get rid of my car

Today, for the first time in over a year, I did a major grocery shopping trip on the bike. I rode 2.5 miles (including a couple light hills) to the farmers’ market and the grocery store next door. Loaded down the side saddle bag (about the size of a standard sized paper grocery bag) with food. I couldn’t pick up large items, but I got enough for the week, I think. Getting home with the loaded bike was a bit rougher, but there was a nice sense of accomplishment.

It was inconvenient, but it was doable.

All right, today (Sunday) I wished I had a car. I wanted to go to the farmer’s market, and I haven’t gotten around to replacing the the saddlebag that allows me to do this on the bike. So I didn’t go. Nor did I make it to the grocery store. This is making me cranky.

I need to get that bike bag.

Yesterday, the people from the pickup service came out & towed Rosie away. She’s almost 20 years old, so she’s going to be scrapped, rather than sold. (Couldn’t they have at least told me that she’d be given to a nice farm family, where she could romp and play with the other old cars?)

This morning, I woke up to news about how Hurricane Katrina has knocked out a lot of oil production, so already high gas prices are spiking even higher. Now, I know that Katrina is a humanitarian disaster, but I did have to take a moment to congratulate myself on my timing.

I’m not going to put “worth it” or “not worth it” yet. I’m going to keep this goal open, and report for the next couple of months, before I render a verdict.

Aha! Found it! And I just placed a call to the pickup/auction service used by Aids Project Los Angeles. Closed today, but they should call me back by Monday, and I can be car-free by Wednesday!

Just in time: regular gas here is $2.79 a gallon!

Well, today I picked up the phone to make an appointment to have a charity org pick up my car… and I realized that I had no idea where the title was! Ack! Time to ransack the house this weekend, I guess…

I was carless my whole life until a year ago (September 2004), when, after a year of living in L.A. county, I caved in and bought a car. It’s cute, but needs expensive repairs, gets horrible gas mileage, and I never ride my bike anymore. I love driving (I used to occasionally rent a car just to take road trips), but every mile I drive in my very own gas-sucking demon makes me feel less like who I am (tree-hugging outdoorsy person) and more like just another whiny Angelino (and no offense intended to all you non-whiny Angelinos out there, please!)

Send me cheers, please! I’m going to be facing enough “You can’t live in L.A. without a car” from friends and work colleagues, and I need support!