Carbon Trace is mostly about bicycle commuting, but it is also about walking– really any form of transportation around town powered by human calories. It’s raining here today. I’m always prepared to ride my bicycle in the rain. I don’t, however, make my daughter ride in the rain. So on rainy days we walk.
My commute has grown from .75 miles to 2.25 miles now that my office is downtown. Easy easy cycling distance. On foot it’s a hike. But not a bad one because there are well-maintained sidewalks the entire way.
I could just hop in my car. It would be easy enough to do. And remember those 6,000 parking spaces downtown? I’m sure I could find one 
Here’s the thing– after more than four years of using two wheels and two feet to get around town, I no longer want to drive. There’s nothing attractive about it (unless I have to haul something big).
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I usually start feeling nauseous and bloated when I have to drive. I am sure most of it is psychological.
http://www.yehudamoon.com/index.php?date=2008-09-02
Posted 07 Oct 2008 at 12:54 pm ¶I grew up in a car fanatic family, a passion for anything on 4 wheels that bordered on obsession, spurred on by 2 equally nutty brothers, learned how to fix and restore old cars, I even raced competitively in historic rallies.
Then, jump starting my professional life, I moved into the realm of daily gridlock, parking mayhem and exposure to road rage.
I still appreciate vintage cars etc, but I gave up on the automobile (leisure & work) in 1998 and never looked back. To be clear: for practical reasons and a sound state of mind.
My bikes (regular, beater, folder), public transportation and occasionally borrowing/renting a car (Green Wheels time share program, equivalent of Zip cars) are more than sufficient to make up for this ‘lack of personalized mobility’.
Every time I either see gridlock, people riding circles around the block looking for a parking space, aggressive drivers, accidents and other annoyances…I smile and appreciate the choice I made.
Posted 08 Oct 2008 at 8:02 pm ¶