Jessica Cave leads the way while Erick and their daughter Rachel follow as the family heads down Bristol St. on a recent shopping trip.
Photo: Michael Goulding / The OC Register
Tired of dumping money into car repairs, a Santa Ana, California family decided to take the plunge and ditched their car all together. The result? Much less stress and the family even recouped a third of their income in six months!
"It's taken a lot of stress out of our lives," Erick says. "We're not hurrying all the time. And we spend more time together as a family."
Within two months they paid off two credit cards. No car meant no car bills. It also meant no quick trips to Taco Bell. No morning jolt of Starbucks. No impulse buys of jeans or toys at Target.
Shopping on a bike, says Erick, prompts the question: "Do we really need an extra box of Crunch 'n Munch?"
One day Jess had a strange complaint: too much money in her wallet and no place to put it. Erick figured out they were recouping more than a third of their income.
"It's as if your boss came in," he says, "and asked if you wanted a 35 percent raise."
Link - Thanks Julie Anne I!
Update 9/25/07: Also check out Erick's website, where he has addressed many of the questions/comments below - Thanks Erick!
bit weird the mother is biking a tricycle they are terrible at cornering and here in the netherlands tehy are only used for eeh... "challenged" people.
BTW, in belgium they have a few cities where you get free public transporttation cards (for bus/train/metro) if you don't own a car (on your adress)... this in a effort to cut down pollution and traffic jams.
You do save a lot of money - enough to keep us in decent vacations and computers, back when computers were expensive and it's only grudgingly my husband and I have a car now.
As for emergency trips - there's always the taxi and you can get bookshelves delivered -No problem
But yes - Helmets are a must when cycling!
But seriously, it is a really good idea. If i would live in an area with okay public transport, i would ditch my car too. Especially here in Denmark where cars and petrol costs A LOT more than in the USA. As for the occasionaly bookshelf, i would rent a van for a day.
Taxi.
What if it's medical?
Ambulance.they're free...in the UK.
Also,yes the Mother might be quite large but one of the fittest strongest people women I ever met was a big fat lass. Looking like paris hilton is not the same as being remotely fit.
You can be a fat person and be strong as an ox.
I used to cyle everywhere when I lived in Australia, but the UK roads are too narrow the weather grim and the drivers insane.
also they only make helmets up to a very small head size, and they prescribe the shape of your head, upshot, lots of people can't get one to fit.
The idea doesn't work in a winter climate, unless you're close enough to work. But not a lot of people are that close to their work any more.
1. My wife's and my bikes were stolen by some neighborhood kids.
2. Where we live there aren't sidewalks because...
3. We live in a more rural part of the city and the nearest grocery store is almost a 10 - 15 minute drive.
Good for them though for making that change. Just get them some helmets.
Plus I know many people who don't have a car because they live in NYC or other cities. Car-free living isn't all that novel, there's this place called Brooklyn, see, and it's almost entirely free of cars and it's a paradise of goodwill and generosity and you get to keep all this money instead of spending it on cars...
2nd You can go with out a car. A grocery store that is a 10-15 mine Car drive is probably only a 15-20 minute bike ride. Once you learn to plan better you can do with out a car. If you need a bookshelf you borrow a friends car, rent a car, or build one from the stuff you have at home.
Statiscally speaking sidewalks are more dangerous than roads. Check out the statistics. And just think about it, how often do you look for bicycles when you roll up to a stop sign.
If you don't have a car you become more resourceful, less cluttered, more organized, and fit.
Yes they should have helmets on.
COME ON PEOPLE!!! stop complaining that you are too far from work, or its too hard to ride your bike... get over it stop making excuses and do something that might take a little more effort but pays off in the long run.
I love riding my bike, but there's no way in hell I'm gonna' turn my 45 minute commute into a 2-3 hour bike ride over back country roads where people drive 30 mph over the poasted speed limit. I'd have to wake up at 3:30 a.m. just to get to work on time.
Must be nice to live a few miles from work. I'd ride there every single day.
They're fat tubs of goo.
They can't be riding those bikes much.
My guess is that they're a bunch of low income, trailer dwellers that bought some cheap bikes from the Salvation Army when their 1978 Dodge Aspen gave out.
I find when ever people do something good for themselves and/or the environment that is not the 'norm', they get attacked. Is it because they are making us look bad? Because the only reason we are not doing it is that we are lazy or refuse to give up our greedy, gluttonous lifestyles? So we have to react by critisizing every last detail?
Give these people credit! They made a huge lifestyle change and are sticking to it and happy! Most of us are not able to commit to that kind of change no matter how easy it may be.
#2 It isn't for everyone, unfortunately urban/suburban design of this country is based on getting away from everyone... biking 30 miles isn't realistic. I bike to work in NYC, but don't if it's 90 out, 90% humidity, or in the winter... I can subway it otherwise but I save a bit on cash and get some excercise. It's not an "all or nothing" biking decision.
#3 "Brooklyn as paradise"... hehe, yeah, if people can afford 1500 a month rent, sure life is probably good. Most Americans can't, and most cities aren't designed like the better parts of NYC... one of the few cities a car-less existence can work. Many don't have very good public transportation. I am happy to not have to pay insurance.
#4 Drive less, but be AWARE of bikes... I've had close calls with braindead morons nearly clipping me about twice a day. I blame that on automaton TV-based unawareness of reality. Just biking once in a while and actually relating to a living breathing 3D world makes a difference believe it or not.
This would be a bad thing because...
Oh, I know why! it exposes Ray as a complete asshole.
I applaud these people. It's pretty brave to ride a bike in today's society, inhaling the stinking fumes of the SUV drivers who couldn't care less about the environment or their own bodies (many of whom, I suspect, commented on this thread).
To everyone carping on the mother's weight: Cycling is a low-impact exercise. Most people who bike daily aren't going to look like Lance Armstrong. I've gone down a couple belt notches and I certainly FEEL better, but I'm still a size 20.
You assholes could learn a lot from this family.
Various statistics that I've seen cite automobile accidents as the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries. If that's the case, why aren't automobile drivers/passengers wearing them?
Sure, give bikers a hard time, but go out and buy yourself a helmet if you drive a car. And tell all of your friends, family, and coworkers too.
Also, be wary of too much hype: http://bicyclesafe.com/helmets.html
P.S. Yes, I'm a biker.
P.S.S. Yes, I wear a helmet.
It's nice that they can do that, but yeah, I can't ride a bike 10 miles to the nearest grocery store and make it home with a lot of groceries. Especially in the winter.
I lived car-free in Silicon Valley for 6 years and it was great.
Of course it's great that these people are doing this, for a number of reasons (health, environmental, financial, etc.). It's just that it isn't practical for most people. Naturally if you live in a big city with a subway system, etc. it would be easy. But in suburban or rural areas, there's too much sprawl to realistically get from one place to another safely or punctually. And in most areas, especially at nighttime, you're practically asking to be run over or mugged. It completely depends on the region you live in and your lifestyle.
I read a lot of the comments here. Thanks for the positive responses. A lot of the criticisms that have been brought up I've answered on my web site at http://www.erickcave.com . Feel free to challenge them there.