Comments on: Car-free anniversary

By: Alevoor Rajagopal

Alevoor Rajagopal — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:40:33 +0000

Yes, bikes not just saves a little money but they also help keep you fit. I did quite some amount of biking myself when in university. And I owe at least a good sum of it to that enthusiastic biking that I am still finding it easier to walk around at 80 than most people 2/3rds my age.

Thanks and good luck

By: Cam Sculpin

Cam Sculpin — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 02:20:09 +0000

I’m pretty sure that’d be blackmail material.

By: Rechercher

Rechercher — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 00:34:33 +0000

Ooh, can I get a pic of you in your balaclava? For some reason I find them funny. I think it’s the eyes forlornly looking out from an otherwise absent face.

By: Communications From Elsewhere » Blog Archive » Bike progress

Communications From Elsewhere » Blog Archive » Bike progress — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 22:37:20 +0000

[...] On July 30, exactly six months ago (as Cam points out), our remaining car died, rendering us effectively car-free a little ahead of schedule. (We finally got rid of the car entirely on November 10.) [...]

By: Kitty

Kitty — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:47:06 +0000

Congrats! I hope you enjoy the bike-heavy lifestyle as much as I do.

As of now, I live in a convuluted downtown/University area. I pay a monthly fee here at my student cooperative for parking. I’ve found my car largely useless here in the city - If I were to try to drive to my classes or work, I would merely find a parking space FARTHER than my leased outdoor space.

So, I ride my bike “heavily” as well.
And here in the Minnesota winters, I paticularily enjoy my lightweight mountain bike. I’ve gotten paticularily good at putting my legs out to each side when turning on icy patches.

Some of the things I enjoy about riding my bike year round -
Flying past both pedestrians and cars most of the time. (Bike traffic is actually lower on campus than both autos and pedestrians)
Seeing other breathless, fresh-faced riders around.
Low-impact and rewarding exercise.
The knowledge that I am not contributing to the heavy air pollution or dependence on oil and car insurance.

I’ve been thinking about wearing a mask to lower the amount of exhaust I breathe in. Usually it is not too noticeable, but sometimes there are up to 4 large trucks parked in the streets delivering supplies to the stores, leaving their trucks on as they unload.

By: Savannah

Savannah — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 06:21:38 +0000

That’s fascinating (and heartening) to me, since I’ve never owned a car. At times I give in to envy (even though I’d have no money and more stress if I did have one) but it has occurred to me lately that I could buy the most luxurious bus pass possible and take taxis home every time I went for a night out and it’d still be scads cheaper.