living without a car

[dellafalls]

Hi, Thanks to all the great support and advice on here, I have now begun to commute to work by bike. I was wondering what it would be like to live without a car?? I am wondering if any of you out there have done it or are doing it? And how it went? Cheers.

[bmccasland]

I guess it depends on where you live, how far apart things are (grocery, cleaners, bank, pharmacy, garden center, etc...), what type of public transit you have. I met a gal over the weekend who's living without a car, and not by choice. She's been spending quality time with her bike, and is in great shape for the effort. When I was in the UK a couple of years ago the car rental companies were advertising to rent their cars for your "city break." So if you really needed a car, you could rent one. Not paying auto insurance, maintenance, gas, etc would make up for the cost in the long run.

[Torrilin]

My partner and I are living carfree, and are near the 2 year mark. It's netted us considerable savings in terms of car insurance and gas, but it does make some things more inconvenient. If we buy a moderately large item (say, furniture) we have to get it delivered. Getting to LAX was often exciting, since city buses with even light luggage are an experience. Groceries are not a particular problem, since each of us can haul 40 lbs and we have bags and backpacks that can take that kind of weight and volume. We do shop more often than we might with a car, but that tends to mean we're eating fresher food.

A key for us is location. We will not rent an apartment that is too far from stores we need regularly. Both our place in Los Angeles and our current apartment are within walking distance of farmers markets, grocery stores, hardware stores, restaurants and various other shops that we need on a regular basis. Our LA place even had movie theatres and Target within walking distance. Even with "everything within walking distance" I usually end up doing 6 mile rides while doing errands. I could hit 16 or more given the way Madison is laid out. Sprawl is real.

Start out gradually. Take the bus when you're tired instead of driving. Ride your bike or walk when you're not. Get the bags you'll need for groceries, and use them even if you take the car. Allow yourself recovery time. Use some of the money you're not spending on the car on things you enjoy. Learn to properly pack a load. Do little baby steps and eventually you'll find you're just not using the car. (just learn from our mistake and notice *before* the thing has sat unused for 2 years)

[pll]

When I moved to Evanston, I lived about 5 years without a car. I chose to live within walking distance of work and a grocery store; nearby there is the "L" and Metra (a commuter train) so it is easy. As Torrilin mentions, some things become more complicated. For me the issues were going out at night, visiting friends who live far away from public transportation, and going to a shopping mall. I finally decided to buy a car, but I don't drive it much. I still use public transportation a fair amount, walk or ride to work, do groceries frequently on my way home from work. The car has allowed me to take the bike to other places, though, such as organized rides. :D

[Melalvai]

I live in a midwest town which does not have a well developed public transportation system. We're not car free yet but we are making progress. Groceries & errands around town I do by bike. My husband is working toward being able to do more of his trips by bike. The big problem is our 12 yr old daughter who can't make some of the longer trips across town by bike (nor does she want to).

I doubt that we'll ever get rid of the car because our families are a 3 hr drive away, and I do want my daughter to learn to drive, but I hope to reduce significantly the amount we drive.

Since I became passionate about biking a few weeks ago, any excuse to ride my bike it welcome. I never resent riding or choose to drive because I don't feel like biking. We'll see if it lasts come winter.

[kiwi girl]

I don't drive (never learnt how). BF has a car but we actually went two years when we didn't use it because it was unlicenced and unwarranted - before I got fed up with the idea of paying to rent a car once when we were going away, and got my sister to help me get it all legal.

The two years we didn't have a car that we could use was a combination of both of us mostly cycling everywhere, public transport, taxis (we are $10 cab fare from town), bludging rides off family when going to family things (we live inbetween my sisters house and my parents house), and renting a car on the couple of occassions we went out of town for the weekend. I did (and still usually do) the grocery shopping on my bike, and anything big we bought we paid to get delivered.

[pll]

Ah... Melalvai raises a good point: winter riding. It can be done, save for days when there was a lot of snow or ice on the road. I used a fleece band around my ears and put a cover on my helmet.

Most importantly: good gloves. Below freezing, I use Pearl Izumi lobsters but wonder about the "Icebike Mitts (http://www.icebike.org/Clothing/VulpineAdaptive.htm)." I also take my bike into my office (or a storage room nearby), since I cannot remove the lock with the gloves and my hands get cold very fast.

[tjf9]

I've considered going from 2 cars to 1, but DH isn't too excited. He has to drive for work, so car-free isn't an option for us. He likes driving my car for work (better gas mileage, and more fun to drive) but driving the mini-van on the weekends when we have to ferry the kids around or if we're going camping and such.

Maybe someday...;)

[madscot13]

i've always been car free but hey I am 22. My bike gets me everywhere I need to go faster than public transportation and with a there and bike ride at $5.00 that can add up. I also realized that everything I may need to go to on a daily basis is within a 3 mile radius and weekly about 5 miles. It is quicker to bike than to bus or drive due to multiple stops and parking and traffic. My parents live 20 miles away and I can bike to see them when the weather isn't too bad and they are really kind in letting me borrow the car or chauferring me when necessary but maybe that does not make me carfree then? They offered me a car for graduation but I think me and the Trek 520 will try roughing it out for at least a few more months on our own.

[Torrilin]

Well, we're happy to carpool with car-owning friends who offer us a ride :). It's just not needed on much more than a monthly basis.

We don't have kids, and if we did, carfree might not be realistic. I wasn't really capable of handling utility/commuter type riding as an 8 year old, even tho my parents taught me how. Once I hit 13 or 14, I was a lot more capable. And well, most of the trailers I've seen assume your kids will be able to ride on their own by around age 6. Not very realistic for things like mom and the kids going grocery shopping. And if you've got more than 1-2 kids, well... you're outta luck.

Really, we went carfree because it's more fun. If you're thinking of making the shift, that's probably the best reason to do it. That way you'll stick with it. I really enjoy certain kinds of driving, and I love tinkering with cars. But most cars are money sinks, and the driving I like best isn't the kind of driving I'd do the most of (even if we lived out in suburbia). Our car insurance rates would be high, despite not driving much. And well, bikes are fun, and riding a bike in stop and go city traffic isn't maddening for me. Neither is walking. Driving a car in that *is*.

I haven't dealt with a real winter yet with no car. It'll be interesting, and I'm sure I'll fall back on public transit a lot at first. That's ok tho. The point is to keep it fun, not make it into another big source of stress.

[Melalvai]

winter riding. It can be done, save for days when there was a lot of snow or ice on the road.
Actually it was winter riding that nearly burnt, or rather froze, me out on cycling. Then I took the Road I course and have been completely obsessed!

About borrowing friends' cars, if I am ever car free I will take the approach my friend does: never ask, and only accept a ride if my alternate plan was to rent a car. He's going to try being car free and when visiting his wife's family, he'll rent a car. He says it is works out to about the same cost as owning a car (license, reg, insurance).

[nicole309]

I have been car free since moving to Washington last November and I have not missed my car one bit. All the extra money is really nice.
I must say that I am lucky. I work within a mile of my home and there are plenty of places to shop close by. Our transit system is wonderful.
I can get to the Seattle airport by bus for under $5.00. Every other weekend I put my bike on the bus to Port Angeles and then take the ferry over to Victoria.

[Geonz]

I sold my car to my brother May 30... I am "between cars" but I have a feeling it's going to be like being a recovering alcoholic.

Before I sold it, though, I had gotten to the point where I didn't think of the car for getting places. If the weather was bad I would think "what should I wear?" not "should I take the car?" Three days in the winter I took the car to work (right after our 15-inch windy blizzard) but I could have taken the bus or a taxi. I would definitely pretend to be car-free before I actually did it! And even now, I stuck the car-selling money into the bank and I think to myself, "I could go out and get a reasonable used car today if I needed it."

A car-free acquaintance said he has "named operator" insurance for driving other people's cars and rentals; I asked my insurance guy about it and he didn't seem to think it was necessary. I'm thinking that if I rent cars enough for odd trips to my siblings 740 miles away that the extra insurance from that would add up but until I see how that is, I'm not worrying about it.

I am single with carred friends for getting to those organized rides that aren't close enough. Right after I sold the car I bought a good bike rack :-)

I have to say I haven't saved a lot of money yet because I didn't put a lot of money into the car. I *think* GEICO put that $200 in my account... and come October I won't have to send $78 to teh state if I don't have a car still. I am thinking that actually it's the summer I'll miss it more 'cause I go more places out of state then.

[uk elephant]

BF and I manage just fine without a car. I commute to work by a combination of train and bike, BF rides his bike. To do our shopping we strap on big backpacks and take the train in to town. The three or four week-ends a year when we get away to see his family we rent a car. Works out a lot cheaper than owning a car for the whole year. I suppose we are lucky that we live in a place with pretty good public transport and mild winters for cycling year round. All you need is some good raingear.

[Ebet]

I sold my car a few months ago so we just have one car now which I rarely use. I use my bicycle for local trips and sometimes to commute to work (with train). On the other days I commute by motorcycle, which gets good fuel efficiency.

[eofelis]

We are not car free, but are car-lite.

We deliberately moved to a neighborhood that is close to many things that we could walk or bike to.

I have a 1991 Subaru and it hasn't been expensive or a problem to keep running, so I'm loathe to get rid of it entirely. Insurance is $250/yr and it hasn't needed many repairs. Currently I try to run it once a week so it doesn't die of neglect. It is still reliable enough for long road trips too, and not bad on gas.

My SO sort of inherited a 1994 Toyota 4wd truck. We do like to use it for camping trips, but only drive it about once a week otherwise. Tomorrow we are going to go spend a few days in the San Juan mtns looking at old mines and driving on the 4wd roads.

Sometimes I think of getting a newer Subaru (one that's only 10 yrs old) and my SO thinks of getting a different Toyota truck (he'd like an extra cab, the one he has is a regular cab and is not very comfortable), but then we think that we really don't drive enough to spend money on changing the cars.

[Beane]

I haven't dealt with a real winter yet with no car. It'll be interesting,

you're in madison, right? "interesting" is not the word for it. when the snot freezes in my nose after about 30 seconds, I tend to use four letter words.

Actually what is really bad about winter is riding on roads that are snow or slush covered. I almost got run over by a bus on state street! :eek: ...OK, "almost" may be an exaggeration, but still, it was scary.

[light_sabe_r]

We are not car free, but are car-lite.



I love that line!

That describes us too. We can go weeks without using the car.

I need one for Tri season though. ^_^

[Torrilin]

you're in madison, right? "interesting" is not the word for it. when the snot freezes in my nose after about 30 seconds, I tend to use four letter words.

Actually what is really bad about winter is riding on roads that are snow or slush covered. I almost got run over by a bus on state street! :eek: ...OK, "almost" may be an exaggeration, but still, it was scary.

I knit. A ski mask may be on the "to knit" list... Wool socks, lobster claw mittens, and plain hats for them as need 'em are for sure.

I'm really more worried about traffic on Mills and Dayton. Too many spots where it's not safe for drivers to pass, and they do anyway. State St is a once a month sort of deal... those are near daily.

[shootingstar]

I have lived a car-free life for over last 25 years of my life. I'm 48.

My family could not afford to buy a car until I was 15. So yea, I remember walking as a child. No excuses for the 1 stroller because I have 5 other younger siblings!!

I difficulty learning to drive and hated driving on highways. So I gave up my license around 22 yrs.

I have 3 bikes. My partner has 2. I didn't return to cycling until I was 31. Still that's cheaper than a car and its annual maintenance/gas, right?? All my life I have lived in cities with public transportation..and near basic amenities of grocery store and bank,...at least.

We rent a car for a few days annually for certain trips out of town.

Stores, bank, rstaurants, etc. right now are within 5-10 min. walk. Current home and my last home, was a bike route in front of us.


If you are into Costco shopping every weekend, just forget the car-free life, unless you have a bike trailer. I don't have one, but my partner does. He has used it for bike touring and also for occcasional local transport of big purchases....paint canvasses, lumber, boxed up chairs...hey, 4 of them on trailer. He rode VERY slowly in traffic.

We do 90% of weekly grocery shopping by bike. rest is from walking.


End result:

Lots of money saved up...for other things in life.
You are slimmer. Even before cycling, I was 100 lbs. (5'1")
Less consumer oriented....you know being a gal on bike, means less time to window-shopping...you're zipping by or paying attention to traffic instead.

[MomOnBike]

We've gone care-lite, too. We have one car for 2 1/2 drivers (kid is away at college). DH & I both bike-commute. I do some light shopping on the way home from work. The car gets used mostly to haul groceries and musical instruments - though we have taken our instruments on bikes.

We buy gas about once a month. I can deal with that.

I have no problem renting a car for longer trips. I figure I've saved that much money by just not paying insurance on a second Just In Case car. The rental cars tend to be nicer than anything I'd buy, anyway.

Some cities have a Ride Share program where you join and have the use of a car when you need it; when you don't it's available for someone else to use. I know Philedelphia has the program, and I think, um, Minneapolis & others do to. That sounds just perfect for someone who prefers to use a bike for daily stuff, but sometimes wants a car. I sure Lincoln had that program. {sigh...}

[kelownagirl]

We're down to one vehicle and managing ok but we cannot easily "live" without a car in our area. Poor transit system, shopping etc too spread out, cold, snowy winters etc.

[shootingstar]

I've been to Kelowna several times..and we are always struck by how sprawly the city is, given the reality that the population isn't huge.

I know several people who as a result of city wide transit strikes, rode their bike....and enjoyed it enough that they commuted to work by bike regularily / dropped ownership of their 2nd car.

And these are people with very healthy incomes.

My partner actually has a sleep disorder where he tends to fall asleep if his body is still..ie. driving a car. He finds driving beyond 250 kms. daily a strain..in concentration. So cycling seriously keeps his whole body awake and alive. His sleep disorder has been tested at a teaching hospital sleep lab.

[indigoiis]

Ugh. We have four cars, two drivers.
We live on a farm, so one of the trucks is an un-plated farm truck for plowing, trucking manure, and hauling stuff.
The other truck is my husband's. He is using it to commute to work. It is a toyota, though, so the mileage is pretty good. And when I change jobs, he'll be commuting with the Prius. But we will still need a pickup for going to get hay, hauling the trailer, or when he needs a truck for his job.

We have a minivan for transporting animals.

And we have the Prius, which I currently use to commute (but come December, will be biking to the bus to commute.)

One of our problems is that I have joint custody of my daughter, which means that some nights, I have her, some I don't. This requires transportation and, as another poster mentioned, she is not interested in biking the eleven hilly and not bike-friendly miles to her Dad's. She'll be sixteen in two years, and very likely we will have to get her some economical beater in order for her to go back and forth between houses.

This also affects my bike commute, because I have to make sure on my days with her that she gets to the bus, which is five miles from our house. I have thought it up, down, sideways and backwards... I thought of getting a tandum but then, how do I get it home at night if she goes to her Dad's that night? So I am resigned to the fact that, for now, the days I have her, I will have to drive to the bus. At least it is shorter to the bus than it is to my current job... I will be saving some gas and carbon points. :D

[Geonz]

Yesterday I saw a fellow riding a tandem solo. Might be worth trying.

[Melalvai]

my daughter...is not interested in biking the eleven hilly and not bike-friendly miles to her Dad's.
My daughter is 12 and not overly enthusiastic about long (>3 miles) hilly rides. Other people have actually said things like "Just make her do it"!! Obviously these people do not have children. We pick our battles, and if a ride in a car means we don't live in a war zone, so be it!

[Tuckervill]

You need a scooter! SHE needs a scooter! Very economical.

Karen


Ugh. We have four cars, two drivers.
We live on a farm, so one of the trucks is an un-plated farm truck for plowing, trucking manure, and hauling stuff.
The other truck is my husband's. He is using it to commute to work. It is a toyota, though, so the mileage is pretty good. And when I change jobs, he'll be commuting with the Prius. But we will still need a pickup for going to get hay, hauling the trailer, or when he needs a truck for his job.

We have a minivan for transporting animals.

And we have the Prius, which I currently use to commute (but come December, will be biking to the bus to commute.)

One of our problems is that I have joint custody of my daughter, which means that some nights, I have her, some I don't. This requires transportation and, as another poster mentioned, she is not interested in biking the eleven hilly and not bike-friendly miles to her Dad's. She'll be sixteen in two years, and very likely we will have to get her some economical beater in order for her to go back and forth between houses.

This also affects my bike commute, because I have to make sure on my days with her that she gets to the bus, which is five miles from our house. I have thought it up, down, sideways and backwards... I thought of getting a tandum but then, how do I get it home at night if she goes to her Dad's that night? So I am resigned to the fact that, for now, the days I have her, I will have to drive to the bus. At least it is shorter to the bus than it is to my current job... I will be saving some gas and carbon points. :D

[shootingstar]

I should add that only the last 5 years, I've been living in Vancouver to enjoy milder weather as a non-car resident.

Prior to that I lived several decades in southern Ontario, where winters are like upper New York State,...colder, more snow/slush. During the winters in that province, I did not cycle through snow. It was subway, bus and walking. For a few years, I used to walk almost 1 hr. one way to university every day with at least 4-5 heavy texts in my backpack.

But true, if car-free becomes part of your lifestyle, your whole body becomes adjusted to it.

One good thing being on bus, train or subway, is you can snooze/rest /veg out before or after work. Something you can't do when driving a car.

[smilingcat]

My desire is to be lite on car but in Los Angeles area, you are considered insane to be walking. bike has to be either a beach cruiser or racing bike. Everything is about the looks. You can't ignore it cause if you do, ... :mad:

I hate driving over an hour each way on my commute. I don't want to be part of the global problem. Besides every week there are horrific accidents on my commute. I think I drive by a fatality every year. :( :( last year, this year... Its just amazing ... to see car pieces in a "debris field" bigger than a football size. How fast do they have to be travelling??

I can only afford one car. My partner has a ten year old pkup, bashed in a few places to add character. Thought about commuting by bike part ways. Not sure what I'm going to do when gas hits $4.00 or $5.00/gallon.

smilingcat

[KnottedYet]

I've been thinking about the part-way commute using bike and car, too.

Been doing it bus-n-bike, but I've been looking at car-n-bike as a safer way to go. (I could drive through the entire hairy-traffic part at one end of my route.) Besides, then my bike would be safely in the back of my station wagon while I drove, rather than a precarious figurehead on the bus rack! (my bus driver almost smooshed my bike into a car once. he was very apologetic. no harm done, but my heartrate went up a little!:eek: )

I guess that's kind of car lite, but I do feel a little guilty about trading the bus for the car...

[shootingstar]

I have several good female cycling friends who do have a driver's license but none of them own a car. I'm pretty certain 1 of them has never owned a car while the other gave up her car probably 2 decades ago.

Each of these women, are single, don't have children but they each own their own home (house, not a condo). Not owning a car over a long time period means saving serious $$$$$

I'm pretty certain I couldn't have bought my own home and paid it off myself, if I owned a car on top of all that too.

Getting around by taxi several times per year (ie. for a huge load of groceries)....is still a saving over a car.

I also know a retired woman, a non-cyclist, who sold her car about 4 years ago. She lives near the subway in the downtown core of a big city, near amenities and services. In her late 60's. It's working out very well for her.

[KnottedYet]

I didn't buy a car until I had the kiddo.

Man, taking a puking hallucinating febrile toddler to the ER by bike would be a toughie! And participating in the school band carpool with 3 adolescents, a bassoon, a french horn, and a clarinet would definitely strain my granny gear!

Someday I'd really like to just do the bike/bus/occaisional car rental thing. Sometimes I look back on my car-less bike-n-bus life and get wistful and melancholy. Cars are expensive, no doubt about it. And stressful.

(and as my nearest and dearest can attest, I'm much calmer on a bike than driving a car!)

[MM_QFC!]

I've been thinking about the part-way commute using bike and car, too.

Been doing it bus-n-bike, but I've been looking at car-n-bike as a safer way to go. (I could drive through the entire hairy-traffic part at one end of my route.) Besides, then my bike would be safely in the back of my station wagon while I drove, rather than a precarious figurehead on the bus rack! (my bus driver almost smooshed my bike into a car once. he was very apologetic. no harm done, but my heartrate went up a little!:eek: )

I guess that's kind of car lite, but I do feel a little guilty about trading the bus for the car...

Hey Knot,
Just saw your posts re: riding in to Marymoor area and wanted to share that a few years ago, I had a similar commute. I did the drive and bike bit quite a bit, driving from downtown Edmonds to Kenmore P&R, then rode the trail down to RTC for one job and in the other direction when my main office location was on Eastlake. It was well-lit at the P&R, so I'd park right under a light and have good visibility for seeing all that I needed to as I got ready to ride, and all in reverse at the end of the day.
It worked really well for me to do that, as the bus routes and schedules were not sync'ing up with what I needed.

[KnottedYet]

That's exactly what I was thinking. I didn't end up riding to Redmond this go-round, but I'll be doing stuff in Redmond again in March.

But I was thinking riding to downtown Seattle from a PandR near the trail would be spiffy, too.

Where is the Kenmore P&R? I found the one in Bothell at Kaysten and 522 (or is it 527?) but is there one closer to Lake Forest Park?

[MM_QFC!]

That's exactly what I was thinking. I didn't end up riding to Redmond this go-round, but I'll be doing stuff in Redmond again in March.

But I was thinking riding to downtown Seattle from a PandR near the trail would be spiffy, too.

Where is the Kenmore P&R? I found the one in Bothell at Kaysten and 522 (or is it 527?) but is there one closer to Lake Forest Park?

I don't recognize "Kaysten" but the Kenmore P&R is right on Bothell Way/522 (527 is the North/South one aka Bothell-Everett Hwy) at the intersection of
73rd Av NE.
If you were to drive down Ballinger Way to Lake Forest Park, it'd be a left, past the right turn down to LogBoom park - at 61st (which is where I initially parked, but it's too damn dark at both ends of the day and, besides, the park doesn't open until 9AM or something; it just didn't feel safe and I couldn't see very well!), then there's another large intersection at 68th (the right turn takes you up Juanita Dr) and it'd be a left turn onto 73rd and then the 1st 2 right turns into the P&R lot...it means you'd come back out to that light to get across to the trail, (plus remember to hang on to your bike, so the roots under the trail don't bump you off - as almost happened to me when I was just rolling along early one morning, fiddling with my helmet strap with only my lights illuminating the dark trail...) - but's it's a straight shot in towards Seattle and an easy off to swing up to the U-bridge and across...
Hope that helps...not sure, but isn't commuter parking also allowed at the LFP city offices too? over in the corner of that parking lot? or only on weekends?

[KnottedYet]

thanks! I didn't know about that P&R. That will definitely come in handy!

There are signs up all over in LFP about "no commuter parking", so I haven't tried except on weekends.

[MM_QFC!]

ah, I should've guessed that...good luck in having some fun rides in...can't beat a bike ride to start and end a day, eh?

[KnottedYet]

I'm a much nicer person when I get to ride my bike... ;)

[Melalvai]

[QUOTE=KnottedYet;264173]I didn't buy a car until I had the kiddo.[QUOTE]
I agree, as long as we have a kid at home we will keep the car. We *could* get by without it but it would be at the expense of her swimming practices & swim meets.

But we can bike a lot of places and leave the car in the garage. One school in town has their own "bike brigade", just a bunch of parents who meet up & bike in to school together. I bike with my daughter to school once or twice a week, three miles, and sometimes one of her friends joins us. I wish there were someone to handle the afternoon trip because then we could do that a lot more often, right now we depend on someone with a bike rack to pick the kids up.

[mimitabby]

I have been car free since moving to Washington last November and I have not missed my car one bit. All the extra money is really nice.
I must say that I am lucky. I work within a mile of my home and there are plenty of places to shop close by. Our transit system is wonderful.
I can get to the Seattle airport by bus for under $5.00. Every other weekend I put my bike on the bus to Port Angeles and then take the ferry over to Victoria.

that's awesome Nicole!!!

[shootingstar]

But we can bike a lot of places and leave the car in the garage. One school in town has their own "bike brigade", just a bunch of parents who meet up & bike in to school together. I bike with my daughter to school once or twice a week, three miles, and sometimes one of her friends joins us. I wish there were someone to handle the afternoon trip because then we could do that a lot more often, right now we depend on someone with a bike rack to pick the kids up.

That is impressive that there are several parents cycling with children to school as a bike brigade.

May hats off to any parent-cyclist who cycles with their child(ren) even once or several times per week. At a bike event, I met a mother who transported her 2 children to and from school/daycare. Needless to say she lived in Oregon , then now in Vancouver where in both places climate is milder. Yes, she looked quite fit.

[xeney]

We need our car more for our dogs than for our baby ... the pediatrician's office is a ten-minute bus ride away, and the human ER is right down the street, but the emergency vet's office is across town! And it's easier to buy groceries with the bike than to haul 80 pounds of dog food up the levee. Heh.

The preschool we are looking at is walking distance and there are two elementary schools within easy biking distance. One of the reasons I want to keep working at home is so we can walk or bike to school, because getting in my car every day makes me very unhappy and crabby. (It works out fine because my former employer is about to move to another part of town so I wouldn't have been able to walk to work anyway.)