Monday, July 13, 2009

Should I give up my car?

Hi all, I've been following this forum for a while. Want to explain my situation and get some advice from the "experts." To start, I've been commuting by bike in some way or the other since 1996. Currently, I have an old '85 Subaru wagon that serves as my back-up should I need to haul something extremely heavy or if I'm feeling under the weather. To tell you how little I drive this car, I've owned it for 14 years now and there are only 19,000 more miles on it from when I acquired it :-) I really want to go TOTALLY car-free. I don't feel I need a car for the following reasons: 1. I rely on bicycle transportation for 99% of my commuting. Last month (april) I put a total of 7 miles on the Subaru and just a little more than 400 miles on my bikes. 2. I live in an apartment within a 5 miles of everything I need: work, family (my parents, brother's family), groceries, big-box retailers which I try to stay away from but still use from time to time), entertainment, g/f...everything is within a 10-15 minute bike commute. 3. Even though my old Subaru is reliable and paid for, I added up the cost of ownership: with insurance, taxes, repair (with a 25 year old car, something always needs replacing), gas, etc., I'm spending close to $1000/year to have a car mostly sit and driven under 2K miles a year. That right there is a NEW bike a year!! 4. I have a stable of bikes: a 2001 Trek 520 I use for heavy hauling/grocery shopping (+ a 90's B.O.B. YAK trailer), a 2000 Specialized Crossroads (when they were still steel framed) for monsoon weather commuting, a 2008 Redline 925 set up FIXED with one brake that I use as my daily commuter, and a 2008 Kona Honky Tonk that I use for riding with buddies on the road. With this reliable fleet, I always have a backup bike or two in case something goes wrong, and I have the know-how and tools to fix just about anything that can go wrong. 5. I'm strong and healthy. Only get a cold once a year, but can usually bike through it. I ride a FIXED gear bike daily and go weeks without using the one brake on it...that takes strength. Reasons I don't want to give up my car: 1. It's paid for! I have a title! 2. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't cost me too much. 3. Even though it has the eccentries of a 25 year old car, it always cranks on the first try and is generally reliable. So what do I do? The past couple years, I've become more and more anti-car. I can't stand how the car is a status symbol. I feel like folks are enslaved to car images and payments associated with automobiles. PLEASE GIVE ME SOME ADVICE. Another question: I'll be 36 in a couple months. How long could I sustain a car-free lifestyle? I feel fairly bomb-proof right now, can any of you middle-aged car-free folks speak up (late 30s, 40s, beyond)? Sorry for the long thread, but I know this group is honest, and I'm sure I'll get lots of good advice. Cheers!

No comments:

Post a Comment