If you met me about 3 years ago I would have told you my goal at that point in time was to save up enough money to buy my own house. I accomplished that late 2008. The next step would have been to upgrade my car to a fancy European sports car and replace my motorcycle with an updated version. Flash-forward to present day and my priorities in life has changed. Instead of keeping up with “the Jones”, I do not own a motorcycle and as of January 19th, do not own a car in Los Angeles! After having my car posted on several online sites for about 2 months, it finally got a response when I dropped the price down to $4500. Although I won’t say how much I got for the car, I was thoroughly happy to see it off with the new owners. I told people I felt like getting a 3,000 lb gorilla off my back. It even felt better to make the call to my insurance agent to cancel my auto insurance the next day.
Ironically enough the week I sell my car would have been the week that I would have needed it the most. We endured 7 straight days of rain in Southern California and I got to ride out in it for 3 of the 7 days. I lucked out 2 of those 3 days and successfully avoided rain. But on the last day, I was finally doused. Even though it would have been comfortable just to hop in the car and drive back and forth to work without getting wet, I still enjoyed riding in the rain. It’s just a matter of being prepared and ready for that situation.
Now that I moved forward with my life without a car, I feel a bit anxious. After months of rarely using it, this is completely different from before because I just lost the option to use my car now. I really should think of it as I’ve gained the freedom to not be tied to auto repairs, payments to the insurance company, and visits to gas stations. I’ve also gained free time to enjoy my books and podcast if I decide to take public transportation. I am no longer burdened with the stress of driving or having to pay what I call the “car tax”. All these things outweighs the fact that I don’t have a car.
Let’s see where this journey will take me. Wish me luck!
As of yesterday, I have officially finished my 8 weeks trial period without a car. Through this time I have expressed some displeasure in the process but now it’s finally done! 
I would be lying if I told you I did not drive my car during this time period. I had to drive it in 3 separate occasions. The first incident was for 2 doctors visit in one day. I would have taken public transportation but even though the appointments were 2 hours apart, I was not going to be able to make it considering I wouldn’t know when I’ll be out after the first appointment. I suppose I could have considered that incident a “rental” incident but I think I can prevent something like that from happening either by scheduling them on different days or scheduling earlier. The second incident was a drive down to Orange County. I was heading down to our friends’ place so that I can leave the car for a weekend trip to San Diego. That would have been considered a legitimate “rental” opportunity. I would have even driven the rental down to SD. The final incident was because I had to bring my car in to get it tuned up and fixed maintenance issues. That actually has nothing to do with needing a car since the reason alone is enough to justify why I needed to drive. It was this last trip where it finally sealed the deal in my decision to give up my car permanently. I am tired of throwing my money away maintaining this proverbial ball and chain.
Here are some highlights of my 2 months experience.
- Bought rain gear, but did not bring it when it did drizzle. Still had fun riding in the wet.
- Rode 855 miles during this time which included commuting, some group rides, and my Santa Monica excursion.
- Had 4 people ask about the Xtracycle.
- Had motorcyclist compliment on my Xtracycle.
- Realized that LA still has a long way in becoming a bicycle friendly city and there are dedicated individuals who are out there fighting for a better LA as we speak.
- Los Angeles have so much things to experience outside of a car.
- I could go practically anywhere in LA if I planned it right.
- People generally are surprised and doubtful when you tell them that you’re giving up your car. They’re almost sympathetic for the cause and some do offer rides.
- Some people don’t think it’s possible to be car-free in LA. Some think it’s social suicide.
- Your iPod is your best friend on public transportation.
- My friends are realizing that I’m not messing around.
- Using the bike rack on a bus is easy.
For the next step, I am going to get my car washed and detailed and will be putting it on Craigslist for sale hopefully by today. It is going to be good to lose this 3,000 lbs from my life. The revolution has begun!
Photo provided by nyoin on Flickr.
I reached the half-way point of my 2 month trial period of being car-free. The first month wasn’t too bad. I actually traveled more than I thought I would. I rode about 500+ miles so far. There were days I felt that I was struggling to stay on the bike. Most of the time I’ve been happy riding to and from work. I realize I can’t stay out during school nights too long. Riding home at 11PM or 12AM really sucks when you’re exhausted. I also don’t like to bring my Xtracycle on a train. This limits my mobility since the bike is much longer than normal and I feel like a jerk for blocking people’s way. Plus, I can’t throw it on the bus since their bike racks are built for normal length bikes. Those are pretty much the major challenges for the first month of being car-free.
Now that I just finished the 2nd day into my second month, I was presented some new challenges. I visit my folks weekly and when I got there this week, I did not have the keys to their place. I was locked out in the cold and couldn’t get a hold of them and friends. If I had a car, I would have the keys with my car keys. No, that did not discourage me but made me realize that I need to be more conscious about having keys with me or perhaps stashed away somewhere in case I forget again. Another challenge comes from the weather. Early in the week I saw rain in my forecast. Since I haven’t purchased rain gear for riding, I’m not going to ride the bike home. Instead I’ve planned it out so that I got a ride from a co-worker after my CERT training at work. The rain has raised more awareness as far as going to destinations like the library. Luckily I bribed a friend at work to take me in exchange for joining him for a lunch out. Otherwise, that would have been coming into work later than normal and taking 2 bus rides and a train stop to the library and then work, in the rain. The last but least significant thing I am experience is that I may be socially out casted from my friends who are planning to have monthly / bi-monthly poker games during the week. There’s no way in hell I’m riding over to Culver City on a school night for a poker game. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy so I’m glad I have these challenges. But this is definitely something I’m willing to live with. My spirits are high and I can’t wait till November 14th when the 8 week is done. Hopefully, nothing will change from now until then. I’ll be glad to announce that the car is for sale!
Monday marks the completion of my first week of living car-free. So far I have commuted from home to work strictly on my bicycle. I had some after-work events like 2 happy hours and a MANAA meeting in Chinatown. Each time I had to ride home later than normal but was able to do so without any issues. On the weekend, I had a housewarming party over at the Wilshire district on Saturday and visited my folks on Sunday. All of that accomplished without driving my car.
Saturday, I rode the Xtracycle over to the party along with a money tree, my Timbuk2 messenger bag, and a foldable chair (since she asked visitors to BYOC). The ride wasn’t too bad for the most part. LA is surprisingly hilly. I got caught on some mean hills and was fortunate to ride some down towards Wilshire Blvd from Los Feliz. I got there in about an hour and half. Hung out until about 8PM and started my journey home. I primarily took 4th St to La Palmas Ave which runs parallel with Highland. I pretty much had a quiet ride without much traffic through very “rich” neighborhoods. I eventually made it to the Hollywood and Highland Metro station and hopped on the train towards NoHo. Luckily there wasn’t alot of people taking the train at the time so I was able to take the elevators down with my extra long bike and walk right on the train without worrying about blocking the door. Even getting off the North Hollywood station was a breeze.
On Sunday, I had told my parents I was going to visit since I didn’t the week before. I had to swap some bicycle tubes at the Flying-Pigeon store. They had a dim-sum ride in the morning and I got there just in time to join the huge group of people who participated. I also learned that there is a bike path in the area. Very convenient to ride back and forth from Highland Park to South Pasadena. Along the way we had a few things happen. I opted to stay behind to look over folks and make sure no one was left behind. The first incident, we had some fainting. Luckily a few of us was there to hold her up and seat her on the side. She ended up walking back to the shop after eating some candy. I’m guessing she was diabetic. The second incident was that a lady who had not been riding for 12 years had fallen down while trying to ride onto a sidewalk. Fortunately, she scrapped her knees but nothing serious. Myself and another fellow rider rounded up about 5 riders who were straggling at the end and made sure everyone reached their destination. I bid farewell and went home to see my folks. On the ride back, I rode non-stop. Found some new routes and had to turn around because of some closures to the LA River bike path. It took me about 2 and half hours to ride home. A lot longer than I expected. All I knew was that I was exhausted and thirsty coming home. I had to go to a 7-11 to pick-up some Gatorade to recharge.
7 more weeks to go! This week will have some birthday dinners in Pasadena so we’ll see how that’s going to work out. I’m planning on taking the train and having friends pick me up and drop me off. It should be interesting so I’ll report back again.
As some of you might know, I’ve been talking and writing about going car-free for sometime now. With the emergence of my new xtracycle, I can easily take that step forward. I will be going completely car-free for the next 2 months as a trial period. This is a trial because I will still have my car on stand-by should I need it. Only reason I may need it is for emergencies. It’ll be like renting a car in my trial period. I’m hoping to keep track of places I go and methods of transportation. I’m also not ruling out carpooling so for those who can drive me, I’m planning on treating them to a meal. In addition to that I’m going to try to keep a ride and finance log to do a comparison to driving in the same period.
This is going to be interesting and challenging. I’ve told some people and they’re saying I’m crazy for doing this. Especially in a city like Los Angeles. I’ve read and met people who have been doing this for decades so I’m very confident that this could be done. This was unofficially kicked off this Monday, September 14, 2009. That was 1 day after my triathlon so I didn’t need to think about driving to training for a few months now. Everything else, I am adjusting my schedule to accommodate. If it all goes well, my car will be on sale after November 14, 2009. Wish me luck!
Comments (0) 
