Why I Choose Bikes
I gave my car away in August of 2024. I was in Glenwood Springs, CO with a blown engine and no money left. Everything I owned was in the car. I had left my job, left my apartment, and thrown most of my stuff away a couple of months prior to that. At the end of my rope, I was still chained to that car.
It took me a few days to figure out what to do. Fortunately, I was gifted a Greyhound ticket to Los Angeles from my aunt. As I prepared to leave, I considered selling my car to a scrapyard for a few hundred dollars. After making a prayer for a scrapyard, I headed to the gas station to buy a coffee and, funny enough, there was a scrapyard there. I considered it, but then asked for something else: a person who could use the car more than I could. As I approached the gas station, a woman (I believe her name was Shanna) asked me for a ride. I told her I couldn’t because my car wasn’t working, then asked her if she wanted it. As one can expect, she was shocked by the proposal. She did her due diligence to make sure I wasn’t trying to scam her with a free car in the middle of nowhere Colorado, and I signed over the title to her. As rapport built, she told me about herself. She was in a transition. She had made the decision to stop using drugs and alcohol, was in recovery, recently regained some parental rights to her kids, and was working and living at a small campsite near town. I was granted someone who needed the car, and what I had inside of it, more than me. I left her with my car, tools, gaming PC, and a few other goodies, then headed to the bus stop.
Since then, I have been car free. There is a sense of freedom that comes with being car free. I have far less expenses and financial worry. I don’t need to worry about maintaining, parking, or storing a car. I don’t have to deal with insurance, registration, accidents, damage, or any other aspects of car ownership. I opted to live in areas where I can get by without a car. I lived in Philadelphia, then Chicago, and am now in Columbus, OH. I haven’t had much of a need for a car in any of these cities. The public transportation systems are good enough (Chicago’s is very convenient) and I can navigate the city on a bicycle.
The car-centered mind may wonder, “how can you go to the grocery store or work without a car?” It is quite easy, actually. I outfitted my bikes with racks, baskets, lights, and fenders. I am able to carry most everyday needs on my bicycle. For larger items, I order things online and pay for delivery (though delivery is often free). If I want to take a trip or need to haul something myself, I can rent a vehicle. The expenses of delivery or car rental are much lower than the cost of annual auto insurance for me. As for work, I opt for employment I can either walk to or perform remotely. I currently work part-time at a pizzeria that is a 5 minute walk from my home and am building a remote bookkeeping business in Central Ohio.
A huge upside to being car free is the health aspect. I use my body to get around. Using my bicycle, I get to work out my cardiovascular system, elevate my mood, and strengthen my legs while commuting. In a car, I would sit in traffic manipulating my right ankle, then go to an office to sit some more, then I might go home and sit yet again (I am a PC gamer and reader). I get out more and am more inclined to move around since I went car free. It was an unexpected, though pleasant, side-effect of using my bicycle.
Something that confuses people that know me well, is that I am still a car guy. I have had a love for cars since I was a teenager. I am 90’s Japanese import loving millennial that is fond of many super/hyper cars no matter their country of origin. That said, I have absolutely no desire to use a car for commuting. I prefer using a bicycle or public transportation for that. I find using a car for daily commuting to be extremely inefficient and dangerous. Far too many people are highly distracted, emotional, and/or overall poor drivers operating 3,000+ pound hunks of metal going 45+ miles per hour. I find it unfortunate how car-centric American culture is. I can understand how it came to be, but it is an antiquated way of living for the 21st century. If I were to own another car, it would be for sport. I would build a car for performance and spirited driving while continuing the carless commute.
In short, I find bicycles to be economical, efficient, effective, safe, health-promoting, and fun. I can’t say the same thing for a car-centered life. I don’t expect a bicycling revolution to happen here in America during my lifetime, but I do like thinking that I am contributing to it.