceries in his panniers. He commutes up to about 25 miles to complete errands. I think he is actually car free because he is too cheap to worry about cars.

well I'm 23/stupid and invincible. so never :)

This poll is ridiculous. The older people get the less capable they are of driving. Your eyes and your reflexes usually go way before your legs do.

That's not a good argument for keeping on a bike at advanced ages.

But I agree you'd do less damage on a bike than in a car.

I agree with most here who say you can keep going as long as you feel relatively able to. But I think it's unrealistic to state you'll always be riding just like you are today. things happen. Sometimes its gradual, like it's been for me. Other times it's an illness or accident, etc. I do think your recovery time will lessen over time but if you adjust your expectations, your riding style (bike fit, speed, etc) most of us should be able to still ride vigorously into their 60s and 70s at least, esp with the healthcare available today (well, for some of us, anyway).

I recall reading Chuck Yeager's autobiography and he stated that his sharp eyesight (which essentially made him the ace pilot he was) was still right there at his 70s and he still enjoying hiking in the woods just as always. So, yeah, it's possible....there are lots of other stories where people's activities get curtailed at too early an age.

This poll is ridiculous. The older people get the less capable they are of driving. Your eyes and your reflexes usually go way before your legs do.

+1. But just this one, none of the other polls are ridiculous.;)

I figure that by the time I'm 70 (only 18 years from now), almost everybody will be carfree, whether they want to be or not. So I'll have a leg up on most people!