Back in July, I posted this quick recap of my trip to Germany. Never would I have thought that it would lead our family to a last-minute move to a more bike/walk-friendly town. Let’s talk about it!
A drastic move to a car-light life
Back in July, I posted this quick recap of my trip to Germany. Never would I have thought that it would lead our family to a last-minute move to a more bike/walk-friendly town. Let’s talk about it!
Found this interesting website as I am nearing retirement age and am also searching for a bike friendly community in the northeast U.S. https://www.bikeleague.org/bfa
There’s a few things that helped me move to a car free life over the last year:
1. I have a job I can bike to, and I got a good bike for it. It’s an ebike, but the distance is such it could be either.
2. As a kind of test, I lent my car to a family member: this gave me enough distance to not jump to using the car for anything, but kept the fear at bay that I will need it and not have it. Turns out, not once in the last year have I needed to borrow it back.
3. I keep in mind “the first mile is the hardest” – even in bad weather, it’s not so bad – it’s just hard to convince my brain that it’ll feel OK. I put on more layers than I may need but then can pull them off as I go.
The payoffs:
1. Everything smells nicer from a bike. Sounds weird, but it’s generally true!
2. Keeping my fitness up more throughout the year without really trying too hard.
3. Faster (truly) to get around town. I don’t wait at lights, I use underpasses to cross roads, and I park close to every store.
4. I’ve learned the road layout of my town so much better and add to the biking crowd such that there’s more experience for cars to get used to bikes on the road.