DiamondDave247

Welcome to the car-free/car-lite lifestyle and welcome to the forum! You may find, as I have, that many of us here share many of the same daily experiences and challenges. I liked your words:

I share the same attitude! When I face a new "adventure", I simply ask myself, what would my ancestors have done about 100 years ago, before motorized vehicles were so common? Okay then, let's do this! It often turns out the task was not quite as difficult as I had imagined it would be.

You will find the bike forum to be a very valuable resource in many different areas. Good luck and ride safe!

Roody

Welcome to LCF!

scroungetech

I've been reading the CFL sub-forum for a few months now, and have recently moved to a much more car-lite existence. My girlfriend and I moved in together about 2 months ago. She has not owned a car for about 18 months, and was biking or walking to work before we got together. Now, she uses my car 6 days a week while I cycle to work & home M-F. This is working for us because I feel physically & mentally better with each consecutive day that I ride, while she just feels more run down if she has to ride/walk, mostly because of joint pain and working in a fast paced food service job. My commute is about 4 miles each way, daylight both ways this time of year, to a mechanical trade job where it doesn't matter if I'm dirty/sweaty. I also work with few guys who love cycling, one who goes on the local club rides and another who toured cross country, so I have more in common with some coworkers now. I've been loving this recent change. I get my daily serving of alone time on the bike each day, get some exercise, and feel more connected to the natural world around me because I'm out in the elements rain or shine, feeling the surface of the road and the weather with my whole self. Thanks to the many contributers here in LCF who have helped get me psyched up to see this as 100% adventure! ~scroungetech

metro2005

Ashamed to say that i went from car-free to car lite again. The weather was killing me! rain, rain, hard wind and more rain. Arriving at the office soaking wet every day is not my idea of a good start of the day So i bought a small and cheap car that i now use when its raining really hard. I dont think i really like the idea of owning a car again but getting wet daily isnt fun either. Especially when i have to ride my bike or scooter 2 hours a day .

kmac11

Hi everyone. I've been car free for about 3 years now. (That's of my normal adult life, I also didn't have a car in college but that was very common for my campus.) I live in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
I work 2 jobs--one is about a 1.5 mile bus ride/walk from my house. The other is in the next town over but there's an express bus between the two that's easy to use.
I mostly get around by bus, or take lyft/uber in the occasions that I need to carry heavy groceries or something. I've been thinking of getting a bike, but there aren't good bike lanes here and I fear for my safety.

I'm from New York and never got my driver's license. It took me a while to get around to obtaining the license, and I kept saying I would get a car as soon as I had it. But then I thought...you know what, I've been doing this for a year already and it's saved me a lot of money, and I've learned how to survive without a car. So I decided to stay carfree!

The hardest part about it isn't even the logistics of getting around. It's the fact that I seem to be the only carfree person in the city. Seriously, until recently I didn't know anyone else without a car. It would be possible for a lot more people to do it but it hasn't caught on. Everyone thinks it's SUPER weird that I don't have a car. That's why I went looking for a forum, hoping I could get a bit of confirmation that I'm not insane, haha.

Roody

Welcome to the forum! I bet we can talk you into trying a bike. They really aren't more dangerous than walking, and about three to four times faster, even at an easy pace. The start-up cost for bicycling can be surprisingly low.

rhm

I was always car free until I got married (over 20 years ago). After that my wife and I shared a car. But in the last ten years I started lobbying for our present car to be our last car; and though I never won this argument my wife gradually began to think of the car as hers, rather than ours. In the last five years, the car has been replaced twice; but it is now in her name alone. We pool our expenses, including the car, but in general I drive it only for family purposes.

When the situation calls for a second car, I rent one. Maybe twice a year.

learnincurve

Greetings all. I'm car free and have been since I left my parent's house nearly 20 years ago. I'm afraid there isn't any deeper meaning behind this than I've always lived in cities/towns with decent buses and in a country with a phenomenal, if somewhat tardy, rail network so never saw the point - doubly so now that the internet has made it easier to get everything I need, and many things I don't but want anyway delivered to my front door. It annoys my mother and my children but they have legs so they can walk a mile to the shops without it killin' 'em.

gerv 

Welcome to the forum. Are you a cyclist or mainly a transit carfree person? Great to hear from people who have been carfree a long time!

InGrained

Never owned a car or a drivers license. But a little while ago I had to move out get a job and be self reliant. So I went out and bought a bike. Despite everyone being like "Well I support your decision" while thinking "Everyone is supposed to get a car. It's what adults do". And all I ever see is cars sucking up my friends money. Making payments on it, insurance, and something always breaking on it and requiring fixing. And don't forget gas. With the money I make I couldn't afford it. When people start to realize all the money I save they take it more seriously and not as a joke.

Roody

Welcome to the forum! I also enjoyed your posts on the Simple Living thread.

Ekdog

When I was in high school, way back when , my grandfather, who raised me, said he wouldn't let me get my drivers license if I didn't shape up. When I said I didn't really want a license, me told me it was time to grow up, and made me get the license.

Ten Mile

I've been car-free for about two years now. The longer I use my bike as my only source of transportation, the less I feel the need to buy a car. Every year there are a few days where the roads are too icy to ride, so until I get around to buying a second bike with studded tires, I carpool with my wife. I love riding, but after doing the Lose The CarLose The Car thing and really getting smart about my clothing and layers, I don't see myself ever getting another car. It helps that my job has a pretty relaxed dress code, but now that I've got a foolproof system down for staying dry and warm without sweating in the winter, and staying cool and dry in the summer, not owning a car has never been a problem.

foxracing24

I got in to cycling cause the cops ironicly a cop on a byicle pulled me over and gave me a distracted driving tickets (I was texting) and it was my second time he impounded my 2014 Silverado for 60days witch ended up being 80 cause it was new cop and was suppose to be 60 but he wrote down 80days. So I bought a 21spd CCM mountain bike and I'm 23 and play hockey so I'm already fit so that wasn't a problem. I finally got my truck back and bin driving it since its winter but come summer I'll ve getting sweaty ridding my bike. I want to buy some cycling gear I want the shorts and shirt I herd fox racing makes cycling gear I'm just wonder what size I would need im 5.5 and 155 pounds I want the compersion gear.

Roody

Welcome! I'm sorry about your legal problems, but I hope you continue riding even after you get your truck back. A bike shop or even website should be able to help you find the right sizes for your kit.

mb5055

I have been car free for 20 years. I'm Used to drive 50,000 is a year. It change your life completely, since at first you seem to stress to realize that it was the car that was the killer stress. Two key are necessary. First don't live at the edge of your budget. Second, make sure when you wake up that you have time to spear on that day. The rest is just good habits.

SkvLTD

Getting to 5 years soon, and been skating and blading + metro/busses (to go cross-states). Bike is definitely an insanely nice addition of speed and safety/possibility to go up and down the hills (uphill sucks on a board or blades, downhill MUCH moreso on blades since T-braking gets sketchy if you build enough speed or hill is that long) with a few grand worth of photo equipment on my back. And if there's a rain sprinkle...... bike can handle it fine

molten

To those of luck this applies to: anyone to be hired for a job not be required to have a car.
There be areas in the U.S. --- where businesses won't hire unless an applicant has a car.
I speak of applicants for jobs that have nothing to do with delivery.
In areas where there be public transit.

Greybeard712

I've found everything I need on ebay, the same stuff in bike or sports shops for a lot less $$. Just be aware that most of them list Asian Sizes and have conversion charts to US sizes.

molten

In southern California, no one with wanting or already having a job could survive in the method of highly depending on: (a) only a bike (b) bike + public transportation.

foxracing24

I live car free I own a pickup and a bicycle so I punish myself by buying carbon credits. IV put 40 000km on my truck since I bought it new and have bought 60 000km worth of carbon offsets for it and still buy carbon offsets for it I'm on a monthly deal were I'm billed a certen amount a month and I also have a app that keeps track of my milage so I can buy carbon credits. I like to drive trucks so I just buying carbon credits is a good punishment for me.

Greybeard712

I'm retired so I don't have to drive to work every day. However, it's almost impossible to live in the west (especially California) without the use of motorized transportation. Too much distance to cover. I bike everyday but trips to the grocery store would be impossible w/o my SUV.

I bought it (used) the summer of 2013 and have put only 4,000 miles on it in two years. When necessary I use it to transport the to and from the dedicated bike path. Too much traffic to get there during the week by riding from home. Very low to the ground, not as visible as a taller bicycle, even with the bright orange flag and blinking lights. Cars and pick-em-up trucks are whizzing by at 50mph. I do ride the bikes from home but it's scary.

2015: 2234 Miles ♂ Monthly Avgs: Day 17 - Wk 118
2013–2015: 6908 Miles–Total Avgs: Day 15.7 - Wk 110

Van Goghs Ear

Hello,

Car free since 1998 (though only started riding and cycle commuting 3 years ago), and 2 years ago was my first time winter riding, doing as low as -34 degrees celcius (without wind chill) as my lowest temperature ride. BRRRrrr...

No driver's licence either. I use the money I save to buy more bikes

Roody

Very inspirational...Welcome to LCF!

sisilisko2202

mm I 37 years old, never had a car, never been interested in driving! Yes I know people say is sad, and how do you get around, my first answer is I have feet, bike, and if the worse comes to the worse public transport, nothing better then putting the bike on a train, and when you get off your ready to go