Originally Posted by
Dave Cutter
...To me... it's just as silly to limit a life to a circumference of their own physical limitations.
That is what I meant by self-flagellation.... or maybe better put as penance. But then... the word anguish pops into the discussion/posts.
I don't think of it that way. I suspect a lot of my cohorts don't see it that way. In fact, it's literally not that way. I don't drive, or at least drive very rarely. And yet, I would not define my life as limited to a circumference of my own physical limitations. I bus, I fly, I take the train. I go pretty much wherever I want. I just don't usually use a car to get there. "self-flagellation" "penance" "anguish" all sound like someone is painfully coping with the absence of a car. I certainly am not. And, yes, the title of this thread also makes it sound like some Herculean effort is required. I also don't find that to be the case.
How do I survive without a car? The first step, which has been pointed out, is finding a home and work situation that doesn't require a car. I know some people struggle with this, but for me it is something I tried to do even when I had a car. I don't enjoy driving, and I especially don't enjoy the necessity of it, so long before I gave up my car, I made an effort to keep home and work accessible to each other without a car. It really hasn't been that hard.
When I got back into riding, I started looking at what other places I could ride to where I was currently using the car. At first it was a challenge to see if I could carry everything I needed from the store, for example, or see if I could compensate for the weather, or whatever perceived obstacles there were to riding vs. driving. But soon it became second nature. The mechanics of how I "survive" without a car are not that abnormal. A rain coat and some panniers make it possible. Once I was using bike and bus to get almost everywhere I needed to go, the car started to go from a benign part of my life to being an annoyance. I try to start the car for the first time in 6 weeks and find that cold weather has killed the battery. I try to fix a burnt out turn signal and find a wasps' nest. I use it on one of my rare trips out of town, and it breaks down.
When I got rid of that thing, it wasn't about how I was going to survive without it. It was about recognizing that it was more work and money owning and maintaining a car just for those 10% of remaining trips where I used it, than it would be just to get rid of it, and find another way. Not having a car is not a source of pain for me. It's just recognition that if I don't need a car to get around, then just having one because you're expected to is nothing more than a way to waste money and time.