So in the last ice storm, I wrecked my car. Our most trusted mechanic is very sick, and his assistant claims the car is totaled. Which is what most of the mechanics in town are saying, though our invalid friend (The poor man, I really feel bad for him.) said he could fix it. We can't afford to get it fixed for what other mechanics are charging, and we can't afford a new car. So I now have a bike to get around town, which after a bit of thought should be enough for my purposes. I need the exercise and gas is REALLY expensive (and getting worse), to say nothing of the carbon footprint. But... will someone please make me feel better about this? We'll still have one car for getting to school and such, but this transition is scaring the shit out of me. Eek.
you will live longer than those people that gave up biking as a kid...well done...good for you...great move for the eco-life...i couldnt be prouder of you... .there,,,feel better...glad i could help
Oil will only continue to go up. When the day comes that oil is so expensive that only the super rich can afford it, the public is going to turn into chaotic savages. Learn to become self sufficient without your car. Not having a car for many can be hard since we have become so custom to it. Nothing wrong with a bike, you said it yourself you need exercise. Go get it.
There's people here who ride their bikes year round. Two months ago I saw numerous people biking in 6 inches of snow. If you can bike to work, school, etc. that's great. Automobiles should only be used when it isn't convenient to bicycle.
I haven't been on a bike but once in the last 10 years, but I went out today and made it 2 miles with only a couple of tiny breaks for breathing. I lift and do yoga, but have neglected cardio. I learned that I need cardio... I'm not so scared of it now, if my flabby butt can make it 2 miles I'll be fine by the beginning of summer if I go a couple of miles every day. Cake. Now, though, Hubby is talking about getting another car. We totally cannot afford it, and I hope to convince him of that before the time comes. We won't need it at all next fall, and this is just too expensive for a summer thing.
bicycles are awesome. i'm lucky enough to live in an extremely bike friendly town. i don't have a car and haven't for years and don't plan on getting one. http://www.hipforums.com/newforums/group.php?groupid=31
If you're going to ride in the winter/snow, find a heavy crap bike of the sort that handles like a tank at a yardsale and put snow tires on it. it will get wet and crap, and especially if roads are salted, it will rust the shit out of it. And without the proper tires, you'll bust your ass every block. For the warm/dry times, find a super light (like under 28lbs, at least) bike with skinny high-PSI tires, you'll be amazed how easy, fun, and fast it is. If you're going to be using them as a car replacement, you should probably get a sturdy rack for your bikes. If you need a basket, but don't want a dumb looking, heavy, in the way basket on your bike all the time, use bungee cords and zip ties (essential for tieing things to your rack either way) to secure an empty plastic milk crate to the rack. (can usually be "borrowed" behind resturants or supermarkets)
Hubby attached zip-ties to his tires to make snow tires. And I'm looking into one of those load racks to attach to the back. I don't mind something that looks dumb, if it's functional. And we have lots of milk crates. It is fun, I didn't realize how much I missed it until I was about a half-mile in. XD
Last time I was on a bike was downhill alpine trails near Kirchberg, Austria last October. The trails aren't nearly as awesome here.
Never thought of zip-tying the tires.... but again, do it on a clunker, don't put zip ties around some state of the art carbon rims or something (also, I'm not sure they'd do a whole lot to help with cornering, which is the part that I mind on slippery crap.... I mean, fast turn on ice, with zip ties... good luck Again, yard sales yard sales yard sales.... you should be able to find a nice 4point rear rack on a 5 dollar bike at a yardsale where the inherited owners have no idea about the actual value. In fact, as they're often on old touring bikes (like my current one) a thrift store/yard sale bike can often be 300+ dollars worth of bike for 5 bucks. I paid $1 for mine, it's worth at least 350. Keep your eyes peeled.
Not around here, people KNOW the value of a bike in an area this poor. Mine is a second or third hand WalMart number. Eventually, once we're graduated and I have a real job, I want to drop some real dough on one, but this will have to do for now. I'll keep my eyes open, though. So far, the biggest problems seem to be the gear shift on the left hand (only 5 speeds, not 15), and the dead inner tubes. They were a little flat this morning, so I rode it to the gas station for some air. They flattened the rest of the way in that one mile, and the pump didn't work with those valve stems. Oh well, inner tubes are cheap. This time, though, the ride was easier... even with flattened tires. XD I can totally live with this.
I found this page, The Missouri Bicycle Foundation. They advocate the use of bikes and they have a link on their site that lists 140 bike shops in Missouri. They may have a compassion club or recycling program that could hook you up with a better bike or help fix the one you have. http://mobikefed.org/mobikeshops.php http://mobikefed.org/
I think I like that site. Looks like the bike shop in my city has a group working out of it. Hmmm... I have a fair portion of this summer free...
I reccently got rid of my car too! I am enjoying the new lifestyle I have I feel much closer to my community, and the free exercise is nice
