fietsbob

Old Guy who after returning from a Long Bike tour Moved and rarely leave town, Now the Bike Touring comes Here.

metro2005

At the moment car free but i do have a scooter for the really windy or rainy days.

hartlean

I probably qualify as car-lite acc to most definitions of that.

When in Wilmington NC (April to Sept), I bicycle commute, driving the car just enough to feel like I’m keeping the battery charged. Also, once a year I might use the car to carry something heavy and/or bulky.
Sept, I bicycle tour up to the Buffalo, NY area for the winter.
When around Buf, I work from home, driving a family member’s car perhaps once a week to transport heavy/bulky items.
Apr, I bike back to NC.
Approximately,
Annual bicycle use: 7500km
Annual car use: 300km

Motivation to go car-lite is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions & other pollution. As a Christian I believe God put us on this incredible world as its stewards & shepherds. We are to love others as we love ourselves. Since everybody depends on the earth, loving others means caring for the earth. It's not complicated. Climate change is real; if we don’t slow it down, it will hurt many people.

Going car-lite is not to earn brownie points with God or anything like that; rather, I’m just expressing gratitude for everything He’s done for me. 1 John 3:16.

Roody

You must be the only person who goes to Buffalo for the winters!

I find most of what you say very interesting. Just to let you know, I pretty much skim over the religious stuff--just not my cup of tea.

cooker

Interesting - you are living a lifestyle somewhat like that proposed by one of our regulars, tandempower, biketouring to different sites to work.

Does it make sense to even keep the car in North Carolina if you use it so little? Surely 300 km of driving (or less if that includes Buffalo driving) could be done much more cheaply with cabs/uber, car rental, or paying for delivery?

fietsbob

The founder of Sea Shepard said, in an interview ... stop eating Meat.. any.

a Vegan driving a Hummer has a Smaller carbon footprint, than an Omnivore on a Bicycle .

Phil_gretz

^ this may be my new signature expression, "Omnivore On A Bicycle"

hartlean

Am very thankful to be able to work at those different sites.

Agreed about keeping the car; I probably should give it away. Plenty of good organizations could use it. Salvation Army comes to my mind first.

Plus, mechanics have advised me to keep changing the motor oil even if I don't use the car; that's not the greatest for the environment (on which we all depend).

hartlean

Thanks, Roody...I like your posts too.

BTW, Wilmington NC winters are just not cold enough for me.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It's not.”
― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

willydstyle

My partner has a car that I only drive if we're going out of town, although I'm pushing for us to do more bike camping, etc.

Otherwise all transport/errands/commuting is done with the bike and mass transit.

wahoonc

You sir, are a sick puppy! 40° is C-O-L-D!

I live about an hour from Wilmington... my corporate headquarters is in Elmira, NY, I am "required" to make several trips a year up there, usually in the dead of winter.

That's okay... I get my revenge when they send NY crews to work in GA in the summer months.

Aaron

hartlean

Too bad, Aaron, about those trips to Elmira being in the winter. Fall & Spring trips there via bicycle would be simply wonderful. Plenty of forests for bike-hammocking along the way, too.

Ekdog

Great!

willydstyle

However, both are still better than the omnivore in the hummer, who is by far the more common creature.

That being said, I actually did go vegetarian recently because I realized that for the forseeable future the U.S. government isn't going to be doing anything about climate change, so I may as well vote with my pocketbook.

wipekitty

I'm some crazy woman with a pretty bad cycling addiction. Help!

In all seriousness, though, nobody in my household owns a car. It's been that way for a few years. One walks. One takes the bus or tries to catch rides. One gets the medical transit van for the elderly/disabled. I bike. Groceries, household supplies, and landscaping/home improvement items get to my house by walking or by bike. I deal with the heavy stuff using a trailer.

That said, we're not totally car free. We rent a car a few times a year to visit family in other states or travel for work. We order delivery food, which comes in a car, and order clothing and pet supplies online, which come in vehicles as well. My husband and I generally don't ride in vehicles (other than long trips in rental cars), but the others do.

So: car free might be a stretch. Personal-vehicle-free might be closer. Pro-human-powered-transportation: yes!

Currmudge

Car ultra-lite. I have two family members who drive -- one, I've ridden with once in ten years, the other only while I was recovering last year.

I'll take the bus when: it's free on Saturdays during the just-ended holiday season, if surface conditions are just TOO crappy, or if I'm going across town with all the kids in questionable weather.

kickstart

A pragmatic cynic who happens to dislike cars*.

*personally, not in general.

Theycallmegio

I'm car free. I sold my car within 2 months of moving to Chicago. Between a bike and the train there's no need for a car. It was quite an adjustment at first but I wouldn't care to live any other way.

Curious LeTour

I'm an admirer of car free living. I might live car light some day.
I work in landscaping and need a truck to haul tools to sites, and debris away. We are a company that specializes in native plants and restoration, but the high mileage feels like it erases the good we do.
I own horses too and I want to bring them to horse shows a few times a year, and they keep me living 8 to 12 miles from city centers, so I feel stuck in a truck.
I feel conflicted. I have but one life to live, but have a lot of environmental and social awareness too.

Roody

Maybe you could use the motor vehicles for business and the horses, but go on the bike for most of your other trips? Use the best tool for the job!