bike or die

I was thinking another encouraging thread in the living car free section would be good. I used to own an older car like many others ('72 cutlass but enough of that on bike forums!), kept it going until the engine died. I walked a bit at first, then realized life would be better biking around. A lot of folks probably don't realize the options with bicycles, but likely also some just don't want to pay extra for nice options. A rear rack is a must for me, that was probably my first good option. Then came panniers, & the cooler-lunchbox. I started using a trailer when panniers were not quite enough for grocery shopping, bought mine back in the 90's for $200, last I looked a couple months ago about the same type of cargo trailer goes for $270. An all around usage bike is still affordable from what I've seen at a shop.

I never take a taxi or bus, even though I heard they're cheap if needed. I walk to work usually, since it's about 6 blocks from home. I moved last year, a few months ago, that was the only time I rented vehicles, it's good to keep a driver's license for matters like that. I'm not really a diehard, or ever did organized events with bikes as my name might suggest, just the names I wanted were taken I think. I started with a cheap mountain bike I bought from a friend-had it a few years before getting a Gary Fisher Tassajara mountain bike, then a few years ago I bought a nice recumbent. I replaced the Tassajara with a hybrid (Norco Yorkville) last year. I usually prefer thorn-resistant tubes but I'm open to other options, years ago I once tried kevlar lining strips, the portable pumps now seem to make changing tires on-the-go easier in passing years.

From my POV you either do live car free or just don't. I guess it's ok to have one of those gas scooters or like a Smart-fortwo, or whatever but be mostly bicycle riding. I usually don't ride in the dark but I do use lights, used to use Cateye halogen lights, though these days I use Niterider lightning bug 2.0- LEDs bright enough to be seen, small enough to put in a pocket, & affordable. I would say after all these years my panniers & trailer have paid for themselves, & keep on doing so. As I get older I'm considering more Winter gear, never had bar mitts yet but eventually I'll one day get some. Well I hope this was some incentive if anyone out there needs some, I'm just another guy saying it's well worth it to be car free.

Roody

Very informative and supportive! My own switchover from carfree walking to carfre bicycling was also something of an epiphany also. One of the first things I did after starting to ride an old clunker was to look up bikes on the Internet. I stumbled across bikeforums.net, and it was an enormous help to me over the first few months and years.

Can I ask, you rarely ride in the dark, and you don't have much winter gear. Does that make it harder for you to be relying on your bikes for transportation?

Alligator

There are also some of us who are trying hard to become car free, but are not winning the fight. I have a 21 mile commute (one way), but for just about everything else, I bike. Year round, even in Minnesota. I've tried to bike to work, but it's hard on my body. Once my kids are in college, I plan to either move closer to work or find another job closer to home. Then I'll finally be able to live car free.

jfowler85

Truly car free is difficult for those on a career path with a significant commuting distance. The decision of how to structure one's life - i.e., either build your life around your job or around your bike - is often the diciding factor.

Two anecdotal case studies:

1. A coworker and friend of mine, who commutes to work, recently was presented with a job opportunity. It would have been a career defining move for him and would have increased his salary by 3x at least, in a government position with excellent benefits and little possibility of ever losing work, even in a furlough. He was the ideal and preferred applicant, a sure winner, BUT he is 100% car free, commutes by bike year-round, races crits and centuries all season as well...and he showed up to the interview in his cycling kit because he was running a bit late. He was later told that, had he dressed appropriately for the interview, the position would have been his.

2. I'm a hospital AO and full time grad student with my eye on a doctorate in my field of study. One of the best parts of my day, other than seeing my family at lunch or hearing "daddy's home!!!" at the end of a workday, is commuting to work on my bicycle. Right now my wife and I have are in a position to buy real estate, pre-approved for a mortgage and looking; however houses around this popular university town are relatively expensive, so I have accepted the fact that our home may end up being beyond an acceptable commuting distance considering my school and work schedules...so if need be I will start commuting by car.

So, in the former example there is someone who structures his life around his bike, so much so that he willingly and knowingly gave up a huge increase in his quality of living for the sake of one single day's commute. Then, you have someone like me, who rather is more committed to a career (within reason) than a bike and is willing to give it up if it means getting to where I want to be. Granted, none of this may apply to you at all, OP, but I thought I would jump in just for the sake of it.

bike or die

Not really, I just don't trust some drivers when it comes to darkness so I usually plan ahead, but for Winter I only hope the sidewalks or pathways are clear enough. I of course have Pearl Izumi gloves, a headband/hats, & different coats for the varying temperature days, thinking about looking at the right kind of scarf & more shoes though.. also very much considering buying a fat bike. I never had one yet & I have to admit they look fun, had road bikes before, my last one was an older Raleigh though I forgot what I did with it.

Ekdog

@jfowler85: Your co-worker didn't didn't lose out on that job opportunity because he was carfree; he didn't get the job because he turned up to an important interview in cycling kit. If he'd gotten out of bed a half an hour earlier, he'd have had time to change into a suit, so it was hardly "for the sake of a single day's commute," that he wasn't hired.

cooker

I'm car-light, but both in my work and home life I have always found opportunities to lessen my car use or facilitate biking/walking/public transit. I posted this stuff before.

When I started biking to work in 1992 I explored different routes and found the most feasible ones that allowed me to mostly avoid even small uphill sections so I could coast to work on almost all but the hottest days without having to shower. I also discovered an unused shower stall in a public washroom in my old building that cleaning staff were using to store mops in, and if the temperature was over 30C I occasionally I snuck in there and even stole a shower curtain from another unused shower stall. The cleaning staff seemed to notice and even stopped leaving their mops in the tub.

I consult to a community in northern Ontario and the original schedule called for a 2 day visit every month. After a while I negotiated to switch to 4 days every 2 months to lessen my travel burden and footprint. The contract allows for car rental, but I stay at a hotel close enough to the job site that I usually walk one or both ways, (or take the "free" hotel shuttle) so I only need to take a "limo" to and from the airport. One reason for renting a car would be if I go up a day early and ski on the Sunday, but even there I discovered they had a bus to the ski hill so I have used that a couple of times. However it won't work so well in future as the hotel near the ski bus depot is too far from the new job site. The city bus service is unfortunately not useful.

A couple of years ago my main office in Toronto moved to a new building, but I still have to go to our old site about once every week or two. I try to schedule those visits for the beginning or end of the day so I only have to travel one way. Thus, if I am biking there is no extra travel involved as the old site is "on the way" between my home and new site. If am not biking, but traveling to work on public transit, the corp would actually pay for a cab from one site to the other (15 min) but I usually allow enough time to take public transit (30 min) and I can "work" ie. check emails etc. with my phone en route so it is not really lost time.

bike or die

Very true, I was going to say something like how it's just a one time thing, lasting maybe two hours at the most. I always plan for a day like that, even if it would mean calling a friend for a ride, or using public transit, just to make sure things happened.

Roody

I think he just has a different definition of "quality of living" than you do. He did NOT give up what was important to his quality of living, as he sees it.

Walter S

Don't equate bicycling and living car free with not understanding how to dress for a job interview. I'm carfree and have a career in software development where I am highly respected and paid as a professional. My bicycle commute is 40 miles RT. You can balance cycling and work. You need to understand that you're slower than a car and plan accordingly.

I don't choose to fill my life with work, and don't need to in order to have a career. If a particular job were very high paying but I would not have time for my bicycle riding then I would not take that job. That would not be my bicycle stealing a great opportunity. It would be my bicycle protecting my better judgment of what having a good life means.

The world is full of people that drive cars that are late or inappropriately dressed. That wasn't the bicycle's fault.

Edit: IMO you're better off late than going into an interview wearing cycling clothes.

jfowler85

Respectfully, you have little to no context on the situation whereas I was there and I know the co-worker in question. I'm afraid you'll have to take my word for it that bike commuting is more important to him than his job.



You made that connection, not me. The co-worker in question could have arranged alternate transportation, could have called in late/sick, could have done a number of things. The cause of his inappropriate attire was not his bicycle, it is the love he has for doing it. He made a choice that morning to do what he did rather than change with his situation. Why did he make that choice? Because he lives, eats, breaths and sleeps cycling. Everything in his life is built around it, and that which is incompatible with cycling is left, forgotten or discarded. He is an intelligent man with the wherewithal to do better but he ultimately chose cycling because that is more important to him.


Nowhere did I blame the bicycle, that was you.

How can you say that, having absolutely no connection with the situation? After he was turned down, he expressed to me to sentiments: 1) he regretted showing up in cycling attire, and 2) the increased income would have allowed him to quit his second job, take on regular daytime hours and have much more disposable income for the SuperSix Evo which just wiped out half his savings.

mconlonx

The first two statements don't seem to jive with the last two points. Just sayin'...

denis123

In your first post, you wrote that he willingly and knowingly gave up a huge increase in his quality of living for the sake of one single day's commute. So, he choosed what was more important to him. In life, one has to make choices and it is not always easy.

jfowler85

How, exactly? I can think of a particular circumstance wherein part of me regrets a past choice I made while another part of me is glad for where I am today. Ultimately the part I feel strongest about wins out, but that does not negate the regret. All the armchair psychology and Monday morning quarterbacking here is amusing.

You're literally reiterating what I said to begin with.

denis123

So Roody was right.

mconlonx

As closer to this guy as you are than we are, you're still not him. And yes, it is amusing.

Roody

Well, the guy and his motives are unknown to us all. We can only discuss him as an example or a model, not as a real person.

But if cycling is more important to him than a high paying or high status job, then he would be stupid to give up cycling to get a job he doesn't really want.

Cycling is very versatile. It can be a relatively small part of a high-pressure materialistic life, or it can be a bigger part of a simpler life.

IMO, we should all choose the path that will make us truly happy, rather than the path that society believes is best. But as long as this guy is staying off welfare and paying for his bike habit, I think none of us has any right to criticise or disparage his life choices.

Roody

The original intent of this thread was to point out that we all have the option to do things that make us more carfree, or less dependent on cars. Right now, my 16 year old grandson and his friend are getting ready to take a bus to the mall. They decided not to ask one of the parents for a ride, going with the carfree option. Even if they had to mooch some change off me for the bus fares, they're still getting a taste of the adventure and independence that teenagers love. They're downright giddy talking about their plans for buying parts for a robot they're building in school, as well as applying for jobs at a couple places in the mall. So cool!

Dahon.Steve

+1

There is a myth out there that only people with cars can secure high paying employment. Those of us who use buses are doomed to low paying retail jobs like Walmart. Nothing can be further from the truth. I work with many many people in New York City who are earning good money (80K +) and don't drive to work.

Heck, most of the partners I work for are making millions and don't drive to work.

Dahon.Steve

I'm going to say something different.

This world is full of people that drive cars they can't afford while working in low paying jobs! In addition, this world is also full of people leasing cars they can't afford that consumes all their discretionary income income even with good paying jobs.

Dahon.Steve

I still remember my first bus ride by myself at 13 years old. I was scared the bus driver wouldn't let me on! The independence public transit gave me was liberating to say the least. To think it was 35 cents to travel 5 miles!

The original OP's message was lost in that we do have options. Lots of them.

Roody

I vividly remember my early experiences at independence, which were all carfree. Riding my bike along the big "Mile Roads" in suburban Detroit, and riding through heavy city traffic with my sister every day to tend the family garden a few miles form our house. Going downtown on the bus with my best friend at age 14 to buy my own school clothes for the first time. Even my first job, which entailed coming home from downtown Detroit on a city bus after 10 PM in the winter. That was pretty scary, but also a little thrilling.

I also remember the first time I took my grandson on a bus, when he was 9 or 10. After he finally figured out the complexity of putting the change in the fare box and chatting a bit with the driver, He stood in the aisle at the front of the bus and proudly announced in a loud voice, "Hi everybody! My name is Brandon and this is my first time riding on the city bus."

bike or die

Even for people with more than two children there are still options; Cargo bicycle trailers by Tony's Trailers ..don't have kids myself, but if my trailer wears out I'll probably make my own, just getting ideas from scrolling down that website.

wolfchild

Some people have less options then others, it depends on the location and it depends what your goals are and what's important to you. I am one of those car-free people who would be willing to give up LCF if it becomes necessary. Right now I am on a look out for a career change and I have already send resumes to a few places. If I get hired I will definitely be buying a car and going back to a car-light lifestyle and mixing bike commuting with car commuting. I just can't believe how ideological some of the LCF'ers on this forum are about their car-free status, they're willing to sacrifice a good career opportunity, willing to sacrifice their standard of life all for the sake of maintaining their car-free status.

Roody

Like who? Has anybody ever posted anything remotely like this? (If they did, I missed it!)