Life without the car from monday.

[Chris-H]

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Tips for car free living. Live in a city, or be a little bit organised and have a good freezer! (I'm sure the OP knows, but both bread and milk, those 'pop out for' items, can be frozen in order to stock up).
[/quote]
Yup know what your saying,already looking to get a second freezer today or tomorrow before d-day so we can stock up,its a pain in the arse running out of the essentials and i found having a car really does add to the feeling that if it runs out i can nip to the shop and get what we need,without the car we are going to have to plan ahead a lot more.What makes this more worthwhile is i can now justify getting a nice night vision evo jacket and waterproofs without feeling guilty

 

[Arch]

Trailers are great for load lugging, by the way. My boss at Velo Vision (Bikepete on here) has a huge one that can transport a sofa!

 

[Little yellow Brompton]

I used to absolutely love cars and driving, but now I view the car as a necessary evil and driving as an all out pain in the @rse,.... the love affair has definitely come to an end for me.

+1*

 

[CopperCyclist]

Congratulations on your decision. Ditched my car in April for money reasons too (though the wife still has one). It's meant my only way to get to work, whatever the weather, is cycle. Ditto if I want to go out for a drink with friends.

Haven't missed it at all, and don't think you will either Until children appear in my life, can't see us going back to being a two car family.

 

[Chris-H]

Trailers are great for load lugging, by the way. My boss at Velo Vision (Bikepete on here) has a huge one that can transport a sofa!

bet he's legs are like tree trunks !!!!!
That'd bloody kill me,i am looking at getting a cheap 70 quid cargo trailer though along with some triple panniers

 

[Fran143]

Go you! Brave choice considering it's coming into winter.....that said I very rarely turn a wheel on my car whatever the weather. Kepp us updated on how you get on.

 

[palinurus]

Just doing some decorating. Every weekend now involves a trip to the dump (fair way too- the local one was closed, have to ride to a neighbouring town- however there's a good flat route). Last week I took a trailer full of scrap wood and the old living room carpet strapped to the top.

Although I'm paying extra for it I live close to the town centre and to two stations, tube and mainline- I still save by not running a car or two. I'm a little further from the Supermarkets now (as they tend to be on the edge of town) but I've found the local independent shops to be cheaper in many ways- yesterday I popped out for some limes- I got four for 50p. In particular fruit, vegetables and staples like rice and flour are often cheaper, much cheaper in some cases. Pretty much everything can be obtained within a few minutes walk (except good bread- there's no bakery in the area but I do cycle past a good Italian place on the way home from work). I almost never use the trailer for shopping- except if it's for furniture! but I would if I lived further out.

 

[Chris-H]

Go you! Brave choice considering it's coming into winter.....that said I very rarely turn a wheel on my car whatever the weather. Kepp us updated on how you get on.

I certainly will do,thank you

 

[brokenflipflop]

One of the best things about not having a car was the humanising factor of using public transport.

I've seen people on public transport............some of them are not human !!

 

[Telemark]

Pretty much everything can be obtained within a few minutes walk (except good bread- there's no bakery in the area but I do cycle past a good Italian place on the way home from work).

I recommend investing in a bread machine ... you can have fresh bread in the morning with the smell wafting through the house as you wake up . It only requires 5 minutes the night before to set it going... if you use it regularly, you'll very quickly save money, as good bread is often quite expensive.
You can also use the machine to prepare the dough for you, so you can bake it in any shape you like, rolls, round loaf etc., it makes pizza dough, too!
With the timer function our machine can be set up up to 14 hours in advance.

Back on topic ... I never had a car of my own, we live in the city and can do most daily/weekly jobs on foot, by bike or public transport. I am not anti-car at all, they can be very handy to transport larger items, go on holiday or to places you can't get to on public transport (which is a lot of the Scottish Highlands) - it's great to be able to rent the right kind of vehicle for the job. They are mostly nearly new and it's great to be able to hand them back when you are done, without the worry of maintenance, parking permits, MOTs, insurance etc. I never calculated the savings, but it must be quite a bit, to be spent on bikes, holidays etc instead.

Good luck with your experiment

T

 

[lulubel]

I used to absolutely love cars and driving, but now I view the car as a necessary evil and driving as an all out pain in the @rse

This could be me. I used to love driving and cars, did some night rallying when I was younger .... but it feels like more of a chore than fun now. The car barely gets used now, and we're moving into town soon, so I really hope I can convince my OH we don't need it any more.

Then I can use some of the money from selling it to buy another bike

 

[Little yellow Brompton]

This could be me. I used to love driving and cars, did some night rallying when I was younger .... but it feels like more of a chore than fun now. The car barely gets used now, and we're moving into town soon, so I really hope I can convince my OH we don't need it any more.

Then I can use some of the money from selling it to buy another bike

I did my last night event about 11 yrs ago. I remeber when I was in my teens/20's we used to rock up to the start, 200 miles plot and bash, to the finish , I would have a pint or two whist waiting for the" washing line" to be filled , then doze on the way home , waking whenever the driver needed instructions. a bit of kip Sun afternoon and ready to start the week, with another event next weekend. When I did my last event ( A rerun of the Gremlin) I slept all of Sunday through to Monday morning, and was wrecked until Thurs! :-(

 

[baldycyclist]

I am keeping my car on the drive this winter now that 'cold weather tyres' are compulsory for getting around!!

I have also saved well over £10,000 in the last two years with living closer to work and not using my car as much.

I actually walked to work the other day after I could not run or cycle due to doing the Great North Run and only being able to run like a dog with four dicks, never mind two.

All in all, I have not spent any of my wages for 18 months due to moving house and cycling.

The more we do this the better.

Might be time to leave work and set up a LBS!!!!!

 

[Chris-H]

I used to be a big petrol head,i actually still co-own a Vauxhall owners
club/forum,i have built a couple of show cars and have messed around and
modified cars for years now but this last year or so has seen a rapid decline in
my interest in cars,they're too damn expensive and the government are just
getting greedier by the day and hitting the motorist with ever increasing
inflation busting taxes and i'm sick to death of it,why the hell should i
continue to pay 1.36 per litre of fuel when over 1.00 of it is in tax? Sod that
i'll keep my money in my pocket from now on

 

[sheddy]

driving would be nicer if the motons could just keep a lid on their anger...