Having recently been in the company of another heroic, car-free radical like myself, who rode her bike through the rain without a second thought like a badass to meet me the other night, I realized that a status report on living car-free in MSP was long overdue.
Now, before I get too smug, I recognize that a car-free lifestyle is not possible for people with certain careers and obligations. At some stage, cars are absolutely necessary. Of course they are. My argument is that 75% of the people on the road at any given moment don’t really need to be in their cars - or alone in their cars when, say, commuting - but refuse to consider the alternatives (public transport, car-pooling, biking, walking) due to being a glassy-eyed victim of media programming, a false idea of time-saving convenience and/or utter laziness. That’s my premise. If you’re a professional errand runner or a door-to-door baby grand piano salesman, then ignore my taunts and scolding, but in return do us all a favor and cease with the cell phone fiddling. I know you think you can do both, but 98% of you can’t and I have video to prove it.
Since my last report, it’s finally gotten warm, I’ve left town three times and I’ve relocated to my 26th floor, bitchin’ new condo, bang in the center of downtown Minneapolis. I’m still shopping around, but with the right pair of porro prism binoculars, with something like a 7 x 50 magnification/aperture rating and image stabilization, I’ll soon be merrily enjoying the drunken antics outside the Dome as well as the tattoos and piercings of the sun bathers on the deck 11 floors below.
As I’ve highlighted before, a near-European lifestyle can be attained here in downtown with only a little planning, few concessions and the willingness to engage in modest walking. Virtually every important bus line as well as LRT passes within four blocks of my building, so I’ve become a wizard of public transport and can get pretty much anywhere in a single ride. And while car-burdened people continue to slam public transport with their nah-nah-nah whining about wasting their lives standing at LRT stations and stewing on slow-moving buses, I’m still convinced that after you factor in searching for parking spots and sitting in traffic jams, people in cars spend pretty much the same amount of time in transit at the end of the week as people on public transport. Plus, when you’re on public transport you can play with your smart phone to your heart’s content without fear that I’ll put a Romanian curse on your reproductive organs.
Though I can effectively stock my kitchen with items from Target, the farmer’s market and Haskell’s, I’ve taken to hopping on LRT every other week or so and visiting the Cub Foods on Minnehaha and Lake for the superior selection and prices. Also, though it hasn’t yet been necessary after all the wine I hoarded during Haskell’s Nickel Sale in April, I imagine I’ll be biking over the Mississippi, armed with my largest backpack, to restock the wine closet during frequent sales at Surdyk’s. It sounds like a pain, but something about carrying an $8 bottle of wine on your back for two miles makes it suddenly taste like a $20 bottle. Cider too, but wait a while before opening it.
I don’t think I’ll ever get over the giddying novelty of being connected to the Skyway. I’m actually kinda looking forward to next winter. I plan to make a habit of running errands over lunchtime, wearing shorts, a tank top, flip-flops and a three-foot diameter sombrero, while carrying an open Strongbow (are open cans legal in the Skyway?). I can’t wait to drink in the wretched envy of all the people wearing five layers, trying to save shoes ruined by oily slush and dunking their frozen hands in the Crystal Court fountain to get the feeling back after hiking in from their $150 per month parking spots.
On a disappointing note, my grand intentions to ride my bike everywhere have been sabotaged by a freak, enduring hip boo-boo that is clearly not going to go away on its own, but I still haven’t done anything to correct it for a number of denial-fueled reasons. The few times I’ve been on my bike, it’s been a slow ride on the small chain ring, using more deliberate, sluggish caution with my movements than a senior standing in my way at the grocery store.
Here’s some stats for the statistically inclined:
• Amount of money I’ve spent on (local) transport so far in 2008: ~$60 (this is a misleading number, because I work from home and I’ve been out of town for a cumulative seven weeks)
• Number of times friends have picked me up instead of letting me get myself our destination on public transport so far in 2008 because “God dammit Leif, it’s just easier!”: ~8
• Number of times plans were ostensibly made at my place, instead of a friend’s place due solely to my carlessness: ~4
• Number of times that I really needed a vehicle: 2 (both times for trips to IKEA)
• Number of social engagements I’ve wimped out on due to poor bus connections or laze: 2
I’ll concede that some of the numbers seem to indicate that my car-free lifestyle is simply making my friends drive a little more, though in those cases I have been careful to make this worth their while by tempting them with food, drink, or movies on 50 Absolutely Not Excessive Inches of Plasma TV Goodness.
Finally, because I haven’t said it lately, I must reiterate how much I love my bitchin’ new condo. The location, the tranquility, the comfort, the convenience… I get weepy when I think about how I have to leave it again next week for my second trip to Romania. Though 606 square feet seems small on paper, it’s absolutely perfect for one person who is diligent about not buying unnecessary crap and can control the packrat impulse.
And sweet Buddha, the view…
Car-free lifestyle, Downtown | 30.06.2008 13:25 |
I think I know someone else in your building or in one right next door because that great view looks familiar!
It’s not exactly the same living in Uptown (no Skyway) but I can walk or bike to just about everything I want to do and bus to the rest. I’ve had to be off the bike for about a year though, due to shoulder problems (frozen shoulder, rotator cuff impingement, owies) so I can attest to the impact that being temporarily disabled can have on one’s transportation choices. I just ready to get back on the bike now.
The hip thing? probably needs rest, but I know I healed faster with physical therapy. I hope you can get it looked at.
30.06.2008 18:56
Came here by way of MNSpeak - dig your writing. Anyway, I, too, did a year without a car when I was living in Uptown. There was something wonderful about not having to spend 15 minutes scraping off my car every morning, and timing it exactly so that I’d show up at the bus stop and step immediately onto a warm bus.
I had a bajillion auditions around the greater Twin Cities area, and didn’t have the time and patience to figure out how to get there via public transit, and thus solved my problem with a monthly membership with HourCar (www.hourcar.org). That organization is freaking brilliant - it cost something like $79/month for 11 hours of use every month. And you’re driving a Hybrid, so you get to justifiably feel smug if you like. They pay for gas, they pay for insurance. They have smaller/less expensive OR more expensive/more expansive plans available if you so desire. Very good for those times you’re feeling lazy, or needing to go to IKEA.
Anyway, I’m back to having a car, but I rarely drive it. I spend far more time and mileage on my bike. Once it gets colder, I’ll get back to busing.
1.07.2008 8:14
Don’t listen to Leigha, she’s a lying whore.
(Just kidding, Leigha! Haven’t seen you for a long time, how are you?)
As my proficiency on my bike continues to progress, I get more and more excited about eventually being able to bike on streets while cars are passing by without seizing up and tipping over like an opossum. Actually, that means we probably bike about the same speed right now- we should go on a granny bike ride together.
1.07.2008 10:46
That poor hippy you keep in your pants, stop abusing him/her.
It appears that you have already graced the skyway with your slovenly unshaven presence. Really, I found the video
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Hj2BVb0xilc
1.07.2008 14:32
Oh, how I miss Cub Foods. The last one shut down in Denver about 7 years ago.
After two years living in Indiana without a car, I’m happy to have one now if only for grocery shopping. I never could get into carrying my groceries on a mile-long walk. I love only having to go to the grocery store once every two weeks now, instead of every other day.
1.07.2008 16:30
Cool to hear about your carless odyssey. Mine (’95 Saturn SL) is starting to feel like it might be on its last legs and I’d love to go car free. I’ve been bike commuting to work in the bike friendly seasons and ride the bus the other. Living downtown St. Paul makes it easy to catch a bus pretty much anywhere. The only thing is I like road trips too much — Duluth on hot Saturdays; River Road south almost anytime. Maybe the hour car could be my ticket.
1.07.2008 20:49
re: Kirk’s “The only thing is I like road trips too much — Duluth on hot Saturdays; River Road south almost anytime. Maybe the hour car could be my ticket.”
Alas, that’s the one thing HourCar isn’t good for… on weekend road trips, it’s actually cheaper to rent a car (they have a special agreement with a rental company). I’ve always been able to snag a car for a weekend for about $45 total.
re: Alexis’ “Don’t listen to Leigha, she’s a lying whore.”
HAHAHAHA…nice one! Hey, girl.
2.07.2008 7:36
This is great and keep up the carfree life. When your hip is better and you think you are ready to start riding again you should hit up a bike shop for a professional fitting and talk about past injuries. This should reduce the risk of re-injuring yourself in the future b/c of bike riding.
2.07.2008 7:44
Congrats on going car-less. It really doesn’t make very much sense for a fine urban specimen with two working(ish) legs to have one. I gave mine up about 6 months ago and live in a city with even less logically-deployed public transit opportunities than you do. When I do need a car a few times a month for getting to and from teaching evening classes 15 or so miles outside of the city I have used Zipcar, the larger, national-sized version of Hour Car. Look for Zipcar to swallow Hour Car before too long just like they did FlexCar here a few months ago.
2.07.2008 11:25
Love your blog…found it after seeing you on the “SHS reunion” site. URfunny. Good for you for writing and traveling and all that.
3.07.2008 8:08
Joanna – Working on the hip. It’s almost certainly sciatica. Using the tennis ball on the floor, deep massage technique. Hurts.
Leigha – Thanks for the lead to HourCar. And for the record, you don’t come off sounding like a lying whore at all, unlike that lying whore Alexis.
Alexis – Judging by your vivid descriptions, I’d paddle across the river on an anvil to see you bike a few blocks. It sounds better than TV. Please video ASAP.
Martin – Strangely, scenes disturbingly close to that video of yours happen every time I go to the roof for some sun. On an unrelated note, my neighbors are still diving into their condos and slamming the doors when I come down the hall. Weird.
Amanda – Take a giant backpack with you to the market. That way you *can* walk there and back, you get an insane back/shoulders/glut workout and if you work up enough of a stink people will give you spare change.
Kirk – I lost my taste for road trips right about the time that I realized that I hate driving. Everything is too far away from everything else in the country. Duluth won’t be seeing much of me anymore.
Shishi – I have the cycling expertise services of my father, who has been an amateur racer for about 30 years (he’s currently the oldest licensed racer in the state). But yes, I think I need to get my seat adjusted anyway. And the whole bike tuned. As often as I fix his computer, he owes me.
Staus – Yeah! Fight the power! But I know full well the pain of coping with limited public transport options. Never mind buying bread and wine, it kills your social life. If you have a social life, which I didn’t for about three years in Europe. Good to be home.
Jennifer – I never got to talk to you last weekend. You and like 15 other people. They should have made it a whole reunion weekend. Five drunken hours isn’t enough to catch up with 130 people.
3.07.2008 13:47
i really need to know more about your bitchin condo … as in where do i sign up?
16.07.2008 16:53
