Hiromi_X
Two wheel or not two wheel
I've been doing a lot since my separation to lower my expenses, but there is one huge expense that is starting to be more trouble than it's worth: my car. There's the monthly payment, the insurance, freaking gas, etc., etc. So I've been thinking "Do I really need this thing?"
I'm generally the only passenger.
I hardly ever put anything in the car to haul around except a couple bags of groceries.
Parking is a pain.
Gas prices are getting scary.
Sure, I recycle and shit, but I'd also like to reduce my "carbon footprint."
So why do I still have the damn thing? Only because I'm used to it. I'm considering selling the damn thing and buying either
1) a scooter
2) a 250 cc motorcycle.
Not only will my monthly expenditures drastically decrease, I will also be 1) cute as hell if I get the scooter, or 2) badass if I get the bike. It might be a small bike that I will get, but badass potential is still very high.
I used to commute by bicycle in Japan for years in all weather and in all temps. I had to haul groceries and stuff on my bicycle. So it's not like I'm completely unused to some of the less convenient aspects of being on two wheels. I brought spare clothes to change into when necessary, and timed my departure depending on various conditions. I don't think that a motorcycle experience will be too different, except that the gear is much more expensive and apt to be stolen, perhaps.
I'm liking the idea more and more. See, next month is my one year sobriety birthday. Hell, today is my 11 month anniversary! Anyway, in July, I'm going to be one year sober, I'll be surfing and snorkeling and kayaking in Hawaii, and I might buy a motorcycle! If anything else good happens in July, then I'm the luckiest girl in the world!
Comments
I've been car-free for coming up on ten years now, and I love it. In the SF Bay Area, taking a bike on BART is a huge win.
1. Posted by Jef Poskanzer on June 5, 2007
This might be worth looking into in addition, for those few times you really do have to have a car:
http://www.austincarshare.org
I will also be 1) cute as hell if I get the scooter, or 2) badass if I get the bike.
Nah, you'd still be the same amazing combination of cute and badass no matter what you drive. :)
2. Posted by Tina Marie on June 5, 2007
I say get a motorcycle, but that's me, and I'm wierd like that.
It will be cheaper on gas. The smaller bikes are (by what I've been able to find) getting anywhere between 50 and 60 mpg. You can GET packs and saddlebags and 'carrying' things no matter if you go with a bike or cycle. And insurance can be quite a bit cheaper.
Go with the cycle.
3. Posted by darkneuro on June 5, 2007
In the increasingly likely event that my remote employer sets up a physical office here in far south Austin (thanks to the Buda and Kyle suburban idiots), I'm going to have to bring us back up to 2 vehicles - and the 2nd one will probably be a scooter. Can't ride my bike non-trivial distances anymore; can't convince said idiots to set up an office on an actual bus line; etc.
Central Austin is, of course, very very scooter-friendly. Don't know about motorcycles. Seems like scooters encourage people to ride on more civilized urban streets and thus have a positive-feedback effect.
4. Posted by M1EK on June 5, 2007
Yeah, I can see you in a helmet and leathers or a schoolgirl skirt and white shirt on a scooter. Either way, you're right. It'll definitely be good for your image.
5. Posted by Omnipotent Poobah on June 5, 2007
I absolutely forbid a skirt on any two-wheeled vehicle. Sexy schoolgirl or no.
Rescue Hero Safety Fascist hath spoken.
6. Posted by Ray on June 5, 2007
I'm way too weather-phobic for either to be my primary vehicle, but damn, Vespas look so cool. (So do motorcycles, but it's different. Scooters are so La Dolce Vita.)
7. Posted by Miss Syl on June 5, 2007
Jef, I wish it were easier in Texas to be car-free. I'd love to live in SF.
Tina, I had no idea such things existed. Cool.
DN, I'm gonna take a course, and then see how I feel. I've never messed with clutches and whatnot before, so I'll see how I adapt.
M1EK, the problem is, scooters in my price range aren't highway-legal. I can get around that, but it might be a pain once in a while. A 250 cc motorcycle isn't that much more expensive than the scooters I'm looking at, and has a lot more power.
Omni, I hate to say this, but my mental image of me on a bike or a scooter makes this decision a lot easier.
Ray, well, you know me. I can swim laps for an hour, but I'm still taking a swimming class to refine my technique before going to Hawaii.
Syl, I *do* like the Euro-look of the cooler scooters, but I think the butch look suits me.
8. Posted by Hiromi on June 5, 2007
I use a car-sharing service in Chicago which is quite nice -- a three hour trip to Trader Joe's in the suburbs costs less than $20.
9. Posted by jtin on June 6, 2007
Agreed on the highway-legal part. Easier for me since it'd just be a work commuter + short runabout supplement to our car and I got used to back roads and slower speeds while bike-commuting anyways.
But in certain parts of town it certainly does approach feasible to be car-free - groceries being the biggest challenge (I wish we could have still fit in the condo across the street from Fresh Plus in Clarksville). I know a few people who manage or have managed in the past, but weighed heavily towards the ideologically car-free.
10. Posted by M1EK on June 6, 2007
groceries being the biggest challenge
Laundry was my biggest hassle when I didn't have a car, and that was before I had kids.
11. Posted by Ray on June 6, 2007
I'd normally suggest a small starter motorcycle. But you have that un-tall problem.
If you can find one you can sit on with your feet flat on the ground, maybe. But it sucks to have a bike that's too tall for you. I know long-time riders (Beano for one - ray will know who I mean) who've largely given up riding due to the difficulty of getting a bike they can flat-foot.
Yes, you *can* ride when you can't flat-foot. I can't flat-foot my huge Triumph Trophy. But I've been riding for 15+ years, and I still struggle with it now and then. For a beginner, being intimidated by your own bike isn't great.
So I'd suggest a scooter. They're cool (well, the euro-style ones are - I actually want one), they are easy to ride, and if it *works* for you and you later find you really need more bike, you can step up.
Go take a motorcycle safety class either way. They're hard work but they're cool. You learn a lot, and you'll get a clear idea if you're a biker when you go through all that training.
12. Posted by Elvis on June 6, 2007
Oh my god, a scooter/bike'd be totally great for your image !!
Now if you could only coax Ben into sketching some pics of you in all your badass glory.
13. Posted by Timory on June 6, 2007
jtin, thanks for the input. I guess if I have a dire need for a car, then I have an option. I hate relying on other people to take me places, so I'd rather do that than bum a ride.
M1EK, I'm actually sort of ideologically car-free, but up to now didn't want to give up the comfort of it. So the sort of shallow motivation of wanting to look cool -- on a euro-scooter or a bike -- is balanced by the noble motivation of being non-car.
Ray, yeah, I didn't even think of that 'til you brought it up. You're tho thmart.
Karl, I'm going to take an MSF/riding course, so I'll see how comfortable I feel on a bike. I'm pretty sensible. I mean, I have done incredibly dumb shit obviously, which might cast doubt on my claims of sensibility, but with stuff like this I don't take silly risks.
But there's always a counterstory, you know? Like, I believe our resident badass Tina tippytoes when she rides.
Timory, well, I'll get him volunteer. Ben, you there?
:D
14. Posted by Hiromi on June 6, 2007
i was thinking about vespas, too, for a while. but manila roads aren't the friendliest (even if there has been an influx of two-wheelies). but amen to the good image scooters/motorcycles bring. i think you'd look positively ready to conquer the world on anything with two wheels.
15. Posted by {illyria} on June 8, 2007
you totally require a motorcycle.
16. Posted by libby on June 8, 2007