Living Car Free - Im 14, and I barely need to be driven anywhere

Coroplast fenders,

http://www.google.ca/search?q=coroplast+fendes&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=com.ubuntu:en-US:unofficial&client=firefox-a

The election is only 3 days away, you're golden.

I couldn't find any coroplast signs - all the campaign signs i found within a mile of my house are made of flimsy plastic (sorta like thick shopping bag material) strung between two wire posts.

It's refreshing to see somone at his age bicycling to school. I could never have imagined bicycling anywhere but around the block at his age. Kids at his age are usually into Xbox or games on the net. He's a rare bird indeed!

Haha I actually am into xbox ;P

So its good i bike, or else I might be unfit!

Better to realize late, than never.

Not to mention you own an incredibly beautiful bicycle, besides.

And you're not even ancient, although twenty-nine isn't dashingly young, youre still relatively young.

Definitely better now than never, or too late.

Thanks for the compliment! And yes, late is far better than never. Giving up driving is honestly the best thing I've ever done for myself, hands down. Many people cannot understand that. :D

Don't ever buy into the NEED to buy a car.

Don't buy a car unless you absolutelly HAVE to.

Don't buy a car unless you can pay it in full, in cash, and it is GERMAN MADE.

That is all the advice I have for you.

OR I can let my grandma give me her car for free :P

and i have been having some issues with my rear tire, got a flat and then mounted it wrong so I havn't biked to school for a couple days. Hopefully I will on friday though!

Well i don't actually live in seattle, i live a little ways north of it in a suburb. In seattle itself, the biking is pretty good, but in the suburbs it varies a LOT. For example Kirkland is a great place to bike, but Shoreline is pretty bad. It depends on the suburb
.

I live in Edmonds and I like riding in Shoreline. They've been making a real effort to create bike infrastructure. I ride the Interurban trail all the time - much more pleasant than Aurora and has way fewer stops. Some of the major east-west roads also have bike lanes. I met a Shoreline city councilman at a party last year because I was admiring his bike.

My son just turned 15, and so far he has little interest in driving. Between bike, bus, and unicycle, he's got most trips covered. Maybe you'll meet on the road someday.

I live in Los Angeles, well a suburb of it, which is about as bad as it gets. And I made the decision this year to go car free. Why in the world would I do that you may ask?

1. Ever since I was very young, I've been infatuated with public transport. I purchased Simcity 3000 in the 4th grade and I played it for hours and hours on end. I put in hours and hours of research into how to make my cities better, why subways in dense areas are practical, etc. Then when I found out there was a Metro Rail station two miles from my house, I got excited and rode it as much as possible. I remember begging my brother to take me on the train. Then when I got old enough to take it by myself, I took it whenever possible.

Which presented another problem for me. Which led to the bicycle.
2. The train is two miles away over a gigantic bridge over the Alameda Corridor. Walking would take about 30 minutes, and the bus that goes there is really infrequent. Then, once I started riding, I found that I could get there in seven minutes flat. SEVEN!! And to school in 16 minutes. And from school to the grocery store in five. It was my new freedom.

3. It allowed me to be able to get a job, now that I have reliable transportation. I don't have to rely on my mom to take me places, nor the bus (though I do still enjoy taking it when it's not packed and it's only one I'd have to take). Though my classmates sometimes think "Why the hell would you do that?" But I'm proud to be one of the only ones with a job, able to go out (though I hardly ever do), and I'm practically filthy rich! (4 1/2 hours a week @ 8/hr - gas prices? YES!)

Then when I found out there was a Metro Rail station two miles from my house, I got excited and rode it as much as possible. I remember begging my brother to take me on the train. Then when I got old enough to take it by myself, I took it whenever possible.

It was my new freedom.


These are good stories. Today's youth are truly stuck in subdivisions with no access to transit. This is the reason why so many of them want to drive at 15 years old in order to get out of the bordom called home. I never had this problem because at their age, I was taking the bus everywhere. I'm fortunate to have found out about multimode travel with the bicycle, now my options have doubled as to where I want to go.

When I was growing up in St. Paul, MN it was the same way. Between my bike and the busses, unless my destination was WAY out in the 'burbs, I could get there (except in the middle of winter.)