i think this is appropriate here - it doesn't really go in car-free, and it's partly about commuting. in fact, it's partly because of bike commuting that it's come up and i need the feedback.

i'm (suddenly, but seriously) considering this: https://www.cooperativeauto.net/ see, it's almost baseball season again - try-outs next week, and i know that will mean regular driving again, some of it to way out of town. my options are:

- dig my old volvo out of mothballs, where it's been sitting since it failed to start one day last august, and take it off to a mechanic for another year's lease on life. i've actually started the process of that - phoned a mechanic this will get us through the season, probably. but it won't really solve the reservations and worries i'm starting to have about that car, especially for the purposes i'll be needing it for.

- buy a different car. bleah. i haven't bought a car for 10 years, and never bought a 'modern' car. and on top of that, now i'd be going through all that aggravation to get something i know i don't even want. something that's probably going to sit for 7 or 8 months of the year.

- give the co-op a try for the 6 months minimum commitment they ask. this would see us through baseball season. it would introduce me to cars that don't have things like carburettors and manual chokes, that are made with substances other than metal. so that if i do decide it's not for me, in 6 months i might at least know what kind of other car i might want. plus, it might be useful when i finish this contract in a couple of months, should i find myself in a situation where biking won't work.

- persuade my kid he doesn't really want to play baseball this year.

since most of this comes up because i'm now a Bike Commuter, i'd really like to hear what other bike commuters think. would you consider this to fill in the gaps that your bike can't fill? would you avoid it? have you done it? stuff like that. thanks.