CopperBrompton
Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
- Location
- London
Well, not entirely by accident, but I didn’t set out with the goal of going car-free, I simply moved to Shadwell then found I’d gone three months without driving my car.
We had two cars before the move, sold one almost immediately but held onto the second one on the basis that it was by now 17 years old and worth next to nothing. We initially rented an underground car parking space for it, but that seemed an extravagance for something we never used, so left it in uncontrolled street parking in Rotherhithe. For three months.
Went over at the weekend to see if it was still there. It was, but someone had done a hit-and-run, scratching the driver side wing. That made me rather sad (it’s old but a nice car that was in very good condition), so decided that rather than leave it somewhere it was likely to suffer further neglect and not be used, I’d give it to a friend who would get some pleasure from it.
Dropped it off on Saturday. Still paperwork to sort out before it’s official, but basically I am now a non-car-owner. Have joined Zipcar as a backup, but honestly wonder when I’d ever use it. Everywhere in central London is within easy walking or cycling distance, and anywhere further afield is going to be more convenient by public transport.
As a former petrolhead who spent more time than I can count on racetracks, it feels very strange!
We had two cars before the move, sold one almost immediately but held onto the second one on the basis that it was by now 17 years old and worth next to nothing. We initially rented an underground car parking space for it, but that seemed an extravagance for something we never used, so left it in uncontrolled street parking in Rotherhithe. For three months.
Went over at the weekend to see if it was still there. It was, but someone had done a hit-and-run, scratching the driver side wing. That made me rather sad (it’s old but a nice car that was in very good condition), so decided that rather than leave it somewhere it was likely to suffer further neglect and not be used, I’d give it to a friend who would get some pleasure from it.
Dropped it off on Saturday. Still paperwork to sort out before it’s official, but basically I am now a non-car-owner. Have joined Zipcar as a backup, but honestly wonder when I’d ever use it. Everywhere in central London is within easy walking or cycling distance, and anywhere further afield is going to be more convenient by public transport.
As a former petrolhead who spent more time than I can count on racetracks, it feels very strange!