I need ethical help
 

I drive to work now- 35 miles each way.

Im dying to go car free, but I have a family and this would mean 2hrs or so less with my daughter each day and my wife would have less time to herself as I would not be there as much.

I have lived car free before, for over two years, but I feel as though that I have "grown up" and I cant do it anymore. I know one solution is getting a job closer to home and that is a goal, but two or so years away.

Any help?

Take your bike to work one day a week. Fridays.

By the way, is public transport an option?

Drive part way and bike the rest.

Don't beat yourself up about it, just do what you can. Sometimes you need a car and need to drive, it's the world we live in.

First, make sure your wife knows you'd prefer to not have to drive a lot. If she doesn't respect that, there's basically no hope for any lifestyle change now or in the future.

Then go car-lite....drive where you need to, and bike where you can.

I say do the commute as normal, except on days you feel like it...and then do all the short trips like the video store, etc on bike.

The key to a car-free lifestyle is to get out of the spandex warrior mentality, and to learn the fine art of plainclothes riding....you CAN be very fast and rather perspiration free in regular clothes if you do it right.

I wear champion jersey knit t-shirts to wick perspiration, and wear blue jeans....works great. i also avoid hauling butt when not needed. I just go at a comfortable pace (usually somewhere int he middle of the cassette, 46t chainring (mountain bike), and hold a nice 70rpm spin.

I'd say just learn the car-lite thing and do it for a long while until you can move close enough to work to bike it daily.

Definitely go car-lite, if at all possible. There have been several solutions already offered: drive to work with bike in trunk, ride home, ride to work next day, drive home. Or drive halfway, park in a "park-and-ride" and take the bus or ride your bike the rest of the way. Or ride the bus to work, or ride the bus partway and bike the rest if your bus system has bike racks...

I realize that this'll all also mean less time with your family, so if you can't do this, then just keep the long commute for now. Just because you have to drive to work doesn't mean you have to drive to the grocery store, does it? Or do you also live 35 miles away from groceries, too? If you have any errands to run within 10 miles of home, you can do them on a bike. That's still using the car less than you normally would.

BecNal's suggestion is good.

Be patient, time with your kids is very important.

But keep looking, you may find a chance to work closer to home. The people in the 50+ forum will attest, you have lots of years ahead of you for cycling. Two years will whip by like a flash.

Find someone to carpool with. Find 3 other people to carpool with.

"First, make sure your wife knows you'd prefer to not have to drive a lot."

She would have a major problem, it's called jealousy.

I like the idea of a few days a week, sometimes I get it in my head it's all or nothing.

My plan does include a bus ride, an express route from Durham to Raleigh NC. It's 6 miles to the bus, three miles from the bus.

Thanks-

Find 6 other people and get your company to buy you a van for commuting.

do what you can listed above. Only 9 percent of Americans don't own a car.

Somehow I think that number is way low... Source?

Any chance you can bike 5 ride a bus/train 25-30 and bike the rest?

So bike one way and drive the other. That's only 1 hour less with your daughter every day.

Get faster. Just kidding! I think everyone here has a good solution: be part time car-lite.

Bureau of Transportation Statistics collects that kind of data. 9% of U. S. households own zero cars.
Link

Thanks. That makes a lot more sense, since pretty much every American under 16 does not own a car, though his household probably does. :)

To the OP, I would recommending thing of becoming car-lite or car free a process rather than an all or nothing proposition. Reduce your car usage where you can, for example by biking to nearby errands, trip-linking when driving, using carpool, vanpool, or transit for your commute, or by cycling for part of your commute. When the time comes to make a major life decision, like moving or changing jobs, make sure you consider your dedication to reduced automobile usage as factor in the decision.

If your household owns more than one car, consider reducing the number of cars that you own. This will reduce the fixed costs of owning a car, like registration, insurance, and depreciation, and will help to solidify your committment to reducing your driving.

You didn't mention how your wife feels about a car-free or car-lite lifestyle. Is she supportive, indifferent, or unsympathetic? Having a partner who shares your desire to reduce your reliance on the automobile will certainly make things easier.

SteveP sounds like you could use a folder with the express bus. If it's non-stop it should not cost much time plus you can multi-task while you ride. Also the riding one way is nice.

Don't get too hung up on it, do what you can and remember to keep an eye out for a closer job or house as the case may be.

This might not be a popular idea, but considering parameters, I think it suits. If you were to use an electric assist kit, you could shorten your bike commute. I think it is important to mention that the type of kit I recommend is something like the bionx kit. The battery is removable, so you can charge it at work. If you order it over the internet, directly from the factory, you can say you would like to build the wheel yourself. Lie to them and tell them that for example, you are building a 20" wheel, while really you are using a 26". This means that the assist limiter (to keep you within the "Safe" speed NC sets for electric bikes) will be set to a higher speed. In my area, that would increase the max assisted speed from 32kmh to 41.6. I don't own one of these units, but I have tested one and found it very ride-able, not making the bike feel like a tank (although the test bike was) but more of a titanium sprinter. I talked to an older recumbent rider with a Bionx kit, that said he had used a cord from his camcorder to patch into the onboard computer, and remove the limiting. He had achieved an assisted speed of 75kmh on the flat:eek: , and he was no spring chicken. Before everyone starts thinking I work for bionx, I don't, I just think there are some situations where electric assist has the potential to increase the distance one can reasonably commute.

Sorry for the long post, but one more thing. One study showed that the electricity an electric assist uses produces less carbon dioxide than the energy to grow and transport your extra calories.

Split the difference.
 

SteveP sell your car and buy a motorcycle. Depending on your route you could get a motor scooter that gets 100 mpg or if you need to travel on interstate highways get a 250-650cc motorcycle. The Buell Blast is a 500cc bike that gets 50-70 mpg. They vibrate a lot though. Used ones are available for around $2500.00.

I had a 250cc motor scooter that got 63 mpg and had a top speed of 79 mph.

I bought a new sub compact car last July and it only has 1650 miles on it. I'm considering selling it and getting another motorcycle. If I do it my insurance costs will drop several hundred dollars and I'll put ten thousand dollars in the bank. It's tempting.

If you switch to a motorcycle you will be helping the environment. You will use less fuel than a car and you will not take up much space when you park it. You will be able to spend the same amount of time with your family (maybe more since motorcycles are more nimble than cars).

Seriously think about it as something you can do to save money until you can implement your ideal solution.:)

If you can't get a job closer to home, is it possible to get a house closer to your job? If this is impractical, just follow the above posters' advice, and either use public transportation or suck it up and drive. If you you decide you have to drive, though, at least get a fuel-efficient car.

As far as how my wife would feel, she would be jealous if I went care (Freudian slip) free.

As far as moving to a better place, this brings up another issue. I'm not meaning to bring up personal things for the world to discuss, but we are having a debate about what our next living arrangement should be. She is on the side of moving further out in to the country, getting more land, living as sustainable as possible on that land. Even though I would love to do that, I think it would be more responsible to move closer to town into a higher density area which would drastically reduce our gas and oil consumption, but would increase our reliance on businesses and the general unsustainable delivery of foods and services.

What is more responsible, living low impact on a lot of land or moving into the city and relying more on public transportation and walking/ biking?

Huh?

First off, in relation to the OP, I would love to see you do his 35 mile each way commute on your mtn bike in jeans and make any kind of decent time without sweating your a$$ off. Now granted some people just plain sweat more than others.

I am not car free, but I do bike to work when I can. I am similar, with a 32 mile very hilly commute. And I do it "Spandex warrior" style.

Sure if I run down to the grocery store that is a mile away I won't "Kit up". But cycling specific clothes do have a purpose and work well in those cases.

-D

As usual, another "problem" created by an initial housing decision. Out of curiosity, why would it take two years to find a different job?

Why not move your residence in the meantime? I mean... your 35mile commute is costing you 5+ hours of family time a week vs a 10 mile commute.