Living Car Free - Living Car Free/Car Lite Introductions

Welcome! We love having another voice from Holland, the Nirvana of bicycle commuting.

Thank you! Biking in holland is really great compared to other countries. Seperate bikepaths are a real blessing but has its drawbacks too.
Often the bikepath take the 'scenic' route and can be quite a detour compared to the motorways but we are getting more and more bicycle 'highways' so thats promising.
There is also a lot of other bike riders so you have to constantly overtake other people which can be annoying on some narrower bikepaths. Some bikepaths are in bad condition and you are not allowed to ride on the road if theres a bikepath available so that can be a pain sometimes too when you see the smooth asfalt for the cars and you have to drive over a bad bikepath.

Other that that: i love my bikes and i love riding them!

and @ sandlotje, i wish gas was 3,80 ... it's almost 9 dollars a gallon at the moment in Holland...

I don't get criticism, but I do sell it so well nobody bothers. When people ask about my bike riding every day, I outline how much money I've saved each month, how much cash ...

Around here (Atlanta) a cyclist has to be "training" or else tearing up a trail on mountain bikes. Commuting is eccentric, possibly a death-wish. So when people ask me about it they tend to list those excuses for me themselves, staying healthy saving money etc. I just tell them I do it because I like it.

I drive a car in serious weather, to reassure people that I'm sane as much as for any other reason.

I have been (almost) car free for almost 10 years. Using mostly public transport and now I am going to start to use my new bike. I only drive a few times a year the company car to do some on site work.
I live on Lower Mainland, BC, Canada, here there are a lot of people commuting to work.

I've been car free for over a decade...but I've also been bike free in that time. I just haven't needed one, living in either a small town where everything is walkable, or a large city with great public transit. I get my new(well, used) bike in a few days and I'm super excited!

I'm pretty much in the exact same situation as the poster above me, right down to living in the lower mainland. I've used my company van to move a few times, but I had a friend drive since it's been way too long for me.

I haven't owned a car in over a year and I really don't miss it. I have found that 95% of the travel I need to do is accomplished easily by bike or public transit.

I will however consider myself car lite. I will rent a car maybe one weekend a month to see family and friends living too far to bike to, or outside of a public transit system.

Also, I use zipcar here and there for the occasional trip to the grocery store or Home Depot. A 2x4 is really hard to balance on a bike.

I've been car light for more than 5 years using my bike as my transporter especially to work and whenever I can go by it. A lot of constrains here in Jakarta when wanting bike as our only transportation since we got no supports from regulator and very-very minimum facilities for bicycle. I still use my car when I have to go with my family since (I think) it's impossible to take 3 children and their mom on a bike...

I've been car light for more than 5 years using my bike as my transporter especially to work and whenever I can go by it. A lot of constrains here in Jakarta when wanting bike as our only transportation since we got no supports from regulator and very-very minimum facilities for bicycle. I still use my car when I have to go with my family since (I think) it's impossible to take 3 children and their mom on a bike...

I have read that Jakarta has many carfree areas and carfree days. How is that working out for people?

:welcome:

I've been car-free since I moved to Shanghai back in August 2007. I get around on my commuter bicycle (usually 3 or 4 work days per week) or using my electric scooter, often in conjunction with Shanghai's excellent Metro system (the world's largest). If I need to go further afield than the Metro can take me, there are plenty of buses or trains that can take me anywhere I need to go - and if I absolutely, positively couldn't get there by bike/public transport, I could rent a car (although I haven't yet had need to do so).

I will not be buying a car for as long as I live in Shanghai - it simply isn't necessary or practical to own a car here.

I've been car-free since I moved to Shanghai back in August 2007. I get around on my commuter bicycle (usually 3 or 4 work days per week) or using my electric scooter, often in conjunction with Shanghai's excellent Metro system (the world's largest). If I need to go further afield than the Metro can take me, there are plenty of buses or trains that can take me anywhere I need to go - and if I absolutely, positively couldn't get there by bike/public transport, I could rent a car (although I haven't yet had need to do so).

I will not be buying a car for as long as I live in Shanghai - it simply isn't necessary or practical to own a car here.

Very interesting. :)

From what I've been reading in the western press, it seems like the Chinese are having second thoughts about encouraging car ownership and use. Where do you think they will go with transportation policies?

Also, what kind of bike do you ride in Shanghai? Did you buy it in China or take it with you?

I'm a car lite lady and proud! I've been bike commuting to work for three years (when it's not below 40-- haven't gotten that hardcore yet) and now I've been sharing my car with my boyfriend for the last six months. In fact, I can't imagine having two cars between the two of us anymore... it just seems wasteful.

St. Louis is not the best city for car free living and I'd have to walk into some pretty sketchy areas to catch the bus (as a young woman, this does not appeal to me), but otherwise the city is great for bike commuting. There are plenty of roads with bike lanes, and for the most part drivers are attentive and courteous. It also helps to know some of the back ways around the streets with heavier traffic. I've got my car when I need to go somewhere in the middle of the night, or when I need to haul something (like materials for my chickens, or the veggie garden I run at my workplace).

Actually there is no such a car free area in Jakarta but car free days (CFD), yes there we have. CFD come on 2nd and last sunday of every month when no cars or any other engine-powered transportation are allowed to pass certain main road areas between 6 AM-12 AM. Citizens use these days as a sport-leisure day where they can jog, cycle or just walk with family.

Actually there is no such a car free area in Jakarta but car free days (CFD), yes there we have. CFD come on 2nd and last sunday of every month when no cars or any other engine-powered transportation are allowed to pass certain main road areas between 6 AM-12 AM. Citizens use these days as a sport-leisure day where they can jog, cycle or just walk with family.

Interesting. What is it like to cycle in Jakarta?

My local editor of patch.com (a hyperlocal news site) invited me to keep a blog on the side. So far, it's about my living car-light, though it will eventually branch out. I've gotten a lot of good feedback, and other editors of Patch have started to carry it. Last I knew, it's carried on eight sites.

http://maplewood.patch.com/users/noglider/blog_posts

My local editor of patch.com (a hyperlocal news site) invited me to keep a blog on the side. So far, it's about my living car-light, though it will eventually branch out. I've gotten a lot of good feedback, and other editors of Patch have started to carry it. Last I knew, it's carried on eight sites.

http://maplewood.patch.com/users/noglider/blog_posts

It sounds like you're doing good work there in NJ. Good luck on the blog too.

:)

Thanks. It's an uphill battle. Lots of folks think I'm nuts. Or some sort of Olympian athlete. Or on the fringe. Or whatever. I'm writing in a way that (I hope) will show that you don't have to be nuts, and you don't even have to do everything I do.

Today, I went to the town recycling center (dump) with my bike. I carried an old computer in my kiddie trailer.

Hey, great thread!

Since moving to Coastal NC I’ve been bicycling to work almost every day, rain or shine, roughly 14 miles round trip. Unfortunately, the main roads in our small city can be dangerous, but I’m fortunate to have a flexible work schedule, & there are some side roads most of the way in case I do need to ride home during rush hour. My employer even provides showers & locker rooms, so I can arrive at my office clean, cool & refreshed. I count myself very blessed.

hey

it's easy to be car free in Tokyo.
Well, I take taxis occasionally - does that count? And I rent a car when I visit USA.
Have not owned a car in 9 years.

Own 3 bicycles now (here) and 1 in storage in USA. Fortunate enough to live just 4km from my office. I can cycle, take a bus, take a train, and combine different distances of walking to make the bus or train a little easier or cheaper.

Of course, this abode is not palatial. But nicer than most units the masses have in this town.

I thought it would be lousy to be cycling in Tokyo - with narrow streets and kind of crowded. But after getting into it more, it's easy to find empty streets, since all the autos pretty much head for the main thoroughfare, which goes a little faster, and I can just cruise through all these neighborhood streets at cycling speed.

There are excellent delivery services for most things. I haul plenty of stuff on my mtn bike / rack equipped. In a pinch, I could rent a car as I have done on a few out-of-town travel occasions. So I don't really move things around by car.
So far so good.

They do have nice hybrid and electric cars out now so I may reconsider sometime, especially as the family grows. But it's not just about Eco.

Although I'm still a child at 24, I haven't had the need for a car. Heck, I've never gotten my license. I've lived in small towns, La Crosse Wisconsin and Decorah Iowa, and big towns, St. Louis MO and Minneapolis MN, and I still haven't seen the need for cars in cities. People live way too much out of their means. It's only been two weeks in Minneapolis, and no I haven't experienced a winter commute here yet, but I just see no reason why we need so many damned cars on the road. Minneapolis is a great city to bike. There are bicycle lanes on most major roads, plenty of space on backroads, and the bicycle freeways are just beautiful. If all cities, no matter their climate could support it's biking culture like Minneapolis and Seattle do, the world would be a happier, healthier, less toxic place.

Car Free since April. Bogus DUI in new mexico that I never took care of. I should probably get on that...

My family lives in a great place to be car free. We are in a university city with crazy good bus lines. I have two children ages 3 and 13 and I am a 41 year old homeschooling mom. We ride our bikes as many places as we can and use the bus for the rest. My husband works at the university and takes the bus to work every day. We save $50 a month by not having to pay for a parking pass.

Hi! I'm car free in the Groningen, Netherlands area. I moved here a year ago and I really love it. Survived my first winter snow without a car. Pretty awesome.

I now have a fleet of bikes and I can't seem to stop collecting them. I need more room!!!!

Rona

My family lives in a great place to be car free. We are in a university city with crazy good bus lines. I have two children ages 3 and 13 and I am a 41 year old homeschooling mom. We ride our bikes as many places as we can and use the bus for the rest. My husband works at the university and takes the bus to work every day. We save $50 a month by not having to pay for a parking pass.

Welcome to the forum. Believe it or not, there are some people here who believe there is no such thing as a carfree family with children! so your input will be very welcome.

Hi! I'm car free in the Groningen, Netherlands area. I moved here a year ago and I really love it. Survived my first winter snow without a car. Pretty awesome.

I now have a fleet of bikes and I can't seem to stop collecting them. I need more room!!!!

Rona

Welcome! To many of us, Holland is the mecca of carfree cycling. I look forward to reading your perspective on carfree living.

Believe it or not, there are some people here who believe there is no such thing as a carfree family with children!

Really? Who made that statement here?

Welcome! To many of us, Holland is the mecca of carfree cycling. I look forward to reading your perspective on carfree living.

Oh yes... it's quite the Mecca. Groningen is one of the best car-free areas in the world. :D

I live without a car for 4 month now and I love it. Recession effected all of us so I had to cut back on some things such as driving a car. I now ride an electric bike that I bought and I love it.
It's a good way to get to work. Plus I save a lot of time not being stuck in traffic.

I sold my minivan in February with the intentions of our family becoming car-light. My husband still has a car, but we don't drive it all that much (and I rarely drive it). So far, I'm really super happy with the decision so far. We're finally getting used to things and it's becoming second nature to jump on the bikes instead of jump in the car. It also makes trips a lot more fun. My littles don't necessarily like their carseats, but they get very excited when I pull the helmets out and they know they are going for a ride! We do live in Wisconsin where winter will pose a challenge, but we are planning a move to an area with a more moderate temperature to help that in the future :)

I sold my minivan in February with the intentions of our family becoming car-light. My husband still has a car, but we don't drive it all that much (and I rarely drive it). So far, I'm really super happy with the decision so far. We're finally getting used to things and it's becoming second nature to jump on the bikes instead of jump in the car. It also makes trips a lot more fun. My littles don't necessarily like their carseats, but they get very excited when I pull the helmets out and they know they are going for a ride! We do live in Wisconsin where winter will pose a challenge, but we are planning a move to an area with a more moderate temperature to help that in the future :)

Welcome, Denelle. It's great to have yet another member with experience being carlight with family and kids. How cool that they are already preferring the bikes to the car!

Stoked to be car-free again. We bought a car to help us through infant stage with our daughter and have since dropped the car and loving it again!

I haven't gotten a car. Personally,I prefer riding the bike.I think it is healthy and good to our life.

Stoked to be car-free again. We bought a car to help us through infant stage with our daughter and have since dropped the car and loving it again!

Hi newsun, good to have you here!


I haven't gotten a car. Personally,I prefer riding the bike.I think it is healthy and good to our life.

Welcome to the living car free forum, lilybay. What kind of bike do you prefer?

I think mountain bike is super cool . But I just need a bike to work, so the pretty and practical one is done.

I just started becoming car light a little over two months ago. In the past 60-65 days I've only had to spend $45 on gas, so basically $20-25 a month now compared to per week.

I'm only going to be a fair-weather commuter so I'll be using my bike during late Spring through Autumn. About 7-8 months out of the year. I'm still a novice rider so I don't think I could ride on snow yet.

Welcome here, Headphones. Car light is cool. Winter cycling isn't that bad, but there's no problem giving yourself time to work up to it.

Thanks for the welcome, Newspaperguy. Maybe not this upcoming winter but the next one after that. I'm still new to cycling/commuting and more importantly I'm still learning about bicycles themselves.

Thanks for the welcome, Newspaperguy. Maybe not this upcoming winter but the next one after that. I'm still new to cycling/commuting and more importantly I'm still learning about bicycles themselves.

My first winter of cycling, I kind of slipped into it. In the late fall, I would tell myself, "Just one more day on the bike, then I'll put it up for the winter." The next day I said the same thing, and the next day, and so on. Finally it was mid-December and I had survived the first big snow storm. At that point I said, "I made it this far, I might as well keep going all winter." And I did!

There aren't many activities I can think of that are more fun than riding a bike on a fresh winter day.

I just started becoming car light a little over two months ago. In the past 60-65 days I've only had to spend $45 on gas, so basically $20-25 a month now compared to per week.

I'm only going to be a fair-weather commuter so I'll be using my bike during late Spring through Autumn. About 7-8 months out of the year. I'm still a novice rider so I don't think I could ride on snow yet.

Snow is fun if you are set up for it...and this coming from a guy that lives in the Deep South :D

How far west are you in MA? My daughter did a 10 month stint with Americorps/SCA in the Hawley/Savoy area and loved every minute of it.

Aaron :)

My first winter of cycling, I kind of slipped into it. In the late fall, I would tell myself, "Just one more day on the bike, then I'll put it up for the winter." The next day I said the same thing, and the next day, and so on. Finally it was mid-December and I had survived the first big snow storm. At that point I said, "I made it this far, I might as well keep going all winter." And I did!

There aren't many activities I can think of that are more fun than riding a bike on a fresh winter day.
I'm not going to lie, I'm somewhat in love with my bike. Much much more than my Toyota. So there's a good chance I'll change my mind by December and continue to ride my bike through the snow.

Snow is fun if you are set up for it...and this coming from a guy that lives in the Deep South :D

How far west are you in MA? My daughter did a 10 month stint with Americorps/SCA in the Hawley/Savoy area and loved every minute of it.

Aaron :)
Way out west, about 10 minutes from New York border. I'm about 20 minute drive from Savoy. They're part of the Mohawk Trails; out in the middle of nowhere but there's a lot of camp grounds.

I'm not going to lie, I'm somewhat in love with my bike. Much much more than my Toyota. So there's a good chance I'll change my mind by December and continue to ride my bike through the snow.

Way out west, about 10 minutes from New York border. I'm about 20 minute drive from Savoy. They're part of the Mohawk Trails; out in the middle of nowhere but there's a lot of camp grounds.

They were based at the camp at Kenneth Dubuque State Forest. They were doing heavy trail maintenance all over that end of the state. She is currently in the Seattle area but will be back in NH this fall for grad school. FWIW she and her brother both live car free. He is based in Boston.

Good luck with the winter stuff, but once you get a handle on it you should be good to go. There are all kinds of great things out there, like studded snow tires. They are expensive up front but will last several years. I have actually seen them at Walmart when I was working up near Columbus, OH.


Aaron :)

They were based at the camp at Kenneth Dubuque State Forest. They were doing heavy trail maintenance all over that end of the state. She is currently in the Seattle area but will be back in NH this fall for grad school. FWIW she and her brother both live car free. He is based in Boston.

Good luck with the winter stuff, but once you get a handle on it you should be good to go. There are all kinds of great things out there, like studded snow tires. They are expensive up front but will last several years. I have actually seen them at Walmart when I was working up near Columbus, OH.


Aaron :)

Studded tires add a lot to winter cycling. You can ride in anything with a good set. But you can ride in almost anything with normal bike tires, too. I recommend them if you are heavily dependent on your bike in winter, or if you just enjoy more extreme things like ice biking (ricing on frozen lakes and rivers) as I do.

I got my first set of studs as a gift from a BF member. He gave them to me because they had a lot of wear, and he had bought a new set. But I used them for three winters, and I could still use them even though the studs are pretty much worn down.

Just put $20 into my car this evening, it should last me until September. A grand total of $65 spent on gas for the summer is pretty freakin' awesome.

I've been car free off and on. I used to live in Toronto for a while, which was a city that truly did not need cars! It was a real change from the small midwestern city I grew up in (USA). I didn't drive at all in TO. I didn't even have a car.

It's a challenge now that I'm back in the midwest, because as much as I love it here, it's not as bike-friendly as Toronto. In fact, right now, I don't even have a bike. I sold my last one when I moved down here and I'm going crazy looking for a good bike at a good price. I chose a place to live that was close to my workplace, library, gym, grocery store, church, hardware store...all the things that I knew I'd need. So, I can walk everywhere right now, and I do. But can't wait till I find my bike...!

I always found cars to be constraining somehow. I didn't like how I had to keep constantly spending money to have them. It felt more like a bad investment, one that didn't return money, just sucked it away.

Granted, I don't think a car-free lifestyle isn't one that everyone CAN have. Truly, I am lucky to be able to live where I do, where everything is near me. I don't have any medical needs or care-giving needs that would make me need a car. Now, when I get a bike again, I will be able to see a little bit more of the world than where my own two feet and the bus can take me.

We've been car-free since the kids were four, so nine years now. I love not having a car. It's so much cheaper, and no car-claustrophobia. Of course I'm lucky to live close to my job, in a bike friendly city (Minneapolis) etc.
That said, I tend to walk or bus in the winter. I've fallen on the ice too many times.

We're officially beginning a car-light experiment this week. After kicking the idea around in my head for quite a while, a $900 repair estimate on my husband's truck spurred us to try life as a one-car family for a while. We had worked this summer getting all our bikes ready to handle errand trips, just so we could become less dependent driving the two cars, so when the garage guy called and said we needed all that work, it seemed like the Universe was telling us something. DH will take the car to work every day, leaving the kids and me with our bikes and our feet. We live in a town that isn't totally bike-friendly, but is small enough to be able to plan out longer-but-safer routes to most places we need to go. Like the others, winter scares me a little (and next spring when the two kids have different baseball/softball schedules), but we'll take that as it comes.

We're officially beginning a car-light experiment this week. After kicking the idea around in my head for quite a while, a $900 repair estimate on my husband's truck spurred us to try life as a one-car family for a while. We had worked this summer getting all our bikes ready to handle errand trips, just so we could become less dependent driving the two cars, so when the garage guy called and said we needed all that work, it seemed like the Universe was telling us something. DH will take the car to work every day, leaving the kids and me with our bikes and our feet. We live in a town that isn't totally bike-friendly, but is small enough to be able to plan out longer-but-safer routes to most places we need to go. Like the others, winter scares me a little (and next spring when the two kids have different baseball/softball schedules), but we'll take that as it comes.Welcome! It's great to have another carfree family with kids on the forum. It sounds like you and your family have a good attitude to face any challenges that come up with the changing seasons.

I also love your user name. Very clever! :D

We've been car-free since the kids were four, so nine years now. I love not having a car. It's so much cheaper, and no car-claustrophobia. Of course I'm lucky to live close to my job, in a bike friendly city (Minneapolis) etc.
That said, I tend to walk or bus in the winter. I've fallen on the ice too many times.
Another carfree family with kids! And some posters have said there's no such thing! ;)

Have you ever tried studded snow tires for your bike? You shouldn't fall much with a good set of studs on your bike.

And some posters have said there's no such thing! ;)



You keep posting that factoid in order to knock it down; WHO said that, besides Mr. Roody?

Well, I voted "car light less than a year", but it's quickly approaching that.

I own one car, but since my "experiment" started, I've cut my gasoline bill by about 75%. Still use the van for shopping, but we pile many stops into a single trip. So, the van sits until shopping day, or the sporadic "need to leave work early, for something important" (My bus schedules suck).

I am working up to doing my commute by bike, however, and carrying $8 for emergency bus fare.

Hi all -- I'm new to the forums and have been carfree for about seven years. My wife and I have two young kids (2 and 5). We have an xtracycle to haul kids and stuff as well as a couple of other bikes that can haul kids around. We're looking at some other options for biking with kids lately for a wide variety of reasons (I'm very short and would love a step through frame which we don't have on our xtra, we'll be doing more riding this winter due to the start of kindergarten for our oldest and after school care, we want our oldest pedaling rather than sitting, etc). We also do lots of walking and transit for transportation. So happy to see other carfree families with kids here :)

I have only been car lite for only 3 months now. We (wife, 4 year old, and 6 month) use to drive every where. In May I brought a folding bike and started taking the train to work/school because the gas price back then was inching towards $4/gal and it hit me one day when I paid $57 to fill up my tank (got a small compact sedan). After commuting for a couple of weeks I realized that it is very psychologically liberating not having to worry about traffic, parking, and raising gas prices that I started to wonder if we could go car-free, but I was still very skeptical because the car seem like a safety net that I could always use if the kids ever got into an accident at daycare or if we needed to make a midnight run to the emergency room. But after 1 month we realized a saving of $300 because we only put around 40 miles on the car in that first month. I then picked up a used Big Dummy from someone moving back to Seattle and didn't want ship it with him and felt the practicality of it. Now we are waiting for a CETMA cargo bike to arrive so we can go riding as a family-the kids in the cargo bike and their gear on the BD.

On a side note, I just recently started working in a different location. Its 14 miles from home one way. I could either take public transit or ride. Since the subway lines from Queens doesn't go directly to Brooklyn it will take around 75 minutes and this is during the normal hours. I rode the commute for 2 days now on the BD and it took around 1 hour 40 minutes. Do you think I should electrify the BD with a stokemonkey electric assist motor or get a lighter bike? I was leaning more towards the eletric motor since it will increase the utility of the bike and I can still get home in time for dinner no matter if I was up to the commute or not.