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Do you live near enough to work, stores and friends that you really could use a bicycle instead of a car to get to some , or all, of them??
No, nearest store is 8 miles away and a 800' elevation change, not exactly something you want to bike and bike back with a bag of grocery's, especially since there are no shoulders and drivers around here suck.
In any case I like to drive, why should I ditch my car (truck actually) for a day, much less a week?
Do you live near enough to work, stores and friends that you really could use a bicycle instead of a car to get to some , or all, of them??
NO, NO, and NO.
For me, it's 30+ miles of country roads to stores and my business requires traveling to client meetings across 5 states. Even my post office is 9 miles away on rough dirt country roads which are decidely not bike friendly.
But in keeping with your "ditch the car" concept yesterday, I FLEW my airplane to a meeting with a client group yesterday. Got a 25 mph headwind on the way up there so it was a little slow, 2.7 hours enroute. Came back with the tailwind, 2 hours wheels up to wheels down, seeing 170 mph over the ground a few times per the GPS. The fuel burn worked out to be several gallons less than if I'd driven my van to the meeting ... and it was a one-day business trip rather than a three-day business trip. So I'd say that I kept with the spirit of your "ditch the car" concept of saving gasoline ....
How long do you think that trip would have been by bicycle, t-wad? About 350 miles each way due to having to stay on the roads instead of being able to go direct point A to B, with the headwinds and crosswinds and buffeting from the gusts that frequently exceeded 25 mph? Not counting all the uphill and downhill elevation changes totalling many thousands of feet? Or the motel bills enroute?
For me, it's 30+ miles of country roads to stores and my business requires traveling to client meetings across 5 states. Even my post office is 9 miles away on rough dirt country roads which are decidely not bike friendly.
But in keeping with your "ditch the car" concept yesterday, I FLEW my airplane to a meeting with a client group yesterday. Got a 25 mph headwind on the way up there so it was a little slow, 2.7 hours enroute. Came back with the tailwind, 2 hours wheels up to wheels down, seeing 170 mph over the ground a few times per the GPS. The fuel burn worked out to be several gallons less than if I'd driven my van to the meeting ... and it was a one-day business trip rather than a three-day business trip. So I'd say that I kept with the spirit of your "ditch the car" concept of saving gasoline ....
How long do you think that trip would have been by bicycle, t-wad? About 350 miles each way due to having to stay on the roads instead of being able to go direct point A to B, with the headwinds and crosswinds and buffeting from the gusts that frequently exceeded 25 mph? Not counting all the uphill and downhill elevation changes totalling many thousands of feet? Or the motel bills enroute?
Keep in mind the premise of the thread was a "double-dog dare" by t-wad ...
Question for you: How come you've singled out my response to the "dare" when so many others have posted that not only are their answers to all the questions "NO", but they are heading out to drive all of their consumptive vehicles, ranging from 10 mpg supercharged V-10's to a host of other motor vehicles?
Not mad, just being realistic about the circumstances for a lot of the land area & population of the USA.
Happy to help support the concept of getting out of my car for the day. It was a fun ride and I saved gas, too.
quoting SD4020: "Summary: For the vast majority of people ditching the car is not feasible."
PS: when I was of an age and circumstances presented where I could ride my bicycle 100+ miles per week rather than use a car for business and recreation, I did so. But that's a half-century ago and HUTD ... you may also find yourself someday not physically or situationally able to ride a bicycle in lieu of other practical, functional means of transportation for your needs. "one size fits all" solutions aren't.
I probably could ditch the car, but no way will I do that. I'm a car enthusiast, so I like driving. Plus, it's an environment thing, which makes me want to drive even more, for spite. Jeremy Clarkson's take on it is pretty much sums up how I feel about it: when told by a guest on Top Gear that he needed to be environmentally aware, he said 'I'm aware of the environment, and I'm still not interested.'
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