ShadowGray

Doesn't work when your girlfriend goes to a neighboring college 3 hours away. Car-free works for me in the city because the Uni is 20 minutes away by bike, though. Not to mention parking is horrendous in the city.

brandonspeck

Hell yeah! I'm technically still a teenager. Just went officially car-free this september. I just couldn't wait until I could post in this thread.

no car, no girlfriend, no problem.

slipknot0129

Im car free and bike free. So I dont have any transportation till I get a bike. Im mostly going to ride to the towns 10,20 and 30 miles away. I havent got a car license yet. Im 20 years old.

Flash_BeeZy

I feel yah bro ^. Car free licence free 20 years old

but not for long...new born is coming home soon and i need a car unfortunatly

hopefullywild

Car free, eighteen, bike eight miles roundtrip to work and wouldn't have it any other way.
The way I see it, my cost of fuel is also my grocery cost every month.
Miles to the burrito.

THonestTeenager

Lol guys, I'm only 15 years old and I have never drove a car. It is really an awesome thing to just go by bike. Feels great, good excercise, not much money (cuz I only have a few hundred dollars in my bank account =( ) and you get a lot of experience from it. I even bike when it is icy and snowy!

I ride a 24" Mongoose XR-75 bike I had since 7th grade from Walmart. Now I'm a sophomore in Highschool and I upgraded the bike's pedals, brakes, seat, kickstand, and put fenders (A MUST HAVE) on it. Nothing broken and its amazing how well the bike has stood up despite it being 3 years old and from Wally World.

P.S. I bought a drill and drilled 2 holes in the fork in order to put the front fender in it using nuts and bolts. For fenders you may need to drill holes into the fork.

D_Snacks

Some inspiring stories here. Pretty disheartening to hear of unsupportive parents though when it comes to showing disinterest in the car lifestyle. A generation-gap issue perhaps? I've been car free for some time and have managed just fine walking and cycling to places. I acknowledge that a driver's license is a highly beneficial tool though so I'll be grabbing one soon enough. You know, for the times when I want to transport my bike to ride somewhere a bit further from home

Helms91

Currently, i am car-free. But that was because my parents were in deep financial troubles at the time, (step dad being laid-off) so we had to sell my vehicle. After getting back into bicycling, I do plan to get a vehicle, but only for the long trips. Maybe i can just get on my parent's insurance for the time being.

Voyek

"no car, no girlfriend, no problem."

awesome Brandon, love that quote xD

As for me i'm 18, no license, no car, 3 bikes : D I live in nyc so going places ain't a problem cept when I want to race somewhere upstate or further away... but instead of hitching a ride with my team this year I think im just going to get there a day or two prior, and make a double- century out of the whole thing, stay at a cheap motel and all that fun stuff.

I hate cars. They smell, make me sick and most of them look like ****. When they invent a car that's mostly carbon, has a dura ace engine, with a weight under 20 lbs then i might consider it

I'd be happy if the driving age would be raised to 21 tbh

Midol_Mohawk

I need to get car-lighter and want to end up car-free by next fall. I'm 23 and while I love my truck (01 Dakota, had it since my sophomore year of college putting about 38k miles since) its getting up in years and miles (123k at last count), I'm getting tired of paying for it. I have student loans from undergrad and am paying my way through my M.Ed with more loans while living at home and earning a paycheck through coaching a couple high school sports, working friday nights at the YMCA, and working in the special-ed department of a local high school. In other words, I am not making too much money and am trying to save as much as possible for when I get an apartment in June.

It's the tail-end of winter here in New England and its tough to bike without the proper gear (which I have begun to amass slowly), but its only 6.9 miles from my place to the school. Thats a hop-skip and a jump whether I take my Trek fx hybrid or my new CF roadbike. My only concern is how do I work around a dress code. As a teacher, I need to wear a button-down shirt and tie to school (except for casual fridays). This is obviously not good cycling attire, so how do I get around this? One thought was to drive to work one day a week and keep a week's worth of shirts, ties, slacks and my dress shoes in the classroom and simply change when I get there.

According to my conservative estimates of insurance/gas/etc, the real cost of car ownership put me at saving over 235 bucks a month if I were to be car-free...when I'm trying to save off of a meager paycheck, this is huge money! I just need to plan it out...

lovrin

I'm trying to AT LEAST go car lite this year. There are a few places I go that are hard to get to via bicycle, but for the most of the destinations I'm going this year I'd love to just bike to.

I can't leave it at work for fear of it being stolen/nowhere to really lock it up to. I'm getting sick of so much money going towards gas to go into my tank. So I'd definitely like to conserve it more by doing this.

Motman320

I'm a freshman in college and I use my car to commute to school and that's it. If it weren't for that I would definitely get rid of my car. My motorcycle is only $75 for insurance a year and cheap gas too. But that's only for nice days.

Once I get into a university I will definitely be selling my car.

Motman320

Voyek for president!!!!!

serra

I've been car free for almost a year. I just finished up freshman year at university, and the car my parents were willing to sell me was just to much of a hassle. Parking, gas, insurance, no thanks, not when I can get to the farthest reaches of town in 50 minutes, and stay in shape while doing it.

shawnkeeler

Dude, this is the best situation for you. I'm guessing all of your friends will have cars, and you can bum rides off them. Chip in a few bucks for gas here and there and you're set. If you've really been honest with yourself, and you don't think you'll need a car, don't do it.

TheCycl1st

going into senior year in a few days....still car free/ liscense free....new bike in the mail coming on the 20th =D. i love riding, have ridden everywhere including school since the 7th grade. the next town over/beach is a short 20 mile ride so thats not bad either. having a girlfriend complicates things a little but it works out fine. until i get a standard schedule job (right now i work for a moving company and forestry crew, but only get called in every once in a while when they need extra help for a job) i wont be getting a car. i am applying for my permit later this month though

Belladonna

Well, about a quarter of my friends think it's cool (it's Eugene Oregon, biking is pretty encouraged here) and the rest think it's fine enough but are already getting cars and licenses themselves (I'm 17). On one hand: I feel GREAT about myself, physically being able to get myself everywhere I go even though I live 25 miles outside of town and bike on the highway to get there, it's sooooo much cheaper!!!, I love the feel of biking and I love my bike. On the other, if I don't feel good or it's REALLY COLD, biking sucks. Sometimes I want to get home and not brave the freezing wind for half an hour in the dark. Buuuut... ultimately, I can deal with it, or catch a bus. It's not always convenient but then again, we are always trying to make things more and more convenient for ourselves. I'm a firm believer that we are tough beings and can definitely bike instead of drive when it comes to a daily basis.

I think it's a good idea to have a license, maybe a car if you go far away often, but use the bike whenever physically possible. Knowing myself I'd get lazy with the convenience so, I'll stick with a bike.

Belladonna

Oh yeah, and parking is super easy - just find something to wrap your lock around or walk it inside and call it good!

.baker

Its been a while since the last post on this thread but im not a teen anymore. Im 20, and never really thought about riding my bike as transportation before my car recently broke down. I dont like making excuses but down here in GA its not too common to see people commuting by bike. Share the road is far from the minds of the motorists...
I live in Augusta and it is pretty much suburbs which makes traveling from one side of town to the other a little stretch but as i look back i loved racing and the speed but it wasnt worth it especially with the tickets. I like to imagine myself as above the simple thinking of the masses but how small minded of me to expect my parents to provide me with a car and insurance when i probably didnt even need my own car.
I could've been in much better shape and saved so much $ but now i realize how America's love of the car is so misguided.

hwdxbassist

ive been car free since i was 16 i sold my ford probe for a nice road bike that was five years ago and im still riding to school on my fg.
total freedom. you meet a lot of cool people. and your always active. oh yea and the cash i save is GREAT no insurance,registration,parts,GAS. i just got some GOOD kevlar tires and im good to go. me and my friends biked from halfmoon bay to big sur and it was great.

keep riding!!!

RodgerMexico

Any zipcar users in here? I'm looking into getting a membership for those times of need

ssjo

I'm currently 20 years old and just barely got a bike the last year. Have been commuting to work and it has saved me tons of $$ on gas plus I'm never late :]. The thing is I just go to a community college and I need my car to go to parties and such :/. However I'm hoping when i transfer out I'll be more dependent on my bike and probably sell my car and buy a motorcycle for the longer commutes. Ah I wish more people rode bikess

jonescanada

I can't get over how many people mentioned that everyone in their school drives or they are the only ones who bike. I know I didn't grow up in the richest neighbourhood but not many people in my high school drove and almost none owned their own car. That was 8 years ago but still. The 4 people I can think of who owned their own car didn't go to University because they "didn't have the money". I should mention that in Southern Ontario you generally don't live more than a 45 minute walk away from your high school in an urban/suburban area. Where all these other kids got money to own a car at that age is beyond me. My insurance was about $4,500 a year when I got my own car at 20. My advice to anyone. Get your license right away because you might need it and the longer you have it the lower your insurance will be. ANd don't but a car until you have a career type job.

Oil_LOL

I'm a freshman in high school, and I am glad to say that a good 6 kids ride to school each day, and others bike occasionally, and I live in a very walk-able town. (the middle school has alot of kids biking, as well). I have to take drivers ed next year, and I hope to get my license, but I will try to put off a car for as long as possible. A couple kids drive to school, but It's hard for them to get parking, and they often have to park a couple blocks away. the only kids that drive, care a lot about their self-image, and are kind of *******s. No one at my school has given me **** for riding my bike (thank god), even when it's 15 degrees outside. I am very happy with my carfree situation right now...

Jankuci03

Hi,
I study in Budapest University of Technology and Economics. I have a six-month project and i have to design a cycling infrastructure. So i would like to asset in the first round the opinion of the patterns, insights and something like that.
Thank you very much

The link