Living Car Free - Going Car-free on Friday

I'm selling my car on Friday and will then be car-free.

I'll rely on my bicycle and local mass transit and occasionally renting a car or truck if necessary.

I'm a bit nervous, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be ok.

I've got a Trek 7.3fx with a rear rack. I'm building my wish list for bicycle / equipment purchases for some of the saved money...Already on the list: Front rack and "real" panniers (Ortlieb or Arkel). Maybes for the list are: Trekking bars, bar-cons and shorter brake levers, kickstand, Brooks saddle.

Any recommendations?

If there is a local car share, see if joining that will keep your insurance record active. Otherwise, if you go back, you start again with no discount. Car share is useful for some people, YMMV.

Welcome to the ranks of the car free! :thumb:

Thanks for the advice.

Unfortunately, there's no car share programs in Jacksonville.

We're not progressive enough. ;)

Thanks for the advice.

Unfortunately, there's no car share programs in Jacksonville.

We're not progressive enough. ;)


It's virtually the whole state. Chapel Hill is the only place I've heard of with a car share (zipcar).

It's virtually the whole state. Chapel Hill is the only place I've heard of with a car share (zipcar).

That, too, JeffS.

Though Jacksonville is being forced (quite painfully) into progressive programs. Hopefully, the local government will be approving a comprehensive bicycling and pedestrian plan to build sidewalks and cross-walks and to install bicycle lanes and paths.

You could always start your own carshare. That's what I did: http://www.austincarshare.org

If you are going to get full racks/panniers for hauling stuff, I'd recommend a double foot kick stand. If you are really loaded, your bike will tend to fall over with single foot ones.

I recently did an accessories article if that helps: http://austinbikeblog.org/?p=211

Stuff I really love: good rain jacket, front basket, Brooks saddle, wheel lock, kickstand, fenders, bell

My rain jacket is an inexpensive one from Land's End. It is a warm jacket, so it's mostly used in the cold season. The front basket is sturdy, gives me all of the convenience of a handlebar bag and cost half as much... and unlike a bar bag, I don't get dirty looks if I use it for grocery shopping. Fenders keep the skunk stripes away, and a bell makes life around pedestrians much easier. My bike is very quiet, so even a nice wide pass could be startling. The bell cuts down on surprises.

The saddle is not something I'd recommend buying without a trial period... I have a Brooks butt, but not everyone does. Wheel locks are not easy to find aftermarket, so it's probably not something you can add easily (and I'm not sure what quality wheel locks are available aftermarket... mine would be very difficult to pick and is impossible to remove easily). I've got a single leg kickstand, and it works ok for my needs... if I have a large load, I support the bike while I load or unload it. The kickstand is a convenience for parking inside my building and at parties.

The one thing I wouldn't recommend is cheap panniers or a cheap backpack. The bags you use for carrying your stuff need to be durable and a reasonable size... and many of the cheap options are not very durable or not a good size. Or both. So you'd end up wasting money by going through them way too often.

One recommendation has nothing to do with equipment. But... you just had a car and had the bike as a backup plan. (Or vice versa...) Now that you are selling the car, make sure you have a backup plan for the bicycle. This might include route information on buses. Taxi cab contact information. That sort of thing.

You could even do some investigation into walkable routes.

Now that the car is out of the picture, you can't easily go to Costco to load up on x. So what's the closest place to get x and is it better to take the bus, bike or walk??

If you haven't set up a Brooks yet, look into the Brooks Flyer. I've got a B-17 and a Flyer w/ springs and I far prefer the springs. Makes my commute a breeze.

Jacksonville, NC...kevlar belted tires and/or Mr Tuffy tire liners, Fenders, a bright coloured safety vest. Also as pointed out for backup, start looking for a second bike to use as backup if something happens to the first one.

Aaron:)