From Afraid of Bikes to (Nearly) Car-free – BionicOldGuy

This is about a delightful YouTube video I just watched. The host of “active towns” interviews Tatiana in Carmel, Indiana. She had a bad fall on a bike as a child and was afraid of bikes as an adult. Since her husband was an avid cyclist, she wanted to give it another try. The video shows her progress, from timidly riding in a parking lot, to being a confident cyclist who uses an electric assist cargo bike for all her errands and travel. Since her husband also bikes everywhere, she says they have not driven their car in months (which is why I said “nearly” car-free). They lived in Minneapolis at the start of this adventure, which is a bike friendly city by North American standards. They then had a stint in the Netherlands experiencing biking there, so when they came back they decided to move to Carmel, Indiana, a town of a bit over 100,000 that is about 20 miles (32 km) north of Indianapolis. Carmel is one of the most bike friendly cities in the US. Crucially, the city planners hired Dutch consultants to help them redo the cities transportation infrastructure, and didn’t make the mistake many US cities do of trying to “reinvent the wheel” and not getting it right.

Carmel has some weather challenges in the winter, despite which Tatiana and her husband ride year round, bundled up when needed.

Aside good infrastructure. the key takeaway I got from the video was the importance of proper bike fitting for a nervous novice. It really helps if you can put your feet flat on the ground without coming off the seat, which is not possible on most bikes. The exceptions are more upright bikes like the cargo bike above, cruisers, or Dutch bikes.

I personally am still “car-lite”. I do most of my errands in Morgan Hill by bike. But up till now I mostly cheat and use a car in heavy rain. If others can ride in much colder weather and the snow, I am motivated to try harder in our next rainy season (mostly the winter). Also, my wife and I have a second car which is seldom used, other than to take it out for a short ride once a week to keep it usable. It is 26 years old, and we’ve decided to retire it soon and not replace it. Looking back on the last few years, there have been almost no occasions when my wife and I both need a car at the same time. If something comes up I could always rent. I asked Gemini to examine the economics of renting a few times a year vs. owning in this chat. It appears that even for a paid-off vehicle, renting vs driving saves almost $10K per year in the US. No brainier!