i have several commute to work horror stories that made me feel like an endurance adventure movie anti hero. i have also tried to own the evil car, but none of them have lasted more than a month in my hands. my latest terror experience happened when i moved to this small city to get away from it all. i was spellbound by the clean air and the country rent. i rented a whole house near the city limits where there is no public transit for the price of a closet in a basement down in the city. work was 25km away. i cycled until dec. before buying a car. i was working 10 to 12 hour shifts, cycling a total of 3 to 3.5 hours a day. i was stuck on my experimental mountain bike, since my gardin had been stolen. the mountain bike is stuck on a single gear. 52/13. there was no time to sleep or recuperate. temperatures were dropping below -25 degrees Celsius. i was so fortunate to get a car together before the brutal temperatures of -40 degrees Celsius and colder hit. On new years eve, at the height of deepest winter in this godforsaken canadian wilderness, i totaled the engine on my 89 corsica. that was it. i was cooked. fortunately for me, i was fired on unrelated and legally questionable grounds on Jan 3. 2005 i won't go into that, but i'm seeking an action for wrongful dismissal. i waited the rest of the winter out, sleeping and will be commuting to vocational retraining 25km each way by bicycle again in april. i hope to be working and driving again by next winter. don't tell me to move. i'm not going to.