Get a workout while traveling!
I haven’t owned a car for about 15 months. During that time, Hsinya and I relied heavily on bicycling for basic errands like grocery shopping and sending packages to the post office. We occasionally rented a car, but we’ve recently been working on completely leaving the automobile altogether. When we go to church, we ride a tandem bicycle. When we visit family, we take the train. Concerned family and friends often offer us sympathy and rides because they think we’re working very hard and wasting a lot of time. I surprise them by explaining that going green actually saves me time.
Driving a car can sometimes be slower than human-powered travel. For short distances, cars might be slower than cycling or walking because cars can’t drive as directly. They encounter traffic signals, they require paved roads and parking spaces, and they sometimes have traffic or speed laws that slow them down to the same speed as cyclists or pedestrians. With some practice, you can achieve speeds of 15-25mph on your bicycle if your city provides dedicated bike lanes. I’ve considered taking up running so I can travel on even more direct paths than bicycling.
For longer distances, human-powered travel is comparatively slower, but still worth it. There is a definite correlation between automobile use and obesity. Obesity used to be relatively rare in the pre-industrial world, but it now affects about 1 in 3 people in the US. (1) With obesity comes increased rates of heart attack, cancer, and diabetes. The cure is simple: exercise. Unfortunately, most Americans conclude they can’t find the time to squeeze in the extra minutes for a good work-out. Whether you walk, roller blade, skateboard, or bicycle, you’re getting a good hour-long workout as you journey to your destination. If you skip the gym tonight, you’ll find the time-savings usually make up for the longer commute.
Let’s rethink transportation. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on cars and medical bills, we need to realize that transportation and exercise are not two separate concepts. Instead of commuting to work in high-stress traffic, and then skipping the gym, maybe we could benefit by turning our commute into an exercise regimen. Commuting by human-power is incredibly cost-effective and time-efficient when you think about it. So next time, save some time by walking.
Have you ever considered commuting by public transit or human power? What are some of the biggest obstacles you may encounter?
- Wikipedia shows that almost 75% of the population of the US is overweight or obese, and about 30% is obese. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_the_United_States
I used to be ALL for public transportation and walking.
But in Berkeley, one thing that cars have an advantage over is SAFETY.
I have dance practice/frat events late at night on campus and coming really late, especially because I live 20 minutes away by walking, can be risky.
Now I’ve never been mugged or anything, but I’ve read enough stories and heard enough personal accounts to try to not take any risks.
Granted, driving to campus isn’t 100% safe but it’s a lot better than walking home late at night.
However, daytime, I always always take the bus or walk. No questions asked.
I do agree that in Berkeley, sometimes, driving takes a lot longer. Parking is terrible and pedestrians here are kind of inconsiderate.
Hey Armand,
You made a great point.
Six months ago, I was in Long Beach area and I tried to bicycle to church to avoid driving. It was dangerous! I felt unsafe in the bike lanes, and ultimately I ended up renting a car.
Being green isn’t all-or-nothing, it’s the effort and the change in mindset that counts. Even if you can’t give up your car completely, making a small effort isn’t something to be ashamed of. Compromises are acceptable since it takes time for our city governments to improve bus schedules, bicycle access, and safety at night.
As a side note, though, I try to avoid late night events (past 11PM) because it can cause insomnia.
I find it hard to ride a bicycle in los angeles where there are a lot of bad drivers and the bus does not go to the area where i work. I just sucks to be in los angeles where public transportation is a failure and riding a bicycle is unsafe. It is really hard to give up car. I usually work my time around the traffic so traffic is not a big deal. I avoid driving from 5-8. My problem is public transit and bad drivers
Hey John,
I can totally sympathize. Living car-free would be a lot easier if we had better public transit. In the meantime, have you ever considered combining bicycling with taking the train and bus? One bicycle that’s really good for this task is the Tikit from Bike Friday. It folds in less than 10 seconds so you can carry it with you on buses, trains, and taxis without requiring a bicycle rack.
The Tikit demo on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bnb7ETdPR20&feature=related
PS: I’m going to experiment with living car-free in Taichung, Taiwan for the next 3 months. There are no bike paths in the city and I heard cars are even more reckless there than in SoCal. On the plus side, there are a lot of buses and subways, but I think I might just walk or run instead because I’m too cheap to pay for fare. I’ll try to keep you up-to-date with the results.