Mission Accomplished!!

Hello again. Apologies, etc. for not writing in a while. So today is the day. Today is exactly 4 weeks into my 'no more car' quest. It's been a tough journey I can tell you, but a very fun one too. I learned a lot about how to do more without a car than I ever thought I could.

Let's catch up a bit: On Monday I finished my third round trip to the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus via their shuttle system. It takes about an hour, but the benefits far outweigh the extra 30 min commute. I also forgot to update you all on my bike pedal situation. The new bike pedal arrived and it's working great. I still have mismatched bike pedals because I wanted to make sure this new one was up to snuff before replacing the other. Also, on Valentine's weekend, Suz and I went to marriage preparation classes in Federal Hill. The first day we took the JHMI shuttle to Penn Station and then walked a mile or two to the church. The second day we were a little rushed so we took a cab. We wanted to take the Charm City Circulator while we were down there but the snow was too much and they canceled the north-south route. Though she was initially hesitant, Suz is very supportive of my no-car initiative and has reduced her use of the car as well.

I also decided to sign up for Zipcar since we last spoke. I feel that there are going to be times when a car is absolutely necessary, such as emergency situations, or hauling large items. Zipcar is so convenient and fairly inexpensive ($8/hr + $35 yearly fee). Even if I don't give up my car, I still want to support an organization dedicated to taking more cars off the road and also promotes car sharing.

So the craziest thing happened in the last few days of my car diet. I got a call from Suzanne saying that she'd really need to be picked up in Westminster MD (long story), so I told her, sure I can pick you up in my car (I checked zipcar, but they were all taken). I go and shovel the snow (what's left of it) out from the front of the car. I got in and the car wouldn't start. The battery had been completely drained from lack of use. My friend even tried to jump-start the car but to no avail. I later found out after talking with my Uncle Mark that jump starting a completely dead battery can be nearly impossible. Also a word of advice for you car owners out there: if you don't use your car for a few weeks, you should disconnect the ground to your battery so it doesn't drain. Anyway I ended up getting a ride from my friend Sam to go and pick up Suzanne in Westminster, thus keeping my no-driving streak alive.

So today, my one-month anniversary of no-more-carness, I had to go and get a new battery for the car. I'm still not sure if I'm going to give up the car completely or not, but either way I don't want to make someone tow it away when all I gotta do is replace the battery. I took out the old battery and used my bike crate to haul it down to Advance Auto Parts. I told the guy I biked the battery down and he thought I was crazy. I got the cheapest battery, gave them the old one, and started heading back. On my way home I had a bit of an incident. I was going through an intersection as the light turned yellow and had to swerve around a car slightly and my basket (held on by bungee cords only) rotates and the battery falls out right in the middle of the street (car batteries are VERY heavy). It was right at the intersection of 25th and Howard. I stumbled off my bike, then picked up the bike and took it to the curb and ran back out into the street to get the battery while a bunch of cars were staring at me. After I got the battery off the street I realized I also dropped my U-lock. A bunch of cars ran over it before I could go back and pick it up, but it's still functional. Anyway I made it back safe and took this picture as I rode up to my battery-less car:

I love this picture because it's like the bike is saying, "Here's your damn battery you A-hole." After installing the battery (you do feel like a man when working on a car by the way), I took the car for a quick spin around my block just to make sure it was working. It was like two old friends getting re-acquainted.

As it is the season of lent, I'm going to continue my car-free lifestyle as much as I can. I don't know if I'll be able to continue the non-driving, but I think I can limit it to driving only when carpooling during this lenten season. I'll also hopefully be giving my car away to charity or family at some point. I'll keep this blog going so I can post to it every once in a while about thoughts and adventures in the world of public transport and car-free living. Thanks to everyone who supported me during this mission, especially my fiancee, the future Mrs. Suzanne Schlattman. As all writers of books say, I couldn't have done this without her loving support.