jellis

Personally, I'd like to go car free, but there are a few situations that make me wonder how it would be possible.

First off, what do you do about doing things with friends that aren't car-free. (Going to a baseball game, a bar-b-que, etc...) Do you ride yourself there separately? Always bum a ride in one of their cars?

Also, my girlfriend is not a bike-rider. She doesn't feel comfortable and safe enough to travel by bike, so when we go places together we often drive. I feel bad having her always drive, or at least taking her car. My thinking is that the only reason we are taking a car is because she can't ride a bike...

Any suggestions or comments?

Roody

Damn, first we're moochers and now we're bums!

jk...I know you didn't mean anything by it.


I do the same as when I had a car. If everybody is taking their own vehicle, I will too. (Of course, my vehicle is a bike.) If people want to go together, they can ride bikes with me, or drive me in their car.

As for your girlfriend, that's a tougher nut to crack. Some people have a genetic defect and never take to bikes. Others can be brought around. Be patient and kind, and see what happens. Either way, you can still do your own thing on the bike. Does she like to walk?

jellis

Well, I guess I just have to inform my girlfriend she has a genetic defect and see how that goes...

Walking's too slow. And nobody walks in LA.

Thanks for the response Roody. I pretty much follow the same guidelines, ride myself, or let them pick me up.

Also, I didn't read the thread about mooching all the way through. Turns out this thread discussion is on the same track.

Can someone delete this thread?

Roody

No, I predict a very different track for this thread. It'll probably be about your girlfriend.

And I suggest you not tell her that she has a genetic defect. People with this defect usually think they're perfectly normal. Their delusion is that it's us--they call us "bike nuts*--who are the crazy ones.

Indie

I don't know how going to a ball game or a bbq are not car-free activities. If I'm going to a ball game I take public transit. I went to a picnic on my bike and carried my pot luck contribution in my saddlebags.

There are two things about being car-free that a lot of people are doing really really wrong.

1) Don't be dogmatic about it. Recognize that you may sometimes need motorized transportation, depending on where you live and what you need to do. The fact that you don't own a car, or that you own one and only use it when absolutely necessary, already means you're doing a heck of a lot of good for the environment. Don't be all high and mighty about it if you're going to mooch off friends or feel bad about renting. Just accept that you might have to do it sometimes.

2) If you are choosing to give it up completely, and never drive or ride in anything that isn't powered by your own body, recognize that there will be things you cannot do and places you cannot go. You will have to plan your life around it. Make sure you're living close enough to work, school, shopping, doctors and dentists, etc. that you can get there and back in a reasonable amount of time. You might want to live close to your family so that you can go to visit them, because a distance that's an easy drive in a car might be completely impractical by bike or on foot.

Newspaperguy

Is she open to the concept of cycling, even if she's not comfortable doing so herself? If so, you may be able to slowly and gently bring her into bicycling, perhaps starting with some light recreational rides on quiet streets in the neighbourhood and eventually traveling by bike instead of by car to get to a nearby social function. If she starts small with some positive experiences, she may soon find herself hooked on cycling.

gwd

I've gone to ballgames and barbecues by bike, with girlfriends or without. Just the lack of parking hassle makes it the best way to go. I remember one time in particular, my daughter and I biked to one of those barbecues for her soccer team and the host thanked us for coming by bike because we freed up a parking spot on the street. At the old baseball stadium in DC I'd lock up near the entrance, much more convenient than going by car or subway. I haven't been to the new stadium yet.

jellis

Sorry Indie, I wasn't implying that ballgames and BBQs aren't car-free. I meant that my friends aren't car-free. So do I ride myself on my bike, or catch a ride in one of my friends' cars? Should I feel guilty that I'm never going to be the one that drives the crew?

Torrilin

People keep coming in here and *saying* that. Hell, they'd say it to my face, while I was busy walking in LA sometimes. Stoppit.

You can in fact walk in LA. It is not in fact slow. I know, because I was car free and bike free in LA before I moved here. Long Beach is not particularly walking friendly IIRC (I lived up on the West Side, in Palms). But there are sidewalks, and you can use them. For real. You won't die.

Further, I am quite sure that the bus system extends down to Long Beach. You probably have at least two bus systems available to you (most Angelenos do). I don't know if all the bus systems have bike racks available, but some do. So a combined bus/bike trip is doable. And you can of course walk and use the bus.

No, you're not going to get from Long Beach to Pasadena very easily, since it's around a 30 mile trip (and that includes in a car). But for at least 80% of the trips you make, you can come up with something.

bragi

I don't think you should feel at all guilty that you won't be the one who drives the crew around, although that may depend on your friends. If you're going to a place that's within ten miles of where you live, getting there by bike is so trivial that you can just meet your friends there as if you'd used a car. If your friends insist on driving places with you, especially far-away places, then they'll have to drive, but you can do things to make yourself feel like less of a mooch, like buying some drinks for everyone, or helping to pay for the gas. Personally, I never, ever accept rides from anyone unless the driver is going to the same destination as me, and we're leaving from the same place. If we're not leaving from the same place, I ride to the driver's house or workplace, and we leave from there. When I went car-free, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't burden others with my choice, and I've done a pretty good job of sticking to that.

My girlfriend is a tougher experience entirely. In principle, she's agreed to ride the bike locally, but in practice it doesn't happen all that often. Sometimes I just ride with her in her car. Other times I meet her at places on my bike, while she drives. And sometimes, blessedly, we ride to our destination together. The good thing about all of this is that when I met her, she wouldn't ride in traffic at all, and now she will if it's not raining or cold or too far. Baby steps is all I can suggest.