2 Mile Challenge

[Eden]

Here's an interesting little video put together by the people over at Cliff about what the effects of using bikes more often for trips under 2 miles would be.
http://www.2milechallenge.com/ride/

I put my address into the 2 mile radius map..... wow, I usually don't bother to pull out the car or the bike for trips that short, until I'm getting the very outer edges, then I might bike. I generally prefer to walk....... I think I must be really odd........

[Zen]

The only place a 2-mile radius would take me is the middle of the woods:o

[GLC1968]

Thanks for the reminder, Eden! I've been meaning to check that out and I kept forgetting!

In a 2 mile radius from my house, there is hardly anything but woods, lakes or residential neighborhoods. There is one tennis/swim place (we don't belong) and a big park, but I'm proud to say that I'd NEVER take a car to either of those places. I'd either bike or walk... :)

[mimitabby]

how much of yours is in Lake Washington?

Eden your ability to walk to where you need to go marks you as someone who does not have a fulltime job. I don't have TIME to walk to all those places.
I do try to ride for some trips, but it just is too hard to work around my schedule without some use of the car. (especially when I buy cat litter or detergent)

[pinkychique]

This is really cool! I live in a city, so it actually makes a difference. Only problem is that within 2 miles of my actual house is nothing that I go to. I bike everywhere within 2 miles of my BF's house though:)

[Eden]

Not really - my car driving habits have not changed too much since I had a full time job. I of course have to take the car when I have to go a long distance in a limited time or I have large/heavy things to carry, though I have been known to carry 28lbs of cat litter on my bike.....

Really its scheduling and planning the things that need to be done and many things that would require a long walk are either recreational or can wait until I have the time to do it. I live in a good area for walking Broadway is about 10-15 minutes, downtown 20-25. Most of what I need is close to me and I chose this area because of that. Many places are more of a pain to drive to than walk - it could take as long to find a parking place than it would just to walk there...... Oh - and also I do not have kids so that all around makes life easier.

Compared to most Americans I think I live a much more European lifestyle. I grocery shop nearly every day (yes I do have an advantage here - I have a Safeway only about a block from my house, but I don't always shop at that one. I don't mind taking 20 min to walk to Trader Joe's or Madison Market and back either) We also generally eat later - yeah if its expected that dinner will be on the table at 5pm my lifestyle wouldn't be very effective.....

When I was growing up my parents would rarely ever drive me anywhere. If I wanted to go somewhere I usually had to walk, bike or take the bus. It's just natural to me I guess.

I have yet to try to go to Costco on the bike yet.... but I have some ideas on how to build a trailer cheap, so someday........

[mimitabby]

I envy your location. If, if, if...
owell.

[Kimmyt]

Hmm, I don't know what I could get to within 2 miles. 3 would be alot more things. Right now I walk to and from my 2xweek swim class, which is 1.2 miles each way. Well, actually I run. It only take about 10 minutes, maybe more if it was a tough class!

K.

[Tuckervill]

Two Miles is pretty much my entire city. I do walk to the downtown area a lot in the spring (it's only 4 blocks away). I go days without leaving my house at all, in order to make the small trips I have to take combinable into one trip.

Yesterday I had to send a check to the guy who mows our baseball complex. I didn't have a stamp, so I just looked up his address and took it to his house--closer than the post office. My town is just small.

My grandmother walked everywhere in Chicago. I remember her little shopping cart, but I'll bet I couldn't find one here. That's what it would take to get all my errands done without driving. (We're going through 2 gallons of milk every 3-4 days with this 14 yo here.) I occasionally get to ride my bike on these errands.

I'm going to consider it more, since I don't work, I have the time, and could save that much more gas if I walked. I have a "new" old touring bike with racks to get ready for service, too. Thanks for sharing that site.

Karen

[northstar]

DH and I have been a one-car family since before we were married...just passed the four year mark. This means that one of us is usually carless! :p

It was VERY stressful the first six months, until we learned how to plan ahead, like Eden mentioned. We have to email each other at the beginning of each week so that we can check each other's schedule throughout the week. I've had to adjust to not being able to do anything I want whenever I want. I still get to do whatever I want, but it might have to be at a different time. It took a long time to un-learn that instant gratification. :D

This 2-mile deal is a great idea.

[ClockworkOrange]

Wow Eden, I thought this would only cover the US but no, my little town in the UK suddenly appeared.

Cheers for that.

Clock

[Xrayted]

More and more these days we walk or ride our bikes for all of the local stuff. We walk over to the grocery store. Sure it's more trips that way because you can only buy as much as you can carry, but then again it's more excuses for a walk too. :) We walk or bike to the bank, to our local favorite restaurant, etc... I take public transit for work when I can't ride since I live about 10 miles away. (Even as slow as I am, it's still usually quicker for me to ride in than to drive because of the traffic. :eek:) We have a bike club at the hospital and lots of help to find routes and such for new employees. We get a card punched for everyday that we bike in and after 35 punches, they put $50 in our paychecks. ($25 if you have a transit pass) Watching that little video certainly gives one a bit more inspiration to drive less.

Thanks Eden. I'll pass it on. :cool:

[onimity]

Very cool Eden, thanks. My no-drive radius is more like 10 miles, more if you include transit, but everything (apart from my office) is within a 6 mile radius of my house, and biking that distance is faster than driving.

I'm like you in that I shop almost daily. I find that I eat a lot better that way, but I am lucky to have a store a mile away and a Wild Oats (which I usually go to) a little over 2 miles away. I just made my first bike-to-Costco trip this weekend (it is about 6 miles away and I definitely pushed the 70 lb limit on the trailer!) but it was a lot easier than I expected. Not to mention that I got serious props from the cashier and some good-looking guys in the parking lot. :)

A trailer has made a big difference for me in making errands bike-friendly. I used to walk out for cat litter & detergent but it is so much easier & faster on the bike with the trailer.

Anne

[Tri Girl]

That was really interesting, Eden- thanks for posting it!
I guess I didn't realize how many of the things I go to are in my 2 mile radius. There's so much traffic, that I hadn't considered riding my bike... until recently. I just bought an OLD steel bike that I'm restoring (got if for $5 and am putting about $60 into it). It'll be my errand bike. I plan on putting a basket and rear rack and using it to grocery shop and go other quick places.

[elk]

Gosh...the world is at my doorstep!! But in order to get to it, I have to do some major hills on narrow, bike lane-less and fairly well traffic-ed roads...

But I can go to the park and a coffeshop really easily!
Gosh darn it, I think I will!

[Deborajen]

Thanks for sharing the link. That's a good challenge - and a good reminder. Cargo seems to be my biggest obstacle, but when I can work around that, why not?

We're golfers and there is a golf course within two miles of us. My son used to (and still does sometimes) take his putter and ride his bike to the practice greens. We're still trying to figure out how to take a whole bag of clubs. We all laugh at the thought of carrying them on our backs, but who knows - they make kid trailers - maybe we can rig a trailer out of the hand cart --

Deb

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

4 1/2 years ago when DH & I bought our current house, we made a big decision to give up on the idea of living out on some isolated coountry road somewhere and instead buy a house on the village outskirts so we would not be so dependent on cars to get anywhere. This was the best decision!
We bike all the time to the bank, the PO, drugstore, bakery, etc. I can't even imagine how much we now save in gas and car use, and we don't pollute the air like we used to. Many times i'll walk the mile round trip to Main St and back for some little errand, just because it's wonderful exercise.
Because we are now more aware of using our cars, driving somewhere seems like a bigger deal than before, and that makes us consolidate our car trips more too.
The only thing is our house is at the top of a VERY steep 1/4 mile hill, so every time we walk or bike out the last thing we do is have to climb that hill. :eek: We have pretty much gotten used to it though, and truly the hill doesn't seem quite as steep as it did a couple of years ago. :rolleyes:

[kelownagirl]

The only place I can ride in 3km is work (school). Hard part is that it's downhill the whole way which means a long slow climb after work with a full backpack and whiny kid. :rolleyes: We haven't figured out a way to do our grocery shopping via bike yet. If we're out riding, we really don't want to weigh our road bikes down with trailers etc. However, we are currently a one-car family now and we're doing pretty well saving energy that way.

[HappyAnika]

I live in the old central part of our town. While the newer outskirts have fantastic bike lanes and roads with shoulders, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to get to any of the retail areas safely on a bike. It's easy to get out of town and ride to neighboring towns, which is why I'd rather ride the 40 miles round trip to work (out of town) than ride the 4 miles round trip to my gym (in town). Some places are easy to get to on my bike, like the library, the ice cream store, the pool, but others just aren't. We can also walk to a lot of restaurants since we are just 2 blocks from the old downtown area.

Oh, and I just love it when people honk at me on the highway (between towns) like I'm in their way because I'm on my bike (on the right side of an 8 foot wide shoulder). From my point of view they should be thanking me I'm not yet one more car in that awful 2 mile long line of stopped cars waiting to get through the next traffic light.

[HoosierGiant]

We do as much as we can by bike, but it's a little more difficult where we live. Last week's jaunt to the nearest branch bank was a 24-mile ride round trip. (There's nothin' but corn/bean fields in our two-mile radius.) We do have a Wal-Mart SuperCenter 10 miles away, but I shop for groceries once a month for our family of four (plus two cats and two dogs), so the car is a necessity then. Perhaps a bike trailer... :)

[grey]

We moved out to this little town about 2 years ago, from Tampa. I love my little town - in 10 minutes I can walk to the grocery store, in 15, the post office or the bank. It's fabulous, I couldn't have made that kind of time driving even in Tampa.

My neighbor and I often go to the store together, and we do get weird looks though. I am not sure why driving is such an American necessity, and it explains our obesity rate when my friend or I mention to a new clerk that we walked, and the reaction is anything from "I would have drove" or "there's no way I'd walk that far" and we answer "it's a 10 minute walk!" and the answer is "I still would have drove."

:rolleyes:

[Eden]

Thanks for sharing the link. That's a good challenge - and a good reminder. Cargo seems to be my biggest obstacle, but when I can work around that, why not?

We're golfers and there is a golf course within two miles of us. My son used to (and still does sometimes) take his putter and ride his bike to the practice greens. We're still trying to figure out how to take a whole bag of clubs. We all laugh at the thought of carrying them on our backs, but who knows - they make kid trailers - maybe we can rig a trailer out of the hand cart --

Deb

I've seen a golf bag specific bike attachment! I'm going to look for it right now.

Ha it took some doing but found it! (originally came across this as I was trying to figure out how to make a home-made bike trailer)

http://www.traileron.com/

[SadieKate]

Even though you can do the same search on mapping functions, somehow it's more fun with all the little bikes. Since I'm moving soon, this help put some perspective on my errands. Cool. :)

[teigyr]

We walk everywhere. We walk to the grocery store (DH takes a backpack), to dinner, and just for fun. Home Depot is walking distance as are many other places. If we go downtown, we will generally take the bus unless there's a really good reason for us not to.

It amazes me the people who will drive 3/4 mile for something minor.

Costco is more than 2 miles away but even if it wasn't, I'd have to drive. We buy many, many heavy things.

[SouthernBelle]

The map was fun, though it doesn't account for the routes you have to take. It's as the crow flies.

I do have an old bike with a rack and grocery panniers. Just used it last weekend for a grocery run. But I should use it more.

[enzed]

Just for fun I put in my address, and I was quite impressed.

Within 2 miles radius I have access to 3 beaches, 2 bike shops, numerous parks, a large mall, 5 banks, 5 supermarkets, 2 movie theatres and other useful stuff.
Ah, the joys of living in the city. Whilst there is an adequate bus service, I think I'll stick with cycling.

[Deborajen]

I've seen a golf bag specific bike attachment! I'm going to look for it right now.

Ha it took some doing but found it! (originally came across this as I was trying to figure out how to make a home-made bike trailer)

http://www.traileron.com/

Wow - I can't believe there actually is one! I figured there would be something that would work with a little altering --

And it works with hand cart - (use the hand cart on the golf course as well), or it works with a kids' wagon, or with a basket on wheels - hmm . . . could be really useful for other things as well.

Thanks for posting that. :)

Deb

[northstar]

I live in the old central part of our town. While the newer outskirts have fantastic bike lanes and roads with shoulders, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to get to any of the retail areas safely on a bike.

Sounds like it's time to start raising h*ll with the powers that be in your area.

People grumble about funding bike infrastructure because they view it as subsidizing the choices of the "minority." Aren't the conditions Anika mentions subsidizing the automobile industry? We deserve healthy choices in our transportation. Be the squeaky wheel! :)

(Getting off of my soapbox.) Whew.

[pinkychique]

Guess what??:D :D :D
Just biking everywhere within 2 miles (or slightly more) from this house that I'm watching (which happens to be in the part of town that I usually need to be in anyways) I racked up 12 miles yesterday!! Yay! And all on my single speed too! It's really cool how much you move about during the day, and how much you would spend/waste if you were in a car.

I love this!!:D

[OakLeaf]

Good for you, Lisa. With two homes (ya, I know, talk to my DH about it) - one in town and one in the country - I'm really acutely aware of this stuff. At our winter home we drive maybe once a week. Other than that, we ride the bikes. Groceries, gym, department store, liquor store, church, and half a dozen really good restaurants are within two miles. Brave the traffic and broken glass on the causeway (and get the sole hill ride you're going to get in Florida), and within six miles you get movies, hardware, library, K-Mart and post office.

"Up north" it's a whole 'nother story. It's 15 miles to the nearest anything, and the roads into town are really not safe for bicycling. Narrow, high-speed, heavy traffic, and no shoulders. So I do the best I can - consolidate trips for sure, but it's a rare day here when I don't start the car. At least I *try* to take the trash out in the wheelbarrow - half a mile to the street, up and down steep rises, is a long way to push it, so if I remember and there's room in the car the day before trash day, it sits on the curb all day.

I really, really love living here. It's so beautiful it takes my breath away almost every time I come home. Giving it up for environmental reasons is a step I know I should make, but probably won't any time soon. At least I can have a vegetable garden here, which does save *some* petroleum...

- Oak, whose car will be packed with tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, butternut squash, kabocha squash, and dried peppers and herbs when we make the trip south :) - no apples this year because of a late freeze, no beans or carrots because the dang deer kept eating the plants :mad:

[Geonz]

Cargo is no excuse :)
http://radio.weblogs.com/0128644/images/2006/nov/231106_straw_xtracycle3.jpg