Here have been some of my excuses recently:
- I have too much stuff to carry. This was for weekly grocery shopping (4-5 heavy bags) and for leaving and picking up things at the dry cleaners. Maybe the first could be somewhat solved with panniers, but I haven't gone that far. I have no idea how people carry most dry cleaning very far either walking or on a bike. I suspect the answer is not have clothes that need dry cleaning. The major grocery shopping trip isn't too bad, as I only go once a week.
- I need to bring home things that need refrigeration, and if I go by bike, they will melt/spoil (this was for a grocery trip that only involved quantities that would fit in my backpack). I suppose I need to invest in some sort of insulated container, but I'm not yet convinced that these happen often enough to make that worthwhile.
- I don't have time. This happens more than I thought it would. My retired life isn't completely non-clock-driven. Sometimes I really do need to get to the next appointment quickly. This week it had to do with an appointment with other people (I barely got back from my bike ride in time to drive as it was). I probably could plan better to not have back-to-back commitments, but my use of other transportation should be enjoyable, not a source of stress, right?
- What, bike/walk to the gym at 5:30am? Are you crazy? (Actually, I don't bike to the gym even when I go at other hours). This is probably my biggest weakness. It just feels like it makes the exercise take too much time (it would probably add 40 minutes to each session). OK, I admit it. I'm a wimp here.
- It's cold/it's raining/it's too hot. I haven't used this excuse too much, but that's because we are in the Season of Perfect Weather. But I expect it to come up.
- It's dark/it will be dark when I come home. This hasn't been an issue much because of daylight savings time, but it will be in the winter. I do not like to bike even on our suburban roads after dark (I have good, but not great, lights on my bike)
- I have a flat tire/bike not working/can't find my helmet. Hasn't happened yet, but it will, I suppose.
What brings this up is that I realized that I haven't used my bike for errands at all this week (I did use it twice last week -- both times to meet friends). Why is it so hard to use something other than the car? I know people -- in the US -- who don't have cars. I don't think that their surroundings are more "compact" than mine (it's easier to walk or use a bike when the distances are small), but they aren't seduced by the notion that a car is justifiable "this one time", because they don't have that option. And they have the busy lives typical of non-retired people. Even though I commuted by bike (part of the time) to my last job, I would never have considered going "car free" when I was a working person.
This is really making me question my commitment to a minimal-car lifestyle. Has anyone reading this made the switch? What gave you the inspiration to work through these issues? Or how did you make these problems go away?
6 comments:
I can't answer your question about cars, but I have a plan that not later than age 75, I give up my car and driver's license. I'm an only child and don't have a kid to say "It's time to stop driving." Better to quit under my own power when probably I could continue to drive.
This is possible because I live within 2 blocks of several bus lines and about 8 minutes on one of those buses from BART.
Robin, meet LadyFleur: http://ladyfleur.wordpress.com/
I think you will enjoy her blog in any case, but you will find lots of helpful tips in "Around Town" under "Recurring Themes."
Hi Robin, Pep sent me a link to your blog saying I might have some answers for you. Almost three years ago I decided it was silly for me to drive less than 5 miles to work every day so I started riding in my work clothes. I ended up riding almost everywhere and/or taking my bike on Caltrain. So I’ve figured a few of these things out. Mostly it’s about having the right gear and making small changes in habits.
Groceries: I bought super-sized square panniers and put front baskets on my city bikes. I can take three large bags now and have carried up to 40 pounds. I also switched to buying the heavier things at the nearby Safeway ½ mile away so I’d have more room for buying other things at the Trader Joe’s that’s 2.5 miles away. I also bought a trailer for fun. It holds at least six bags and 70+ lbs. http://wp.me/p1sDc4-4SF
Cold food isn’t much of an issue. My bike is not that much slower than my car. Plus, I’m not putting cold food into a hot car that’s been sitting in the sun. Packing cold things together in the same bag helps.
Dry cleaning: With the help of bungee cords, I figured out how to attach dry cleaning to my bike rack. I use mini-bungees to attach the hanger and knot end to the bottom of the rack, and another bungee across the top of the rack. This pic might help: http://wp.me/p1sDc4-2ht
Rain & Cold: I use a dress length trench coat for rain and a regular old wool coat and scarf for the cold. Nothing really challenging since this is California. Oh, and fenders on the bike are a must for rain.
Darkness: I have good lights, including side wheel lights. And I stay on quieter neighborhood streets even more than I do during the day. One advantage of riding at night is that it’s easier to see the cars coming and after 8:30pm there are few cars out. http://wp.me/p1sDc4-Hl
Overall, my advice for you is to treat it like a puzzle or challenge, like you don’t want the drizzle or the item you want to carry from keeping you off the bike. When you come up with a solution to something that seems hard, it feels really really good. Good luck!
ladyfleur, you are my new hero! (and pep, thanks for connecting us). I'm learning a lot from your blog. I'm definitely still at the "how motivated am I to do this" stage and you are waaay past that and on to implementation.
I have been riding my bike for errands more this week. (learning about wind, too), and thinking about which of these problems I am currently motivated to solve, now that I see some of your creative solutions. I'm not yet ready to invest in panniers or a trailer, till I'm sure this is going to work for me, but I do need a rack, and probably need fenders. Though, since I'm not a working person, I am more likely to say "let's postpone this trip for a hour -- I'm sure the rain will be gone by then". I'm also thinking that I may want to change my long time habit of only once a week grocery shopping, and then I could carry everything on the bike.
I do think that it's interesting how many obstacles exist for us to take alternative transportation (not just bikes) and make it so much easier to take the car out for these mini-trips. I'm going to be living in Europe for a month this fall, without a car, and maybe I'll bring back some interesting insights from that.
Yes, I'm hoping to be able to get around without a car when I get to that age too, and this effort is good practice. I'm not as well situated as you are, but there is a free downtown bus half a block from my house, and it's about a mile walk to a shopping area that could meet a lot of my needs. I really hope to be walking those distances and biking in my 80s and 90s.
I have friends in their 90s and not being able to drive can really limit their after dark activities. That's when I wish there were much better public transportation (we pick them up and deliver them home when they come to our house -- a good use of our car -- but what about when they want to visit friends of a similar age?)
Yes, indeed. Cabs?
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