Cars suck. Mine is broken again—most likely the clutch. Being that I’m no automotive whiz, I’ll attribute it to one of two things; it’s in a state of atrophy from neglect or Toyota sold GM their reject Corollas to label Prisms. Either way, it’s been over a week since I dropped it off at the garage and old Mrs. Kepple still hasn’t called back with a diagnosis. Secretly, I fear the worst.
The funny thing is, for the first time in my “driving career,” I’m not stressed. You already know why…because I hardly ever use the damn thing. Now I’m sure that there will come a time shortly where I’ll want to drive somewhere (for other reasons than just sore thighs) but the past few months of self-induced car abstinence has prepared me well for the reality of car free living.
The last time my car broke down, I was already used to commuting to work; but the reality of grocery shopping via bicycle seemed a bit out of my league. Not only was I used to shopping at my choice of supermarkets, I was accustomed to slinging eight to ten plastic bags through the doorway every two weeks.
On my first two wheeled shopping excursion I learned the value of limiting my purchases (especially of the liquid variety) and subsequent trips have allowed me to hone my skills in this department. Making more frequent trips and purchasing fewer items has resulted in a happier back, fresher food at home and encouraged a more varied diet.
Eventually. I started shopping at the nearby yuppie-mart, Whole Foods, once I decided that paying a little more to save four miles of riding was acceptable. Besides, they have the best cheese selection I’ve ever seen.
So now I’ve negated the two primary uses for my car—shopping and commuting. While shopping can almost always be put off if the weather isn’t cooperating, I have to go to work every morning. Although summer weather is usually pretty conducive to riding, most cyclists on the East Coast feel like we’re living in the Amazon (it is still a rain forest, right?) lately, and thunderstorms might otherwise be an excuse to ride to work in the car. The funny thing is, rain doesn’t hurt one bit. My steel bikes haven’t rusted, and—knock on wood—none of that lightning has found me yet.
Then again, maybe it just can’t catch me…not that I’m all that fast or anything, but I’ve done about 100 road miles a week since the end of March. The prospect of an upcoming trip to Colorado and subsequent 24-hour race has inspired me to ride extra hills both to and from work, and it simply feels good to be so fit.
One negative side to the whole occasion is that half of my cycling apparel is coming apart at the seams. The soles of my good summer shoes are peeling away and the worn out cleats are frozen in my trusty Airwalks. I don’t have a single pair of gloves without holes in them, save for the lone Fox glove which has lost it’s sibling (perhaps even overseas).
As with everything, though, there are benefits to equal the detriments. I cut the dilapidated shammy out of my Large Hardware shorts and now I can wear the stylish “shell” over regular Lycra shorts five days a week. Furthermore, intensive commuting provides an excellent opportunity to test products. At the moment I’m studying how much cloth saddles can suck once they start tearing, how nice carbon fiber components ride, and how different tire tread patterns perform.
So what comes next? Like a drunk who can’t resist the sting of alcohol on their tongue, I will once again write that big fat check for a major car repair. When it’s time. But for now I’m enjoying the notion that I’m car free, and perhaps one day I’ll have the guts to make the label stick.
-Jeff Guerrero
http://www.urbanvelo.org