Is your bike a car?
 

Is your bike a work-horse? Do you ride to work? The store? What?

If you ride your bike to get something done that you could also do by car, stand up and let it be known. It would be interesting to see how many do.

I ride to extend my useful lifespan. Does that count?

I edited my original post, Sam. Yes, it counts! But the question now reads: is your bike a car?

i ride all over the place, thats only because i cant afford a motorcycle and i dont drive a car, hahaha, im poor, bikes are a kids best friend huh

So when am I ging to get to meet you out at Stone Mountain LBM? I was there today pulling Samantha and it was lonely....I saw one other die hard biker but it was on my way out the gate.

Anyway, if you ever see a gold 4 door toyota tacoma with a camper shell and the big red specialized "S" on the back window I am there. I park in the walk up trail lot.

I am almost alway pulling my daughter.

naisme, I knew you would qualify for this one. I think you ride your bike from the bedroom to the kitchen in the mornings ;)

My parents have offered to buy me a car in the attempt to get me from riding my bike. They are just way too scared that something "bad" might happen to me. My dad even cried one day, but I'm still riding... I do my shopping, go to work, visit my friends, and whatever else needs to be done. I don't even like public transportation anymore. The only reason why I took a bus recently was because my nephews (4 and 6 years old and pretty tall for their age) were visiting, and my sister-in-law said their bikes wouldn't fit in her car, or else we would have been riding the streets of Chicago too- instead, I had to jump buses with them. It still sucked, though.

Koffee

I started riding my bike so much I found that I had to drive my car at least once a week or it wouldnt start!

I decided that I wasn't driving my car enough that I could justify getting a minivan because I kept renting vans/trucks from time to time but didn't want to own one due to fuel costs...

Now the van is utilized for bike trips out of the state and for those times I need to carry something I just cant do efficiently on a bicycle.

Bike to work, to the mall, to all bike rides, to county meetings and to dinner... Not 100% but still enough that I still have to watch how long I let the van sit...

I logged 10,000 miles on the bike last year. 3000 on the van!

Yeap..That is me.. I use a bike for errands whenever possible. My philosopy, I do not turn over the motor, unless absolutely necessary......Did half my Chiristmas shopping on the bike. Filled my panniers. ..........I am one to bad mouth this auto obsessive culture, whenever possible.. I have two T shirts and one jersey to give testimony to my ever blooming hatred of the auto congested highways.The congested-ness, is what sets me off...
Ever just watch the behavior of your fellow motorists. The games they play.Such a race to make it to the next red light.
Didn't always be that way. I love my little Red jetta. Just driving is not fun any longer. .....I skirt about town on the bike all the time...People who know me tell me they see me everywhere, on the bike... ..If I have to go to the post office, I go to the P.O. 6 miles away, instead of the Post Office one mile away. On bike of course.. I am often found stinking up the super markets upon returning from a ride.. Is that not what bikes do..To Get you about. Do not just have to be for fun..However, it makes errands more fun..

Once had a friend live in Chicago.
 

Steve, decided to dump his car, when car rent was about 1/3 that of apartment rent...He kept it with friends in Grand Rapids and took the train up to G.R. to retrieve his car, should he need it..... He found the car was just too inconvenient..What was it good for..Can't park it, without a hour or so lead time to find an empty parking space.. It was good Steve got rid of it.. He lived on North Adams, couple blocks off the Lake.....He would walk to some nearby bar district..Dread to think what his life would have been like with all those DUI's....
ps..That was a pretty busy bar district..Lots of clubs..North Street or something like that...Was pretty fun..

No my bike is not a car, but the hallway closet is really a spaceship.
No, it's mostly my car, and my pals with trucks seeing that I bike all the time, and am not lazy- really don't mind helping out w\ a haul or a ride to the ferry or airport. 2 or more in a car I got no prob with, it's the lazy- one block to the corner shop people I get bugged by. I try to do anything within say 10-15 miles by bike if time will permit. ( oh weather, as well. Don't mind rain, HATE wind.)

I have never had a car, and see no reason to buy one in the near future. I use either bike or public transportation for shopping and other errands. On those rare occasions when I really need a car, I take a taxi or rental car. But my bike is my primary means of transportation.

--J

Thanks, Sam, next time I head out there I'll look!

If you're pulling a passenger, that counts as using your bike as a car!

Unfortunately, I have been heading in the opposite direction the last year or so. With a 6 month old child biking has had to take a back seat. As the kid(s) grow, I imagine my utility cycling will vastly increase. I can't wait for the day where we can all ride to the store. (I am currently child-trailer shopping.)

Steele, The child trailer I use is the trek transport deluxe and it is great. The attachment setup stays connected to the bike and with the insertion of a pin and safety looop you are hooked up and ready to ride.

I may be able to get into the best riding shape ever due to puling the kiddie cart. I started Samantha in it at 7 months old.

Let me get that straight, you're from the States and you think Fuel prices are high?
I've just done the sums and over her I pay roughly $6.00 for a gallon of fuel.

I ride the bike a lot!

www.belfastandbeyond.com

The bike is my primary transportation. The only time I drive, is when the family needs to get somewhere together. Sometimes when I drive the car, it feels wierd, like "this isn't my bike!" The third eye is in the wrong place, and you brake with your foot...Who designed these things anyway!?

Either way, I still fuel with food, but the car wants gas too. Bummer. :rolleyes:

Steele, you don't have to be car-free to answer "yes," in fact, it doesn't matter if you only use the bike once a month for utility purposes. The point is, do you ever do it? I'm pretty sure you do, sometimes.

Subtotal
 

I think that's 12 of us so far that use a bicycle for utilitarian purposes. I'm sure there are a whole lot more (Mike and Raymond apparently haven't stumbled in here, yet.)

:D

Yep, when I was in the military and stationed in Italy the price of fuel was about 5 dollars per gallon if I bought it without my military discount rations.

We Americans don't have a clue about high fuel costs. If we did we would also be driving Fiat's ,Mini's, VW's Alfa's and Citroen's. Instead we drive the equivalent of the small school buses that the handicapped children ride.

You can add me to that list. I don't even own a car; therefore my bike has to be a car.

I have decided I have bad car Karma and may just stick to the bikes. Right now my bikees are my only form of transportation until I get around to sinking some money back into the Subaru

Apart from commuting nearly every day I often shop on the bike and run local errands. Especially in warmer and dryer weather I'll do all my grocery shopping by bike with a car trip every 2 weeks or so to stock up on canned goods. I just use my panniers as I don't own a trailer.

I became car free several years ago and now use the bicycle in conjunction with the Light Rail (Tram, Trolley). I consider the 1.2 billion dollar Light Rail as my car since it gets me to work and downtown for shopping at the mall. I also consider the New York City subway my secondary car since I would be insane to drive in Manhattan.

I'm lucky that I live in an area where billion dollar transit systems are at my disposal 24/7. I understand that many people hate public transportation but the waiting time for rail in my neighborhood is a mear 10 to 15 minutes. There are very few people on this forum who know what it's like to live in a large city with excellant rail transport. It truly liberates you from having to spend 10-20 percent of your income on personal auto transportation.

The bicycle is my secondary form of transportation. When used with the Light rail, I can travel all over town in minutes to locations that would require a lenghtly bus ride or a long walk. The bicycle gives me power that I had only when I owned a car for a fraction of the cost. I lived most of my adult life car dependant and thought this was the only way of life. It was only when the machine nearly bankrupted me, that I gave up this illusion for a simple life.

OH Yeah. I did go Christmas shopping by bicycle and the biggest load was a sewing machine!