Life without car
I'd like to pretend that I never want or need a car, ever. I can't. Usually, I fill the need with a Zipcar or a gracious friend, but sometimes even that doesn't make sense. So, when both my bikes were crippled by rear flat tires it took me a full week to find the energy to get to a bike shop. Finally, on Friday with tires and tubes draped over my shoulder like a Project Runway design gone sour, I ran to the nearest bike shop. It was satisfying, but a 10-minute car trip was instead a bit of sweaty pavement-pounding ordeal. It's one of the few times that I've truly missed my car. I feel guilty that I have let that trip become an ordeal. Even as I'm proud of the end result, I'm disappointed at the laziness that rests somewhere inside.
Lazy or not, as I balked at the cost of two new tires and two new tubes, I felt pretty good that I haven't been to a car repair shop in quite some time. Something tells me that fan belts, oil filters, and other mechanic-speak would bring me balking to my knees.
3 comments:
As a fellow car-less fool, I stand in solidarity with your plight. I, however, am still young and foolish enough to hold out real hope of never again owning a car... but perhaps experience will change that. For now, keep on truckin'. Or, biking/running/walking/busing, as it were.
I'm rooting for you, Kyle. I think it depends greatly on where you live. Maybe that will change in the future too. I'll try your optimism.
-Dave
I am jealous of anyone who lives in a walkable community. Having recently vacationed in both Italy and Boston where I walked and used public transportation, I felt a certain freedom being "carless". Enjoy your current lifestyle while you can--high gasoline prices and parking problems will still be here when you decide you need a car again.
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