Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Living Car Free
Reload this Page >

having trouble

Notices
Living Car Free Do you live car free or car light? Do you prefer to use alternative transportation (bicycles, walking, other human-powered or public transportation) for everyday activities whenever possible? Discuss your lifestyle here.

having trouble

Old 03-20-11, 11:51 AM
  #1  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: LLano, TX
Posts: 568

Bikes: 2009 Novara Randonee

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
having trouble

I am having trouble wanting to drive sometimes to run errands. Does the living car free/lite lifestyle get easier over time?
mthayer is offline  
Old 03-20-11, 12:16 PM
  #2  
Sophomoric Member
 
Roody's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Dancing in Lansing
Posts: 24,221
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 711 Post(s)
Liked 13 Times in 13 Posts
I had the same problem of wanting to use the car for ridiculous purposes. My solution was to get rid of the car totally.
__________________

"Think Outside the Cage"
Roody is offline  
Old 03-20-11, 12:30 PM
  #3  
cycleobsidian
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Southwestern Ontario
Posts: 441
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by mthayer
I am having trouble wanting to drive sometimes to run errands. Does the living car free/lite lifestyle get easier over time?
If you're the type of person who has a tendency to prefer to drive over ride a bike, but really wishes that you would just feel like riding all the time, it might be a good idea to set some rules for yourself.

For example, you could only give yourself permission to drive if....

It's raining hard,
Temperatures drop below 5degrees Celcius,
it's over 25 km, etc.

For me, I hardly ever drive. I ride my bike everywhere. However, my hubby drives us places on the weekend at times so that is my out
cycleobsidian is offline  
Old 03-20-11, 01:24 PM
  #4  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 182
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I've never really gone car free/lite without other major changes (leaving the state/country, change of jobs, leaving behind a social network and building a new one). I've always found car free/lite to be much easier to adjust to than going the other way. I've been living where I am now for almost two years and I'm still not used to driving everywhere. When you're walking/biking you are constantly discovering things that you just pass by when driving. I was always making mental notes to check this or that out when I had a chance. It's very seldom I do that any longer. Part of it does come down to this being the first genuinely boring place I've ever lived. I'm sure there are interesting things out there, but they are so far and few between it isn't worth it. It's also a pain in the butt to go north/south because the thoroughfares are all narrow and full of zombie drivers moving along at 45-55 mph. I can get to the grocery store (2 miles) and the nearest mega strip mall (5 miles). Anywhere else (movie theater, downtown, malls aka Barnes & Nobles, etc) I have to go way out of my way and through crack head central or be run over by zombie drivers. The weather sucks. Six months out of the year its over 90 which relegates you to snail pace if you don't want to show up drenched in sweat. Where you live matters. My hats off to anyone that could pull off car-lite here.

Even in Marysville, WA (suburb 40 miles north of Seattle) where I lived for the first few months it wasn't terribly difficult. Getting around in Marysville was a pain, but I didn't really have errands as I was living with family friends until I got my own apartment. Once I found a job and an apartment in Seattle I really had no need for a car. I barely used the car from the time when I drove it up from California (loaded down with stuff) until I sold it around two months later. Davis, CA, was the same way. Basically I used the car to drive home a few weekends a month and sometimes to get groceries although I usually pick those up on the way home from school. I hated moving the car because it meant losing my parking space which would mean running groceries up while double parking and hoping the University parking zealots didn't ticket you. And then driving around for 15 minutes looking for a parking spot less than a mile away.

Last edited by Malloric; 03-20-11 at 01:41 PM.
Malloric is offline  
Old 03-20-11, 07:45 PM
  #5  
Senior Member
 
bhchdh's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Hampton Roads VA
Posts: 1,788

Bikes: '07 Trek 520, '09 Gary Fisher Triton, '04 Trek 8000, '85 Trek 500, '84 Trek 610, '85 Trek 510, '88 Trek 660, '92 Trek 930, Trek Multitrack 700

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 19 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Everytime you think of driving, picture yourself pulling up to the gas pump. That should make cycling much more apealing.
__________________
"When I hear another express an opinion, which is not mine, I say to myself, He has a right to his opinion, as I to mine; why should I question it. His error does me no injury, and shall I become a Don Quixot to bring all men by force of argument, to one opinion? If a fact be misstated, it is probable he is gratified by a belief of it, and I have no right to deprive him of the gratification."

T. Jefferson
bhchdh is offline  
Old 03-20-11, 08:04 PM
  #6  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 790
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Driving is an addiction. It's really no different than tobacco or alcohol. It's going to be tough to get it under control. Some people can have a car available and use it quite sparingly. Others will be so intent on their next "fix" that they will invent excuses to sit on the motorized couch. I guess you just have to figure out who's in charge, you or the car.
TheHen is offline  
Old 03-20-11, 08:18 PM
  #7  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Northern California
Posts: 1,639
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
I was car-free for the first 27 years of my life. When I first got a car I gained weight rather quickly because I rode less. I caught on to that quickly and became more car-lite. Now I'm more car-lite than ever. All I have to do is think about how much weight I've lost over the past 10 months from riding (especially uphill), the money I'm saving in maintenance, insurance, and gas, and the fact that I don't have to deal with panhandlers at the gas station as often. That keeps me out of the truck unless I want to haul my road bike up to the foothills or mountains to do some climbing. If I lived in the Bay Area or another area with hills really close, I'd be car-free.
freighttraininguphill is offline  
Old 03-20-11, 08:20 PM
  #8  
Pedaled too far.
 
Artkansas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: La Petite Roche
Posts: 12,851
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 11 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 7 Times in 7 Posts
Get a safe deposit box at a local bank. Put your car keys in there.
__________________
"He who serves all, best serves himself" Jack London

Originally Posted by Bjforrestal
I don't care if you are on a unicycle, as long as you're not using a motor to get places you get props from me. We're here to support each other. Share ideas, and motivate one another to actually keep doing it.
Artkansas is offline  
Old 03-20-11, 08:44 PM
  #9  
Sophomoric Member
 
Roody's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Dancing in Lansing
Posts: 24,221
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 711 Post(s)
Liked 13 Times in 13 Posts
Originally Posted by Artkansas
Get a safe deposit box at a local bank. Put your car keys in there.
Or freeze them in a big block of ice in your freezer. (also works with credit cards)
__________________

"Think Outside the Cage"
Roody is offline  
Old 03-20-11, 11:32 PM
  #10  
bragi
 
bragi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: seattle, WA
Posts: 2,911

Bikes: LHT

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
Originally Posted by mthayer
I am having trouble wanting to drive sometimes to run errands. Does the living car free/lite lifestyle get easier over time?
Are you doing the bicycle thing because you think you should be doing it? If so, it'll never work. If, at the bottom of your heart, you'd rather be driving a car, then drive. There are times when I drive, but it's never my preference; in fact, when I do need to drive, I kind of resent it.
bragi is offline  
Old 03-21-11, 02:24 AM
  #11  
Pedaled too far.
 
Artkansas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: La Petite Roche
Posts: 12,851
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 11 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 7 Times in 7 Posts
Originally Posted by bragi
Are you doing the bicycle thing because you think you should be doing it? If so, it'll never work. If, at the bottom of your heart, you'd rather be driving a car, then drive.
I remember one time I was driving, I saw some bicyclists and I was so jealous.

But then I have a long history of owning motor vehicles and letting them sit on some small pretense while I ride my bicycle.
__________________
"He who serves all, best serves himself" Jack London

Originally Posted by Bjforrestal
I don't care if you are on a unicycle, as long as you're not using a motor to get places you get props from me. We're here to support each other. Share ideas, and motivate one another to actually keep doing it.
Artkansas is offline  
Old 03-22-11, 06:41 PM
  #12  
In the right lane
 
gerv's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Des Moines
Posts: 9,565

Bikes: 1974 Huffy 3 speed

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 44 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 7 Times in 6 Posts
Originally Posted by bragi
Are you doing the bicycle thing because you think you should be doing it? If so, it'll never work. If, at the bottom of your heart, you'd rather be driving a car, then drive. There are times when I drive, but it's never my preference; in fact, when I do need to drive, I kind of resent it.
I disagree with this somewhat. You could really enjoy driving a car, but decide not to use it on short ( or any) trips for ethical reasons.

{Edit** We don't talk a lot about this here, but, if you stop to think about it, there is a strong moral side to not driving. Although, morality seems to be a taboo subject these days.
gerv is offline  
Old 03-22-11, 06:47 PM
  #13  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: LLano, TX
Posts: 568

Bikes: 2009 Novara Randonee

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Here lately I have been extremely tired. I am attributing it to me not wanting to ride. I am not sure why I've been so tired but it seems like I cannot catch up on sleep. Also my legs have been sore but I have laid off training hoping they would quit hurting. Not sure what's going on with my body right now but it's not cool. I'm hoping this quits soon so I can get back to my regular self.
mthayer is offline  
Old 03-22-11, 07:24 PM
  #14  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Spur TX
Posts: 1,991

Bikes: Schwinn folder; SixThreeZero EvryJourney

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by mthayer
...it seems like I cannot catch up on sleep...
Think it has anything to do with the recent change to daylight saving? It always takes me a few days to adjust.
Platy is offline  
Old 03-22-11, 08:21 PM
  #15  
Senior Member
 
coldfeet's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,118
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by mthayer
I am having trouble wanting to drive sometimes to run errands. Does the living car free/lite lifestyle get easier over time?
It'll get easier, usually, but like Roody, the best way for me was to get rid of the car.
coldfeet is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
konsole
Living Car Free
26
12-23-15 11:01 PM
storckm
Living Car Free
4
04-29-13 07:29 PM
nathan.johnson
Living Car Free
21
10-12-11 06:45 PM
cooker
Living Car Free
10
05-13-10 09:51 PM
agarose2000
Commuting
159
02-04-10 10:02 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.