mechanicalron

Yep, I am 44 years old and that was my mid life thing and I am not going back! I live and work in down town Detroit and just do not need one, not at all! I started riding again 8 years back and one day I went to go and use my car and realized it had been sitting for 3 months and the bat was dead and it had 2 flat tires! The car was 2 years old and looked like crap! So now that I think of it, I went from an LHS to the Surly LHT in the photo, he he. O yea, in a sick way I sort of love the winter on a bike. every one thinks I am insane or just crazy, ha!

commutenow

Car free/light myself however my roommate has a car so I sometimes go in it if I am catching a ride somewhere. I sold the car a week or so ago. It was sitting around collecting dust while I was on the bike commuting and such. Yea I like being car free/light.

irsquintz

Car light / Car Free for about a year and a half now. My car blew up (not really, but that would have been awesome) around that time, sold it for scrap, so I would use the parents car or friends cars. Got into being Car Free about a year ago by losing my license (1 year suspension), went out, bought a road bike, and now I have no desire to get another car.

Best part of being Car Free for me is when people invite me to bars / restraunts, and I usually get the reacton of "Oh my god! You biked SIX MILES to get here?! Let me buy you a drink!" happends everytime, its great.

mechanicalron

That is great!
This could be fun so how was the first week?

breakaway9

One week and loving it, I got my Xtracycle put on my old mountain bike so I can haul stuff. iIt's a lot easier choice to ride your bike to work when there is no other way to get there... LOL... So far no major challenges that couldn't be overcome with a little planning (and extra cycling ) ).

mechanicalron

Yea I live in a city and it is easier by far on a bicycle than a car to get to work so it just sort of hapend with me. You actually set out to do it, that rocks! The Xtracycle turn any heads?

breakaway9

We live in the suburbs and it is definitely easier doing things by car, but much more rewarding to do things by bicycle. Yeah I have people starting all the time, I haven't ridden it that much yet, I still ride my commuter mostly but it gives me the ability to carry things.... People are definitely interested when I do ride it though.

Nathaniel B

Car free for one year at the end of this month! My car was totaled in March last year. I bought a bike and used the insurance money to go on a short tour from Northern California to Oregon.

It has been a great experience and I plan on going on longer. Public transportation and the bike make it easy to get around in the Bay Area. It was nice to sit back and watch everyone cry about the gas prices... It is astonishing how much of an effect that some things have on peoples lives.

spoonsman

My van's engine died my senior year of high school. I waved goodbye as it went to the junkyard.

So far I went through four years of college and two years of post-college without another vehicle, relying on cycling and public transportation.

I currently live in Japan, where highly developed public transportation and a lack of sprawl makes not having a car pretty easy.

cthunter01

I've been getting car lighter all the time. I sold my car to my parents a little over a year ago, but since I'm still living with them while I'm going to university I still have easy access to it.

I've been taking baby steps towards becoming car free ever since, and now I'm happy to say that I go a month at a stretch (or more) between driving for my own errands. I still borrow the car when it snows or the roads are particularly icy, though. I think studded bike tires might be in my future for extreme weather commuting next winter. :-)

I still don't know if I want to be completely car free after I graduate, or just car-lite. I don't need a car for getting around town, but getting around in the mountains on a bike is a lot harder to do (if you have time constraints), which is something I like to do.

Roody

Don't forget that thousands of people come to Colorado from other states and countries just to cycle in the mountains. Check out the touring forum and you'll find that Colorado is one of the most popular destinations for cycli9sts.

cthunter01

You're right. I'd love to go touring in the Colorado high country. I've been thinking about it for quite a while, but haven't managed to muster the courage to get on and past this one (and only in my neck of the woods) section of highway out of town into the mountains. Traffic is a nightmare on Hwy 24 between here and Woodland Park. I don't know much about Hwy 116, as I've only been on it once in a car and don't remember much about it. Just that it goes more south than west.

But what I mean about using a car to get out in the mountains is for climbing and backpacking purposes. It'd work with a bicycle if I had a trailer and an extra day (or three or four) on either end of the trip to make the commute.

Roody

I believe there are trains that go into the mountains. See if you could take your bike on one. Ride the train to a convenient station, then cycle the last few miles to the trailhead. Hide (and lock) your bike near the trailhead and hike or climb from there.

An interurban bus might work too, but you would probably have to crate your bike and pay freight charges for it. There might be package trips on buses or trains for hiking--like the package trips to ski resorts in the winter. A last alternative would be to rent a car for your trip. A rental car isn't ideal, but it's probably cheaper than owning a car and using it only a couple times a year.

Remember that there are almost always many carfree alternatives. It's mainly a matter of learning to "think outside the cage."

rbrian

Ooo, I like that!

Armand

I've been car-free for about 10 days now and LOVING it! Time slows down, stress goes down, and I'm in the best shape I've been in my life. So far 191 miles in 10 days, not too shabby. I don't exactly live in downtown conditions either. I live in the San Fernando Valley and the average day of commuting for me is about ~25 miles. Biking+Public transportation owns my life. Plus I love the reaction all my friends have when I ride up to 35 miles to see them on my bicycle.

Roody

They know you love 'em when you'll put some effort into seeing them. (don't tell your friends that sometimes the trip was as fun as the visit. )

Welcome to the forum, Armand!

Kineticycle

I went "car free" on march 30, 2009...my lease was up on my subaru and since I only used it like 4x a month I decided not to get another. My wife has a honda van that is paid off...which hauls the 3 kids around...otherwise, we are on our bikes! Snow...oh who cares...just take it easy and watch for ice!

Fast Cloud

Car light for less than a year...sad really. I have to use my Tacoma to pull my lawn trailer but I've started cycling for most of my short errands. (5 miles or less) We just got a new Kroger 1 mile away so I'm looking for a bike trailer so I can start pulling my groceries with it. The bank, post office etc. are all really close and it's just wasteful to fire up the truck for those kind of trips when I can hop on the Peugeot and feel a little better about myself.

ryanz4

In 2007 our (my Dad and I) driveway became car free. However the car we had sat there since 2004 (not running/working)

So since 2004 we've been car free.

I never even got my drivers license, so I've never driven a car in my life.

Roody

I like your blog. It's a great resource for anybody in your part of Ontario.

ryanz4

Thanks...I've had it for ages, however it was more or less a general blog. Now I've dedicated it to bicycling only!
Gives me something to do in my spare time

rsayers

Been car light almost a year now. In early may 2008 the motor in my car spun a bearing, I bought a new Giant Sedona to get around until I could get the car fixed.

Now the sedona barely resembles the same bike I got from the LBS and the car is in the process of being parted out. I really fell in love with cycling and discovered how little I really need a car.

My wife still owns a car (geo metro), but also rides her 75 Peugeot to work about half the time.

nvincent

I've been car free for about 10 years now. For almost the entire time I had my car I was miserable. The car was a lemon to begin with, so I spent a lot of money just to get the car in decent shape. Then I got into an accident shortly after that and then there were more unrelated expenses from worn out parts that had to be replaced. The car finally overheated one day and I just gave up and left it in the yard and never drove it again. I felt relieved that I would never have to spend another dime on that POS.

Since then I've been getting around mostly on public transportation, but I'm trying to ride the bike more often. I find that I can pretty much go anywhere by bike, and usually I get there faster than I would by bus or train. I would buy another car and drive again if I had the money. But for now I just ride my bike everywhere and if I ever need to drive I can just borrow my dad's car.

Tim Wieneke

I've just started. Been car light for almost a month now. I'm now down to my commercial van that I use for my business and it's used on average 3-4 days a month to get materials to my rental properties. I'm now picking up and dropping off rent checks at the bank via bike, but I have found it necessary for by business to get something a bit more than a bike and less than a car so I'm picking up a 50cc scooter as well. I've gotten addicted to this whole non-government regulated transportation thing and am not going back.

Remember "The Great Escape". Everyone taking a car, bus, train or motorcycle got caught while James Coburn got away on a bike.

MilitantPotato

About four months completely car free now. I sold my car nearly a year ago, the wife followed suit and all's well.

Haven't saved much money from it, we did little driving before hand, but we enjoy it far more then driving.