I am now 100% car free sooner than expected. The only reason it wasn't "official" before is that there was still a car titled in my (and wife's) name. Well, my son borrowed the old beater to drive up to Denver to see an old friend and the fuel pump went out. He wasn't able to get back up there with the tow truck from work (he's an auto mechanic) to retrieve it before the city towed it away. By the time we paid the towing and storage charges and for the fuel pump replacement, we would have shelled out more the car is worth. So, we decided to just let it go. And good riddence to bad rubbish.

Congratulation... how long have you been nearly carfree? And how does this work for you wife?

I've been virtually car free for about 5 months. My wife can never be car free because she has a bad back and arthritis. She thinks I'm wierd. But that's nothing new. We've been together for 29 years. Yep, she's a keeper. My life would be a whole lot simpler if I wasn't married to such a complicated woman, but it's worth it. She's the most loving, giving, honest and straight forward person I have ever run across.

Ah, busted fuel pump, yeah one of those made me car free as well, the car also had some other problems, that we hadn't gotten around to fixing, probably would have cost over $1000 to get the car going good again, and the car wasn't worth $100, besides it used too much gas......

Better a bad fuel pump on the car than the cyclist! Congratulations on your carfreeness!

That's weird, the fuel pump went out on the last motor vehicle I ever owned too. It left me stranded on a dark expressway in the middle of nowhere. (Near the village of Potterville, if you can believe that name! ) I kinda half-heartedly tried to get it fixed, then said the hell with it.

This cyclist has a bad fuel pump--heart attack 7 years ago. I probably would have had three more MIs by now if I hadn't taken up cycling.

I got lucky in a way, it died right in front of the entrance to a subway station, yeah I could take the hint.

Actually doesn't bother me at all, my S.O. though, is a different story, going more then ¼ km without a cage is unheard of.....

Congratulations, Vulpes. Do you feel liberated by total car-free-ness, or sort of panicky? Is your wife going to accept this as a permanent condition, or is she going to want a another car after a decent interval? When I first ditched my truck, I felt a bit hopeless and stranded, until I realized that the bare minimum of wit would solve nearly all of my transportation problems. (Actually, when I first went car-free, I didn't even have a bike; getting one made all the difference in the world. Americans, even car-less ones, like to experience a certain degree of independence....)

Sorry to hear about your heart attack Roody, but glad to "see" you're healthy now. Did you start cycling after your attack?

Totally liberated. I have always hated cars. I was just deluded enough for a long time to think they are "a necessary evil". My wife still has her car. I occasionally have to ride in it with her for the sake of "doing something together", but won't drive it.

Thanks. I started walking for exercise after the heart attack. Soon I was walking to work and the stores, etc. This made more time for exercise by combining it with other activities--killing two birds and so on. Eventually I figured out that I could cover three or four times more distance by cycling, and get even better exercise.