2 Mile Challenge

[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. 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.

[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. 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.

[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.