Twenty years ago today, on January 25, 2005, my car was totaled in a crash thanks to a truck t-boning me (pulling out before I had time to stop aka they were at fault). It was a return to be car-free for me. For 15.75 years, I did not own a car. In January of 2016, weeks after starting this blog, I began a series of annual posts with 11 Years not a Slave to Cars. Then, in August of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I was gifted a car, which I wrote about January of 2021 in Come to the Dark Side, Dude: Where’s My Car?.

Despite it working well enough recently for three trips in three months to North Texas, the grinding noise could no longer be ignored. My mechanic recently gave it the death sentence of a failing transmission. So, on top of other long-standing and unafforable repairs, it is definitely not logical or affordable to get it fixed. Now here we are on January 25, 2025, and not owning a car again is in my immediate future. It’s not the worst news in the world; that honor today is that US Presi-oh-no-he-didn’t Trump has cut all foreign aid (except to Israel and Egypt) especially stopping lifesaving medication to 6.3 milllion children living with HIV. But in my tiny part of the world, the 5-mile radius I’ve been living in for 25 years as of May 2, 2025, no car means a major lifestyle downgrade in most respects. It’s pretty devastating, actually.

One would think I’d be thrilled at returning to the car-free or car-light lifestyle. While it has some pros, there are a lot of cons. But first it’s worth noting that in the almost 4.5 years I’ve had the car, I’ve put almost 11,000 more miles on my bicycles than on the car. (For those not in the know, my bikes were/are: Sommar, Sonnie, Sophie, and Soqi. RIP Sookie and Sophie, the latter who was stolen). Counting up to today, the car mileage is just over 20,000 (which I’d put on Sophie alone). From August 6, 2020 to today, my bike mileage is roughly 30,800. So that’s a pretty big accomplishment, if you ask me.

As for the pros, I’ll have to bike and walk more. Maybe that will increase my health and decrease my weight. (I’m still a fathlete but also 4.5 years older and tired, so I’m much slower.) I’ll reduce my carbon footprint. I’ll save money on car insurance, registration, repairs, etc. That’s about all I can come up with on the positive side.

The cons are many, starting with erasing my ability to travel long distances quickly, especially for family visits. It also eliminates many income opportunities, both as the self-employed person I’ve been attempting (not very successfullly), and also for work purposes, since many jobs require having your own reliable transportation. The Austin bus system, Capital Metro (aka Crapital Noshow), leaves much to be desired in terms of its limited geographic coverage. And in the rain, cold, wind, or mostly the extreme heat and UV rays, or when going long distances at a high speed are required, I’m pretty much screwed in terms of mobility and freedom of movement.

The list goes on. Being away from my bike for long periods, like at a job if I can find a suitable one, or the movie theater for discount nights, there is a high risk of theft when locking it. So, I’ll have to revert to using my older one (which could still be stolen). Hauling watermelon or other heavy things is not likely on a bike. Getting stuff to and from my storage unit will require relying on a friend. I can’t see several specialists because they are inaccessible by bus and downright dangerous and too far away to reach by bicycle. Being stuck at home if I don’t feel like walking and biking is not fun. Having to change my weekly meetings with a writing buddy to Zoom, unless I feel up to a long bike ride to meet him. A drive in the country? Fuggedaboudit! If I become homeless, I won’t have a place to sleep. The list goes on ad nauseam.

Tonight it started raining while I was biking on errands. I made it home alright, and that’s okay because that was my plan to stay in after that. But if I was trying to go somewhere nice like to a show, I’d be wet and miserable waiting for that bus, if they even went where I was going or ran late enough.

Maybe I’ll find a tolerable job that pays more than subsistence wages so that eventually I might be able to save up enough for another used car. At some point, electric autonomous vehicles (like those that are being tested in Austin) might become prevalent and affordable enough that they supplant the need for private vehicle ownership. The city is building more trains, although that will take a decade. But for now, I’m going to be a lot more limited in my mobility, and that just sucks.

Tomorrow, after the rain is supposed to stop, I’ll go for a ride, and think about it. How I was fortunate to have a car for almost five years, and now how I’m unlucky that it’s going away. The last time Trump was in power, I biked 6,666.66 miles in 2020. I called it a Devil of a Year, aka the Diablo Doble, because of him and COVID-19. Maybe this year I’ll make it to 6,000, magically lose a bunch of weight, and find a lot of energy, and strike it rich, or win the lottery.

Til then, wish me luck. If you have a car, be grateful you do. If you don’t, I empathize. Whatever mode(s) of transportation you’re using, keep on truckin’!

“The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

---

Thank you for visiting me on WordPress or at https://ADudeAbikes.com.  Feel free to add your Likes and Comments and to Follow the blog through WordPress if you have it, or by email.  Contact me on the About page with any questions.  Please feel free to Re-blog and Share as long as you give credit and the permalink to this post.

---

© 2025 A Dude Abikes. All rights reserved.