Living Car Free - Going Car-Light

Well I have been a bicycle commuter for over a decade and most of that time I owned two vehicles. Shame on me...I know! I have now looked at this as an unnecassary expence and a waste. My family and I could get by on just one car. Besides, I have been riding the bike to work eight months of the year anyway! What do I need the second vehicle for...convenience? That's an expensive convenience. I the winter here it gets very cold and icy. A few brave souls ride through December to March when it warms up again. I am not sure If I am tough enough for that. I may opt for public transit for my 6 mile commute to work in the winter. I figure I will be saving $3400 per year on insurance, maintenance and gas (no payments it was an old beater). I actually am feeling good about the decision and it is the "green" thing to do, which doesn't hurt.

Transit in Calgary is improving every year a little at a time...so by the time my kids are driving age I hope they will not need to own a car. Funny how I never needed a car before I moved to Calgary from Montreal area ages ago. I didn't care much for Montreal but one good thing about that city is you don't need a car! Their transit is amazing. Much easier to be car free there, even for families. More cities should have underground subways and busses like Montreal.

Good for you! I'm car light (by fortune, my job is literally next door to me) and its a good thing to do. I only use my car for LARGE grocery hauls, trips out of the area and church

Next fall, you might want to ride the bike one more day as the cold weather approaches. If you make it through that one day, try to go one more day. If you make it to mid-December, you might decide to ride through the entire winter! :)

Next fall, you might want to ride the bike one more day as the cold weather approaches. If you make it through that one day, try to go one more day. If you make it to mid-December, you might decide to ride through the entire winter! :)

+1. Calgary usually has some very warm weather in the winter. If you are ready to ride, it might be a chance to do a few days throughout even winter months.

Next fall, you might want to ride the bike one more day as the cold weather approaches. If you make it through that one day, try to go one more day. If you make it to mid-December, you might decide to ride through the entire winter! :)
This is how I got used to 0 degree temps. My commute is only 3 miles, but that's still something. Now if only 95 degree heat and 80% humidity would be tolerable just by riding every day :).

Thanks for the encouragement people...it helps. Right now its good spring weater 23 some mornings up to 57 some days. So not bad. I usually ride from early March until late November. I will put some big fat knobbies on my bike come November when the snow usually hits. But believe it or not we have had snow every and any month of the year in Calgary. I have seen it go from freezing point in the morning, to the high 70's in the afternoon! I'll worry about winter when it hits again in a few months...for now wind pants and a wind jacket with a layer under do fine. Winter here is wierd...chinook winds warm things up like a spring day, everything melts and then that night it gets very cold and its like a skating rink the next day...hey I could skate to work!

Anyway...an update...a fellow put a deposit on my old truck. He needs it for his work in landscaping. I am happy because it will be used for what it was intended and not just sitting there collecting dust. Soon I will be down to just the old family car...and of course my trusty old iron steed.