Carless and Carefree

The Last One

We took a big step towards the future last week - we sold the only motor vehicle we owned. And, we couldn't be happier.

Back in 2008, we drove our Mazda SUV to CARMAX, sold it, and rode our bicycles home. Last week we loaded our two SURLY Long Haul Truckers into our Ford F-150, drove it to CARMAX, and rode home with a check. For the first time since we were graduate students in college, we were carless again. And carefree.

It's interesting when you meet someone, and make small talk, and it comes out that you don't own a motor vehicle. Here in the Southeast, people look at you in disbelief. "How can you survive?" is what you get, either in conversation or in their body language and looks.

Yet, for some city dwellers in the USA, being carless is no big deal. Recent statistics show that over 60% of citizens of New York City don't own a car, and when looking at Manhattan, the figure rises to over 75%. While growing up in Boston in the 1960's, I knew of many families that didn't own a motor vehicle. My boyhood best friend's father was a real rocket scientist - British - and worked at Lincoln Laboratories just outside of the city. He rode a bicycle, nearly year long, or just walked the 3 miles to work when it snowed. No big deal - just life.

Yet, here we are in the 21st century, and we all find the idea of going carless - at least in Atlanta - as something  beyond comprehension. Really, it's sad, isn't it? How did we ever get this way? Yes, things are bad now, for many of us. The economy is thoroughly in the toilet, our so called "leaders" can't agree on a date for a speech by the president, and seem content with letting people starve to death to make a political point.

Watch any car ad on TV, and read the fine print on the prices. All of the current models cost more than our first house - even the so called "economy" models. You can buy buy 15 of our best touring bicycle builds for the price of the cheaper cars in the ads. Really - how did we ever get to the point where standard automobiles need computers, backup video cameras, DVD players, and satellite navigation systems?


So in light of all of this,  it's empowering  to sell your motor vehicle, drop a check in your savings account, and simplify your life. You take back control of your life in so may ways when you drop out of the automobile rat race.

For anyone considering this step, we recommend that you do it in degrees, as we did. Almost all US households have multiple motor vehicles, and could do without most of them. We had two vehicles for two people, sold one, and then opened our store with the money from the sale. We left the remaining vehicle behind our store.

 We simplified our lives wherever possible.All of our carbon bicycles we used for racing we sold, and built up steel touring frames for our personal transportation. We used our bicycles to commute, shop, and take trips On bad days,we used  public transportation. Every city has buses, and they have bicycle racks, thanks to those "nasty federal taxes". We learned to live locally, shopping at the stores in a two mile area for our regular needs.


The decision to sell the last vehicle we will ever own, was no big deal. And we really enjoy the reactions it gets from people we meet. It' a great icebreaker, and a chance to convert one more person to the idea of using bicycles for transportation.


More on this subject in the coming days.

The End of The Season

"When the white eagle of the North
   flies overhead,
And the browns, read, and golds of Autumn
   lie in the gutter, dead."


I saw the end of summer today. I knew it was coming, and had been expecting it for a while. The afternoons have still been hot, but the breezes have had a hint of coolness on the rides home. The last few cold fronts have brought back the sub-70 degree morning temperatures, and the morning ride is back in total darkness again.

But today, there was the first real sight of autumn - fallen leaves blowing down the road.

Some of the trees are beginning to lose their cover, and it won't be long now until the sleeveless jerseys of summer give way to the short sleeves, and then the riding jackets of autumn. Summer is coming to a close, and with it, many other things, as well.

After several year of carless commuting, I have changed my whole outlook on cycling, and on life, too. Daily cycling has given me back my time, and my life, again. It has changed my focus and priorities, and my goals. Living locally, and simpler, I have found a way out of the consumer way of living, and moved towards the sustainable life. The old way is passing, and a new way beckons.

It's just a simple matter of learning to let go. The same way I let go of my automobile four years ago. I see now that letting go of my automobile was just the beginning of a whole new way of living.

I'm taking the time now to savor each morning and afternoon commuting ride, as I know these rides are some of the last for me here.

Soon, I will follow the birds southward, to the land where summer never really dies, and ice storms and winter's chill will become a distant memory.

My future is waiting for me, there, as it always has been.

I won't see the autumn leaves fall again, or hear the sound of summer, passing away.

Ride safe.


"Remember then, the summer birds,
     with wings of fire,
Come to witness Spring's new hope,
    Born of leaves decaying."