Originally Posted by
Machka
I will add that I don't think of it as "backsliding" ... it's just life. Life changes. Sometimes you need a motorised vehicle, sometimes you don't.
Originally Posted by
Smallwheels
Being a bicyclist or pedestrian isn't a religion. We aren't required to stay out of cars in order to get into heaven. We're not in a club that will ban us for using a motorized vehicle. Machka's got it right. It's just life. All of us seek happiness in our own way. Stay on the bicycle or on foot if that makes you the happiest. If you need a car sometimes don't get mad at yourself. Just use one. They're tools.
In the town where we've been living and working for the past approx. 3.5 years, I have been able to walk everywhere ... to work, to church, to the grocery store, etc. etc. There isn't much further than 1 km away.
We're moving now, and will be looking for a place to live. I would like a place that is close enough to walk to work and/or close enough to cycle to work and/or on a bus route. If at all possible, I do not want to drive to work.
It has nothing to do with the environment ... and nothing to do with finances... it has everything to do with the fact that I don't enjoy driving. I have done a lot of driving, and once I get going I feel relatively comfortable, but I don't enjoy it.
However, I do enjoy walking and cycling immensely, and taking the bus is also more enjoyable than driving.
Also, when I was commuting by bicycle regularly, I was in great shape. Of course, I was riding a lot in addition to my commute too, but commute alone I was logging over 2500 km per year. And I think all the walking I've done over the years has also helped keep me in reasonable shape too. Even if I can't get out and exercise in the evening for some reason, it's nice to know that I did something active during the day in the form of my commute.