Honestly, earlier in the decade, I didn't have a car in Portland for 6 years (out of high school) and got around by bike. A Trek 7600 multi-track, she has been most faithful. Mostly it was because I was too poor and stubborn to get a car. And I felt like a bad ass riding those hills every day. Riding up Broadway and beating the lights is so much fun. Riding over the Sylvan Hills is just brutal.
Then I moved to eastern Nevada for a few years to work as a geologist. I broke my carless streak there. Except for recreational riders, people on bicycles were generally thought to be riding because (1) they have had their license revoked, (2) they have no friends to give them rides, or (3) their cars are broken. There was tangible social pressure to not commute by bike. Weird, really. People refused to ride to work because they were scared of what their coworkers would think. Bizarre.
After three years there, I moved to Reno to go to grad school. I've been in Reno for over a year, and my car broke down last November. I could have replaced it or done more repairs, but got rid of it instead.
The arch-plan was become carless again! by (1) letting the car break down and get rid of it (2) emplace infrastructure to make it easy for me to not drive and save time. I reasoned that I would rent cars occasionally when I needed them to go on trips to the field. Also, I intentionally found a neighborhood with everything I needed within easy human-propelled distance (work, the co-op, parks, downtown, bus lines, yoga studio, etc.) Downtown is less than a mile away, the co-op is a 10 minute walk, yoga across the street, school is 2 miles away, even good restaurants and bars are a stone's throw away. And I haven't replaced the car yet, (though honestly I was wishing for one in the really cold and snowy winter last year.)
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| Cool picture of Amie, well, Amie's, look closely. (photo by Melissa Test) |
As a side note, I really think that a lot more people would go carless if there were infrastructure for it. Because it's a pain in the butt to do it here, compared to Portland. Better educated (commuting) populace, better trains and buses (my friend actually was on a greyhound last month where someone died of an overdose, and I myself will never suffer the indignity and unpleasantness of a Greyhound ride again). The habits of people to just jump in their cars is a well-ingrained and convenient ritual, that doesn't really even gain a whole lot for them in the long run. I'm sure you know the laundry list -- more disconnected, higher bills, dirtier air, weenier, etc. So, bike riding and walking.
Thanks for putting up a page and being an advocate.
Cheers,
Amie
Great story! Thanks for sharing Amie! If you want to learn more about whats going on in bike advocacy in Reno check out the Reno Metro Bicycle Advocacy Group or Metrobaggers as they call themselves.
