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http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/bike_ride_03.jpgBrian Morris - CleanMPG - July 17,2008

A friend of mine sent me a recent writing of his that I think is worth sharing. This is his story. -- Ed.

I've been thinking a bit about how I live and how others around me live. While I do not want to preach (note, too, that I do not believe that my way is the best way for everyone) I want to share some of my random thoughts I have had over the last few months.

As most of you know when we moved we found out we had so much stuff that we had to rent a second U-Haul truck and could not bring both of our cars with us so we only brought the Subaru. After about a month here I had started to ride my bicycle a lot more often and was using it for some errands since my wife was/is using the car to take our daughter to and from daycare as well as for getting to and from work.

The time on my bicycle has given me a lot of time to reflect on an aspect of my lifestyle--mostly in regards to transportation. The other day, one of my thoughts was about our cars. About one month after my wife and I were married we bought a car (our short-lived Audi) so at that time we owned 2 cars, 1 motorcycle and 1 truck. In the time since then we have sold the truck, motorcycle, and gifted the Jetta back to my Father-in-law. We now only have 1 car. I thought it was interesting that we have gone from having 4 main-stream vehicles to 1.

This weekend also gave me an opportunity that felt amazing and it is mostly what I wanted to share. My wife got sick this weekend (not the good part) and we had some shopping that needed to be done. I could have gotten in the car, but I figured that there was nothing that was super pressing so I hooked up the kid trailer to my bicycle, got our daughter situated and took off. We made our way to the local fruit stand and bought some fruits and vegetables for the week. I figure that with all of the things we bought it was a total of about 10 pounds or slightly more.

We then left the fruit stand for the grocery store. We have several stores within a couple miles of our house, but I figured we would go to the one closest to our home. At any rate, the fruit stand was a wonderful downhill ride and the grocery store meant going back up a hill. The hill is about 1.5 miles long at an average 6% grade. Near the bottom of the hill a man rode right past us and started up the hill, a little more than half way up, we passed this same guy!

As I pulled into the grocery store I noticed that the bike racks that used to be on the sidewalk in front of the store were gone! I looked around and noticed that they now have a parking stall in the parking lot with 2 bike racks in it so we parked and did our shopping.
It was nice to see that some of the produce in the store actually cost more than the produce at the local fruit stand--especially when things are usually the other way around.

We finished our shopping and pedaled the 1.7 miles to home--we added about 20 pounds of groceries to the 10 pounds of produce we had purchased. With the little girl weighing 26 pounds and 30 pounds in groceries/produce and the weight of the trailer I was towing 65-70 pounds!

When we arrived home I was so excited from the ride. Sure I only saved $2.00 or so in gasoline as the entire trip was just under 9 miles, but I felt amazing. Something about getting my groceries and fruit in a different manner, getting outside on a beautiful day, having our daughter in tow, and so many other things. It was such a great feeling!

It's been almost 10 years since I lived in Ogden but there was a guy I worked with who sold his truck and then only had his bicycles. He lived in Clinton and would ride into our store in Ogden which worked out to be about 14 miles each way; he did this in the rain, snow, heat, night, morning, etc.

One day he and I were talking and I said something about how I couldn't get rid of my car and he said, "Sure you can, you just have to change your lifestyle." It was the simple way that he said this that hit me the hardest. It was so simple from his perspective because he had gone through the change himself, but from my outside perspective it seemed difficult.

Since moving I have mostly made the change and I love it. I have thought a lot over the last 12 or so years since this former co-worker told me about changing my lifestyle and this simple thought has had a fairly dramatic impact on my life overall. Whenever I think that something cannot be done I often wonder if I could change my lifestyle to make it happen.

Often I am afraid to make a change (whatever that change may be), but once the change is made I feel great about it. It just takes some time.

This is similar to the woman who reccommened just selecting one weekly errand and not using the car for it.


As recently as 1970 less than 1/4 of US households even owned 2 cars - we still lived basically a suburban lifestyle back then and somehow were able to prosper with less than 2 cars per household. In 1970, 1/4 of households didn't even own one car !

Nice story. Thanks for passing it on.

I often wonder about alternative means, whether it be biking, or a scooter, or something else. My city's (meager) public transportation is not set up for my particular commute. Even though my commute is just 7.5 miles, the roads that I take to work are not conducive to biking, or frankly scootering.

Your article is encouraging and thought-provoking in that even if many of us can't commute by bike, part of doing our part could definitely include biking to the grocery, the farmer's market, the shopping center, or even local restaurants.

You know, I've always noticed how everybody has tons of cars these days. Even if the family is in poverty odds are they'll have two or more cars.

I'm tempted more and more these days to get a bicycle even though the number of errands I can run is actually quite limited (to the store and back, and that is actually walking distance if I could spare an hour).

When I used to complain about not having enough time - My mentor would say, Michealngelo only had 24 hours in a day also...........

That was a great read. Thanks!

I've been commuting on bike since I moved here, 8 miles each direction..I also take it to the grocery store and stuff. Unfortuneatly I got a flat today :/ I will have to go drive to work tomorrow and buy a new inner tube after work.

I'm tempted more and more these days to get a bicycle even though the number of errands I can run is actually quite limited (to the store and back, and that is actually walking distance if I could spare an hour).

For those of you considering trading in a car for a bike, understand this. Just as there is a wide chasm among cars in the area of FE, there is also a wide chasm among bikes in the area of performance.

Really good bikes are expensive. Mine, for example, cost $800. But viewed in the context of swapping for a car, they are a bargain.

We recently went to 1 car (the Prius). We are lucky to be able to pull it off, as most days we only need 1 car. But the 2-car days are now 1 car / 1 bike days.

But it's doable............because of the quality of my bike (Specialized road bike).

So to anyone pondering a trade in........................borrow a really good bike for a day and ride your commute or something similar. You may be amazed at how easy it is and how enjoyable too.

This is a topic I can relate to. I commute 3+ days a week to work. I go 11.3 miles one way. I also regularly stop at stores on my way home. Today I went to Target to return some pants and get a different pair. I also needed to take a few days of clothes home from work. My rear rack had 2 panniers full of clothes and on top was my lunch and emergency gear. This about 30 - 35 lbs of extra weight. Surprisingly, I am amazed how it doesn't bother me.

I am trying to get to not needing a car for myself. I got a kid trailer recently and have taken my daughter to the park several times. Thats a 5+ mile ride alone. I have also used the trailer to transport gear from work.

I recently picked up a book called "How to live well without owning a car" by Chris Balish. Highly recommend it if you are interested in changing how you live. He talks about how to start riding the bike and public transportation instead of using a car. He even gives a method to slowly start.

When you plan your route try to use the subdivision roads and stay off the main roads. My commute by car is 10 mi but I ride 11.3 miles because I weave through 25 mph roads. Remember you can now cut through school lots, follow rail trails and cut through parks. The bike is very flexable!

mparrish is right about a good bike. I got a Surly CrossCheck. Cyclocross bikes are very good commuters because of the road frame but beefed up to handle hopping curbs and small jumps. Just ask to be sure it can take a rear rack. I love not having a backpack on, especially when it is 90+ degrees out.

I just bought a "Burley Bee" like the one pictured this evening. I'm going to start taking my daughter out with me on light trails. Bikes are great!

I was looking to begin biking to work in a few weeks after i built up a little more stamina. Its just 3.5 miles one way... but the hills have me a little worried. Thanks for your uplifting article... I'm going to "go for it" tomorrow morning!

Once you learn how to properly use your bicycle's gears those hills will be easier. What I don't like about cheap bicycles is you have to "feel" for the gears. The gear selector lever on cheap bikes are plastic and have no markings as to which sprocket the lever controls nor which gear is which position. I've heard that someone made a bicycle with an automatic transmission. I can just about imagine how much that thing cost.

I kinda miss those days. I didn't have a car for a couple of years. I remember the buses taking forever...like way over an hour to commute 12 miles after the transfers and all.
Then one day I tried a bicycle, and even when I was totally out of shape I whoooped the bus by over a half an hour! :)

Only 5 more weeks until my 15 minute, mostly flat bike commute begins!

(And on lazy and rainy days, the bus is $1.25)

Seven years ago, my wife suggested that we get rid of my car. I resisted, and we added on to the garage to make room for the bikes. I sure like the bike garage, and the money wasn't a problem, but I still sometimes think it was the wrong decision. We just don't use two cars very often. Tomorrow, my car will have been stationary for 2 months (but I haven't gone more than 2 weeks without being in a car).

Cars seem like freedom, but I think we often are enslaved by our cars. Two cars are needed so both parents can get to work, and both parents need to work so they can afford two cars! Of course, it could be argued that I'm captive to my log of my auto use!

If you ride a bicycle, you need to make yourself very visible with a white or hi-viz helmet, and a hi-viz vest. You are in some ways more vulnerable than motorcyclists, because traffic is moving faster than you and is constantly overtaking you.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25695376/

As a motorcyclist, I am very aware that I am vulnerable in traffic, and bicyclists need to appreciate that, too, and take steps to reduce their risks.

Harry

On expensive bikes... I got a Bridgestone MB-5 Trailblazor back in the early 90s. I took it to college in 96, where someone stool my seat/post (which was CHAINED to the @!#$ bike). I only just got around to replacing the seat this year, but that bike has seen a lot of miles. It cost somewhere around 4-500$ new, but you'll never find a wal*mart bike that will endure.

As for the tired factor, bike commuting actually helps you produce more energy. I commuted by bike for years when living in Guam. Long 13 hour work days in hot humid weather and a mostly uphill 4.2 mile ride home. Some days it was really tough, but when I realized how much energy I was putting out during a day I felt not the least bit bad about using the easy-pedal gear to take a break up the hills - or for that matter driving once in a while. Also, when riding home it's kind of rejuvenating to actually enjoy the ride home. No blabbing radio, backups at stoplights, etc.. Biking actually has some rather nice side benefits.

The key for changing the lifestyle is creating a new habit. It takes somewhere between 30-45 days to creat this. Then it's easier to maintain the new lifestyle.

Here the commute is 61 miles round trip with a VERY convoluted bicycle alternative route, next best thing is the motorcycle, or a closer job.

+1 for the good bike thought. My old Diamond Back Response Comp wasn't top quality but a mid-range $550 ride. Road raced it and commuted it for years in Guam with skinny tires, off-road raced it in California with knobbies, and towed a kiddie trailer on bike paths in Washington. Sold it after 12 years and thousands of miles of good use for $60. Just did basic maintenance and had ZERO failures.

Look for a used good quality older bike. If you don't need the latest bling these are by far the best deals and will take you a long way.

last night i had to go to the bank to make some change for laundry. the bank is about a half mile from my house, and i usually drive there and back. as i was getting ready to get into the car, i remembered this post and i got on my bike instead. the trip took about 10 minutes in total, and i felt great afterwards.

My bike was not as expensive as some, only $300, but it has lasted 14 years and is still going strong. Instead of the trailer, all 3 of my kids learned the love of biking in the kid-bike-seat that attached to the back wheel and seat post. Those days are long gone, but all three of them own and maintain their bikes now and make the short, local trips to the stores for us or we ride together.

I have found the change to bike+mass transit for the commute to be enjoyable. I am able to ride to the bus stop (about 2.5 miles) and then load the bike on the front of the bus or leave it locked at the near-by gym bike rack. I don't bike to the closest bus stop, I bike a little farther to the bus stop for the "express" bus, so my total commute time is 40 minutes instead of 22 by car. But the 32 minutes of bus time is spent on work, so I'm already ahead when I actually get to work.

So it is definitely a "lifestyle" change, but once you get over the break-in period (30-45 days), then it becomes normal and the days I do have to drive seem strange.

Agreed. You will get much more bike for the same money if you buy used. People buy expensive bicycles every day and hardly ever ride them. They end up on "craigslist" or "Ebay" for a fraction of their retail cost. After purchase, take it to your local bike shop for a tune-up and anything else it may need. And do a little research before purchase so you know you're getting something with good components. I bought a "Diamondback" with lots of goodies from my local bike shop seven years ago for half the retail price. I was fortunate because it was a smaller, higher-end bike and the right person hadn't walked through the door before me. I just got off it about two hours ago and I'm going back out with the dog tomorrow morning before the heat. Love it.
brian

I'm glad to hear so many hypermilers ride bicycles too! Biking is the ULTIMATE hypermiling, as I have said in other threads.

Because as a friend said, "I get 100 MPG on bicycle. (Miles per gallon of gatorade that is!)"

What a great article, and thanks for sharing that with us. I have also started to change my lifestyle too by biking more when I have errands around where I live. Unfortunately drivers around my area are not very tolerant to cyclists as they have probably never seen a cyclist on the road I go on. 1 out of 10 drivers is a jerk but I am thankful that it's just that, for the most part they leave me enough room when they pass me. I love doing these errands on my bike as not only am I not using gas but I am polluting less, and exercising.

I am trying to get in shape to make my 44 mile round trip to work on my bicycle, I tried doing it once but my legs gave out on me 2 miles before reaching my destination, luckily it was a Sunday and did not have to go to work. On the way back I had to call my friend to pick my up as I could not make it back home with my cramping legs.

This lifestyle is achievable by making small steps until you reach the desired level.

Kelly, Thanks for sharing! I am so glad there are many of us out there. At my work people just don't understand, they are all like, do you even have a car?? After I say yes, they are all like, so you do it just to save gas? I haven't told them I have a Hybrid and average 55 mpg...I am only saving not even 2 gallons a week by biking! They would totally kill me if they found this out...

The drivers in my area aren't very tolerant either. I've avoided this issue slightly by commuting not during the peak traffic issues and buying a blinking, fluorescent vest. People can see me a lot earlier now, which makes it less likely for someone to be surprised and get upset at me...

I really hope you can make that 44 mile round trip! Start doing some more biking close to home in the evenings and weekend, and soon you will be able to do it no problem! Even if you only ride to work 1 day a week that is 20% less consumption, just imagine if everyone used 20% less gas!

... a blinking, fluorescent vest...

I've never seen one that blinks. What brand+model# do you have? What type of batteries? Where do the batteries go?

Here's a blinking vest:

http://www.batterysavers.com/Bilinking-Vest.pdf

I'm sure there are others out there.

I've used http://www.safetyline.com for vests for riding my motorcycle, especially in fog or rain. They don't carry blinking vests, but do stock a wide variety of vests, some of them mesh type.

Harry

After I say yes, they are all like, so you do it just to save gas? I haven't told them I have a Hybrid and average 55 mpg...

I'm saving other things besides gas by biking. Belt leather, for instance, and a lot of cloth. Not to mention the cost of e.g. cardiac bypass surgery...

Not to mention what being able to run the local teenagers into the ground does for your general self-esteem :-)

I've never seen one that blinks. What brand+model# do you have? What type of batteries? Where do the batteries go?

Here ya go. I highly recommend it! I had a biker come catch up to me yesterday, and we had a little conversation through the darkness...He said that he saw my vest "WAY back there", and that he "wanted to catch up to me to tell me he thought it was neat!" I personally think it is very dorky looking, but it works! It uses 3 AA batteries. I have rechargeable in there, and have used it half an hour 5 days a week for the past two weeks and it still is going strong. I chose the blue flashing lights on the Blue and yellow vest.

http://www.actiongear.com/cgi-bin/tame.exe/agcatalog/level4s.tam?xax=14016&M5COPY.ctx=29118&M5.ctx=29118&M2_DESC.ctx=Special%20Purpose&level3.ctx=results.tam&query.ctx=reflective%20vest&backto=%2Fagcatalog%2Fresults.tam

I'm saving other things besides gas by biking. Belt leather, for instance, and a lot of cloth. Not to mention the cost of e.g. cardiac bypass surgery...

Not to mention what being able to run the local teenagers into the ground does for your general self-esteem :-)

Yeah, that is a big thing for me. I've grown tired of running, and forcing myself to get out is hard. When I commute via bike I kind of have to bike, you have to go to work in the morning, and then if you want to go home it's not like you have any other choice but to get back on it! :) Yes, it is funny passing all the locals on bikes that have the seat so low their knees go up to their chest and go like 3 mph. lol

http://www.actiongear.com/cgi-bin/tame.exe/agcatalog/level4s.tam?xax=14016&M5COPY.ctx=29118&M5.ctx=29118&M2_DESC.ctx=Special%20Purpose&level3.ctx=results.tam&query.ctx=reflective%20vest&backto=%2Fagcatalog%2Fresults.tam

http://www.batterysavers.com/Bilinking-Vest.pdf


Thanks for the links! Do either of you feel like you're in the movie Tron (http://disney.go.com/vault/archives/movies/tron/tron.html) when you wear this? It does appear that you would very easy to notice.

Haha...Yeah, it is very easy to notice. I had a biker catch up to me once, just to tell me, "What a neat vest! I just had to catch up to you to let you know that I could see that thing WAY back there!" I think it's more dorky than neat...But it works!!!