cyberknight
As long as I breathe, I attack.
- Location
- Land of confusion
Going carless
- Thread starter Easytigers
- Start date
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Brandane
Legendary Member
- Location
- Costa Clyde
Whatever happened to him? Hated drivers, loved cycling. Then passed his driving test, bought a car, and .... disappeared
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cyberknight
As long as I breathe, I attack.
- Location
- Land of confusion
Whatever happened to him? Hated drivers, loved cycling. Then passed his driving test, bought a car, and .... disappeared
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
I shall be walking to the shops in a minute.
Bodhbh
Guru
I got rid of my car a few years back and it was one of the best things I've ever done. Circumstances tho - I was 20 stone, no kids (so no problem there) and living just inside the M25. I lost 8 stone, took up this hobby here we talk about, and gained whole new outlook on life - getting out and about, backpacking, touring, *enjoying* walking 4miles and back to pick up 20kg of groceries, cycling 70 miles to catch a plane, etc.
Kids and even a partner changes things. Ill health is no fun in these circumstances either. I had a hernia op and suddenly was totally immobile and housebound. Still, I'd recommend anyone thinking about it to give it a crack.
Kids and even a partner changes things. Ill health is no fun in these circumstances either. I had a hernia op and suddenly was totally immobile and housebound. Still, I'd recommend anyone thinking about it to give it a crack.
KneesUp
Guru
I stopped living in London a long time ago and since then I've found a car too useful to give up, but I wish I could go back and tell my younger self to not buy the expensive flashy saloon car and instead to buy a usefully sized car like a Berlingo or something plus three bikes (off-road, road and hybrid) and a tent to go in the back of it, and to have taken more holidays. It would have cost less and been much more fun.
I pass this advice on for the benefit of those young enough to not repeat my mistake
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
I wish I could persuade TLH to have a Kangoo van as her 'car'. Having reflected on this thread the only time I really miss having a motor is when I want to sling an mtb in the back and drive to some distant hills. My mtb'ing is rather curtailed by where I can get to on a weekend in an hour by direct train; Sat/Sun South Downs/North Downs/Surrey Hills and Sun South Downs only really.
Nigeyy
Legendary Member
- Location
- Massachusetts, USA
EasyTigers, I really enjoyed the candidness of your post. I also would love to go carless, but I do know it's not a reality for me. The first problem is the kids; I really need motorized transportation to get them to various activities -or pick them up from school at times. The second problem is work. Having to go to work and working late at night in all sorts of weather just doesn't get my cycling juices flowing..... Then there is the weather -not just rainy, but extremely hot and humid in the summer and bitterly cold here in the winter with good levels of snowfall (would I want to be on the road then? From just a safety point of view, no way!). Lastly there is no real public transportation available where I live. I think almost any one of the above is very large nail in the coffin to the idea of going carless.
On the bright side, when the kids are off out in the world and I don't have to work or be somewhere (so my time isn't at a premium, and I don't mind waiting for public transportation) and I have a more practical choice as to where to live -well, I would love to give going carless a go then! As others have posted, it really depends on your own needs -usually dictated by whether you have kids, what kind of job you have, where you live and life choices.
On the bright side, when the kids are off out in the world and I don't have to work or be somewhere (so my time isn't at a premium, and I don't mind waiting for public transportation) and I have a more practical choice as to where to live -well, I would love to give going carless a go then! As others have posted, it really depends on your own needs -usually dictated by whether you have kids, what kind of job you have, where you live and life choices.
young Ed
Veteran
that's some nice icing sugar you have their! in Sweden where i will be farming we easily get a few feet of snow and have to keep the sheep inside in a proper sheep house for 4-5 months purely in silage and haybad career move..!.....................
sorry, will fix in a tick but now i'm not sure if i have done 826 miles or 870???
can anyone remember what my old ticker was on?plenty of practice and it is bloody hard!As long as he can count the sheep in the field he will be fine , either that or he is to busy thinking about bikes to pay attention in class
in Sweden where i will be farming we drink lots of coffee for that reason!
nah, it's lambing at this time of year and it is damn hard work as i know from some lambing work during my easter holidays
Cheers Ed
Ganymede
Veteran
- Location
- Rural Kent
that's some nice icing sugar you have their! in Sweden where i will be farming we easily get a few feet of snow and have to keep the sheep inside in a proper sheep house for 4-5 months purely in silage and hay
sorry, will fix in a tick but now i'm not sure if i have done 826 miles or 870???
plenty of practice and it is bloody hard!
in Sweden where i will be farming we drink lots of coffee for that reason!
nah, it's lambing at this time of year and it is damn hard work as i know from some lambing work during my easter holidays
Cheers Ed
I used to have some Swedish sheep - Gotlands. Lovely fleece but flighty like a lot of primitive breeds. I keep a tiny flock of 6 ewes a couple of which have Gotland blood and therefore amazing long curly white fleeces.
Completely off-topic though, especially as I don't think I would manage a bag of sheep cake on the back of my bike from the feed store!
Isn't the thing to do is to just leave the car on the drive as much as possible? If you make an effort not to use the car, and a conscious decision to not give in and make up poor excuses to justify using the car (there seems to be a lot of those in this thread), then maybe one day you might wake up to find the car has been on the drive unused for a month?
Ganymede
Veteran
- Location
- Rural Kent
I actually have problems with my car from lack of use. The boot went a bit mouldy inside, and because the battery is never at the top of its charge, the terribly modern eco-thing which cuts out the engine at the lights doesn't always work. It's also filthy because I park it under a tree and then only realise when I get into it how disgusting it is, by which time I'm on a schedule and haven't time to clean it. Poor thing, should be taken into care really.
LCpl Boiled Egg
Three word soundbite
Our car failed it's MOT because we didn't use it enough - some part of the catalytic converter apparently. We were told we could fix it, and then make sure we used it regularly, or sell it and see how we got on without it. As we'd only used it six times in the previous year, we got rid. That was about five years ago, and we're still carless.
