loky1179

Being car light usually is its own reward - save money, get exercise, reduce stress - the list goes on.

But what is the flip side, when you could have left your car at home, but decided to drive instead?

Well, let me tell you. This morning I got up at the usual zero-dark-thirty hour. Looked outside, the streets were wet, but it wasn't raining. I thought, "No Problem!", with fenders, wet roads are not an issue. Then I opened the garage door . .. and it was it pouring out. Not cold, I could have ridden, but the car was sitting right there, so I hopped in and drove to the light rail station.

Later, the repercussions set in. The weather cleared up. I don't mean it stopped raining, I mean all the clouds went away and it turned into a glorious, cloudless, fall day. We have not had many of those days this year. PERFECT day to bike home from work.

Oh well, I thought, at least I'll get home sooner than if I'd biked. Got off work, took the light rail to the park and ride, and hopped in the car for the short drive home.

But the traffic was NOT moving. Five minute drive took a half an hour. And I have to cross the Minnesota river, so there is no alternate route. I was patient, but kicking myself every minute for not biking.

The final insult? Traffic was jammed up because they had closed a lane of traffic- they are building a new bus/transit stop in the median of the highway. All the signs today were saying "you shouldn't have driven!".

Moral of the story - don't piss off car light Karma. She will make you pay!

tandempower

I wonder how many people realize that the effort they put into each car-free trip is an investment in less congestion and sprawl. It's easy to think in collective terms, i.e. that if enough people LCF, congestion and sprawl pressures decrease; but don't collective effects of individual actions ultimately emerge from individual actions and choices? The 'instant karma' you seem to have experienced on this day you chose to drive, and the consciousness of it, seems to be one of those blessed moments where the lesson learned from a mistake comes so soon after making the mistake that no time is left for the effects of the mistake to build up to overwhelming levels. Thanks for sharing and refreshing to see someone detached enough from their own mistakes and suffering to reflect and post about it publicly.

Leisesturm

See... and I'm just saying... the o.p.'s scenario could not happen to me, because our garage has 9 bikes (3 of them tandems) only one (a folder) not rideable. Once a year my MIL visits from the UK and I rent a car to get her home from the airport. Once a year we vacation at the coast (146mi. each way) and I rent a car to get us there and back. The rest of the year its bikes and public transportation and the occasional lift home from a co-worker. That's car light. If you have the car in the garage and the rain is coming down at 1" an hour, you would be a fool to not use the car you are paying $15/dy just to own. What if there is no car? Just saying.

loky1179

Only 9 bikes? Maybe that's why you're able to hop on and ride. I've got more than a dozen I'm tripping over. So many bikes it makes it impossible to ride some days .

The $15 a day figure made me do a quick calculation - my current car's daily expense is only at about $10 per day.

Still pretty pricey when you consider it sits in the driveway most days.

Biked today, but Karma wasn't done with me. Beautiful sunny day again - till I started my ride home. Then it clouded up. Rode hard, thought I'd beat the rain, but karma had other ideas. I guess two miles of rain out of a 22 mile ride is a pretty fair deal.

tandempower

If you like getting caught in rainy day traffic, and dealing with the additional hazard of reduced visibility and more slippery roads.

Cloudy = cooler, free air-conditioning for your ride. Rainy = free bike wash; after the bike dries out, you can squirt some oil on the chain and in the cable housings and it's like you had a tune up.

The only thing I really dislike about riding in rain is my shoes getting soaked. I have a pair of crocs I wear if I know it's going to rain, but I don't really like them as shoes. I've thought of getting/making some kind of rain-gaiters to fit over my shoes but it rains so infrequently I never get around to it. I might invest in a Frog Toggs breathable rain suit at some point. I have ponchos made of that material but for some reason, I end up using a pvc poncho instead, probably because it compresses smaller and thus takes up less room in the basket.

Roody

The thing that bugs me about riding in the rain is that my glasses get wet. In the summer I wear quick-dry clothes and just get wet.In the winter I wear rain gear, and try not to ride long enough where hypothermia would be a problem. My family is used to me coming home soaking wet and saying that I need to take a shower to dry off!

I-Like-To-Bike

Thank goodness that bicyclists are not affected by those rainy day conditions, eh?

tandempower

Glasses in the rain is so annoying! Is your vision so bad you can't ride without them? One of my favorite things about LCF is that I can save my glasses for when I need them.

tandempower

If I prepare for biking in the rain, I don't find it that bad. Driving in the rain is different because you have to slow down, windows fog up, roads are slippery, traffic more congested, etc.

Roody

I lived in Southern California years ago. When it rained--even a few drops--traffic would slow and there would be all kinds of accidents. It would be like a sever snowstorm here in Michigan. It's just a matter of what people are used to.

People who do all their traveling by car get to where they're not used to ANY weather whatsoever. Whenever it's above 80, below 70, rainy, snowy, foggy, or whatever, people always ask me, "How could you stand riding a bike in this weather?" I would just think, how can you stand NOT riding a bike in any weather?

Oh well, I guess it just shows how crazy us carfree folks are!

Machka 

But .... you aren't car free.

You aren't even car light are you?

Roody

Why do you care? Or are you just trying to disrupt another thread with off-topic ad homs?

Machka 

Are you car free?

Are you car light?


Is "us carfree folks" really true? When was the last time you were carfree?

Roody

Again, why do you care and what does it have to do with this conversation? I' ve posted about this several times and I don't mind discussing it again when it's relevant to the conversation. But in this case, I don't see any relevance whatsoever. Sorry, not in the mood for silly little games today.

Machka 

So ... in other words ... you're not. And this "us carfree folks" bit isn't true.



Let's try to be honest here, shall we? Instead of evading the question.

tandempower

Seattle Forrest

You feel attacked because somebody asked you if you use a car?

Seattle Forrest

This is what I hate most about driving. I used to commute by bike, until my office moved too far for it to be feasible. Now my drive home gets longer and longer as more people move in to the city and the roads get more and more clogged. When I used to do it on a bike, sometimes it took longer than driving, but the bike always felt like a more productive use of my time. It was more fun and less frustrating. I'd get home with my cardiovascular exercise done for the day.

For me the most important thing was that unless I was running an errand or taking the scenic route, I always knew about how long it would take to bike home. When I drove it could be 20 or 60 minutes depending on traffic, when I'd bike, traffic wouldn't affect me, and I could make plans for my evening.

Roody

At some point, maybe the gridlock will get so bad that it will once again be quicker for you to ride your bike than to drive. That would be some kind of karma! Then you can go back to actually enjoying your commute once again...

JoeyBike

Sounds like you are telling us that at least some of your motorized commutes are NOT effed up. If you were in my stiff-soled shoes, there would be no doubt that grabbing the car (if you had one at hand) would absolutely, positively make your day a living Hell every...single...time.

At least Lady Karma is up front with her BS where I live.

cooker

In my case I don't have access to a car as a backup (it stays home with my wife) and the weather has never been too bad to stop me taking transit. However, like the OP I have sometimes cursed my choice as I lumbered along slowly on the bus home, watching with rising frustration as cyclists zipped by.

prathmann

If my car were costing me $10/day in fixed costs I'd get rid of it since it also just sits there on most days. But I'm willing to pay the ~$2/day cost for the times when it comes in handy. Like this last week's hiking trip to Yosemite (yes, I usually bike there - but that would have made it a two-week trip instead of only one).

Roody

So you drive for less than $750 a year? That's really good--insurance alone would cost more than that in my state. (AFAIK--I haven't actually shopped for auto insurance for many years!)

tandempower

$2/day = $730/year. There is no way you can afford insurance, tires, repairs, maintenance, fuel, and car payments for that amount.

tandempower

He was being attacked by the implication that he was a hypocrite for supporting LCF if he was currently getting around by car, for whatever reason. It was classic ad hom diversion from what he was saying to focus on his circumstances at a personal level.