The pedestrian life

Erin Bean — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 21:01:00 -0800

Welcome to our car-free blog, where we’ll share with you the joys and frustrations of the pedestrian life. A little background: we’re married, we both work from home, and we live in an apartment near – but not in – downtown Salt Lake City. We have an early-80s Saab named Finn, and we’ve toddled around town with him for years. Finn’s days on the road are, sadly, numbered. We’ve poured a lot of money into his sweet Swedish innards, and the last time we took him to the mechanic, (with a busted slave cylinder in the clutch), we decided that this time, we wouldn’t operate.

Thus begins our life as a car-free family. Finn’s still sitting in the driveway – because he still runs somewhat reliably – but we know the end is near for him. Instead of driving, we’re riding our bikes, walking, and riding public transportation to accomplish all our daily tasks. We’re in the ideal situation to kick the car habit: we live pretty close to all the big necessities (three grocery stores within a mile), neither of us commutes, and we do have a car for those tight situations—although who knows how long he’ll last? Don’t tell Finn: he’s a glorified security blanket these days, mostly for my mother.

We’ve been car-lite for a few months, and already I can predict some of the issues we’ll have. There’s already been one notorious rainstorm and two caught-off-guard cyclists this winter, and I’m sure we’ll have many a good (drenched) laugh for you in the coming months. But as I was fond of repeating while planning our wedding, adversity makes for good memories. And come on: it’s just life without a car, not eking out existence in a drought-ridden dictatorship. This is adversity-lite, man. Come along for the ride.

Don't Drive: The pedestrian life

The pedestrian life