It's the last day of November. We've had our studded snow tires on our bikes for a month and a half now. I know I'll probably jinxed it by saying this, but thus far, we haven't had any snow. I've seen a small patch of ice on the road on two chilly mornings. Other than that, it has been a mild autumn. We've had some rain, and some cold days, but really not much of either. Tim is still wearing shorts most days. Probably the coldest I've been while biking was that morning in October that I rode through the rain with shorts and sandals.
The NOAA weather forecast is calling for a 30% chance of rain or snow showers this evening and tonight. After that the next mention of snow in the forecast is Thursday night and Friday, also with a 30% chance of snow or rain. The last day of finals--the end of the semester--is only 18 days away. There is a chance--a chance that probably just got smaller with me mentioning it out loud--that we might finish our official experiment in living car-free without ever riding through snow. (Knowing the fickleness of weather, though, we might get two major blizzards in the next two weeks.)
Not that I'm complaining though. I tried commuting by bike a couple times last winter. It is significantly harder to ride on snowy roads, even with the snow tires. If the snow is more than a couple inches deep, walking is almost an easier option. Snow also increases the hazards from cars. Winter commuting can be done, of course. There are others who live car-free year-round in snowy climates. Years ago before I got my driver's license, I used to commute to work by bike near Buffalo, New York. I remember one morning, in the 5:30 AM dark, riding gingerly down the road through about 4 or 5 inches of snow and then hearing a snow plow come up behind me. I was terrified, but survived without incident.
Tim and I talk some about where we want to be in the future. I've come to the conclusion that living car-free year round probably makes a lot more sense in a warmer climate. If we were to stay in Vermont, I think I'd want to drive the car through the winter months. In our discussions, I can get very opinionated on the subject. As I write about it here though, I wonder if at least part of that is my fear of the very really possibility of facing snowy riding soon. Things tend to get larger than life the longer I dwell on them. Once we actually do ride in snow it probably won't be as bad as I'm making it out to be.
Not that I'm complaining about the mild weather, though. I'll take a ride in the rain over a ride in the snow most days.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Staying Local for Thanksgiving
This year for Thanksgiving we had to decline the invitation to join my family at my uncle's house near Ithaca, New York. Getting there without the use of private automobiles presented too large of a challenge for me to wrap my head around in the midst of finishing all the class projects that were due the day before break began. That was unfortunate as my cousin recently got married and I've not yet had the opportunity to meet his wife or congratulate him in person. Would it have been worth the carbon footprint to drive out to Ithaca to stay in touch with family? Probably, but it will have to wait for another time.
Instead we spent Thanksgiving with our neighbor up the hill. It was a great day with lots of yummy food and I enjoyed spending time with Barbara and her family. One of the benefits of not traveling for the holidays is that the time that would have been spent packing and traveling can instead be spent on other things. We've been able to spend time as a family--reading to Zeb endlessly--and get caught up on some of our postponed projects.
The Thanksgiving break from classes has also provided a break from commuting. I haven't ridden my bike in three days--the longest stretch since classes started at the end of August. I've slept in a lot and my cold seems to finally be clearing up. It's amazing what rest will do.
Zeb has started commenting on our biking-lifestyle. I guess he thinks it is too new fangled or something: Three times now when we've tried to put him in his bike seat, he's said "No. Zeb walk!" and taken off down the road toward town. Maybe someday he'll be the one to start an experiment in only walking for a semester.
Instead we spent Thanksgiving with our neighbor up the hill. It was a great day with lots of yummy food and I enjoyed spending time with Barbara and her family. One of the benefits of not traveling for the holidays is that the time that would have been spent packing and traveling can instead be spent on other things. We've been able to spend time as a family--reading to Zeb endlessly--and get caught up on some of our postponed projects.
The Thanksgiving break from classes has also provided a break from commuting. I haven't ridden my bike in three days--the longest stretch since classes started at the end of August. I've slept in a lot and my cold seems to finally be clearing up. It's amazing what rest will do.
Zeb has started commenting on our biking-lifestyle. I guess he thinks it is too new fangled or something: Three times now when we've tried to put him in his bike seat, he's said "No. Zeb walk!" and taken off down the road toward town. Maybe someday he'll be the one to start an experiment in only walking for a semester.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
A Cold is Not a Medical Emergency
After some heavy thought on the matter, I have come to the conclusion that a cold is NOT a medical emergency. So even though I've been fighting of this cold for the past week and a half, I am not entitled to drive the car. When my cold morphed into a sinus infection, I decided that I am entitled to take a day off (today, in fact) from classes and assignments to sleep and drink plenty of fluids.
It's an interesting predicament. I had thought of taking a day off earlier, when I first got sick, but to be officially excused from classes, I would need a doctor's note. To get a doctor's note, I would have to cycle into Poultney or Castleton, since a cold really isn't a medical emergency. And if I was healthy enough to cycle into town, than surely I was healthy enough to go to class.
I wonder sometimes if the extra exercise from the cycling is bolstering my immune system, or if it is adding extra stress to my body making me more likely to get sick and less able to get healthy. Probably it wasn't helpful to cycle after I got sick.
Anyway, one day off from cycling and classes and I'm bound to get better. On to other things.
I paid the bill for our car insurance this week. To keep the car available for medical emergencies and Tim's very sporadic use--(for the record, Tim has only used our car once this semester)--we opted not to place a hold on the insurance. We only carry liability on it, so right now we are paying $0.87 per day to insure against it crashing into anything while it sits in the parking lot. Funny, isn't it?
It's an interesting predicament. I had thought of taking a day off earlier, when I first got sick, but to be officially excused from classes, I would need a doctor's note. To get a doctor's note, I would have to cycle into Poultney or Castleton, since a cold really isn't a medical emergency. And if I was healthy enough to cycle into town, than surely I was healthy enough to go to class.
I wonder sometimes if the extra exercise from the cycling is bolstering my immune system, or if it is adding extra stress to my body making me more likely to get sick and less able to get healthy. Probably it wasn't helpful to cycle after I got sick.
Anyway, one day off from cycling and classes and I'm bound to get better. On to other things.
I paid the bill for our car insurance this week. To keep the car available for medical emergencies and Tim's very sporadic use--(for the record, Tim has only used our car once this semester)--we opted not to place a hold on the insurance. We only carry liability on it, so right now we are paying $0.87 per day to insure against it crashing into anything while it sits in the parking lot. Funny, isn't it?
Monday, November 16, 2009
Bike/Car Balance
This morning I received an email from Steve Follett. He lives in Proctor, Vermont and commutes 5.5 miles to Rutland. Over the last 35 years, he's been making the commute by bike for about 9 months each year. He and his wife own a car; he just doesn't use it everyday for driving short distances.
I was impressed by Steve's story. As I learn more about car-free living and transportation in general this semester, I am starting to think that Steve, and others like him, have hit upon an ideal balance. They use cars when it makes sense to, but use bikes when the distances are short and the weather is good. It's a solution that can bring large benefits without the hardships or inconvenience of never using a car.
Last night I read about a 1980 study from Great Britain concluding that if 10% of car trips of 10 miles or less were made by bicycle instead, 14 million barrels of oil would be saved each year. That is equal to 2% of the country's total oil consumption. That's not huge, but it is an appreciable amount. In addition, engines don't burn gasoline efficiently when they are cold, so reducing the amount of short distance car trips can have a disproportionate impact on reducing air pollution.
Bicycles require less space than cars, both while moving and when parked. A switch to using bikes for shorter trips would mean that less space would need to be devoted to parking, opening more area for green space or allowing denser development. That in turn would increase the walkability of developed areas. The extra exercise from biking and walking would reduce medical issues like coronary heart disease, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes, to name a few.
With all those benefits, I wonder why there aren't more of us living like Steve with a healthy balance between bikes and cars. I guess there are a number of reasons why: we get into the habit of driving; we think of bikes as a form of exercise or recreation, not transportation; government policy, land use, and highways are all created and maintained with automobiles--not bikes--in mind; and there is little cultural and societal support for using bikes as transportation. When you ride your bike to get somewhere, you often are seen as slightly strange, as the odd person out.
Despite all that, it is encouraging to think that with small changes in our transportation we could change the world for the better. We don't all need to park our cars permanently. But we should park them more. What if you rode a bike to get groceries? Or to visit friends this weekend? What if instead of driving your car to work then latter going to the gym, you just rode your bike to work--getting the commute and the exercise at the same time? If most people replaced the car with the bike even once a week, overall it would make significant changes for the better.
I was impressed by Steve's story. As I learn more about car-free living and transportation in general this semester, I am starting to think that Steve, and others like him, have hit upon an ideal balance. They use cars when it makes sense to, but use bikes when the distances are short and the weather is good. It's a solution that can bring large benefits without the hardships or inconvenience of never using a car.
Last night I read about a 1980 study from Great Britain concluding that if 10% of car trips of 10 miles or less were made by bicycle instead, 14 million barrels of oil would be saved each year. That is equal to 2% of the country's total oil consumption. That's not huge, but it is an appreciable amount. In addition, engines don't burn gasoline efficiently when they are cold, so reducing the amount of short distance car trips can have a disproportionate impact on reducing air pollution.
Bicycles require less space than cars, both while moving and when parked. A switch to using bikes for shorter trips would mean that less space would need to be devoted to parking, opening more area for green space or allowing denser development. That in turn would increase the walkability of developed areas. The extra exercise from biking and walking would reduce medical issues like coronary heart disease, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes, to name a few.
With all those benefits, I wonder why there aren't more of us living like Steve with a healthy balance between bikes and cars. I guess there are a number of reasons why: we get into the habit of driving; we think of bikes as a form of exercise or recreation, not transportation; government policy, land use, and highways are all created and maintained with automobiles--not bikes--in mind; and there is little cultural and societal support for using bikes as transportation. When you ride your bike to get somewhere, you often are seen as slightly strange, as the odd person out.
Despite all that, it is encouraging to think that with small changes in our transportation we could change the world for the better. We don't all need to park our cars permanently. But we should park them more. What if you rode a bike to get groceries? Or to visit friends this weekend? What if instead of driving your car to work then latter going to the gym, you just rode your bike to work--getting the commute and the exercise at the same time? If most people replaced the car with the bike even once a week, overall it would make significant changes for the better.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Road-kill
About three weeks ago, a coyote was killed along Rte 30. It was fairly small, with a coat of blond fur, turning to red. We ride that section of road almost every day of the week, so I saw its body frequently, watching the changes. It lay in the middle of the road for several days until some thoughtful soul dragged it to the side of the road. It settled there into the softer soil while microbes and other decomposers began their work. The fur turned color, slowly graying. The skin began to sink between the ribs; flattening, sinking, slowly returning to the earth. By spring it will probably be a scattering of bones with some wisps of fur, if nothing moves it first.
I seem to notice road-kill more riding on my bike than I did in the car. I'm moving slower and there is time to look around. Frogs, squirrels, groundhogs, the coyote, newts. In the summer after a rain, our dirt road is a carnage of newts squashed by tires, their bodies flat and drying as the road dries. I don't think drivers even notice when a newt is hit--they're too small. I'm sure I'm guilty of running over my fair share of newts when I drove my car this past summer. They are hard to avoid: small, numerous, hard to see.
In all honesty, most road-kill is probably unintentional. It's difficult to avoid an animal that darts out in front of you, or that you don't see til the last second. Automobiles are heavy enough and move fast enough that accidents are bound to happen. It's not limited to autos either: my uncle Andy once hit a bear while riding a bicycle. (It's true!) He was riding down a steep, windy trail, going full tilt. He headed around a curve, and there in the middle of the trail was a black bear. Well, he had no time to stop or slow down, so smack into the bear he hit. He was catapulted into the air and landed in the grass nearby. He looked up. The bear was looking down at him like, "What the hey?" The bear stood up and walked away. My uncle, rather shakily, collected himself and his bike. Neither party sustained any lasting damage, but my uncle was able to show off the bear hair caught in his handle bars for months afterwards.
Over the course of our car-free experiment, Tim and I have each found rewarding "road-kill." In September, Zeb and I were riding into class when I noticed a brown paper bag in the middle of the road. I was about to pass it by as yet more litter, when I saw a block of cheese nearby. I stopped to investigate and all told found five blocks of cheese in their wrappers with a still-cold ice pack. The cheeses were all very good and locally made: cave-aged farmhouse, blue cheese, soft triple cream cheese. We enjoyed a week of high-class cheese and crackers.
Just a couple weeks ago, Tim found a three pound jar of honey on the side of the road. It was crystallized, but seemed to be fine other than that. He put it in a bath of warm water on the wood stove overnight and by morning it was back to a gorgeous liquid state and ready for use.
I guess in the end, all road-kill ends up as food, if not for us, then for the crows and ravens, for the microbes and grubs. The nutrients are returned to the earth and picked up by another organism. Life continues.
I seem to notice road-kill more riding on my bike than I did in the car. I'm moving slower and there is time to look around. Frogs, squirrels, groundhogs, the coyote, newts. In the summer after a rain, our dirt road is a carnage of newts squashed by tires, their bodies flat and drying as the road dries. I don't think drivers even notice when a newt is hit--they're too small. I'm sure I'm guilty of running over my fair share of newts when I drove my car this past summer. They are hard to avoid: small, numerous, hard to see.
In all honesty, most road-kill is probably unintentional. It's difficult to avoid an animal that darts out in front of you, or that you don't see til the last second. Automobiles are heavy enough and move fast enough that accidents are bound to happen. It's not limited to autos either: my uncle Andy once hit a bear while riding a bicycle. (It's true!) He was riding down a steep, windy trail, going full tilt. He headed around a curve, and there in the middle of the trail was a black bear. Well, he had no time to stop or slow down, so smack into the bear he hit. He was catapulted into the air and landed in the grass nearby. He looked up. The bear was looking down at him like, "What the hey?" The bear stood up and walked away. My uncle, rather shakily, collected himself and his bike. Neither party sustained any lasting damage, but my uncle was able to show off the bear hair caught in his handle bars for months afterwards.
(After reading this post, my uncle Andy has offered the following corrections: "I was riding a recumbent tandem on a straight road, on the level, at moderate speed, when the bear ran out of the woods directly into my my path. I was not catapulted, because I was not on a wedgie-head-firster, but fell sideways to the ground." Sorry Andy for getting it wrong the first time!)
Over the course of our car-free experiment, Tim and I have each found rewarding "road-kill." In September, Zeb and I were riding into class when I noticed a brown paper bag in the middle of the road. I was about to pass it by as yet more litter, when I saw a block of cheese nearby. I stopped to investigate and all told found five blocks of cheese in their wrappers with a still-cold ice pack. The cheeses were all very good and locally made: cave-aged farmhouse, blue cheese, soft triple cream cheese. We enjoyed a week of high-class cheese and crackers.
Just a couple weeks ago, Tim found a three pound jar of honey on the side of the road. It was crystallized, but seemed to be fine other than that. He put it in a bath of warm water on the wood stove overnight and by morning it was back to a gorgeous liquid state and ready for use.
I guess in the end, all road-kill ends up as food, if not for us, then for the crows and ravens, for the microbes and grubs. The nutrients are returned to the earth and picked up by another organism. Life continues.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Other Car-Free People!
Earlier this week I began browsing the Internet, looking for information for and about bicycle commuters and other people who choose to use cars less or not at all. I was surprised and impressed by what I found: there are websites, forums, and blogs all devoted to car-free living or bicycle commuting.
Did you know that between the 2000 Census and the 2008 Census, there was a 43% increase in people who commuted to work by bicycle? Granted, bicycle commuters still only constitute around a mere 0.5% of all commuters nationwide. Of course, that's an average. In Stanford, California, bicycles account for 44.92% of the transportation options taken by commuters. Surprisingly, in Missoula, Montana, where the winters are fierce, bicyclists account for 5.88% of commuters.
I was also surprised to learn that "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008"--better known as the Wall Street Bailout--includes provisions allowing employers to take a tax credit for reimbursing bicycle commuters for reasonable expenses associated with their commute. The program is similar to others already in place that provide benefits to employees who commute via mass transit or carpooling. I was excited to hear about this--perhaps the turning of a new leaf?--until I saw that the bicycle commuter benefits were limited to $20 a month, or $240 per year, while the carpooling benefits can be as high as $115 per month, a whopping $1,380 per year. It seems like while bicycle commuting is receiving some notice, it is still playing second-fiddle to the car and other internal combustion vehicles.
Not everyone is enthralled with cars, though, and not everyone can afford to own and maintain one. Internet forums such as "Bike Forums: Car-free Living" are packed with people who use bikes rather than cars. I was incredibly impressed to learn that there are people who have been car-free for years. Not all of them live in warm, sunny climates. If you want to see some inspiring photos of winter commuting, check out this link: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=591869 . This couple lives in rural Maine and are car-free; he for two years, she for one. When it gets snowy, they are out there going to work. Actually, he points out that he gets there sooner than his co-workers, because while they are out shoveling their driveways, he is on his bike and riding.
Reading stories like this one make me feel a little bit more confident about the coming winter. They also challenge me with the question of what I'll do after the semester is over. Start driving the car again? Stick to the bike? Some combination of the two?
Did you know that between the 2000 Census and the 2008 Census, there was a 43% increase in people who commuted to work by bicycle? Granted, bicycle commuters still only constitute around a mere 0.5% of all commuters nationwide. Of course, that's an average. In Stanford, California, bicycles account for 44.92% of the transportation options taken by commuters. Surprisingly, in Missoula, Montana, where the winters are fierce, bicyclists account for 5.88% of commuters.
I was also surprised to learn that "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008"--better known as the Wall Street Bailout--includes provisions allowing employers to take a tax credit for reimbursing bicycle commuters for reasonable expenses associated with their commute. The program is similar to others already in place that provide benefits to employees who commute via mass transit or carpooling. I was excited to hear about this--perhaps the turning of a new leaf?--until I saw that the bicycle commuter benefits were limited to $20 a month, or $240 per year, while the carpooling benefits can be as high as $115 per month, a whopping $1,380 per year. It seems like while bicycle commuting is receiving some notice, it is still playing second-fiddle to the car and other internal combustion vehicles.
Not everyone is enthralled with cars, though, and not everyone can afford to own and maintain one. Internet forums such as "Bike Forums: Car-free Living" are packed with people who use bikes rather than cars. I was incredibly impressed to learn that there are people who have been car-free for years. Not all of them live in warm, sunny climates. If you want to see some inspiring photos of winter commuting, check out this link: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=591869 . This couple lives in rural Maine and are car-free; he for two years, she for one. When it gets snowy, they are out there going to work. Actually, he points out that he gets there sooner than his co-workers, because while they are out shoveling their driveways, he is on his bike and riding.
Reading stories like this one make me feel a little bit more confident about the coming winter. They also challenge me with the question of what I'll do after the semester is over. Start driving the car again? Stick to the bike? Some combination of the two?
Monday, November 2, 2009
The Savings
Recently there have been several days when I just haven't wanted to ride my bike. I'm tired, my muscles are stiff and sore, and the hills on the ride home from town seem far too big. It's not that I want to drive the car, it's just that I'd rather just be there already. But I'm not, and I haven't given myself any other options, so I climb onto my bike and slowly, but surely, I make it home.
On one such morning as I rode in to town, to keep my mind off my thigh muscles, I started to calculate our savings from not driving the car this semester. Here's a low-down of what I came up with:
With traveling to town and back an average of six days a week, over fifteen weeks we will have saved 30 gallons of gasoline and kept 150 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. At current gas prices of about $2.69 per gallon, that is a savings of $80.70.
What?!? ONLY $80? The new rear wheel on my bike alone cost $60, not to mention the new chain and sprockets on Tim's bike, our studded snow tires, and the hours of tune-up that Tim has put into keeping our bikes functioning.
As I whizzed down the last hill into town, I was dismayed that it appeared that we were actually spending more to leave our car sitting in the parking lot. Then I thought it through a bit more. My previous calculations assumed that as a family we would be able to coordinate our schedules so that we could always drive together. We often ride home together, but coordinating 8 AM classes with a sleepy 1-year old doesn't usually work. So the previous number should be doubled since Tim would be driving separately from me: we've saved $160. (This doesn't get into the costs incurred if we both wanted our own cars.)
Of course, I'm also comparing apples to oranges here; I'm comparing the fuel for our car with the repairs for our bicycles. Generally repairs and parts for cars are much more expensive, even if you can find a good mechanic. (Earlier this year our car had issues with the spark plugs, costing about $400 to diagnose and repair.) And then there is the cost of insurance, inspection, and registration. Our car is still registered and insured, so we haven't seen any savings from that. This alone would be a significant savings--about $400 per year--if we completely switched to bicycles.
As I rode home that evening, mulling over these additional savings, I realized that there were intangible aspects of commuting by bike that I appreciated more than the money saved. These is something about riding my bike that makes me feel more alive than I do when driving the car. There is also something about the bike that makes me feel more connected to this place and this community than I do with my car. I move more slowly. I experience weather directly. I see my neighbors more. I see more wildlife. I shop at local businesses more. I like all of those things. They make me feel good about living where I do.
I also appreciate the things that I don't do as a result of not driving the car. I don't buy gasoline. I really like that. (While writing a paragraph above, I realized that I have no idea how much gasoline costs right now. It's not something I pay attention to anymore.) I don't have to start the engine and check all the gauges. I don't have to scrape the ice off my windshield. I don't add greatly to the amount of noise and air pollution. I don't add so much to the danger in the world--a bicycle hitting something is on a completely different scale than a car hitting something. I don't have to justify the use of the car in my mind. I don't feel guilty for driving to hear a speaker at the college talk about climate change.
By foregoing the car and riding the bicycle, I am living more on a human-scale. I'm a small step closer to living with my actions in alignment with my beliefs. And that is priceless.
On one such morning as I rode in to town, to keep my mind off my thigh muscles, I started to calculate our savings from not driving the car this semester. Here's a low-down of what I came up with:
With traveling to town and back an average of six days a week, over fifteen weeks we will have saved 30 gallons of gasoline and kept 150 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. At current gas prices of about $2.69 per gallon, that is a savings of $80.70.
What?!? ONLY $80? The new rear wheel on my bike alone cost $60, not to mention the new chain and sprockets on Tim's bike, our studded snow tires, and the hours of tune-up that Tim has put into keeping our bikes functioning.
As I whizzed down the last hill into town, I was dismayed that it appeared that we were actually spending more to leave our car sitting in the parking lot. Then I thought it through a bit more. My previous calculations assumed that as a family we would be able to coordinate our schedules so that we could always drive together. We often ride home together, but coordinating 8 AM classes with a sleepy 1-year old doesn't usually work. So the previous number should be doubled since Tim would be driving separately from me: we've saved $160. (This doesn't get into the costs incurred if we both wanted our own cars.)
Of course, I'm also comparing apples to oranges here; I'm comparing the fuel for our car with the repairs for our bicycles. Generally repairs and parts for cars are much more expensive, even if you can find a good mechanic. (Earlier this year our car had issues with the spark plugs, costing about $400 to diagnose and repair.) And then there is the cost of insurance, inspection, and registration. Our car is still registered and insured, so we haven't seen any savings from that. This alone would be a significant savings--about $400 per year--if we completely switched to bicycles.
As I rode home that evening, mulling over these additional savings, I realized that there were intangible aspects of commuting by bike that I appreciated more than the money saved. These is something about riding my bike that makes me feel more alive than I do when driving the car. There is also something about the bike that makes me feel more connected to this place and this community than I do with my car. I move more slowly. I experience weather directly. I see my neighbors more. I see more wildlife. I shop at local businesses more. I like all of those things. They make me feel good about living where I do.
I also appreciate the things that I don't do as a result of not driving the car. I don't buy gasoline. I really like that. (While writing a paragraph above, I realized that I have no idea how much gasoline costs right now. It's not something I pay attention to anymore.) I don't have to start the engine and check all the gauges. I don't have to scrape the ice off my windshield. I don't add greatly to the amount of noise and air pollution. I don't add so much to the danger in the world--a bicycle hitting something is on a completely different scale than a car hitting something. I don't have to justify the use of the car in my mind. I don't feel guilty for driving to hear a speaker at the college talk about climate change.
By foregoing the car and riding the bicycle, I am living more on a human-scale. I'm a small step closer to living with my actions in alignment with my beliefs. And that is priceless.
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