I've chosen to not afford a car. It means that since I don't have to afford a car, I can work less or at lower-paying jobs. What I ended up doing is starting a business that now makes enough that I only have to work a couple of hours a day, and I work two days a week at the neighborhood branch of the public library--largely for the "staff doesn't pay fines" benefit.

I got around by foot or on the bus for six years before I got the bike. My initial motivation for buying the bike was to save travel time to clients' offices. (Clients, BTW, get a kick out of me showing up by bike.) It has, for better or worse, transformed my life.

Business suffers during nice weather, like the unusually nice late November we've been having here. I ride instead. Depending on how the next two days pan out, I could have more miles in November than in any other month this year, except July. And this is my busy season.

On the other hand, I feel 20 years younger. (40 years younger when I ride in the rain.)