For the past 365 days I have relied on my bicycle, bus or carpool to get where I need to go.
Benefits:
- Saved at least $3,000 (and that is without a car payment factored in!)
- Didn’t gain weight because I was biking so much
- Learned how to get around the city of Minneapolis better
- Got to know the businesses in my neighborhood much better and felt a stronger sense of belonging to a community
- Felt less stress (biking helped me energize before arriving to work and unwind my mind before getting home)
- I also felt better about doing my part to save the earth
Other changes:
- Was Loosing track of new music and local radio programs so turned to Pandora.com and 89.3 the current online for music.
- Used my iPod more for podcasting and music listening since I wasn’t listening to radio in my car
- Bought a “Go Pass” for the local transit system
- Treated my bike better (more tune ups, oiling the chain etc.)
- Had to plan events with friends in advance because getting to things like Friday night happy hour took a little longer
- My friends and I established new norms for hanging out such as: they gave me a ride, I bought the first round, or they would bike with me!
All in all this has been a good experiment. I don’t plan to get a car yet. Maybe I’ll make it another year. . .
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