Forum: Living Car Free

So you've given up driving and go just about everywhere by bicycle. So, even at $2.50/ gallon (or whatever it currently is...), you must be saving a chunk of money every month. For a while I was into spending just the "saved gas" money on my personal bike infrastructure... more bikes, more...

I currently have a van sitting in a parking spot behind the apartment building. It has sat there since early January. It doesn't turn over, something about a battery might be dead? I ride to work every day, and now with the warmer weather there are extended trips, and rides with friends. My...

I know this topic has been brought up before, however, I saw this article in the WSJ and found it interesting that even the "upper class" see it as a boon to housing values. One factor I don't think is taken into account in the Walkability score is crime/safety. I may have a variety of amenities...

It's only 89 sq. ft. :thumb:

im 25 and my bike is pretty much my only mode of transport im sure im not the only one my license was suspended due to no tag and no insureance but now i dont even miss driveing i was suprised at how much i enjoy rideing my bike now if i dont ride at least once a day i feel as if im having withdawls

I've been thinking a lot about the foods I'm eating. The transportation distance for some items is simply staggering. Bananas from Ecuador or avocados from Mexico are traveling thousands of kilometres to arrive here. The coffee I drink, while roasted locally, was grown in Brazil or Peru or...

Drivers in Idaho and other Northwest states used more gasoline last year, reversing a decade-long trend of declining personal gas consumption Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/06/30/1251308/idaho-gasoline-use-goes-up-ends.html I guess this should not come as a surprise to me,...

What's your motivation? Why do you ride a bike? Is it for health and fitness reasons, economic factors, concerns about the environment or something else?

Ciclovias are getting more and more popular in the U.S. so I'm guessing a lot of people here already know about them. If you're not familiar with it, it's "either a permanently designated bicycle route or a temporary event, the closing of the street to automobiles for use by others" as defined by...

Perhaps more will cycle and/or use public transportation since Arnold has done something right. http://www.dailytech.com/Prius+Drivers+Being+Kicked+Out+of+Californias+HOV+Lanes/article19012.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/WhatWouldYouDo/video/stop-bike-thief-10589721 Here Is An interesting hidden camera experiment On 3 different types of people (White Male, Black Male & A Stunning Blonde Female) stealing the same bike, wearing the same clothes (at least the males-the girl wore skimpy...

What do you guys do about lightning? Just ride in it? Tomorrow may be the first day I've had to deal with this, as I've always had my truck as backup.

What about children? There may be a few places, perhaps NYC, where a family can conveniently not own or frequently use a car, but in many places, it would seem to complicate things a lot. My family (5 children, aged 10 months through 9 years, 2 adults) owns one car, and quite a few bikes. I use...

Grist.org has an article about politicians who bike to work. Sounds like a great idea to me. The article has a great video about the mayor of Seattle (which I couldn't embed... so you'll have to visit the link below...) ...

For the car free or car light people what is our most common choice of bicycle? I have two road bikes a Hybrid and a Mountain bike. I put on between 6000 and 8000 miles combined.

I moved into an apartment that doesn't have central air conditioning. I'm thinking about not getting an air conditioner at all. Will this save money and coal, considering that I'll probably have to use fans more? Any tips for being comfortable without A.C.?

At a recent bike infrastructure planning session, we were told about "bicycle super highways". These are combinations of MUPs, side-streets, bike lanes... whatever exists... consistently marked as a bike route and intended to support bikes moving from one end of a city to another. To me this...

I now own a car, or rather half a car. My father passed away about a month ago, and my sister and I inherited his little car. I want to be carlite, but so far I've been driving quite a bit, mostly to help my sister with the memorial service, bank, lawyer, etc. (I live about 200 miles away). I...

From Los Angeles Local Area ABC 7's Webpage: "....Consumer Reports tested 17 bikes to find the top two in shock absorption, breaking, gear shifting and comfort...." Streaming Video On My Own Webpage (scroll down to view it): ...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/24/beijing-cycling-capital-plans Apparently even China is not immune to the "blessings" that the heavy private motor vehicle use brings with it. Here is an article on going back twenty years for them. Yet can they actually return to bikes?: ...

This article wandered across my screen this morning via link from a cycling blog. A lot of interesting numbers in there. The average US household spent $5,477 on car expenses last year in the US, naturally there are some areas that were a higher and some that were lower. That is a substantial...

Locked my bike. Walked into Kroger's. Grabbed a cart and went to get some bottles of seltzer. I've shopped at that store hundred's of times. Only this time a security guard taps me on the shoulder and insists on confiscating my backpack. Manager's orders he says. I ask the manager and he...

http://www.mnn.com/transportation/alternative-transportation/stories/12-reasons-to-start-using-a-bicycle-for-transporta This is an excellent Webpage detailing the rationale of this particular forum's reason for existence. Don't miss: ...

I am very curious about where car free people live. Such as in a house, apartment, condo, boat, trailer, urban, surburban, rural

http://www.dailynews.com/business/ci_15431890 By Mike Swift, San Jose Mercury News Posted: 07/02/2010 08:30:48 PM PDT Updated: 07/02/2010 08:31:41 PM PD ".....While there is much to admire about the OpenMaps and Google Maps products, they are still not quite good enough to serve as an...

Hello,:) I have a question on doing your grocery shopping and laundry ? I have definitely turned the corner into car light and wanting to do my chores with my bicycle. I have a 2008 Fuji Touring Bicycle and my question is what do all of you recommend for the bike and chores I have listed ....

I've noticed that the commuter and 50 plus forums have a thread/sticky where posters can talk about their ride or comimute that day. Just thought a similiar thread could work here. It would be interesting to know the types of errands/destinations folks do with their bikes that others may do...

I was car free for the most part between 16 and 22. I rode my bike pretty much everywhere I wanted to go. I took the bus if I really had to. It was a great time and I did not feel like I was missing out. I am wondering how many people over 40 are living car free. I would like to hear how they do...