Wow, I guess I wasn’t kidding about being a mama bear because I’ve seriously been in hibernation mode over the last few weeks! We had a very merry (and bikey!) Christmas and enjoyed a full two-week vacation together. Santa made Vivi her very own little fixie-styled balance bike and mama got a new bike, too! Yay – can’t wait to get some pictures up once Red Rider is back from her check-up.
I spent a great deal of time over the break thinking about this challenge. Though we are only two months in, it’s becoming fairly obvious that we’ve already answered the question we set out to ask: can a family of four in Orlando live on only 4,000 car miles. Based on our experiences thus far, I think I can pretty confidently say: absolutely. I think we are a good example of a typical family in the sense that our lives are busy and require a great deal of getting around: we both work full-time, we are active volunteers, kids at two schools, extracurricular activities, etc. In spite of all this, we’ve been surprised how often we can bike and are discovering new bike possibilities nearly every week.
So what’s my point? I think it’s time for us to reframe our original question. Perhaps the question should be something closer to, “can a family of four in Orlando survive on only 4,000 miles while keeping biking enjoyable?” During the break, a group of friends got together to visit with an out-of-state friend. The get-together was held at a friend’s place not too far from where I work. Considering that it was near my work, it should have been bikeable; the distance was only about 13 miles or so. But the party was at night, which adds to the stress of biking with kids. We are a slow-moving bike convoy, so it would have meant getting home much later (also leading to cranky backseat riders). Our friend was only in town one night and we didn’t want to miss seeing her. Riding 26 miles in the day is one thing, but riding the same distance at night with a lot of college-aged drivers around is a different story. The problem is, we find ourselves in this type of situation more and more often. We have made progress in cutting out a lot of our unnecessary activities, but we don’t want to miss out on the things that are important to our loved ones simply because we want to bike. Orlando is somewhat unique in that it has so many suburbs feeding into this one city, meaning that our circle of friends spans three counties though we all see ourselves as part of Orlando; this makes the birthday party circuit a bit more challenging. Though biking is often possible, it’s not always practical.
Then there is the ever-looming shadow of my work commute–now my daily nemesis. Oh, how I wish I could say I love every second of being on my bike. Biking has changed my life in a way I never thought possible; I’m actually becoming happy. For a life-long pessimist, this is pretty amazing stuff! I believe biking brings a freedom you can’t find anywhere else and I want to do what I can to see more people on bikes. In spite of my deep and sometimes profound love of biking, I don’t love riding my bike to work! It’s so confusing to genuinely love biking, but dread my ride to work. I keep thinking maybe things will be better when I don’t have to ride the extra five miles to Sofie’s school, but I’m not a fan of the, “things will be better when and only when [insert issue here] changes” mentality. If I were to ride to work every single day, the 4,000 miles would become much more doable. But I don’t want to ride everyday.
This is where my reframed question comes in–can you live on 4,000 miles without forcing yourself to ride when you don’t want to or when the inconvenience of riding becomes too impractical? I don’t know, but I intend to continue my search for balance. I want to be able to look my friends and colleagues in the eyes and honestly say, “you can do this.” So far, I know that what I am trying to sell requires a great deal of dedication. I believe there is a balance to be found in significantly cutting down our car usage while still enjoying the ride. I’m a busy mother of two and I often feel like the most basic daily tasks are a challenge to keep up with, so maybe my resolve isn’t what it should be. Maybe this challenge would be easier for others. But I have to think I’m not alone in feeling overwhelmed by the chaos of daily life and I want to find the balance that allows me to tell others that they can do this without making their lives more difficult. I believe there is a balance to be found that enables you to realize the full joy of riding with your family and eliminate the frustrating monotony of the car without “forcing” it for principle’s sake. Is it based on the distance of the trip? The weather? Time of day? I don’t know.
We’ve made it to the two-month mark, and as with last month, we still have a long way to go. Though we have cut down significantly over previous years, we’re way over our target. Last month, we drove 581 miles. So far, we’ve put on 1,030 miles on the car. Yikes! I know it’s primarily my fault, as the number would be far lower if I were more regularly commuting to work by bike. I’m of a strong personality type (A for Angie!), so it has been really difficult to put it out there that I’m not meeting the goals I’ve set. And I wish I could say that every trip on a bike was easy-peasy and never a push. There are so many people and families out there doing amazing things by bike and I feel guilty for not just pushing through and making it happen. But deep down, I know that you don’t have to be amazing to use bikes as a sustainable mode of transportation. And I know that biking doesn’t have to be an outsider group sort of thing, that it can be for everyone; it doesn’t have to be a push. The best I can do is continue to ride as much as I can and find that tipping point.
I applaud your desire and attempt to get by on less automobile use. Up until about three months ago, I was commuting to work between 80-100% of the time.
I’m down to recreational riding and grocery runs now.
Still, I manage to use about $15 a week on fuel driving to/from work.
Of lately, double shifts have become the norm and the time issue has resulted in a 20% by bike commute. It is also trying to move children by bike too.
You are doing an excellent job! Keep it up. The effort you extend in your challenge drives me to do much of the same.
This is a great perspective, and I am very excited about it. I have students who feel guilty when they don’t ride to school! People all over are so excited that kids are doing something positive, but they themselves have the same issues as you’re talking about here. I think it’s indicative of a largely held attitude outside of the bike community.
Some people I talk to who aren’t all hardcore about biking think it’s impossible to ride to work. Others are always apologetic–I work too far, I don’t have time, I would but…
Regardless, I would so much rather see 50% of people riding their bikes sometimes than see 5% doing it all the time. And that’s exactly the territory we’re charting here.
I’m a hard core commuter, Angie, but I can fully understand your reasoning. You pointed out something very important, that you don’t want to dread the bike trip to work.
I feel this is supposed to be fun, all the way. When something stops being fun, it’s time to adjust, assess and adapt. Even if you can’t meet your self-assigned objectives, even getting part way there is an accomplishment for which to be proud.
Riding this morning in 30-40 degree air, in an enclosed velomobile, it WAS fun, but it was darn cold. I have to wear a scarf (and forgot it) to keep my face from freezing. I don’t know how you open-bike people manage to do it!
Since you have two back-seaters involved in the equation, it certainly gets more complex. Isn’t there something in calculus about solving for three variables? It should be fun for all of you.
Do the best you can and you still can be proud of your successes.
“Don’t worry, be happy” means a lot here.
In the immortal words of Mr. Miyagi: “Go, find balance.” The fact that you’ve made the commitment to reduce your car mileage is what’s important. Adopt the mindset to bike whenever possible, but don’t sacrifice health and safety. Any trip made by bicycle is a trip not made by automobile, and that’s a good thing.
I’m trying to convince my wife to take mass-transit to work. It involves a 15-minute walk at both ends, so I’m not pushing it during the rainy season. Come spring, the weather will be much nicer, and a 15-minute walk will be a joy rather than a burden.
i’d say you’re right on track. i started biking to work and elsewhere over a year ago because i committed myself to using my car less. the only reason i’m still biking to work is because i never forced myself onto the saddle. i still choose biking most often as a transportation option simply because i enjoy it. maybe take some of your focus off your quantitative goal and give yourself the freedom to choose. that will take the pressure off and allow you to fall in love with biking all over again. oh, and remember the bunnies!
2 suggestions I’m throwing out there that may or may not help you enjoy your commute:
1. Audiobooks (I use this only when I don’t have a passenger, and only use one ear bud when I ride on roads-my commute is mostly bike path, but it sure helped me!)
2. electric assist (haven’t tried)
When I lived in Maitland and my commute was 10 miles each way (shorter than yours), I could not sustain enjoyment to do it every day. And if I made it a chore for myself, it made me dread it. Sometimes a goal is a good motivator, sometimes it’s an oppressive emotional tyrant.
Your stories and thoughts are wonderful and important! I find them compelling way beyond the challenge.
Motto from a biking friend…”Ride safe, Have fun, Get to the finish with a smile”. If you’re not smiling, it is time to re-assess your goals & strategy. That does not mean failure.
This will be a constantly-changing adventure for you and your family. I understand that you have this particular number goal, but what would happen if you took it away. Would you drive more? Or will you still go through thoughtful assessment each day about what mode of transportation you will need to do what you’ve got to do? Driving will not be an automatic now. You will always think about possibly biking, even if you decide it best (for WHATever reason) to drive.
I am a total Type A as well. I often say I am a “recovering Type A,” thanks in part to living abroad where there was no illusion of control & just learning to let more things go. I tend to get into an “all or nothing” mindset that can serve me well a bit of the time, but more often does NOT. Mama to young’uns, working outside the home, having a working outside-the-home partner, keeping one’s home from not falling apart, etc is A LOT. I am all for the deep breathing, having a dirty kitchen floor, biking when you can, & realizing that none of us are perfect
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I drove today. And maybe do so once per week. It keeps biking feeling more like a treat than a chore, and usually reinforces the biking even more, as I rarely find driving much of a “break” from anything.
Thank you all so much for the encouragement – it is genuinely appreciated more than you know!
I hope I have been clear about how much I do believe in riding and how much I love family cycling. I would hate to give off the impression that it isn’t wonderful simply because I bit off a little more than I can chew (at the moment) with my work commute.
I intend to keep my numerical goal as is–I’ve never been all that good with math, so it allows me to ignore the practicality issue. :p Sofie will be out of school in May, so that gives me about five months to potentially catch back up. In the meantime, I’ll keep riding as much as I can stand (though I will work on dropping some of the guilt issues). The other struggle with my work commute has been the time factor–I have to arrive to work later than when I drive since it takes me so long and I can’t drop Sofie off before a certain time. Because it was getting dark so early (and the trail is creepy at night), it was forcing me to work a shorter day in the office and bring the rest home. Now that it’s beginning to stay light a little longer, that will also take some of the stress away.
I like the idea of an audiobook–I’ve been playing Pandora on my phone, but I think a book would be a nice way to pass the time. Thanks for the suggestion!