tandempower

Often, we go out for car-free outings on weekends, because those are the days long enough and where bedtime is flexible enough to allow for long walks and bike rides. Although we LCF, it occurred to me that you don't have to 'be' LCF or car-light to take car-free outings, especially on weekends. Likewise, we often see other people taking walks and bike-rides on the MUPs, and many of them may not 'be' car-free or car-light.

So this thread is about the appeal of car-free outings for people who otherwise have no interest in LCF or LCL. Clearly there are health-benefits and fun to be had by walking or biking to go out, go shopping, or go to a restaurant. Going out to eat, especially, is better car-free because the walk or bike-ride to and from the restaurant stimulates the appetite and helps with digestion.

Do you think many people recognize and/or seek and engage in car-free outings who otherwise have no interest in LCF/LCL? If so, they probably wouldn't be reading and participating in this web forum (or would they?). What other outings/activities are better car-free and why? How could car-free outings be promoted/marketed as a benefit to healthy and fun living?

E.g. Could restaurants or other businesses promote their meals or other products as being better as part of a car-free outing? McDonalds, for example, has traditionally promoted its food as part of a family-fun lifestyle, so maybe McDonalds TV ads could feature people strapping on their hiking/walking shoes while talking about what foods they're going to enjoy when they arrive. Someone could boast that they're going to get a large order of fries or a desert because they're going to burn the extra calories on the jog home, etc.

What do you think about this topic of car-free outings regardless of LCF/LCL status/interest? Is there a market for people to go out without driving for specific reasons, or are people who are totally comfortable with driving everywhere going to avoid car-free outings simply because they see it as a waste of time?