Car-free since 11/1/2006! - Page 2

02-08-2007, 09:40 AM

On Feb 7, 5:14 pm, "Gooserider" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
> I just passed my three month anniversary of going car-free. The clutch on
> my car went out on Halloween 2006......

Good job. Three months is a significant achievement. Back in college
I went about that long without a car but that was 25 years ago. As
far as grocery shopping, a used baby trailer works great. They can
carry 200 lbs and are a lot cheaper than an Xtracycle. Regarding the
money you save, it becomes more significant when you cancel your car
insurance and eliminate car payments (if any). And regarding the
Surly Pacer, awesome. Surlys are cool bikes. I own a Crosscheck
which I built into a straight bar road bike.

I also commute to work but not everyday. My commute is 25 miles each
way from one corner of San Diego to another. Lots of hills but the
worst thing about it is the traffic. My morning commute is right at
rush hour. Sometimes I take a day off from commuting by bike, not
because I'm tired but to give myself a mental break from the
frustrations of dealing with distracted and aggressive motorists. I
fear that if I didn't then I would stop enjoying the ride.

Anyhow, I'm glad that you have overcome that. Keep it up and please
let us know when you pass another significant milestone.

Tom

02-08-2007, 12:27 PM

why is it unique Daryl?

02-08-2007, 02:49 PM

On Feb 8, 6:39 am, "Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>
wrote:

> Good for you, many of wish the weather was such that we could ride
> almost eveyday..but with 60+ inches of snow..tough.

Although not impossible. The messengers of Denver, who
have received exactly three (3) days off due to weather
in the past 15 years, can attest to that. Two of those
days came this winter, the other was provided by
the Shock and Awe storm of March '03.

Yesterday felt like summer.

Robert

02-08-2007, 03:00 PM

"Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:1170941996.163562.256100@h3g2000cwc.googlegro ups.com...
> On Feb 7, 6:14 pm, "Gooserider" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
>> I just passed my three month anniversary of going car-free. The clutch
>> on
>> my car went out on Halloween 2006. I really didn't feel like spending the
>> money to fix it, so I decided to ride to work instead. I've been an
>> occasional bike commuter, but my commute is long and I was a gym rat, so
>> I
>> didn't do it very often. It's difficult to do an hour weight workout from
>> 5:30AM to 6:30AM then get home with enough time to shower and be on the
>> bike
>> by 7AM for the 18 mile commute. I've quit lifting weights and now I spend
>> two hours a day on the bike. I feel great.
>> The first week of commuting was pretty rough. I wasn't used to the
>> mileage, and I was sore and pretty tired at the end of each ride. Now I
>> feel
>> energized and alive when I arrive at work or home. I have plenty of
>> appropriate clothing, but I live in Florida so my cold weather gear
>> consists
>> of knickers, wool jersey, arm warmers, and a shell on really cold days.
>
> 'Really cold days'...what a hoot.
>

I don't know about you, but 28F is cold to me. Frost = cold. Sure, it's not
Colorado cold, but below freezing is cold no matter where you are. :-)

02-08-2007, 04:00 PM

Gooserider wrote:
> "Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
> news:1170941996.163562.256100@h3g2000cwc.googlegro ups.com...
>> On Feb 7, 6:14 pm, "Gooserider" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
>>> I just passed my three month anniversary of going car-free. The clutch
>>> on
>>> my car went out on Halloween 2006. I really didn't feel like spending the
>>> money to fix it, so I decided to ride to work instead. I've been an
>>> occasional bike commuter, but my commute is long and I was a gym rat, so
>>> I
>>> didn't do it very often. It's difficult to do an hour weight workout from
>>> 5:30AM to 6:30AM then get home with enough time to shower and be on the
>>> bike
>>> by 7AM for the 18 mile commute. I've quit lifting weights and now I spend
>>> two hours a day on the bike. I feel great.

Warning! If you stop lifting weights you will get decidedly skinny on
top. This happened to me about 2 summers ago when all I did was ride
every day and the only weight I lifted was my bike to hang up in the
garage. I felt great too, but my wife said I looked like a POW with fat
legs. Keep up the weight training.

>>> The first week of commuting was pretty rough. I wasn't used to the
>>> mileage, and I was sore and pretty tired at the end of each ride. Now I
>>> feel
>>> energized and alive when I arrive at work or home. I have plenty of
>>> appropriate clothing, but I live in Florida so my cold weather gear
>>> consists
>>> of knickers, wool jersey, arm warmers, and a shell on really cold days.
>> 'Really cold days'...what a hoot.
>>
>
> I don't know about you, but 28F is cold to me. Frost = cold. Sure, it's not
> Colorado cold, but below freezing is cold no matter where you are. :-)
>
>

Try making that a -26F. When I was 14 and lived in the Chicago 'burbs I
got up to go to school and when I stepped outside there was total
silence. Nobody could start their cars and the roads/streets were
totally snowbound. I turned on the radio and found out it was -35F at
the Minneapolis airport and anything even resembling school was canceled
since even the school buses wouldn't start. If anyone could ride a bike
through a foot of snow at that temperature they might have gotten
frostbite on some parts of their body. My nose was exposed and it got
cold first so I canceled any idea of being outside that day.
Bill Baka

02-08-2007, 04:05 PM

"nash" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:gBMyh.908317$1T2.403239@pd7urf2no...
> why is it unique Daryl?

We are completely surrounded my mountains

We get some snow but it's largely gone by 10 am.

The temperature today was 50 degrees

It may snow tonight and drop to single digits

It may rain tonight and hover right at freezing

It my be clear and drop to single digits tonight.

It may be clear and be 40 degrees tonight.

It may do all of the above.

I live in the area on earth that you may need your Air Conditioner and
Heater on the same day.

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02-09-2007, 04:54 PM

On Feb 7, 7:14 pm, "Gooserider" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
> I just passed my three month anniversary of going car-free. The clutch on
> my car went out on Halloween 2006. I really didn't feel like spending the
> money to fix it, so I decided to ride to work instead. I've been an
> occasional bike commuter, but my commute is long and I was a gym rat, so I
> didn't do it very often. It's difficult to do an hour weight workout from
> 5:30AM to 6:30AM then get home with enough time to shower and be on the bike
> by 7AM for the 18 mile commute. I've quit lifting weights and now I spend
> two hours a day on the bike. I feel great.
> The first week of commuting was pretty rough. I wasn't used to the
> mileage, and I was sore and pretty tired at the end of each ride. Now I feel
> energized and alive when I arrive at work or home. I have plenty of
> appropriate clothing, but I live in Florida so my cold weather gear consists
> of knickers, wool jersey, arm warmers, and a shell on really cold days.
> I posted before about Rainlegs. They are a fantastic product for the
> commuter. They're worn rolled up like a belt and then unrolled if needed.
> Much easier than rain pants. I keep a rain jacket and booties in my pannier,
> and that combo has kept me pretty dry in our torrential rain.
> Commuting is a great way to get miles in without much trouble. There's
> no way I would go for a two hour ride everyday if I drove to work. Getting
> home at 6 then riding for two hours is difficult. This way, it's easy.

Congratulations and welcome to the 'Car-Free' world.

I donated my old car to a charity, when I retired and will be
celebrating 3 years car-free in May.

In case it helps, I have found backpacks (as well as panniers) to be
great for groceries.

Good luck to you.

Lewis.

*****

02-10-2007, 09:01 AM

If you can get away with it a milk crate fastened on top of a rear rack
works wonders. They also have collapsible metal carriers that flank the
rear wheel. Could probably carry a heavy load too.

I have never owned a car. Had a motorcycle for about 2 years till someone
sabotaged it. Have been cycling 44 years. I am on my 8th and 9th bike. An
MTB for around town and a road bike for day trips.

Keep up the good work it is very doable.

nash

02-10-2007, 01:15 PM

On Feb 10, 10:01 am, "nash" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
> If you can get away with it a milk crate fastened on top of a rear rack
> works wonders. They also have collapsible metal carriers that flank the
> rear wheel. Could probably carry a heavy load too.
>
> I have never owned a car. Had a motorcycle for about 2 years till someone
> sabotaged it. Have been cycling 44 years. I am on my 8th and 9th bike. An
> MTB for around town and a road bike for day trips.
>
> Keep up the good work it is very doable.
>
> nash

where are you??

02-10-2007, 02:14 PM

In article <wLnzh.936489$R63.112829@pd7urf1no>,
"nash" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:
> If you can get away with it a milk crate fastened on top of a rear rack
> works wonders.

That's what I'm using, and it truly is versatile.
When the inside is full, you can still hang stuff
on its outside, using bungees or caribiners. It's
especially good for tallish, fragile cargo such as
potted plants -- can't really stick those in panniers.
And I think a milk crate on the back makes a bike less
attractive to thieves.

Of course, panniers have their virtues, too. They
carry the cargo weight down lower so as to not affect
bike handling with the top-heaviness sometimes
inflicted by the milk-crate-on-the-rear-rack config,
they provide some protection from the elements, and
they have flaps to keep stuff from falling out.
And they look more "real cyclist". But they're one
more thing to have to remove from the bike when parking
for any length of time. At least they can serve to
contain all the other removables -- lights, quick-release
seatpost & saddle, computer display head etc.

> They also have collapsible metal carriers that flank the
> rear wheel. Could probably carry a heavy load too.

I'm currently in the throes of designing/building a
cargo trailer out of the discarded skeletal remnants
of a 3-wheeled jogging stroller with 16" pneumatic wheels
(finally getting around to it.) I'm considering integrating
the hitch with my kickstand -- it's the type that clamps onto
both chainstay and seatstay. I've got a coroplast post office
sorting bin that'll serve as the cargo box. I'll derive the
tow arm from the handle of the stroller.

> I have never owned a car.

Me neither. Never needed one. Never needed an
elephant either.

cheers,
Tom

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