Machka 

I'm curious to know where @BicycleBicycle is ... or perhaps he was just a passing troll who posted to stir us up?

gerv 

In the spirit of On Topic, I'd like to remind everyone of the health and economic benefits... you know what I'm talking about.

But there another subtle, but maybe more profound (... loving profundity!), phenomenon... is that it really alters your state of mind. It's a little more difficult to lead a completely helter skelter lifestyle. You have to plan more carefully and yield a little more to things like the weather and your own energy level. You can't drive to Omaha for the weekend. You can't dodge off to a distant mall on a whim. You might have to sit out a night with a book in your hands.

Jusr saying...

ro-monster

What Gerv says about altering your state of mind is one of the reasons I have little interest in driving cars. (It's been over 5 years since the last time I drove, and it's pretty rare for me to even ride in someone else's car.) What resonates most with me is not so much the practical side of this change in one's state of mind, but the change in how one experiences the world. On a bike you can really be immersed in your surroundings, the wind on your face, the quality of the light at sunset, the clouds overhead, a bird singing, the scent of blooming roses. And you can be mindful of your own state, your breath as you inhale, how your body feels as you pedal. There is an openness and an appreciation of the vast world, something that is completely lost when you're inside a car.

Redhatter

I'd agree with this… and it's something some of my family just "don't get".

Ekdog

Which of the posts are off-topic? Those of us who answered the original question by stating that we are car-free for environmental reasons or because we don't want to participate in the mass slaughter of human beings on our roads and highways have been accused of straying. Are we supposed to avoid discussing our true motives so as not to ruffle anyone's feathers?

Ekdog

I'm 58 too, and I'm car-free for the same reasons you are. Can't say my income is in the top 1% though.

CbadRider

That would be the political talk such as global warming that will get this thread moved off to P&R.

Ekdog

Climate change is a scientific reality, not a political debate.

Roody

Thanks gerv. As usual, you hit the nail square on the head. Being carfree practicaly forces one to "live deliberately" as Thoreau said. You have to stop and think about your real priorities when you're scheduling activities.

You know, this profound phenomenon was never a "reason" for me becoming carfree. But over the years, it has become the biggest reward for me. I appreciate living deliberately more as I get older, to answer the OP's question.

"Maybe I won't ride all the way across town to get that exotic purple slurpee that I like so much. I can enjoy a red slurpee from the local store, and still have time to sit on the river bank and savor it."

Roody

I agree that a point comes when discussion of climate change becomes too "political." That was not my intent. I simply wanted to mention that concern about the environment is a major reason that I became carfree. I was not off topic, because "reasons for being carfree" IS the topic of this thread. I didn't expect one or two other people to attack my motivations and character as a result.

Too often, people forget that we can allow others to have their own reasons and beliefs without needing to attack them.

Ekdog

I think CbadRider should make it clear: Is any mention of climate change now deemed political and thus prohibited in this subforum? In a thread such as this one, where we were asked our motivations for being car-free, are we not allowed to mention that we are concerned about the environment? Really? What about the death toll on our roads and highways, which some of us have also given as a motivation for choosing the car-free lifestyle? That seems to have rubbed a few people the wrong way, so is it, too, verboten?

gerv 

Yeah, I'd agree it's a side effect, but an important one. Not being completely at the mercy of my whim, I actually feel more in control... which seems a little ironic when you are trying to figure out how you are going to get those 48 inch blinds home on your rear rack.

gerv 

I suspect CbadRider has less problem with climate change than with the kind of magnetism it exudes... I mean it really does draw in some scary opposition and some inane back and forth.

tandempower

I really like to travel but I remember it hitting me at one point that everywhere I went was just a short loop from a parking lot and that bothered me. It was like that moment in the movie, The Matrix, where the guy realizes all his experiences were just electronic-hallucinations and his real body was stuck inside some kind of tech-embryo designed to simulate freedom while extracting energy from the living body.

I'm not sure why it takes an extreme idea like that of The Matrix for people to question things they take for granted in everyday life. Cars are basically little mobile prison cells meant to keep people economically dependent and productive. Yet if they're not totally immobilized and having their energy sucked directly out of their bodies by a wire, they fail to question the energy-drain and immobilization. Why? Because it's 'just normal?'

tandempower

This is the same with dynamite, and still it's not sold to the general public.

Walter S

Well said. And the idea that you can't have a life in the U.S. without a car because of the hauntingly large Square Miles! I live in Atlanta GA and enjoy life in a more rich kind of way than in a car. It's almost like I'm experiencing the environment. The feeling early in the morning after breaking camp and with a Whole Day to ride my ass off and go where I want to and enjoy nature and not go broke is indescribable. Breaking a sweat in the cool air, feeling the power in my legs warming up, and knowing all they need to keep this up day after day is to eat, sleep, and do it again.

I might be outdone in square miles. You got me there if you drive. But nobody is making my rules but me. I didn't sign up for that contest. My satisfaction is rich, without the feeling that I need to see as many different places as possible in a hurry.

Edit: I also find that touring in a car, we all seem to be like zombies between destinations. It's all about these "places" we're going to. On my bike it's the journey of course. The destination is just an excuse for going.

Dave Cutter

You might want to read-up on the meanings behind the matrix movie(s).

Similarly... you may want to spend a little time reading about the history of American cities previously to the introduction of affordable cars (thanks to Henry Ford). Horse manure had made the worlds cities dangerously disease infested holes. Cars may be a nuisance now... but they saved mankind's behind at one point.

Cars are only temporary... as were the conditions they fixed. But turning backwards to mass transit, bicycles, or horse's and ox carts... won't be a bright future... for anyone. We can't go back! Scribes, wagons pulled by teams of horses, rooms lighted with candles and heated by fireplaces.... are gone forever.

The future should never be feared. The future should be welcomed. The very stars belong to mankind. We won't get there by hunkering down in fear of what might happen. Forward is the only option... it isn't like we have a choice. We might as well go forward boldly and bravely. This planet no matter how well cared for... isn't permanent. If man is to survive we must learn to control the energy, and build the machines, that free us from the entrapment of Earth.

tandempower

Why would I want to read-up on other people's interpretations of The Matrix just because I used an aspect of the movie to explain how it is to rely on driving in a car to get anywhere?

You seem to have had a pride-defense reflex. I said something negative about cars, and as a response you felt the need to defend their honor, the way a jingo shoots into defense of national honor whenever the nation is criticized. Try not to take things personally. Your pride need not be at stake.

Cars are mass transit. Public transit and bike riding are not 'backwards.' Public transit is just a method of sharing vehicles. A family carpooling is essentially public transit, only the passengers are family members instead of strangers. It is not 'backward' for a family to ride together in the same vehicle? That makes no sense.

Likewise, there's nothing backward about riding a bike. It is just a very efficient automobile that doesn't require fuel, combustion, or other motorized power. It's silly to imply that because there are faster vehicles available, that everyone must 'progress' to adopting them and abandoning previous vehicles. If that were the case, everyone would be driving flying cars or helicopters and abandon person automobiles.

If anything, the dream of ubiquitous driving is becoming antiquated because of population growth. If the population had leveled off in 1950, universal driving might have been a sustainable option for all of mankind. Since it hasn't, though, it can't be. Even if it had, though, driving has hidden shortcomings that make it inferior to walking and pedaling, which is that sedentary living isn't healthy. In the 20th century, a dream was developed that all health problems could be solved pharmaceutically and behavioral solutions like exercise were considered 'backward.' We are no longer dreaming about pills that will liberate us from the need to eat, chew, and swallow food and we are starting to realize it's not desirable to try to stay healthy without exercise and physical activity. For this reason, walking and pedaling are coming back into view as fundamental aspects of human life, not 'backward' activities antiquated by more modern motorized mobility methods.

Yes, I'm hoping that once people start commuting around the galaxy, a deeper appreciation for unpaved land will grow. If we have the ability to pave Mars completely and do nothing there but drive, park, and live indoors, would people start to grasp how precious it is to be able to spend extended periods of time outdoors on Earth?

Dave Cutter

You do seem to have some...... different ideas. Nice to think.... they are 'movie' inspired.

Roody

Um, your ideas are not exactly conventional. Which is one thing I love about your posts!

tandempower

Your posts are often subtly condescending and passive-aggressive.

Walter S

So true Roody and Gerv. This struck a coord when I read it. I've noticed that since I quit driving I no longer get in a rush. I used to overwhelm myself and try to do too much and drive fast and spend my time behind a bunch of slower drivers frustrated. Not fun.

It's ironic that going way slower would improve that! But I think part of it is that on my bicycle I can't go faster by just pressing my foot closer to the floor. I already ride pretty fast and close to the top of my comfort zone. So what is hurrying really going to do for me? Make an hour's ride way more unpleasant and bump my speed from 17 mph to 17.4? I'm just as likely to go slower on average by staying kind of ragged and behind the curve.

Since it won't accomish anything to hurry on the bike, I've quit worrying with it. I give myself permission to enjoy life between my destinations - something I was not naturally suited to in a car.

Roody

wolfchild

A lot of posts and ideas on LCF forum are based on hallucinations, straight out of a science fiction movie.

Walter S

Free entertainment huh?