stevage

I few months ago I changed jobs to the inner city, where driving is so impractical that I ride 9 days out of 10, and public transport the other. As a result, I've been driivng my car perhaps twice a month. The weird thing? I look forward to driving my car! I've started fantasising about going on scenic drives. I'm coming up with excuses to drive it...

I guess it makes sense that when you cycle for business, driving becomes recreation...but it's still weird.

Anyone else had this happen?

screwdriver

I'm in a simular situation. I've got a 2008 Ford Fusion that only has 3k miles on it in 1-1/2 years. In my small home town, Wal-Marts, movie theater and all eatouts are within bike range.

MrCjolsen

I'm the opposite. The less I drive, the more I hate it when I actually do.

sumguy

no. I don't enjoy driving a car.
I'm still car free and plan to buy a car just for the convenience of being able to go out of town or participate in certain events without taking time off from work.

DataJunkie

+1

I dream about going car free eventually.

banerjek

One good reason for people to bike is to make driving more pleasurable.

If people rode their bikes the majority of the time, the roads would clear and driving would be fun on the occasions when people needed/wanted to use a car. If everyone tries to drive everywhere all the time, traffic is miserable.

wahoonc

Me three

Driving to me is a chore that must be tolerated, it ranks right up there with cleaning bathrooms and litter boxes

Aaron

Barrettscv 

Me also.

I'm very happy I reduced my driving from 18,000 miles/year to less than 9,000/year. I was commuting by car 5,000/year. Running errands by car added another 3,000 miles, business use is 8,000 miles and the rest was for vacations & misc. I now combine my business use and errands and most of my commuting is by bike.

If I lived in a better climate, I would do all my commuting by bike.

The feeling of freedom that driving produces is false, IMO. The toll it takes on finances and the planet is unacceptable to me.

Michael

subclavius

That reminds me of when gas was over $4 a gallon last year. I was commuting by bike every day and got groceries on the bike as well. I only drove the car for an errand once every two weeks or so, just to keep the engine from drying out or the battery from dying. When everybody was crying about gas, I was like "So?", but secretly I was laughing, because I once lived in Houston, where 75% of the city lived an hour or more away from work and drove huge oversized SUVs and trucks.

Got news for 'em...$4 a gallon gas is coming back.

Mr York

My wife has a car, I now use a bike. I have been transitioning to do more and more on the bike. The longer I go without being in a car the happier I feel and the less comfortable I am in a car. Don't like the speed, don't like the traffic, don't like a lot of things about the process. My happiness is becoming inversely proportional to my car usage.

As a side benefit, I am becoming better acquainted with the local area, becoming more appreciative of what I have here at my fingertips, and as a consequence, my desire for road trips is diminishing. I am becoming a local :-)

Mitchxout

Preaching to the choir.

rugerben

The grass is always greener on the other side.

uke

I'd like to rely less on my car, but there are a number of things I need it for at work. My eventual goal is to return to a car free lifestyle, but until then, my shorter goal is to save up enough to buy a more fuel-efficient vehicle.

Sixty Fiver

Used to drive as much as 100,000 km a year and have been car free for ummm...2 ?

Before that I started the car just to gte the opil circulating and would dust it off from time to time.

If I need a car I can borrow on or rent one.

baldsue

I'm not sure if "hate" is a strong enough word for how I feel about being in a car these days. I'd much rather pedal my way around my world. The only reason I'm keeping my car is for trips to the veterinarian and 160 mile round trips to see an old friend once a month. The more I ride my bike, the more I want to ride my bike. I'd rather clean a super dirty litter box than drive my car if that adds any perspective to my view of driving.

urban rider

At my last job in the inner city, all staff which drove their cars has had it either stolen or vandelized. While my bike sat in my office while I worked. When I drive on the weekends I find it cost me more money because I have a tendency to spend money on gas and use my debit card more often. There is also a lazy feeling when I drive as well as missing the local sites. I once found 220 dollars while riding my bike. I would not have seen the money if I drove.



Gas, .69 cents the costs of a can of beans.

wahoonc

I drive mainly for work, upwards of 40,000 miles a year Last year my personal driving miles was around 3,000 and I managed to bike around 1,500-2,000. Once I get where I am going I park the truck and break out the bike. I have gone as long as 3 weeks at an out of town jobsite and never moved the truck. I have my dually up for sale, it hasn't moved in almost 6 weeks! That leaves me stuck with the company truck. At one point I was able to use Amtrak to go back and forth between my jobsite and home. That was great, but unfortunately they don't cover a lot of territory if you live away from their main corridors.

Aaron

buzzman

I really don't like to drive in Boston traffic so I don't have "fantasies" of driving like that. My wife bought a little Honda Fit a couple of years ago and I like the car- it's fun to drive on a road trip- highway driving of a distance of about 100 miles or so. Listen to music, talk, get somewhere- that's not so bad. But for everyday use- NO WAY!!!!

Commuter_Dan

I agree. Unfortunately, my job recently relocated to two towns away. The ride is 15 miles each way, which is do-able, but only one day a week due to the time it takes and kid scheduling issues. I've been really surprised by how aggravated having to drive to work is making me. Somehow all these years of commuting by bike made it a defining feature of my self-identity and now driving to work just grates on me.

I'm looking forward to a few years down the road when the kids will be more self-sufficient and I can increase my bike commuting.

degnaw

Driving itself is okay, but:

1) sitting in traffic, when I could easily pass through on a bike and
2) foggy windows, and fiddling with the air/defogger controls to remove it while trying to drive

really aggravate me.

devianb

When I had my car I wanted to ride the bike when I was driving and when I was cycling I wanted to drive. I love the car because I can go to farther places and faster. I love the bicycle because I can go places the car can't without spending any money.

Scheherezade 

You gotta sell that **** son.

Ka_Jun

No. I do like the occasional road trip w/ the fam, though. Other than that, not so much.

rumrunn6

Hmm, I had the opposite happen. I drove my car and got really annoyed. So happy to ride my bike again today. Two more days this week with the car then I hope to ditch it significantly for the summer! WooHoo!

Mr. Underbridge

Every once in a while I have to drive to work - usually because I have to take the car into the shop or something, which is about 1/4 mile from where I work.

Every time I do, I think to myself, "right, THIS is why I hated driving around here so much that I'd rather ride in 15F temperatures."