Folks: GET OUT YOUR BIKES TONIGHT!

[rbnyc]

Don't gas up your cars. Put your cars in long-term parking. Oil up your bike chain. Get out your walking shoes. Look up your local bus route on-line. Get up early and get to where you're going without a car.

I've done that every day for my entire life. And I've lived in the Chicago suburbs, a little farm-town in central Illinois, a sub-division in Cottonwood, Arizona, the middle of the desert, Arizona, Austin, Texas, and most easily in New York City.

I don't care where you live or where you work, you don't need your car as much as you think you do.

At the very least, organize a car-pool. When you go shopping, go with a friend or two who also need to shop.

Whatever you do, for goodness sake, DRIVE LESS! BUY LESS GAS!

:applause:

EDIT: I just want to add this from a reply below while I can still edit:

"It's not only about the price of gas. We all know that global warming contributed to the intensity of this storm.

As well, we know that the levees in New Orleans went under-maintained because money was diverted for the war in Iraq which is entangled in American dependence on gas.

How long are we just going to merrily contribute to this?"

[enigmatic]

1. I've biked all my life

never had a driver's licence, though my wife has a car. We're ready if a gas shortage comes..

[rbnyc]

2. That's great.

To be honest, I'm afraid to bike in NYC traffic. I walk and take the subway. But I used to bike a lot when I lived in more rural areas.

[Ekirh]

3. Live 40 minutes away from school . . .

And I don't know anyone to car pool with . . . so I'm kind of stuck using Gas for the time being. . . not to mention jobless. . . although I've been looking (Again) cause I'm trying to move into the city close to the school so I can just walk and only use the car when traveling out of the city.

Edit: Furthermore I ummm . . . don't own a bike.

[rbnyc]

5. Are there no public busses at all, even to get you part way?

Do you mean 40 minutes by car? That would ne quite a walk. But maybe 2 hours by bike.

Good luck to you in improving your situation. What kind of work are you looking for?

[Ekirh]

6. Not much

Since right now I can only work weekends... Originally I was trying to find something around teh school. . but since I'm probably not going to be moving in the city any time soon I'm going to search the mall area this week and see if anything's open.

During the summer the mall movie theater said they would hire me and scheduled an interview. They then canceled the interview and hired someone else and didn't even bother to call and inform me of this. I had to go to theater and find it out the position had been filled. . then it was summer classes and I put all my time into that.

In any case I'm fine right now . . My Grand parents have been housing me since last August so I could commute to school . . but during that time I also had quite a bit of money saved up from working at my local Boys and Girl's club.. and I could deal with those gas prices. . .

My situation will improve. . . I'll check the mall area this weekend and see what I can find.

[xultar]

4. I was gonna post it but I didn't wanna get beat down for panic threads,

I'm taking my bikes for tune-ups and air.

[rbnyc]

7. Awesome!

It's not really panic, tho. It just makes sense. It's not only about the price of gas. We all know that global warming contributed to the intensity of this storm.

As well, we know that the levees in New Orleans went under-maintained because money was diverted for the war in Iraq which is entangled in American dependence on gas.

How long are we just going to merrily contribute to this?

[salin]

8. wow, I never thought I would respond this way

but I can't. Have moved to an area with horrible public transportation - and have such odd hours that I can not carpool. But that isn't the odd thing - the odd thing is that I can, for the first time in my life, absorb the cost. It cuts into what I can invest towards retirement - which in the long run is very serious - however, I have to recognize that for the first time in my life I can absorb the extreme price spikes - not due to bushco "tax cuts" (those have hurt me at the state level - more than countering any "benefit) - but because during the Clinton years I was able to live sparsely on a grad student salary (real sparse) without going into debt - and now, can earn enough to be able to absorb this awful rise without it killing my "to live" budget. THankfully - as I don't have the alternatives (such as public transportation) available to me. Not that I earn a lot. But these moments make me thankful for the opportunities that I have been able to take - that put me in a different position that I was in, for much of my adult life; and that even two or three years ago - this would have absolutely put me into the situation of having to chose whether to eat or drive or be able to pay my bills. This realization is driving me to give and try to give big (per what I can/earn) because I can - and because it seems more important than my packing it into my savings (I can take a short time "hit" on that front - in the long run those in need NOW are in more need than I will be when I need to draw on those savings.)

[rbnyc]

10. The state of public transportation is very sad.

I bet you can figure out ways to drive less, tho. Maybe you can't ride a bike or wlak to work, but you might be able to do some of your weekly errands on foot, or do the shopping-pool suggestion in the initial post.

I'm glad you don't have to chose betwwen food and gas, tho.

[salin]

18. I will keep thinking about how I can cut back

but it is hard to do - thankfully I don't have to drive far (maybe a five mile commute) - and I work so much that I have already cut down on extraneous errands (try to think and do one shopping trip instead of near daily trips). I have been timing my purchase of a Prius - wanted to try to buy almost outright - so that I don't have a big chunk flying out each month (I am of that odd, almost extinct type that tries to pay up front, rather than taking on debt.) I can't quite buy outright - but I have saved hard enough (living poor for so many years on nonprofit and gradschool life - I have tried not to expand my spending - even though I am no longer living on a thread) - but I can take the plunger earlier and buy my first, ever, new car (a prius) even if it drives me into a bit of debt (an anathema to me.)

Guess my point (though I am tired - so I ramble more than a bit) is it is points in times like these that I realize how very fortunate I am - and how close (in my history) I am to having this be devastating - and thus that I really need to contributre what I can (a chunk of that difference between where I was a few years ago to today) - to give assistance to those who do not have that cushion that I have been so fortunate to be able to begin to create.

[rbnyc]

19. you're so wonderful.

Thanks so much for posting.

[salin]

21. oh please

thank you - but I am not "wonderful" - just reflective - and sadly realize that I should be so all of the time, rather than just when faced with such a human tragedy of such a large magnitude. Your thread pushed me beyond sentiment - into thinking of specific commitment of action (e.g., not just a single act right now, but a commitment to action over a period of time.) On my 60-80 hour work weeks - it is hard to do more than read and feel and believe that the work with urban youth in those 60-80 hours "is my contribution". It is true (at least in my heart) that my work is what I give - but in these times - the realization that I have "extra" (comparing what I earn now - to what I live; compared to what that ratio was for most of my working life) - and that I can give more beyond my time (and for reality my "life" as I have none beyond work, right now.)

None of that is said to make any point except that I have taken forgranted the financial part of my progress - I am working hard - but for the first time in life - I am not in a one or two month away from homelessness (per a down turnm). And that reality says that I can give in more ways than just my professional life.

Your thread reads to me about how we can "act" in ways that can contribute to a bigger picture. And while my reality doesn't let me contribute in that way - which, btw, if done collectively can have a HUGE impact, pushed me to reflect that while I can't do "that" - for the first time in my life - I can contribute in a different way - and that I really should feel an obligation to do so.

btw, I so miss having our paths intersect here at DU. :loveya:

[Midlodemocrat]

44. I am in the same boat.

I don't have access to public transportation. I really can't walk anywhere and if I bike, I will more than likely get killed.

[DS1]

9. I have a bike, and I DO need to get back on it

but I walk to work, that's the new part :D :hi:

[rbnyc]

11. I love you, BTW.

:hi:

Just in case you didn't know.

[DS1]

28. aww

:blush:
You were my first DU crush

[rbnyc]

30. I am so honored!

I better sign off before my ego explodes all over the screen.

:loveya:

[dolo amber]

12. I wish I had a bike

Although, my innate lack of attention span coupled with my uncanny ability to harm myself in the most benign of circumstances (I once broke my arm when I was like 8 by falling over...just standing, then fell over...while standing in front of the telly...:D) makes me a bit...wary.

But if it helps, my car is stuck in Milwaukee so I've walked pretty much everywhere for the last 2 months. ;)

[rbnyc]

13. LOL. Sorry.

That was funny about just falling over.

Anyway, I LOVE walking. Good for you.

[Dukkha]

14. I've been biking all summer and loving it

It's great to be out of a car and enjoying the summer air. It's getting me in shape too.

[rbnyc]

16. Love it. WTG. (nt)

[Dastard Stepchild]

15. Look at my beautiful new bike....

I just got it and assembled it today. Will be getting its first test run tomorrow. :)

[rbnyc]

17. Oh Man! That's beautiful.

Looks a lot like my husband's bike, but his is red.

[alarimer]

20. I'm afraid to ride bikes here

There is no room on the road for bikes and the assholes in the trucks and SUVs are too busy talking on the phone or whaever to pay attention. I would have to ride on the sidewalk which I don't think it legal. Fuck it, I'll ride on the sidewalk anyway; they want to give me a ticket I'll tear it up and shove down some SUV drivers throat. Not really - a $20 fine is better than getting run over by a Texas asshole in an big-ass pickup truck anyday.

[rbnyc]

22. They make it hard, don't they?

I dream of city planning with bike lanes and trollies!

[Left Is Write]

26. I'd ride on the sidewalk. They provide precious few bike lanes around here

In some areas, the sidewalks don't even go all the way through.

[alarimer]

29. I'm lucky in that sidewalks line all the streets where I have to go

It is only 6 miles each way and flat. I should do a trial run this weekend to see how long it would take me. Plus when my lease is up next year I may move within a mile of my work.

I have two very flat tires on my bike; I haven't ridden in years! So I have to take it in for a tune up I guess and buy a new helmet too.

[LisaL]

33. Riding on a sidewalk is illegal.

[Left Is Write]

23. I do drive less.

A lot less than I used to. You won't catch me making frivolous trips, Sunday drives, or aimless trips to the mall just to get out of the house.

And maybe I'll see a new bike and trailer (for the kids) in my future.

[rbnyc]

24. Thank you.

I wish more people thought like you.

[Left Is Write]

25. This business has changed my thinking.

I've been rethinking all of my luxuries the last few days, and I have many.

This geographic area is shitty for public transport, bike lanes, and walking areas. Not the worst, but far from the best. I'll make do the best I can, but there are sacrifices I can make that really shouldn't be considered sacrifices at all. With a bike and trailer, I'd be able transport both of my kids to school (the schools are too far apart to walk both to school as they start within ten minutes of each other, but biking will save the time).

Next order of business: unload my husband's hideous, high-octane-gas-guzzling Camaro for a small, fuel efficient car. He has to drive a lot for work, and it's ridiculous. I've never liked that damn Camaro anyway.

[Redstone]

37. No, let him keep Camaro for the occasional fun drive, please.

Just get something else that's more fuel-efficient for his work driving if you can afford it. The guy deserves tho have the occasional blast in the Camaro, doesn't he?

Redstone

[Left Is Write]

47. We can't afford three car payments.

I've got another year and a half to pay for my car.

[Piltdown13]

27. I'm going to give it a shot this fall

Now that it's getting cooler, I'm going to try biking...we're going to get my boyfriend's old bike "tuned up" (whatever that means...I haven't ridden a bike regularly in over 15 years) and fitted with a good light. Whether it's a viable option for me depends on whether I can find a sufficiently safe route between my house and campus -- even if riding on the sidewalk were legal, there aren't sidewalks everywhere, and traffic is much worse than it has any right to be in a city this size.

In my case, I'm thinking about the exercise as much as the gas prices; I only have a little more than a mile's commute between home and campus. The only reasons I don't walk it even now are that I tend to work late, and much of the way home is *very* deficient in street lights; and the topography and traffic patterns mean that walking would take much, much longer than the 20 minutes or so that you might expect for that distance. Biking would be much faster than that, and for some reason I wouldn't feel quite so unsafe riding home at night as I would walking.

[mopinko]

31. just got healthy enough to bike and walk

and am enjoying every minute of it. if you can, don't just do it, be glad you can do it. sing while you do it. really.

[LisaL]

32. I am sorry, but I am too young to die.

It seems awfully dangerous, considering there are no bike trials. I don't think I will last long biking on freeways.

[Merrick]

34. Start a relationship with someone who lives within a mile of your work

I didnt do it on purpose, but damn, living 20 miles from my place of work, its going to be damn hard to ever break up with this girl if it ever came down to it (dont mean to sound like a pig, just sayin')

[Ryano42]

35. Ladies and Gentlemen...

Behold...THE YETI! B-)

[rbnyc]

39. Love it! (nt)

[riderinthestorm]

36. Bike4peace.com

Check it out - these three guys are riding from Washington state to Washington DC in time for the peace rally on the 24th to spotlight just this topic: that we need to be utilizing alternative methods of transportation to lessen our dependence on foreign oil.

They will be at my house in a week (near Chicago!)

They would love to have riders come with them along the route - for a mile or two, or the whole way.

They are leaving from the Danada Forest Preserve in Wheaton IL on Friday September 9th at 8 am. Be there!

[rbnyc]

38. Thanks for posting that. (nt)

[eyesroll]

40. I just sent our CFO an e-mail regarding setting up a carpooling program.

I'm in Milwaukee, so we don't have a lot of good biking weather left, and many people commute 20-30 miles each way to get here, so carpooling is probably the better way to go.

I do try to bike and walk as much as I can after work, though -- I've lost much of my fear of dodging cars and such, and I'm able to ride through the city pretty well.

[bertha katzenengel]

41. Why should I? My Corolla doesn't contribute much to the air. It's

quite fuel efficient -- and even though it's bigger, it burns cleaner and gets better gas mileage than my 95 Tercel. So why should I quit driving? After all, I have to get to work, and it's not the only way I can get there but it's the best way.

Yes. I'm kidding.

I don't have a bike and couldn't ride it to work if I did, but there is a commuter bus service I can use about 10-15 days per month. http://www.mtamaryland.com/services/commuterbus/schedulesSystemMaps/

BTW, I recommended this thread and I suggest others do the same.

[rbnyc]

42. Thanks.

And actually fuel efficient cars ARE a way to buy less gas.

I love the idea of driving sometimes, and taking the bus other times.

When I lived in Austin, they used to have "Ozone Alert" days and the bus would be free.

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

43. Let's ride bikes!!!

[bikebloke]

45. I gave up driving years ago.

My bike is my car. I made sure I lived a reasonable distance from work. Groceries are lugged on it. My only regret was giving up running orienteering. A car is needed to drive off to the woods for meets.

With petrol gouging in full swing, I've been keeping an eye out for more velo commuters in the mornings. Though right now we're in a window for fair weather bikers. Temps in the 70's. If it gets too hot or even a wee chilly, you won't see them. So it'll be interesting to see how many start dressing for the more extremes. They're not many of us year round, all-weather pedallers.

At work there used to be a couple of riding in. Now there's five. We have a little room across the hall that serves as a library/conference room. I call it the bike shed now. With the office moving, the first concern to arise here was will there be room for bikes.

[rbnyc]

46. Hi bikebloke.

This thread is kind of for you!

:)

[seemunkee]

48. First day bus/biking commute

Not too bad, I got in a 1/2 hour late but if I catch an earlier bus that will take care of it. It's a 5 mile ride from the bus to the office which is not bad except for the fact that the first 2 miles is a long chug up hill.
I can't do it every day since I have to go to another office some days but I can certainly do it for 2 days a week without any problems.

[rbnyc]

49. Thanks for checking in.

You made my day.

I think it's great that just because you can't do it every day, that doesn't stop you from doing it SOME days. That's the way to make changes. Do what you can when you can.

Thanks again!

[moof]

50. If work is too far get a moped

over a hundred MPG and you can go the speed of traffic so being run over is not a worry.

[rbnyc]

53. oooh, good suggestion! (nt)

[auntAgonist]

51. 40 miles one way is too far to bike.

there is NO one close by to carpool with. My only option is to drive.

[rbnyc]

52. I'm guessing no bus, either.

Well, I'm sure you can find other ways to cut down driving, like doing all your errands at once, shopping with friends and neighbors, stuff like that.

This country is just not set up to make it easy for us--lack of bike lanes, lack of public transportation, lack of local jobs. I'm sure you do what you can.

:hi:

[auntAgonist]

54. nope, no bus no trains no planes ..

you get the idea. We're very frugal in many ways. We do what we can. Our cars get reasonably good fuel mileage and are well maintained 'older' vehicles.

we hang in there.

:hi:

[Chovexani]

55. I don't even have a driver's license

I guess I'm lucky, living in NY, that I don't need one. Fare hikes nonwithstanding, I can get pretty much everywhere I need to on the train or bus.

The only time I take cars anywhere, it's riding with my friends to sci-fi cons and stuff like that, and we've always got a car full (they have a very fuel-efficient older car). We are going to a Renaissance Faire in a couple of weekends and we are going to carpool with some folks so they can leave their cars home.

[nickinSTL]

56. not an option

to bike or take public transportation.

I work 2 jobs, plus doing grad school, and the public transportation system here sucks.

I live a 20-30 minute drive from work, and there are NO good backroads, to take, so don't give me a bike it...which is also not an option because I couldn't get from job 1 to job 2 in the time I have between jobs 2 nights a week.

I HAVE switched from driving my SUV to driving my '88 Corolla to and from work...which does save quite a bit of gas.

As soon as there's a viable alternative...alternative fuel vehicles, better public transport, whatever, I'll be happy to switch. But...right now...not going to happen.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

57. My son is pissed because I made him walk to work this morning.

It's a gorgeaous day, and he only has to go about a mile. If it was miserable outside, I would be glad to drive him; but there's nothing wrong with his legs!

[Ramsey]

58. Going to walk everywhere

Luckily I live in Center City Philly, and I am going to walk everywhere I need to go this weekend (unless I get called back to the hospital for any emergencies of course!). I figure the exercise will be good for me and it's going to be a beautiful weekend here.