Drive Less Challenge » Alternatives

Finally off my duff

Tom — Mon, 09 May 2011 15:42:30 +0000

I live in Los Altos, and started at a new job in the city in mid-Nov. From day 1, I hated the commute, even though 280 is worlds better than 101 and my office was right by the ballpark (i.e. close to 280). I kept telling myself that “after the rainy season”, I’ll start biking to MV Caltrain and skipping the car ride, but the rainy season seemed to go forever. I had gotten into a bit of a routine (rut), and didn’t seem to be able to change (despite the fact that I hated the commute and didn’t have time for working out). In the end, the Drive Less Challenge was enough to get me off my bottom, and I now get 5 miles of biking, time on the train to catch up on emails, and arrive home at a consistent time to see my kids before bed every day. Thanks for the challenge.

This post was submitted by Tom.

Why didn’t I figure this out sooner?

Mike McCord — Mon, 09 May 2011 15:41:54 +0000

Last week we went to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, for the third time in 6 years. The first two times we rented cars, which was a total drag. We paid heavily to park at the hotel and at the festival, and the traffic was a nightmare. Last time we discovered that their festival shuttle bus program is very efficient and capable of moving tens of thousands of people quickly between the hotels and festival grounds. This year we passed on the car, and standing in a few short bus lines was a lot better than driving.

This post was submitted by Mike McCord.

How low can you go?

Fri, 06 May 2011 09:37:25 +0000

For the DLC 2011 this year, I decided to set the bar pretty low. I set myself a goal of 0 non-green miles (i.e., no driving alone anywhere). I was pretty sure it could be done, but I wanted to see what it looked like.

And it wouldn’t be without its challenges either. 2 kids to get to / from school, work in the other direction, after school practices and weekend little league and softball league games for both kids, more work, headwinds.

So, now that the 2 week DLC 2011 period has come to a close, how did I do?

I’m very pleased to announce that not only did I achieve my goal of 0 non-green miles, I didn’t even step foot into a motor vehicle (including public transit) for 2 weeks. The only way that my body (and my kids when they were with me) got from Point A to Point B was by our own steam.

According to the my.drivelesschallenge.com site, I logged 275 green miles (246 of which were by bicycle, 29 walking), and prevented 232.7 pounds of CO2 emissions!

Clearly, this “cold turkey” approach just isn’t practical or possible for everyone. But, just about everyone can do something that will help in a meaningful way, even if it is once or twice a week, or just school drop-offs, or taking your bike on the Caltrain or VTA.

That was fun! So, now that the DLC 2011 challenge period is over, what’ll I do? Keep on rolling (on 2 wheels), of course!

Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler!

—– __o
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This post was submitted by Stefan Rosner.

Carried 6 gallons of water on my bike!

Virginia Panlasigui — Fri, 06 May 2011 05:29:44 +0000

Although I use my bike often, I had always driven my van to refill my 3-gallon water dispensers. Today, I decided to try biking this errand and put a full 3-gallon dispenser in each basket on either side of my rear bike tire. I was delighted that I was able to control my bike fine!

This post was submitted by Virginia Panlasigui.

Sporty Hybrid

Bill Hilton — Wed, 04 May 2011 19:00:29 +0000

While I haven’t been tracking my auto usage (shame on me), I have acquired a Honda CRZ, a sporty hybrid rated at 37mph. Not quite up to Prius mph, but a lot more fun to drive.

This post was submitted by Bill Hilton.