Car versus machine.....ha ha ha!!!!

[xerxes]

Re:

I've been without a car for around 7 years now. I enjoyed driving for the first couple of years after I passed my test, but the novelty soon wore off and I found it a chore after that, so I don't miss it much.

Cycling in town amongst traffic can be unpleasant, most drivers are pretty good, but every now and then you have a nightmare journey when it seems every w*nker and his wife is out to get you. What's infuriating is when drivers are bad, either with close passes, or pulling out in front of you and just generally being rude and inconsiderate, it's totally irrational, they'll pass too close when it's inappropriate, putting you at risk, and then you'll see the same car at every junction or set of lights for the next couple of miles, so they'll have gained nothing in terms of journey time.

 

[The History Man]

Where do you live/work?

 

[Silvergoat]

Re:

I've never owned a car and don't miss all the expense and nonsense that goes with running one. Living in London (just within the M25 near Junction 24) there's enough public transport to rely on generally but it can be quite riddled with fear and loathing. I guess if I lived a different part of Britain I'd probably need a car more. Occasionally I will hire a cheap little white van for the odd weekend once every 2-3 months, combining a few activities so that it's more cost effective, or for particular times and events when we're going away for a few days.

I keep a few chickens so the van can be useful for fetching heavy sacks of chicken feed and bales of their bedding from the kind of stores located an hour's drive well out of town into the sticks. I also have an allotment so will also use the van to move plants, compost, wood or heavy DIY and gardening provisions. At the same time, we'll do stock up shopping trip and may be head off somewhere for a trip too. However, these days, I seem to be getting by without the van more and more – you can get most things ordered online and delivered to your door quite easily – including the heavy bulky chicken provisions, DIY stuff and seed sowing compost.

Pretty much most of the year, I bike it everywhere – shops, allotment and work. Because of the cost of public transport, I commute by bike 4 days a week throughout the year and in most weather conditions. In total, the daily commute is just under 70km and takes between 1 hour 50 to 2 hours 15, depending on how energetic or old I'm feeling. I've been doing this 7 years now, since rediscovering my old Clockwork in my parents damp basement.

Commuting by bike across London, I've seen almost everything on the roads but have been ok so far. Yes, there are occasional idiotic and dangerous drivers out there but my worst experiences have been involving cyclists and pedestrians, so rather oddly, I feel far safer keeping up with the flow in motor traffic.

 

[LikeClockwork]

Re:

I'm in the process of building up a really lightweight hack bike based on a decent steel frame, so I'm hoping that will encourage me to finally get out on a bike again and enjoy it at the same time. And use it a lot more, ie, for work sometimes. The lanes around here are absolutely fine, I've never encountered any real issues; the occasional idiot 4x4 driver or wide wheeled tractor, but you tend to hear them coming and can pull yourself into the side. It's never been about lycra clad speeding for me, it's always a saunter, so I tend to be very accommodating to drivers, as after all, I'm one too.

I haven't used a bike in anger for over a year; serious ill health last year and also mad busy with work most of the time. The whole 'car failing it's MOT' thing made me rethink whether I could in fact manage without one completely, and I think for me personally the answer is no. But that doesn't mean I have to use it as much as I have done in the past. I suppose in many ways I am a little different to a lot of those who have commented on here, in that I have a genuine love of the motor car and driving, I've always been involved with them on some level, and being very mechanically minded, they fascinate me, especially the more classic stuff. I won't apologize for that either. On the flip side, at some point I will fulfill another dream, and that is to be as self sufficient energy and food wise as possible, perhaps building a straw bale house or the like. Presumably by that point I will have got the motor car out of my system and will look into different ways to power something motorised, or will find some way of using the bicycle as a load bearing/tool carrying machine.

For now, the work I do for the most part is extremely physical and demanding on my increasingly aging body, and I simply won't want to always be cycling home 7 or 8 miles after a full on day, or at least not every time. Reflecting on a lot of what has been said here, I find that for me at this moment in time, the best solution would be to have both a car and a bike, and try and use the bike more, and the car less. I have to accept that due to several personal things that are going on, there will be times and circumstances when easy access to a car is an absolute necessity (aging parents, potential health emergencies, ill health at times on my part)

For the record, and for what it's worth, I've no kids and claim no benefits at all, I pay my taxes, don't have a modern phone, iPad, or TV, don't smoke and rarely drink now. So in reality a car is probably the biggest expense I have (I rent a shoe box, no mortgage, live alone) but it's a personal decision to keep that expense, for now. No one will be bailing me out if I get into financial difficulty so it's very much a thought out decision.

 

[jackosbournesnr]

Like all of us, you should do what works for you. If that includes a car, it includes a car.

Respect for even considering life without one.

Cheers
Ken

 

[The History Man]

Some would say my bicycle is always a 'tool carrying machine'.

Same as it ever was.

 

[xerxes]

Re:

Where do you live/work?

I work from home, so I don't need a car for commuting. I've never relied heavily on a car, so I've only ever had cheap runabouts and only ever had 4 cars, the most I ever spent on a car was my last one which cost £850.00. The problem was when the government decided to increase the vehicle duty to discourage older petrol cars, they made my cheap runabout rather expensive.

In the last year I had a car I did just 750 miles and by the time I'd taxed it, insured it, had an MOT and filled it with petrol a couple of times in a year I was paying nearly a pound a mile and it was just not economical to keep it. It irked me that was paying £210 tax to do 750 miles, whereas my friend was paying £35.00 to do 25,000 miles a year in his little diesel. I know which car was causing more air pollution. :roll:

 

[The History Man]

I wish I was in a position to get rid of at least one of out cars unless I get a very local job I can't see it happening. Currently commute 35 miles each way (for last 11 years) but not for much longer.

 

[jaypee]

Re:

Hiring a car has become very good value recently. I often hire a small, brand new car fri night to Monday morning for about £30! No tax, insurance etc to pay, no repairs. I have an annual excess insurance for £42 pa with no excess. I made a claim once without a quibble. Travel supermarket find the best deals though recently round here Thrifty are generally cheapest and great service.

I do live in a town but if you can manage in the country that sounds great - hope it works out!