Living Car Free - My Car Free Anniversary!

March 2nd will be my one year anniversary of being CAR FREE! I sold my Jeep last year, and haven't even gotten behind the wheel ONCE! 15 mile commute each way to work. Averaging about 1200 miles a month. I have been riding a fixed gear conversion for 11 months after I wrecked my Felt road bike, and as my anniversary present I got a new Surly Long Haul Trucker to do some touring on.

RIDE ON! CARS R COFFINS!

That's some pretty impressive mileage you're logging. Congratulations!

March is my carfree birthday also, three years and still no desire to get a car. congrats on the awesome new bike, my gift to myself was soma double cross.

Heh, March 16 is my one year anniversary. :D I was car-very-lite for over a year before that, but finally took the plunge. I haven't missed my truck once since then.

From Google Earth Suwanee GA. looks like a nasty suburb with many dead-ended streets.

March 2nd will be my one year anniversary of being CAR FREE! I sold my Jeep last year, and haven't even gotten behind the wheel ONCE! 15 mile commute each way to work. Averaging about 1200 miles a month. I have been riding a fixed gear conversion for 11 months after I wrecked my Felt road bike, and as my anniversary present I got a new Surly Long Haul Trucker to do some touring on.

RIDE ON! CARS R COFFINS!

Congratulations! You are putting on some serious mileage. That's over 14,000 miles a year! I finally got rid of my van last Sunday. Traded for a computer.

When I get my new LHT, I'll be riding more, but not nearly as much as you. I'm shooting for an average of 15 miles per day. Right now I'm doing about 10 miles each day average.

TRUST ME! It is a very hilly, dead end suburban town. I work in a bike shop and I only know of probably 7-8 frequent road riders total! I have no one to ride with, and EVERYONE hates bikes. I get the usual "GET ON THE SIDEWALK" at least once a week!

Congratulations! I'm always impressed when I hear about car free individuals and families in places I wouldn't have thought it possible. Hope you're an inspiration to those around you.

TRUST ME! It is a very hilly, dead end suburban town. I work in a bike shop and I only know of probably 7-8 frequent road riders total! I have no one to ride with, and EVERYONE hates bikes. I get the usual "GET ON THE SIDEWALK" at least once a week!

Many of them just don't know what's in their transportation future. Eventually they'll either get tired of berating you or -- quite possibly -- you'll start dismissing them in they same way you might dismiss mosquitoes.

Oh I have gotten used to it and ignore them now. I was out riding a few weeks back and I meet up with some club rider on a BMC at a stoplight and a group of teenagers pull up and yell some obscenities and he unclips and starts POUNDING his look cleats into the driver side door then takes off. I just sat there in shock. NOT COOL!

TRUST ME! It is a very hilly, dead end suburban town. I work in a bike shop and I only know of probably 7-8 frequent road riders total! I have no one to ride with, and EVERYONE hates bikes. I get the usual "GET ON THE SIDEWALK" at least once a week!

I'll probably get flamed for this, but what on Earth makes the South, in particular, so hostile to bicyclists? I mean, there are people who hate bicycles everywhere in the US, even Portland. However, in the West, Midwest, and Northeast, most people will at least acknowledge that bicycles have a right to be there, even if they're not thrilled about it. In Colorado, I never once in twenty years had anyone tell me to get on the sidewalk. In Seattle, it's happened to me three times in ten years, once by a drunk teenager who was simply trying to be funny, once by a cranky man in his 70's, and once by a recent immigrant who apparently thought that bikes are for peasants. In Kentucky, it happened to me nearly every day. Very few people were openly hostile, and when they were, it usually involved throwing things at me. More often, it involved people stopping and very "kindly" suggesting that I should get off the road for my own safety, as if I were doing something extremely dangerous. I'm not sure why, but these people infuriated me even more than the ones who threw stuff at me.

Bragi, I've lived in TN all my life and have been cycling on the street on and off since I was...well...since I was big enough to ride a bike. When I was younger I don't remember it being like this. Sure, back then we would get the occasional angry motorist, but that happened like once a year, not once every other day. Many people here are simply not tolerant of anyone who is different. They assume we're poor, and apparently that's cause to honk or throw things, never mind the fact that many of us have considerably more money thanks to not owning a car. :p They also think the road belongs to them because they (in their minds) are the ones who pay for it, and a cyclist is seen as getting a "free ride", which of course isn't true at all.

And of course, I think some of it is political. Some assume that, if you're riding a bike to work you must be a liberal environmentalist, therefore they have to hate you. Anything that hints of liberalism is seen as being "what's wrong with this country". In other words, I'm not using gas to get around, I'm making myself healthier, and I'm not polluting. But since I'm a liberal bike riding whacko I symbolize everything that's wrong with the country. :rolleyes: Let's also not forget that folks around here like to intentionally avoid anything that might help the environment, lest they wind up appearing liberal to their buddies. Brilliant. Basically, people here are angry, ignorant, and arrogant. Obviously not everyone, but far more than most expect. Just imagine a bunch of overgrown, bratty children being allowed to operate 4000 pound machines, and you'll get a decent mental picture of drivers in the south.

I'll probably get flamed for this, but what on Earth makes the South, in particular, so hostile to bicyclists? .... In Kentucky, it happened to me nearly every day. Very few people were openly hostile, and when they were, it usually involved throwing things at me. More often, it involved people stopping and very "kindly" suggesting that I should get off the road for my own safety, as if I were doing something extremely dangerous. I'm not sure why, but these people infuriated me even more than the ones who threw stuff at me.
Now that you mention it, Florida was like that too. I thought maybe just times had changed. When I lived in Florida you just expected it. What I'm reading is that its still like that. Here we're at the border of the south. In DC not bad, cycle a few miles south into Northern Virginia and open harassment becomes more common. Also, sometimes cars with Carolina plates harass me. They don't even know the laws here and they honk and order me onto the sidewalk and yell "obey the law". I'm not making this up, people drive here from another state and make up laws in their own mind and try to force natives to obey their imaginary laws. Once the car had New Jersey tags too so I can't say its only southerners but its mostly southerners.

When someone "kindly" suggests you do something for my own safety and their in control of vastly superior force that can harm you, don't you believe that it is a threat?

That is how it is! LUCKILY most of them know to keep their hostility at bay at night. OR ELSE it could be extremely dangerous. Most people just stay the hell away from me at night, and I am just fine with that!

I live in the deep South and yes it does appear worse here than in other parts of the country. I was riding regularly in N Charleston, SC and got more curses and one finger salutes there than I have ever gotten anywhere. Typically it was the teenage kids that were the culprits. In my area I don't seem to have quite as much trouble with it, but that maybe because of the near by military base we have a fair dilution of the population. But go ride in Apex up near Raleigh, NC and the JAM's crawl out of the woods in huge numbers.

Aaron:)

I don't live in the historical south but i have had a couple of people yell at me. I know they are just trying to get me upset, because they would be upset if they were in my postition and if someone said what they just yelled. Given that they are in an automobile, i'm an easy target because they can simply drive away.(though i'm waiting for the day someone yells something and the second they finish there power ***** yell their car dies! I would simply ride by and ask nicely if they needed help or I would ask "Well what are you going to do with your 2000 pound paper weight now!) Brush of those hataz! Oh and congrats Patgoral on your first year being car free! I Have been car-lite for three years! You should treat yourself by saving money for later!

However, in the West, Midwest, and Northeast, most people will at least acknowledge that bicycles have a right to be there, even if they're not thrilled about it. In Colorado, I never once in twenty years had anyone tell me to get on the sidewalk.

I've only been cycling for a couple years now in Colorado, but I second that. I've never once had any yell at me to get on the sidewalk. Not any of the times people yelled something I could understand, anyway. It's probably not a coincidence that Colorado also has the thinnest population in the US.

@patgoral - Congrats on your being car-free for a whole year. :beer: 1200 miles/month is pretty impressive. I thought I rode a lot with my 500 miles per month, but you put me in my place. :)

Given that they are in an automobile, i'm an easy target because they can simply drive away.(though i'm waiting for the day someone yells something and the second they finish there power ***** yell their car dies!)

Believe me, when you actually do get a chance to confront them, you'll likely get to see just how cowardly people really are. :innocent:

My car free anniversary was filled with icy roads and cold hands. Thank god I upgraded to a LHT, the tires made the ice survivable.