Living Car Free - The car-free teenager thread

Doesn't work when your girlfriend goes to a neighboring college 3 hours away. Car-free works for me in the city because the Uni is 20 minutes away by bike, though. Not to mention parking is horrendous in the city.

Hell yeah! I'm technically still a teenager. Just went officially car-free this september. I just couldn't wait until I could post in this thread.

no car, no girlfriend, no problem. :D

Im car free and bike free. So I dont have any transportation till I get a bike. Im mostly going to ride to the towns 10,20 and 30 miles away. I havent got a car license yet. Im 20 years old.

I feel yah bro ^. Car free licence free 20 years old

but not for long...new born is coming home soon and i need a car unfortunatly

Car free, eighteen, bike eight miles roundtrip to work and wouldn't have it any other way.
The way I see it, my cost of fuel is also my grocery cost every month.
Miles to the burrito. ;)

Lol guys, I'm only 15 years old and I have never drove a car. It is really an awesome thing to just go by bike. Feels great, good excercise, not much money (cuz I only have a few hundred dollars in my bank account =( ) and you get a lot of experience from it. I even bike when it is icy and snowy!

I ride a 24" Mongoose XR-75 bike I had since 7th grade from Walmart. Now I'm a sophomore in Highschool and I upgraded the bike's pedals, brakes, seat, kickstand, and put fenders (A MUST HAVE) on it. Nothing broken and its amazing how well the bike has stood up despite it being 3 years old and from Wally World.

P.S. I bought a drill and drilled 2 holes in the fork in order to put the front fender in it using nuts and bolts. For fenders you may need to drill holes into the fork.

Some inspiring stories here. Pretty disheartening to hear of unsupportive parents though when it comes to showing disinterest in the car lifestyle. A generation-gap issue perhaps? I've been car free for some time and have managed just fine walking and cycling to places. I acknowledge that a driver's license is a highly beneficial tool though so I'll be grabbing one soon enough. You know, for the times when I want to transport my bike to ride somewhere a bit further from home :D

Currently, i am car-free. But that was because my parents were in deep financial troubles at the time, (step dad being laid-off) so we had to sell my vehicle. After getting back into bicycling, I do plan to get a vehicle, but only for the long trips. Maybe i can just get on my parent's insurance for the time being.

"no car, no girlfriend, no problem."

awesome Brandon, love that quote xD

As for me i'm 18, no license, no car, 3 bikes : D I live in nyc so going places ain't a problem cept when I want to race somewhere upstate or further away... but instead of hitching a ride with my team this year I think im just going to get there a day or two prior, and make a double- century out of the whole thing, stay at a cheap motel and all that fun stuff.

I hate cars. They smell, make me sick and most of them look like ****. When they invent a car that's mostly carbon, has a dura ace engine, with a weight under 20 lbs then i might consider it :P

I'd be happy if the driving age would be raised to 21 tbh

I need to get car-lighter and want to end up car-free by next fall. I'm 23 and while I love my truck (01 Dakota, had it since my sophomore year of college putting about 38k miles since) its getting up in years and miles (123k at last count), I'm getting tired of paying for it. I have student loans from undergrad and am paying my way through my M.Ed with more loans while living at home and earning a paycheck through coaching a couple high school sports, working friday nights at the YMCA, and working in the special-ed department of a local high school. In other words, I am not making too much money and am trying to save as much as possible for when I get an apartment in June.

It's the tail-end of winter here in New England and its tough to bike without the proper gear (which I have begun to amass slowly), but its only 6.9 miles from my place to the school. Thats a hop-skip and a jump whether I take my Trek fx hybrid or my new CF roadbike. My only concern is how do I work around a dress code. As a teacher, I need to wear a button-down shirt and tie to school (except for casual fridays). This is obviously not good cycling attire, so how do I get around this? One thought was to drive to work one day a week and keep a week's worth of shirts, ties, slacks and my dress shoes in the classroom and simply change when I get there.

According to my conservative estimates of insurance/gas/etc, the real cost of car ownership put me at saving over 235 bucks a month if I were to be car-free...when I'm trying to save off of a meager paycheck, this is huge money! I just need to plan it out...

I'm trying to AT LEAST go car lite this year. There are a few places I go that are hard to get to via bicycle, but for the most of the destinations I'm going this year I'd love to just bike to.

I can't leave it at work for fear of it being stolen/nowhere to really lock it up to. I'm getting sick of so much money going towards gas to go into my tank. So I'd definitely like to conserve it more by doing this.

I'm a freshman in college and I use my car to commute to school and that's it. If it weren't for that I would definitely get rid of my car. My motorcycle is only $75 for insurance a year and cheap gas too. But that's only for nice days.

Once I get into a university I will definitely be selling my car.

I'd be happy if the driving age would be raised to 21 tbh

Voyek for president!!!!!

I've been car free for almost a year. I just finished up freshman year at university, and the car my parents were willing to sell me was just to much of a hassle. Parking, gas, insurance, no thanks, not when I can get to the farthest reaches of town in 50 minutes, and stay in shape while doing it.

Dude, this is the best situation for you. I'm guessing all of your friends will have cars, and you can bum rides off them. Chip in a few bucks for gas here and there and you're set. If you've really been honest with yourself, and you don't think you'll need a car, don't do it.

going into senior year in a few days....still car free/ liscense free....new bike in the mail coming on the 20th =D. i love riding, have ridden everywhere including school since the 7th grade. the next town over/beach is a short 20 mile ride so thats not bad either. having a girlfriend complicates things a little but it works out fine. until i get a standard schedule job (right now i work for a moving company and forestry crew, but only get called in every once in a while when they need extra help for a job) i wont be getting a car. i am applying for my permit later this month though

Well, about a quarter of my friends think it's cool (it's Eugene Oregon, biking is pretty encouraged here) and the rest think it's fine enough but are already getting cars and licenses themselves (I'm 17). On one hand: I feel GREAT about myself, physically being able to get myself everywhere I go even though I live 25 miles outside of town and bike on the highway to get there, it's sooooo much cheaper!!!, I love the feel of biking and I love my bike. On the other, if I don't feel good or it's REALLY COLD, biking sucks. Sometimes I want to get home and not brave the freezing wind for half an hour in the dark. Buuuut... ultimately, I can deal with it, or catch a bus. It's not always convenient but then again, we are always trying to make things more and more convenient for ourselves. I'm a firm believer that we are tough beings and can definitely bike instead of drive when it comes to a daily basis.

I think it's a good idea to have a license, maybe a car if you go far away often, but use the bike whenever physically possible. Knowing myself I'd get lazy with the convenience so, I'll stick with a bike.

Oh yeah, and parking is super easy - just find something to wrap your lock around or walk it inside and call it good!

Its been a while since the last post on this thread but im not a teen anymore. Im 20, and never really thought about riding my bike as transportation before my car recently broke down. I dont like making excuses but down here in GA its not too common to see people commuting by bike. Share the road is far from the minds of the motorists...
I live in Augusta and it is pretty much suburbs which makes traveling from one side of town to the other a little stretch but as i look back i loved racing and the speed but it wasnt worth it especially with the tickets. I like to imagine myself as above the simple thinking of the masses but how small minded of me to expect my parents to provide me with a car and insurance when i probably didnt even need my own car.
I could've been in much better shape and saved so much $ but now i realize how America's love of the car is so misguided.

ive been car free since i was 16 i sold my ford probe for a nice road bike that was five years ago and im still riding to school on my fg.
total freedom. you meet a lot of cool people. and your always active. oh yea and the cash i save is GREAT no insurance,registration,parts,GAS. i just got some GOOD kevlar tires and im good to go. me and my friends biked from halfmoon bay to big sur and it was great.

keep riding!!!:thumb:

Any zipcar users in here? I'm looking into getting a membership for those times of need

I'm currently 20 years old and just barely got a bike the last year. Have been commuting to work and it has saved me tons of $$ on gas plus I'm never late :]. The thing is I just go to a community college and I need my car to go to parties and such :/. However I'm hoping when i transfer out I'll be more dependent on my bike and probably sell my car and buy a motorcycle for the longer commutes. Ah I wish more people rode bikess

I can't get over how many people mentioned that everyone in their school drives or they are the only ones who bike. I know I didn't grow up in the richest neighbourhood but not many people in my high school drove and almost none owned their own car. That was 8 years ago but still. The 4 people I can think of who owned their own car didn't go to University because they "didn't have the money". I should mention that in Southern Ontario you generally don't live more than a 45 minute walk away from your high school in an urban/suburban area. Where all these other kids got money to own a car at that age is beyond me. My insurance was about $4,500 a year when I got my own car at 20. My advice to anyone. Get your license right away because you might need it and the longer you have it the lower your insurance will be. ANd don't but a car until you have a career type job.

I'm a freshman in high school, and I am glad to say that a good 6 kids ride to school each day, and others bike occasionally, and I live in a very walk-able town. (the middle school has alot of kids biking, as well). I have to take drivers ed next year, and I hope to get my license, but I will try to put off a car for as long as possible. A couple kids drive to school, but It's hard for them to get parking, and they often have to park a couple blocks away. the only kids that drive, care a lot about their self-image, and are kind of ********. No one at my school has given me **** for riding my bike (thank god), even when it's 15 degrees outside. I am very happy with my carfree situation right now...

Hi,
I study in Budapest University of Technology and Economics. I have a six-month project and i have to design a cycling infrastructure. So i would like to asset in the first round the opinion of the patterns, insights and something like that.
Thank you very much :)

The link (https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGp1U1c2SEU4clR0Zy0tc2NzcnB5aXc6MQ)

Lot of inspiring stories here. I'm almost 17 years old and every person of my age I know owns a licence. I live in Quebec and just for the preparation class before the licence test, it costs 1000$ ! I was about to start the class and was very unsure of doind it or not. Then I discovered fg bikes, I felt in love with it. The more I think about cars the less I want one, my parents keeps on telling me someday I'll have to get one I hope they're wrong! Now I'm always commuting on my bike. Even though it's raining or shining outside I ride my bike. I'm pretty much the only one at school at my age to come on bike, all the student wait an hour or 2 for their parents to come and pick them with the car. So here's my contribution :) Happy riding !

Update! It's been a few years since I made this thread. I inherited my dad's pickup after he passed almost two years ago, yet I use my bicycles as much as possible because the truck is very expensive to fill up (2008 Sierra V8). I work full time and ride my bicycle to work and could afford to drive everywhere, yet I see it as such a waste of money.

I do drive the truck to and from school two nights a week, even though the 30mile round trip is doable on a bike. I would have to pass through a bad neighborhood. I'm not taking any summer classes, so I will be able to skip the high summer gas prices.

My girlfriend drives a Chevy Cavalier which gets almost triple the gas mileage that my truck does. Whenever we go out, I drive her car and buy her gas. She doesn't mind! The gas goes a whole lot further in her car, so I don't complain.

Higher gas prices reminds me how much of a waste driving really is.

Here's a question for anyone who can answer. I'm trying to be more car-free. When I was a teen I'd drive out to the boondocks and make out with girls. Now if you cycle you can't really bike 20mi just for a make out session. What do you guys do if neither your place or his/her place is a welcoming environment for that kind of pda? Has being without a car affected the romance/sex in your lives?

Here's a question for anyone who can answer. I'm trying to be more car-free. When I was a teen I'd drive out to the boondocks and make out with girls. Now if you cycle you can't really bike 20mi just for a make out session. What do you guys do if neither your place or his/her place is a welcoming environment for that kind of pda? Has being without a car affected the romance/sex in your lives?

Hah, it's funny that you ask. I started biking my sophomore year of high school, since then no girlfriend, no friends, no parties. I think its more of how cycling and racing became my obsession and passion rather then the in-ability to drive that led me to abandon all contact with non-cyclists. Sure not owning a car made it much more difficult to take girls out on dates and drive to places to make out, and I guess I regret not being able to do all of that to some extent. I think that if I really wanted to engage in any sort of relationship I would have made it happen, even if that meant biking 20 miles to the girls house and having to take a shower before I even kissed her lol

A lot of us car -free people are truly "simple" people (atleast I think so) hence if you find a simple girl (whether she's into cycling or not) you shouldn't have a problem, you might just have to try a bit harder.

I like being car free but it is becoming obselete for kids not to drive around here. My friends and I cant even go a week without someone letting the air out of our tires while at school.

To all young people, you are the future and this thread decreases my despair for the human race. I'm a 30-yr old who rides his ridiculous track bike or RB-1 to work. Never bought into car culture, never owned a car but realize cars can be useful. I'd like to do some pros and cons and preface this with saying I live in a very car-centric city that is slowly coming along with some new bike lanes.

Pros:
The more people see you out there riding safely, the more they will consider riding too.
Horse legs, Iron Lungs, 28" waist. On the weekend rides, I tear **** up.
Cheap, fun, healthy, only good emissions (positive vibes, not VOC's).
Exchanging smiles and interacting with people on your commute (even glances).
Helps fight office/cubicle-fatigue.
After a while, it becomes routine... you can just enjoy the ride.
Promotes retaking public space from cars.
Slows down this ridiculous race.

Cons:
Poor roadway infrastructure (no protection), it can be a drag to fear for your safety.
Car drivers texting.
Frustrated, overweight office workers who would like to run you down (Texas).
Summer heat
You might need to go to the grocery store more often
When you get older and do it everyday, you might need to look into Yoga (or slow down).
Tanlines (con?).

Hi all,

I'm 15 years old, and I bike for the environment and for fun. I live in a rural-suburban town, with heavily wooded areas, narrow roads, and very aggressive drivers. The high school here lets Seniors drive to school (I will only be a junior this upcoming school year), but 99% of 16 year olds + have their permits (and then eventually licenses) and their parents go out and buy them an audi or some ridiculous ****.

School is 2 miles away, however most of it is on a busy NARROW major road (especially in the morning, most kids are getting driven to school by their parents in some mercedes benz SUV). The farthest I will have to go generally will probably be 9 miles, once or twice a week and the ride is mostly private bike path.

My brother and sister will be away at college/moving out, so I will be the only kid home, and I will eventually have to run errands for my parents (go to the grocery store, etc...) And most of the roads connecting those general places (grocery stores, post office, train station...) are very narrow (no shoulders...), and with the obnoxious drivers here, where practically no one bikes on roads, makes these roads very dangerous. However, there are lots of bike trails here that get utilized, but the bike trail is roughly 5 miles from my house, by very hilly, narrow, and busy roads.

So, now that there's some context, my question is how can I stay car free? Is there any hope for people like me with very narrow roads laden with rude motorists? Will I just have to stick it out until I get to college, and am living in a city?

I know that probably most people feel this way, and its a very broad question but I figured maybe some people could steer me in the right direction. (no pun intended :P) Will I maybe just have to drive my car (eventually) to the bike path and then bike from there to get to where I need to go? That just seems so lame to me...

Thanks!
(I read other posts in this thread to get ideas, just wanted to make sure y'all know I'm not just barging in :P)

edit - Also, I doubt I will be able to get to friends houses by bike as most roads are again, very narrow, and also I don't know how I will deal with new york winters by bike? as no bike paths are getting plowed of snow...

Thanks!
(I read other posts in this thread to get ideas, just wanted to make sure y'all know I'm not just barging in :P)
...

I don't usually comment on this thread since I'm no longer a teenager. But I want to encourage you to join in the discussion on other threads. Your age doesn't matter. You express yourself better than I do, or many other older members. So feel free to jump in whenever you want to! :)

Also, please start new threads when you have questions/comments like the ones in your posts. If something is a concern or interest to you, chances are good that other people will also feel that it's valuable.

I'm 20 and I ride my bike to work, school everywhere. My boss thinks its great. I even have a place at work to put my bike and I can shower. I ride almost 7 miles so I need to shower. I have been car free. I don't have my dls and don't plan on getting hem. I rode my bike last winter for the first time and it was a blast I had so much fun!!! I saved a crap load of money. My bike is worth 500 dollars everything was paid for by me also. It has paid for itself in a few months. Thats with everything included to tubes, fenders bike pump, computer, lights and helmet also wear a helmet if your going to ride be smart and wear a helmet. I see some people not wearing helmets and everytime I see one I want to say wear and helmet. one time a lady on a bike was trying to cross a highway couple days ago. She was in the middle of the highway stopped on her bike. I was sure she was going to get hit when so decided to cross when the light was red. that is such a death wish she had to of been mental and didnt know better. There really is no reason for that kind of ride anyways you will see those people to. I enjoy every ride I have been on and could tell you a ton of storys. thats was a little off topic. enjoy rideing.

Hi,
I study in Budapest University of Technology and Economics. I have a six-month project and i have to design a cycling infrastructure. So i would like to asset in the first round the opinion of the patterns, insights and something like that.
Thank you very much :)

The link (https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGp1U1c2SEU4clR0Zy0tc2NzcnB5aXc6MQ)


Jankuci, I teach at www.poli.hu we have many kids who cycle to shcool fro all over Pest in good weather and I and A co worker cycle from Kispest to near klinikak year round, regardless of weather... I will answer your survey if it is not too late and if you do it in Hungarian and send it to me at robiKUKACpoliPONThu I will get th kids to as well come the start of next school year... vagy akar most email/ illetve faceboookon el intezem.

robi

Evering morning, I take bus to school.It's so crowded and stuffy. So I am going to buy a bike and ride it to school. This will save my time and benifit to my body.Actually, I am a little carsick.

At 23 I'm no longer a teenager, but I don't have a driving licence and am not interested in getting one. (I'll be getting one in the spring since the line of work I want to get into requires me to have one, and I'm hoping to be able to start as a trainee next autumn.)

I've been reading through the thread and I confess I don't understand how big a deal being car-free is to some people. Ok, so I gather that most of you are Americans and that there is a car culture in America that is very different from car culture in Europe, and also I live in a country where it's considered the most normal thing in the world (and is therefore never questioned) to commute via bicycle.
It really doesn't have to be difficult to be car-free. If the main issue is safe roads (as it seems to be), I'm afraid it is difficult, but if you live in an area with safe roads and even bike paths, it's not.

In Denmark, and especially in Copenhagen and larger cities, it's common for entire families to be car free. Petrol, parking, insurance, the cost of the car (Denmark is one of the most expensive countries to purchase a car in...) far outweighs the cons of riding bikes. For many people it's more about economy than a healthy lifestyle. It's quite common here for families with small children to have child trailers for their bikes or ride in Christiania bikes (http://www.christianiabikes.com). Many people have baby seats on the back of their bikes, or on the steer. Parents whose children ride their own bikes accompany them to their playschool or school on their own bikes, until the children are big enough to commute on their own (usually around age 8-10).
Getting groceries isn't a big deal on a bike either - sometimes you have to go more often, but carrying the groceries isn't a problem. Put them in the Christiania bike or the child trailer or the basket in front of your bike.
I live alone and usually go grocery shopping once or twice per week and I carry my groceries on the luggage rack.

I suppose my point is that I've never really acknowledged the privilege it is to be able to live a car free lifestyle. I don't know anyone (apart from my parents and parents of friends) that have cars as the rest of us all commute via bicycle or public transport if the distance from home to university/work is too great (and even then, they do own a bike and use it for local commuting).
Promoting a car free lifestyle in this country is a little bit like 'preaching to the choir', but not quite. There's still a lot of status in having a car and many people get one when they get a job after finishing their education or when they start a family, but there's just as many people that stick to their bikes.

Where living a car free lifestyle can sometimes be a hassle... just a few weeks ago, I went looking for plates. I was thinking about getting maybe 4 nice dining plates, of the sort you find in second hand shops. Well, I found a whole set of dining plates, soup bowls, serving dishes and potato dishes and cups and saucers for the same amount I'd planned on spending on just 4 plates. I bought the whole set.

I then immediately ran into the problem of transporting the whole set home. 6 plates, 6 bowls, 3 dishes of various shapes, plus 9 cups and 9 saucers... uhm, good luck fitting that onto a bike? dun dun dun. The lady in the shop packed the china for me wrapped in newspapers and in three sturdy plastic bags. I fit a bag onto the luggage rack and one into the basket in front and the remaining bag (and by far the lightest of the load since it held the cups and saucers), I let hang from a handlebar. I still couldn't bike anywhere with it since I didn't want to risk rattling my new awesome china and chip it or break it, or losing the bag that I'd balanced on the luggage rack. I was roughly 10km from home. What I ended up having to do was walk to the nearest metro station (about 500m), take the metro as close to home as possible (about 200m) and walk the rest of the way. And I made it and my china was intact.

Another time I'd made 25 cupcakes for a summer party and with no means of transporting them but on my bike. I ended up very creatively packing them in shoeboxes and stacking them on the luggage rack and strapping them to the bike with twine to avoid them falling off.

So while it's sometimes more cumbersome to live a car free lifestyle, it can also be incredibly rewarding when you manage to get round an obstacle. You pretty much feel like the King of the World and a Genius. :D

I'll suggest velomobiles as an excellent all-year-round replacement for all the daily commuting/shopping/going-to-clubs needs. Besides looking cool, velomobiles give you a speed advantage, cargo advantage, and weather advantage.

True, they tend to be more expensive - in the $3000-$6000 range usually - but you'll re-coup that investment within a year, and the cost of maintenance (cycle parts) is far less than the comparable needs of a car. Fuel? Goes in your tummy, not your tank!
:)

I've been car-free for over 10 years. The only time I needed to drive a motor-vehicle was when moving large furniture from one location to another.

Evering morning, I take bus to school.It's so crowded and stuffy. So I am going to buy a bike and ride it to school. This will save my time and benifit to my body.Actually, I am a little carsick.

You won't regret your decision to bike-commute to school. Actually, in time, you'll realize just how great of a decision it was.

Cullen

I'm 16. Just bought (100% my money; i've been saving for a while) a second hand Trek 6300 MTB. I love it, and have had basic bikes always in the past. I've always used a bike a lot.
I think i'm a very natural person, interested in geography and natural photography etc. And I don't like cars. Being trapped in a metal cage... Not my idea of fun.

So I don't want to own a car. Although a drivers license is probably wise. I'd rather a motorbike, but that's quite dangerous. So I don't know. I'd definitely get a motorbike over a car though. My main method of transport is going to preferably be bike. It's my favourite hobby, along with drumming, and I could easily make it a lifestyle, I think.

I cycle two miles for my paper round and 4 miles to school and back each day. It's a lame journey, but better than car.

I also like being quite handy etc and I'm interested in how things work. I can already do some basic stuff with a bike. But I now know how to change a spoke, by watching someone do it. I'd like to be completely independant, know a lot about my bike, able to fix most things, and know that I can depend on it.

This thread is inspiring!

I didn't have a car or a license until I was 18. But I also WANTED those things. For a long time though, I chose to walk (with the occasional bike ride, wasn't into cycling at that point). I live within a few miles of two locally owned grocery stores, a Wal-Mart and K Mart, and numerous fast food joints (one of which I worked at for two years). School was too far to wake up that early and walk, and the bus came around anyway. I would walk home from school on occasion, though.

Since I got my license, I've been driving most of the time, but I have two bikes and I'd like to utilize them more...even though I'm paying off a car loan. I could still save some money on gas, I'm sure. IMO, the car is still good to have in case cycling x amount of miles is unrealistic, or the weather is horrendous. One thing I hate is having to bug people for a ride.

Anyway, that was about that 6 months ago that I developed plantar fasciitis (PF). I became inactive obviously; after all, I couldn't even walk half a mile at age sixteen.... not because of fitness, but because of the pain. I tried all sorts of treatments for it and it got a little better in maybe five months. I can walk about fifteen or twenty minutes now without crying. Still can't run at all.

You need to check out this book (http://books.google.com/books?id=QQiPoNLNhLsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=born+to+run&hl=en&sa=X&ei=lUhWT4ivIoKutwez6cD4CA&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=born%20to%20run&f=false). If it's not at your library and you don't want to buy it: don't wear shoes. or sandals. or any footwear, except maybe some Vibram FiveFingers (http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/index.htm). If you want to learn, google "barefoot running," or something like that.

The guy who wrote Born to Run was in the same situation as you are. He had PF, tried everything, and was unsuccessful. Until, of course, he went back to basics and tried walking and running without shoes.

FTR, even if you don't have PF, barefoot running is still awesome. It's the running equivalent of riding a fixie. :P

I would love a car but given the fuel and insurance prices in the u.k it's not going to happen just yet :( I use my bike to travel everywhere if its too far I take it on the train I ride day/night. at least 10 miles a day.

I am excited this thread even exists.