Bike Forums - Name a beloved activity you had to give up to be Car-Free.

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- - Name a beloved activity you had to give up to be Car-Free. (https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=1158184)

Name a beloved activity you had to give up to be Car-Free.

I'll confess first.

Canoeing and kayaking. I miss that dearly.

Driving.
(sorry, couldn't resist)

Quote:

Originally Posted by pvillemasher (Post 20620819)

Driving.
(sorry, couldn't resist)

Got that out of the way fast!

NEXT!

Don't have any friends that can drive you to go canoeing? Or is that not allowed when LCF?

Quote:

Originally Posted by indyfabz (Post 20621091)

Don't have any friends that can drive you to go canoeing? Or is that not allowed when LCF?

Friends, or at least friends with cars willing to chauffeur the car-less ideologue about, are probably not likely for someone verbal about his dislike for the activities of members of the "automotivist culture" and/or an unwillingness to spend money for his own transportation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike (Post 20621141)

^THIS is not me. I don't care who owns what or who drives what, when. I don't own a car because I don't want / need one. Strictly a monetary decision. If I were rich, I would own a car without a doubt. And an efficiency apartment with a 4-car garage for all my cars, boats, campers, and motorcycles.

I do not consider myself part any cycling or environmental "culture" in any way. Strictly a monetary decision. If I owned a dependable car I would then have to give up a lot of other things I love. And my health insurance at $730/month. Everything in life is a trade-off.

I don't have friends because I don't enjoy the company of others. I have the perfect wife with a thousand friends of her own - all of whom leave me alone most of the time. Kayaking is ruined with some other person blathering on about things I do not care about.

I seriously doubt that everybody in Car-Free is some kind of cult member, although I have seen a few here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by indyfabz (Post 20621091)

Don't have any friends that can drive you to go canoeing? Or is that not allowed when LCF?

I don't have any friends for the same reason I don't have a car - not worth the price I have to pay.

Quote:

Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike (Post 20621141)

Good point. I was thinking that the activities mentioned are often done in groups.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeyBike (Post 20621168)

I don't own a car because I don't want / need one. Strictly a monetary decision. If I were rich, I would own a car without a doubt.

So you would want/need one if you were rich?

I haven't given up sailing, canoeing, even advanced education courses, tourism even flying, camping, eating out and just about any of the stuff I would be remotely interested in.

And this was over a period that exceeded 10 years to living without owning and very rarely driving any motor vehicle.

Growing up and and using the mind to work out alternatives is very hard for some, but not really me.

As far as the canoeing goes, I live near a river and there is storage for enthusiasts to put their craft in a building that is also a yacht club. If necessary, I could choose that option instead of storing two craft -- one a single, the other large canoe -- plus two sail boards at home, and maybe using a motor vehicle to move them for water use.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rowan (Post 20621277)

As far as the canoeing goes, I live near a river and there is storage for enthusiasts to put their craft in a building that is also a yacht club. If necessary, I could choose that option instead of storing two craft -- one a single, the other large canoe -- plus two sail boards at home, and maybe using a motor vehicle to move them for water use.

Quote:

Originally Posted by indyfabz (Post 20621221)

So you would want/need one [car] if you were rich?

Would I NEED one in the sense that I NEED to keep my health insurance premiums and doctors paid? No. Do I WANT one based on the fact that I have no place to park one where I live? No thanks. BUT...if I were RICH, I could pay to park the car in a private garage out of the weather and away from thieves and vandals, afford to insure a decent, dependable car with full coverage so I could lend it to car-free friends (I still would not use it enough to make the car happy). I would LOVE to have a dependable car at hand anytime I wanted one. No doubt. Need? Does my next-door neighbor NEED a pickup truck? He's not a farmer. But he has one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by indyfabz (Post 20621214)

Good point. I was thinking that the activities mentioned are often done in groups.

Kayaking alone on a moonless clear night in the swamp is awesome. One other QUITE person is OK. I used to kayak on Lake Fausse in Lake Fausse Pointe State Park and pick a cold, clear, calm night. If I was careful with my paddle strokes to not stir the water too much it felt like floating in outer space, as the stars were reflected perfectly under me in the water. Literally surrounded on all sides by stars. The lake was just large enough to not see the shoreline from near the middle. A religious experience that company could not improve upon. And realize that I biked across the USA five times solo, self contained. I am not in need of constant companionship like most people. Except for scuba diving, I'm going alone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rootman (Post 20621174)

Drive in movies

You still have drive in movies near you???

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeyBike (Post 20621421)

Were you insinuating that I am not smart enough to figure out how do do things? Shame.

Did I actually nominate you in the comment?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rowan (Post 20621454)

Did I actually nominate you in the comment?

I should have used a winkie emoticon. I was just messing with you.

I didn't give up anything during all the years I was car free. Still went to work, went to uni, walked lots, cycled more than ever, went to the places I wanted to go, etc. etc.

I actually added an activity ... I travelled a whole lot more. :)

Hauling dirt for landscaping projects and scrap metal to the recycler. Solved the problem when I bought a truck. Still car free, but now have a way to get the big jobs done. Only used when needed and hasn't seen 1000 miles yet this year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TiHabanero (Post 20621753)

Good idea! I hope no one on Car-Free takes issue with a utility vehicle on hand to get WORK done. If I could figure out a way to have a vehicle actually make money for me, or save me considerable expense, I would likely have one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeyBike (Post 20621172)

I don't have any friends for the same reason I don't have a car - not worth the price I have to pay.

Does that mean all yours are dying too? Bummer, ain't it? :cry:

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeyBike (Post 20621421)

I had a launch about 20 minutes walk from my house. I pulled a kayak on a folding kayak dolly to the launch, then strapped the dolly to the deck while paddling. I could also pull the kayak for 20 minutes behind a bicycle to a different place. I just got bored with those two places and a 30 minute car trip would produce some much more interesting places to paddle. So YES, I can do it, just not worth it in the long run. Certainly I can, and do rent cars but there are rules about strapping boats to them. Were you insinuating that I am not smart enough to figure out how do do things? Shame.

Would I NEED one in the sense that I NEED to keep my health insurance premiums and doctors paid? No. Do I WANT one based on the fact that I have no place to park one where I live? No thanks. BUT...if I were RICH, I could pay to park the car in a private garage out of the weather and away from thieves and vandals, afford to insure a decent, dependable car with full coverage so I could lend it to car-free friends (I still would not use it enough to make the car happy). I would LOVE to have a dependable car at hand anytime I wanted one. No doubt. Need? Does my next-door neighbor NEED a pickup truck? He's not a farmer. But he has one.

Kayaking alone on a moonless clear night in the swamp is awesome. One other QUITE person is OK. I used to kayak on Lake Fausse in Lake Fausse Pointe State Park and pick a cold, clear, calm night. If I was careful with my paddle strokes to not stir the water too much it felt like floating in outer space, as the stars were reflected perfectly under me in the water. Literally surrounded on all sides by stars. The lake was just large enough to not see the shoreline from near the middle. A religious experience that company could not improve upon. And realize that I biked across the USA five times solo, self contained. I am not in need of constant companionship like most people. Except for scuba diving, I'm going alone.

You still have drive in movies near you???

I think the last feature I saw was a Herbie The Love Bug movie.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pvillemasher (Post 20620819)

Driving.
(sorry, couldn't resist)

Passing other cars for sure...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rollfast (Post 20621824)

Does that mean all yours are dying too? Bummer, ain't it? :cry:

Well, I really compounded that problem. I "retired" (the first time) when I was 30. So most of my friends were retirees -- athletes who couldn't find peers to keep up with them, have time, or money to do hiking, climbing, canoeing, bike touring, road cycling, etc. So when I was 30-40, my friends were 65-75. All but one are gone. Then as I aged, like them, I had to recruit younger and younger friends who had time and money to pay their share. I didn't like most of them so I gave up. Down to two buds, in their early 50s. One just moved away. So....

Yes. It's a bummer. Thankfully I am good on my own. My wife is an athlete thankfully so I get enough friend time with her. Not a cyclist tho. Hiker/climber.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rollfast (Post 20621827)

Passing other cars for sure...

I pass WAY more cars on my bike in a day than I pass in a year in a car. I drive near the speed limit in a car. I'm that motorist in your way.

Random road trips to deserted places and camping.

My significant other and I used to do this from time to time. Winter camping in southern California was great - not that cold, but too cold for Californians. We also enjoy the Badlands of South Dakota, and found a place in Colorado that was too far out for the usual summer crowd.

It's not much of a loss at this point. We do not like humidity, or trying to sleep in humidity, so it would be quite a drive to go anywhere suitable from our current location on the border of Wisconsin and Minnesota. We can still get a car to go places, it just requires planning ahead a couple of days.