Monday, October 03, 2011
How to live well without owning a car
Another book that I keep coming back to. Not so much for the sheer information as for the inspiration.
Chris Balish has a good thing here. Lots of good info for beginners to the mid-level non-car commuter. I would suggest that he has a bias toward bicycling, but then so do I, so that's really not a criticism of mine.
I really like all those places he gets out the calculator and shows you how much $ you can save by not having a car. I for one buy into his thesis.
However I am an offender. I not only have one, but two cars. Wasn't sure I wanted to admit that here (ever) but there it is. Early last Winter/Spring I tracked the number of days I went to work via car vs. any other means (95% of the time that means by bicycle). The evidence is undeniable, I have at least one car too many. The problem is laziness. I still have mornings where I resist my 20km bike commute because I just don't feel like it. I've noticed that by the time Friday rolls around, on weeks that's I've biked to work, my body is talking to me loud and clear - it seems to be saying "enough already!" Sometime the weekends are enough to recoup and sometimes not. Sort of depends what I am doing that weekend.
So, this is a bit of a confession. I love NOT using a car but I struggle with the benefits of having it as a convenience sometimes. As the BLOG title says, I live between city and country and I am trying to do what I do by bike.
Back to Balish because he has some really good suggestions for a guy like me. But just because I am convinced does not mean that the rest of my family is - not by a longshot. I have a ways to go.
I DO love cycling, the outdoors, the time alone on my bike to think and to enjoy, the challenge (most times) and all the other benefits. I can testify that as Fall creeps in that it is beautiful around here and I don't want to miss out on it because I am, as Sting sings, "packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes."
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I don't see this happening for me (anytime soon). My commute involves driving across most of Texas on a regular basis. But I can dream...and express my admiration for those who show me the way.
ReplyDeleteDo it!