Bikeforumuser0019

Hello Forum peeps.

I'm on the cusp of a new work situation that would allow me to bike 10 miles to work (one way) OR bike 2 miles to the train station, and take the train any amount of the way I wish.

If the job pans out (and I hope to know within a week if it will) I would like to sell my car ASAP.

My reasons for wanting to sell the car are several. First, it is too much of a financial burden for me at this time in my life to own a car. Second, I want to simplify my life in general. (hahahaha, my friends don't see me getting rid of a car as a "simplification" of life, but I digress!)

Thirdly, I've always been slightly to grossly overweight. AND I love being outside and I love exercise. I just came to believe that I was the "fat kid" who couldn't really play sports in school and never got away from that mindset. Right now I am 160lbs at 5'4". I've fluctuated between the 220s at my heaviest (in my teenage years) to 135-ish at my lowest (I was rather ill at that time).

But now I'm ready to say "I can do this". I anticipate what will make this transition hard, and will make or break my success, is how well I deal with the emotional difficulty and challenge of daily bike riding. My initial thought was if I ditch the car cold turkey it will force me to bike whether I feel up or down.

SO here's my questions for y'all:

1) Should I just start biking the whole way to work, and ensure that I do by getting rid of the car ASAP?
OR
2) Should I start biking to the train station, and then hope that the train will not re-enforce my lazy tendency to sit and not bike or walk (which is no different than the luxury of having a car).
ALSO
3) I've never sold a car before unless I was trading it in for a new car. Will a car dealership buy back a car that is not a trade-in? I was thinking I might take it back to the dealership where I bought it in March 2014.... they're customer service is quite good and I think they might work with me.

Since this is largely an emotional struggle for me, I'm don't expect "counseling".... I'm mostly interested in how others (who may have been overweight or just out of shape) approached a bicycle commuting lifestyle from 100% car reliance. Were you ever tempted to give up before you really "got good" at commuting by bike? If so, please share how you overcame those temptations/challenges.

thanks,
Jess