Going car-free

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Permalink Reply by Simon Phearson on March 14, 2014 at 1:33pm

It's funny you should cite the family. I have a brother with a wife and two school-age kids that bike - all of them - everywhere. They don't have a car. The kids bike to school, my brother to work, they bike to get groceries or "go out"; I think his wife might take the bus to get to work. And they do this not in Chicago but in a very bike-unfriendly city with plenty of hills and little bike infrastructure.

It's definitely a commitment, and I can understand not wanting to "impose" it on others. I'm not sure how my brother got his family used to the idea apart from sheer necessity after their last car was totaled. I suppose you could always arrange for an... "accident."

But it's amazing to see them lock and gear up together - I'm really proud of his family for his and his family's commitment. Anyway, it's possible.

Juan Boyce said:

Thanks for all the advice. I live in North Kenwood and commute (by bike) to the Loop daily. I already have a single pannier and a bike trailer. My backup bike is Divvy, and I also have a rarely used Ventra card. With Tomato Mountain CSA and Amazon Prime, most things I could need or want can be delivered to my door.The main thing holding me back from a car-free lifestyle is my family's car-centric attitude. I don't want to be a jerk and force everyone to ride a bike because *I* like riding my bike, especially with the cold weather we've had since October.  I have Uber, zipcar, and Enterprise CarShare at my disposal, but they all seem unnecessarily expensive. If I'm forced to rent a car for more than 1 weekend per month, it negates practically all of the benefits of not owning a personal vehicle.

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