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Day 11 - Going Car - Lite

I could just tell from this title that THIS was going to be a challenge. 


Sometimes I tell my husband that I feel like we own a car lot. Just too many vehicles, even though we drive each of them and they are all just about paid for. We plan to get rid of the excesses this year so hopefully, this will be an area that we can work on reducing.




But you want me to go "Car-Lite" for the assignment?


Daily Goal: Plan a time in the near future to do a tiny experiment: Keep your car parked in the garage and try going to your local grocery store through an alternative method (i.e. on foot, by bike, or by bus). Foot, bike or bus not an option? Plan a trip into town and coordinate a carpool with a friend or neighbor. Side note: If you take your bike,  it has a rack, a carrier, or a basket so you can bring your purchases home.


Oh, OK, I think this challenge is doable for us. Even though my hip prevents me from walking the 8 block round trip to the grocery store, I can and have riden my bike. Oh, yes, I forgot to mention, we have a couple of E-moto electric assist bikes we found last year at Costco. We outfitted them with bike bags and can do a pretty good size trip between the two of us.




Here is the catch though.... these bikes cost us quite a bit. They were definitely an investment. We are both in our 50's and wanted to be able to continue riding our bikes and the electric assist helps us go up hills and pedal easier when the going gets difficult. But the cost of having to replace a stolen bike makes it very difficult for me to park my bike, even with a HUGE lock on it, in front of a grocery store and shop for 30 min. 


We have discussed getting a BOB to tow along behind one of us. That would make it easier to haul BIG groceries and the bike / trailer combo may appear too much to steal in a short time as well. We've been looking at our local Craigslist and garage sales for one since last summer. Hopefully we will find one soon.


Could you do it? Have you thought about other ways you may be able to commute around without driving? How would YOU complete the Daily Goal?

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