> Now my daily activities tend to radiate about a mile or two from home, which > is enough for groceries, dentist/ > doctor, bank, post office, restaurants, etc. If I'm riding farther > than that, it's usually for recreation.
My experience has been similar. My father lives in a Chicago suburb unfortunately not convenient to the otherwise pretty good commuter heavy rail system that serves the greater Chicago area. The first few years after giving up my own car, I would make all sorts of big box detours on my Zip Car visits to him. As time went by, I began to discover things near by could meet my needs - which have gradually changed. Amtrak has three routes to Central and Southern Illinois that now allow bike roll ons. The last few years it is just as likely I will spend weekends in Galesburg or Macomb (downstate college towns with nice in town B&Bs and restaurants and pleasant rural riding) as Schaumburg (a large malled suburb of Chicago) . On Mar 11, 6:28 pm, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery <[email protected]> wrote: > You guys should really be pursuing younger women, obviously. > > I went car-free/lite about the time I got my first Rivendell > (Atlantis) back in 2004. I'm not as religious about it as I once was, > but I can't imagine going back to being a regular driver. My commute > is now ~150 footsteps, all sidewalk, with no streets to cross. I still > own two SUVs (one family car and one for shop use), but I drive maybe > once a month or less (last year my longest car-free streak was almost > 4 months), and I wonder how I ever managed the stress of doing it > everyday! > > My attitude about being car-free has evolved over the years. At first, > I tried to do all the stuff I once did by car, but with a bike - sort > of the "any distance is biking distance" attitude. It didn't take long > before I decided that visiting big-box retail stores in the suburbs > wasn't worth the hassle. Now my daily activities tend to radiate about > a mile or two from home, which is enough for groceries, dentist/ > doctor, bank, post office, restaurants, etc. If I'm riding farther > than that, it's usually for recreation. > > On Mar 11, 4:36 pm, JoelMatthews <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > You're right though, here too it is hard to find people over around 30 who > > > are interested in cycling to a date. > > > Well, while I wish it were not the case, there is some solace in > > reading I am not alone! > > > On Mar 11, 4:23 pm, Bill Connell <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > We're getting better here in the Twin Cities, infrastructure-wise, and > > > if i didn't have young kids to transport solo i probably would have > > > gotten rid of my car as soon as HourCar started up nearby. Weather can > > > be an issue, but it's mostly a problem for me because of kid transport > > > and lack of good public transport backup for my regular work commute. > > > Having a reasonable distance to work is definitely a big help. You're > > > right though, here too it is hard to find people over around 30 who > > > are interested in cycling to a date. > > > > -- > > > Bill Connell > > > St. Paul, MN > > > > On Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 4:13 PM, JoelMatthews <[email protected]> > > > wrote: > > > >> Keep only one car for longer trips and emergencies. It certainly makes > > > >> thing simpler and healthier. > > > > > Where available, Zip Car and competitors provide an alternative to > > > > havign a back up car. My understanding is they have been unable to do > > > > much more in LA than a couple of cars on the USC and UCLA campuses. > > > > There are many cities with no such service. > > > > > I am worried somewhat that Zip Car which started during the boom > > > > years, may not have staying power. I use Zip Car much less than when > > > > I first went to the bike - maybe once in the last four months. The > > > > last few times I noticed the cars were dingier and older than in the > > > > past. Still not enough to drag me back to car ownership though. Not > > > > as long as I am in Chicago anyway. > > > > > On Mar 11, 4:04 pm, Michael_S <[email protected]> wrote: > > > >> I agree, a very inspiring story. I'm sure it took a lot of courage to > > > >> pack up your family and move to another country as well. I can only > > > >> dream of doing something like that right now. > > > >> My goal is to take early retirement in about one year and relocate to > > > >> a community where I can do just that, work part time close to home and > > > >> use the bike for almost all needs. Keep only one car for longer trips > > > >> and emergencies. It certainly makes thing simpler and healthier. > > > >> It seems no matter how patient and courteous you try to drive ( my > > > >> commute is 25 miles OW in LA)) there are many others who cut you off, > > > >> rush past you to get ahead, and everthing else to create a more > > > >> stressful drive. > > > >> Thanks for keeping me focused on what I should do. > > > > >> ~Mike~ > > > > >> On Mar 11, 12:50 pm, JoelMatthews <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > >> > Bravo! The bike only lifestyle really does make a difference > > > >> > physically and mentally. > > > > >> > I am six and one half years into it here in Chicago. I look at cars > > > >> > now and find myself wondering how I ever could stand using the > > > >> > things. The only continuing issue I have had is finding dates around > > > >> > my age - mid-40s - who don't mind biking it. According to the 20 > > > >> > somethings I have heard from, it is not too big a deal to find > > > >> > someone > > > >> > in that age group willing to ride with you to the movies or a club. > > > >> > There may well be people my age willing to ride with me to the opera > > > >> > or dinner. Not found them yet. So Zip Car or cabs still get my > > > >> > business from time to time. > > > > >> > As NEBike points out, lifestyle choices and cold hard economic > > > >> > reality > > > >> > in many cases prohibit people here in the U.S. from the bike only > > > >> > existance. Personal experience and accounts from others suggest it > > > >> > is > > > >> > possible in some of the west coast cities (even LA if you are willing > > > >> > to carve out a small area of the sprawl as your sleep, work, shop > > > >> > space), Boston, NYC, and Chicago, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee. > > > > >> > Our cities are getting more densely populated. Employers > > > >> > increasingly > > > >> > are consolidating in transit friendly locations. The day will come. > > > >> > Just slowly. > > > > >> > On Mar 11, 2:18 pm, Kip Otteson <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > >> > > Just wanted to post thoughts about being 7 months and car free. > > > >> > > I'm > > > >> > > liking my past car use to addiction and it was truly that. I used > > > >> > > to > > > >> > > commute for 75 miles on a round trip to work. The drive took > > > >> > > between > > > >> > > 26 minutes and hours depending on the weather, accidents, road > > > >> > > kill, > > > >> > > etc. The Colorado mountains are beautiful, but if you have a daily > > > >> > > job it's a killer. You need a reliable car that is warm which > > > >> > > means > > > >> > > it's most likely expensive and requires payments. In the winter we > > > >> > > had to walk two miles to the road to get to our car towing our son > > > >> > > in > > > >> > > a sled with the trash. Headlights at 5 am in blowing snow. All to > > > >> > > get to work in our car. Beautiful at times but not sustainable. > > > > >> > > Moving to Thailand was driven by our desire to reduce our commute > > > >> > > time > > > >> > > with the ability to do it our bikes. We now ride five minutes to > > > >> > > work > > > >> > > with the kids. I can take my kids on our Yuba Mundo and my wife > > > >> > > rides > > > >> > > her Heron. We wake up at a reasonable hour, have our morning > > > >> > > coffee/ > > > >> > > chat, get the kids up and roll. Easy. > > > > >> > > With our bikes we now can travel with the family anywhere within > > > >> > > 15 km > > > >> > > with no problems. We feel better physically. We eat what we want > > > >> > > without guilt. I'm not consistently pissed/stressed like I was > > > >> > > before. No worries about mechanical difficulties because I can fix > > > >> > > most things on the fly. Not constantly looking out for cops > > > >> > > because > > > >> > > I'm speeding because I'm late. Just much less stress. > > > > >> > > Traffic is heavy here and we often arrive just 5 minutes behind our > > > >> > > friends who drove, had to fight traffic, had to find a parking > > > >> > > spot, > > > >> > > etc. > > > > >> > > I used to call myself a cyclist, but in America it was just > > > >> > > posturing. The most I could reasonably fit in was two rides a week > > > >> > > and many of those I drove to because of time restrictions. I had > > > >> > > the > > > >> > > clothes and the gear but if I wanted a label I should have called > > > >> > > myself a "driver." > > > > >> > > I feel like a real cyclist now as I get places on my bike under my > > > >> > > own > > > >> > > power. No car with a roof rack. No car. > > > > >> > > Kip Otteson > > > >> > > Chiang Mai, Thailand- Hide quoted text - > > > > >> > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > > > >> - Show quoted text - > > > > > -- > > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > > > Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > > > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > > [email protected]. > > > > For more options, visit this group > > > > athttp://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.-Hidequoted > > > > text - > > > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
