what about alternative transpo?Group: news:alt.discuss.talk.science Date: Sat, Jan 27, 2007, 1:09am From: (Rogi Riverstone)
I've lived in the burbs; in small, rural towns; in Los Angeles and lotsa stuff in between.
I have an electric bicycle (good for up to 2 hrs, if I pedal, too, before recharge -- and I bought a solar-powered battery charger for it) and a 49cc gas powered scooter (apx. 100 mile per gallon). I pull a bicycle trailer behind them. I can bring home a 50 lb sack of goat feed and a bale of hay. Or a week's worth of groceries.
I grow a lot of my own food. I'm raising the goats in a suburban backyard for milk. I also have chickens, ducks and a huge vegie garden. I dumpster dive.
I shop thriftstores, flea markets and yard sales. I also online shop for used merchandise at eBay, but my preferred site is http://shopgoodwill.com I bought my g/f a mac laptop there for fifty dollars! Online shopping is DELIVERED!
My g/f & I recently purchased a HUGE moving truck for five thousand bucks. It gets ten miles to the gallon. We only use it for major hauls and emergency trips. Otherwise, she uses a standard bicycle and I use my motorized bikes. But, on long trips, we drive the truck with the bikes packed inside. When we get to the city we're going to, we park the truck and ride the bikes.We spend less than fifty dollars a month in gas on BUSY months.
We don't NEED cars!
I could haul two children in my bike trailer -- it's what it was designed for -- and put another in a kiddy seat on my back wheel. I have saddle bags on front and back tires for tools, purses, extra bungie cords, etc.I can carry an adult human in that trailer. I used to carry my pit bull in his dog kennel on it. Hell, I could haul my GOATS, if I had to!
No: insurance, license, big repair bills...We bypass most traffic jams, cuz we can get on the sidewalks or ride around barracades. We have weatherproof clothing for all seasons.
Personal passenger cars are unnecessary, for the most part. Before we got the truck (which we drive less than once a week), if we had a long trip, we'd either take a bus (we took one to Mexico, recently) or we rent a car.We've each lived like this for about twenty years now. And we have more of our income to spend on more important things.
No comments:
Post a Comment