Your car-free yrs.

[Heifzilla]

I have only been truly car-free for a period of about 2 months when I moved from the city (I didn't have a car there but my mom did...and I didn't need one because of public trans so I don't count that as car-free really). Once I moved to the suburbs when I was 17, I needed one. I rode my bike to work (about a mile) for 2 months until I saved enough to be able to pay for my car insurance and then I was able to find a better job.

Unfortunately, living in the American suburbs really precludes one from going totally car-less. Everything is much too spread out and doing a 20 mile round trip on a bike to get groceries is a bit much.

[kelownagirl]

Well living where I live, it's be next to impossible to be car-free but I can proudly say we've been a one-car family for more than 2 years now. (We still own a second car but haven't insured it for 2 years.) Next year will be more challenging when we both teach at different schools but we're going to try to make it work.

[redrhodie]

I was car free for 12 years when I lived in NY. The ironic thing is I didn't ride a bike once in the city.

[shootingstar]

I was car free for 12 years when I lived in NY. The ironic thing is I didn't ride a bike once in the city.

There are many (thousands) people living in big cities who live in car free households but they are not cyclists at all. It becomes pretty obvious when there is a city-wide subway/bus transit strike. It's happened several times in Toronto and at least once in last few years in Vancouver.

I lived 1 block from a subway station in suburbs of Toronto for 14 yrs. During cycling seasons, I was regularily bike commuting 30 kms. round trip into downtown where I worked.

About 80% of my bike grocery trips was also that same cycling distance since the food stores of choice were downtown. To cycle this distance for groceries was just easier and more pleasant to get there through an interconnected bike route of ravine parks and waterfront routes to avoid 50+ (yes, that many) 4-way traffic road intersections.


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On the rare occasion, I am in a car due to taxi or generosity of a driver, it's nearly unavoidable, to automatically gauge the road in its design and distance as something whether or not I could cycle it. No doubt, there are many TE members, that think this reflexively too while in a car.

So far in 2009, have been in a car 3 times :

2 wks. ago on a Sat. -2 cycling friends visiting briefly from 400 kms. away, offered me a short car ride with my bike (and their bikes), so we could get out quickly to meet friends for bike ride. They had multiple things to do on visit..family wedding, etc.

early Jan. 2009- we rented a car for 2 days in Maui, Hawaii. For us to whip quickly for north end of island. Rest of time, we biked.

[MomOnBike]

I didn't get a driver's license until my first child was born and I lived in the middle of nowhere. I was car light until then, as I depended on DH to drive me when a car trip was necessary.

For a while, we lived in different cities and I was truely car free. The bike, walking or the bus were pretty much my options. (I was thinner, then. . .) The older neighborhood we lived in was pretty walkable/bikeable, so I didn't feel a great need for a car.

Now, I'm back to car light. There are three drivers, including my social butterfly daughter, who share one car. There is much negotiation, and I'm on the bike as often as not when I need to go somewhere.

So, in answer to the original question, I've only been car free one year in my life. It's kinda pitiful, when put like that.

[ny biker]

I was car free for 12 years when I lived in NY. The ironic thing is I didn't ride a bike once in the city.

I bought my first car when I was 34 years old. I didn't buy a bike until several months after I got the car.

I relied on mass transit, taxis and walking (lots of walking) when I lived without a car. I never needed a bike for transportation.