Did you ever notice that 80's film trope of a groups of kids on their bicyle? There's the kid from the Terminator movies. The kid in Pagemaster. Or more recent, STranger Things, which was heavily inspired by the 80's, have our main characters on bikes. Growing up I didn't know no one that didn't want to be a Goonie. Or Papergirls, a comic about some time traveling teens.
https://youtu.be/IOurKhAIpOA
Queen's song "Bicycle Race" with the lyrics "I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike," became my new personal anthem as I rode my new Jetson Bolt Pro, a small electric powered bike. That lyric can be considered the thesis statement of this track, which alludes to the narrator being liberated to live life as he (Freddie Mercury) chooses.
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Cars Are Expensive
a car payment is the second most expensive purchase you can make second to a house. more than half of minimum wage workers say they have to work more than one job to make ends meet. And a lot of that paycheck is going to car payment. I have avoided car payments like the plague, and I'm thankful I did not have a car during the Pandemic because that would have been another bill to worry about after being let go from my job.
Trust me, I love sitting inside a Bronco or Kia Soreno, but I was so scared of commitment. What's the best way to purchase a car, with the lowest down payment? Don't I need a credit score, how high? How much money should I put down, or save up? It's all overwhelming, plus everything on top of financing and maintenance.
Not fully understanding the legailites and financial responsibility of owning a vehicle is one of the many reasons I haven't driven a car for a long time. I hope this video can help my friends and family, and maybe others who might know someone who is different, a method to the madness. Simply put, I didn't feel financially fit enough to own a vehicle.
Do You Really Need A Car?
My friends all drive nice cars. A Bronco. A __. A ___ . Their car payments range between $300-$500 a month and they don't have just one car.
It costs me $2 to take any trip on the bus, and $1 for every extra trip. At first I didn't think I could do it because my anxiety, but I look forward to the bus. When I'm in no hurry it's nice to be driven around town and the bus has free wifi. There are downsides for example, my bus is not open on the weekends, and doesn't cover my town on tuesday and thursday, but if I wanted to take trips to the nearby cities those were the days I'd have to do it.
It requires planning and strategizes your trips, but I find I do't mind. I don't like crowds and public places all too much, most of the time the bus is empty or there's one or two seniors or disabled persons.
The U.S. Census estimates that about half of all Americans live within five miles of their workplace. If everyone in the world who works less than 5 miles from home cycled instead of driving to work one day a week, it would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 5 million tons a year. That's the equivalent of 1 million people getting rid of their cars. And it would save over 24 billion gallons of gas.
While doing research for the ebike I wanted, I learned a lot about the Nederlands, the world's cycling nation.I really wish our cities were designed for walkable commutes. It is safer, healthier, better for the environment and financially sustainable.
I am also lucky that my town is small, everything I need is within a 5 mile radius. The Jetson Bolt Pro can take me up to ___ miles on a full charge. I have gained some automy and can avoid those awkward 30 second conversations when I need to bum a ride.
Unstable Economy
Aside from random acts of God like a widespread hailstorm that totals your car, I've seen two (three?) economic disasters in America. If I commit to a vehicle, I'm also saying that I have a stable job for the 70 months payment plan. What I plan to do is save up money and buy a car in cash. I have tried saving money and I am still learning about that, which is what I'll be talking about on this channel too. Not just reselling but frugal living, finance, and budgeting.
You could say I crowd sourced my ebike - I asked for donations and recieved two, and then a small business covered the remaining amount and wrote it off for taxes. I don't know the total amount spent but it was under $400.
When I was working at a gas station, I met a affluant man in the medical field, he worked 80 hours a week and drove a red sports car. I asked him why did people judge you so harshly for not having a nice car, and his response always stayed with me: because it looks like you don't have your life together.
A Car As a Status Symbol
The first couple of years I walked to grocery store, started food delievery services, and really enjoyed not having car problems. The car I let go of was having a lot of issues and I thought of it as taking a stand against the oil companies. I enjoyed the moments in nature and getting to know the small businesses around me - I am very fortunate that i live right by the library, an office store, resturants, churches, Family Dollar, a huge park, and it wasn't so bad to walk into town.
It wasn't until I got older and I lost my remote job and had to find a job nearby that it became a problem. Socially, I mean, it wasn't an issue until people started to gossip about me. How strange I was for not driving a car, asking rides from her friends, and i felt scruntizined. I never felt poor until people started to comment about me having no car, or my shoes always being worn. Once, a pose at work couldn't stop laughing because I had walked to the Taco Bell, which really wasn't far at all, but the fact that I walked was enough to mock me.
Introverd, Walking as a Creative Endeavor
Catch-22
now i'm at this point in my life where I need a car to get better jobs, unless I can secure one from home. (I'm trying that first) One of the reasons why I was able to not drive a car for so many years because 6 of those I was a remote worker for a toll road company.
But in order to get a better job, I need a car. And to get a car, I need a better paying job. Thus the Catch-22. The ebike has been a godsend, now I can easily show up to my part time job down the street and find something nearby, like Panda Express which is paying managers $15/per hour, or McDonald's, desperate for workers and paying $12.
This Time Is Different
I made the terrible choice to not set aside money I could be putting towards a car into a savings account. I let my emotions make a lot of spending mistakes, I did a lot of impulse buying and eating out. This time is different. My goal is to save money every month and increase my monthly income by increasing the hours I work. I've been under enormous stress and pressure from personal factors in my life, but I'm hoping this August I can see some real positive changes.
I've got all my ducks in a row. I just hope now that i'm more confident in this lifestyle choice to ride my bike for a few more years, that I'm not too harshly judged. Some people think I "need help." It's not becoming of a young woman to ride her bike every where.
But time is different measured for me. I tend to find more moments scattered throughout a twenty minute bike ride for someone in a car it takes 5 minutes. And I love the wide fresh air of the country, the clouds and horizon line, it's a different time and freedom. And I want my friends and family to know that even though I'm not driving a car, I can still take care of myself.
So I'm not imagining everyone in the 80's rode bikes and as a kid in the early 2000's before cell phones, having a bike was still a big deal. I have been walking to where I need for years or asking for a ride from friends for things like trips to the pharmacy or the grocery store or the hospital. With my new Jetson Bolt Pro, I have more indepenence. I have been dreaming about being behind the wheel of a car for over a year, so why am I so happy on my mini black bike?
It wasn't until I started to feel the social pressure of not owning a car and what that meant to people who looked at me. A lot of people think that I am mentally ill, or running away
In the 80's cities were built to have more sidewalks and public transport. The SUV and truck weren't on every road.
I can't help but reminence and wonder if times were better back then, having more walkable communities are safer and better for the environment and financially sustainable.
It's 2023 and everyone looks at me like I'm homeless, crazy, mentally ill. For 8 years I have gotten used to not owning a car for a lot of different reasons. I'm hoping I can explain this to my friends and family.
Biking is the Sustainable Way to Go for Bruin Juan Matute | Transportation (ucla.edu)
7 Fine Reasons Why Bicycles Are Better than Cars Always ... (allwomenstalk.com)
https://www.songmeaningsandfacts.com/queens-bicycle-race-lyrics-meaning/
How to Turn Your Car Payment Into a Million-Dollar Retirement - Ramsey (ramseysolutions.com)
A look from Chopper 7 at widespread storm damage in East Texas (kltv.com)
Cycling changed my life, and I never want to own a car again | by Owen Williams | Medium
Amazing Forest, Mirror, Doll’s House, Paper Girls: This Week in Comics #3 (vice.com)
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