Choosing your weapon (er, vehicle)

Many simple living enthusiasts promote pairing down the amount of stuff you own. After all, any item you possess will require some attention from you in the form of maintenance or other upkeep, some space to store, and will cost you some money. I agree with them in principal, however I think there is a case to be made for having a few different vehicle types available to you for different kinds of trips.*



Generally when you're heading somewhere you have some purpose in mind, be it to visit a friend, get groceries, or grudgingly drag yourself into your office in the morning. There are a variety of ways of getting from one point to another and some methods might have advantages over simply hopping into the car and driving. Some things you need to consider include how far you're going, what you're taking with you or bringing back, who else is coming along, and of course the weather.

Black Cadillacs (aka Walking)
The term Black Cadillacs is often used by Army types to refer to their boots (as in "Is someone driving us to our area?" "No, we're taking the black cadillacs today"). Walking has been the principal mode of transportation for the human race for thousands of years and is just as reliable as it always was for short trips. In fact, you can often save time walking somewhere over driving due to the ability to use a much more direct route than you can in a car: you can cross roads and fields, follow foot paths, trails, or train tracks, and if you're feeling adventurous you can jump fences and ditches. Not that I'm advocating the latter to trespass, but it's always an option.

Here's one example where a walking route takes the same amount of time as driving (click the picture to enlarge). The red line in the picture below follows a path through Fish Creek Park in Calgary, going from a house in Parkland to a house in Sundance. The route is 1.7 km long which would take about 20 minutes to walk. The purple route is the driving directions between the same two houses, which is a 11 km long and would also take approximately 20 minutes to drive once you factor in stoplights and traffic.

Obviously walking is not very fast, so you're unlikely to go more than a couple of kilometers if you have to get somewhere within a reasonable amount of time. Carrying capacity is limited, but you can still bring whatever you can fit in a backpack. Anything up to 10 lbs you will probably hardly notice. The cost is nothing unless you are already completely lean and have to eat extra food to make up for the energy used, and may in fact save you some money on health and fitness expenses. Compare that to the average cost of driving a car (about $0.50 per km, see my vehicle costs post) which would put this short trip at about $5.50!

While you are subject to the whims of the weather when you're walking, the impact can be minimized by dressing appropriately. Shorts and a t-shirt are fine in the summer heat, but when it starts to cool down you will want to have some layers, and the ability to add or remove them as the weather changes by carrying a backpack.

Cycling

Walking is fine for short trips but due to its slow speed it won't get you very far. There are times when you just want to go a few kilometers but don't have a lot of time to spare. In this case a bicycle is the solution. Because bicycle culture is underdeveloped in North America people have a perception that bicycles are only for sport; that you have to dress up in spandex and a jersey and ride in a team along a highway, or load the truck up with knobby tired mountain bikes and hit a trail in the Rockies. In reality a bicycle is a tool that is used for getting around, and you really can just hop on and go places. The speed is three or four times as fast as walking, and has many of the same benefits of being able to use shorter routes, not having to find parking, and getting out in the open. Often if the trip is less than 5 km it can be just as fast to go by bike as by car and you save the wear of starting your engine and not letting it warm up all the way before shutting down. The walking route highlighted above would take about 7 minutes on a bicycle, at a very modest 15 km/h average speed.

Bicyclists aren't really the same as motorists, nor are they quite the same as pedestrians, but they can get the best of both worlds at times. While I wouldn't recommend riding on high speed motorways you can certainly use city streets to get around in congested cities, and I recommend doing so. There are many guides to dealing with traffic available on the web, such as Urbancyclist.com. Specialized clothing to keep you warm, dry, and comfortable is available for cyclists but isn't really necessary unless you are going long distances or are cycling for exercise. A bicycle with fenders, a chain guard, and a step through frame will allow you to wear your normal day-to-day outfit without getting dirty, and baskets or racks on the bike will let you carry small to medium sized objects. Even very large objects can be carried on special cargo bikes. See Copenhagencyclechic.com to get a good picture of cycling culture in various cities around the world.

Many people are timid about bicycling to actually get places and have several concerns. The first is safety. While it's true that in a collision between a car and a bicycle the car driver generally comes out ahead, the risk in cycling can be minimized by cycling intelligently; That is, you should behave as you would in a vehicle. Follow traffic laws, signal, and don't do anything erratic that motorists won't expect. I've seen far too many bicyclist blow through stop lights without looking. Also, make yourself visible by using lights any time visibility is reduced.

Another concern that many people have is the idea that you'll show up to wherever you're going looking like you just ran a marathon. You might have to work a bit harder when you first start out cycling, but after you get used to it cycling at a modest speed won't tire you out or cause excessive sweating. You don't need to have a full change of clothes with you if you're just going a few km to visit someone or go to the store.

Carrying capacity on a bicycle can be quite a bit higher than on foot, and can approach that of a car if you're determined. A backpack or a rack can carry small items, and for bigger or heavier items you can add a basket/crate over the front and/or back wheel, a trailer, or you can use a specialized cargo bike.

Motorcycling
There are times when you have to travel more than ten or twenty kilometres. You may have to go to another city, another province, or another country. If you are making a trip by yourself, something worth considering is a motorcycle. A car is great for hauling around family, friends, or cargo but having 3000 lbs of steel is not needed for moving one person.

Motorcycles are great for traveling within a city as well. They offer the speed of a car, but are much easier and cheaper to park, use less fuel, and clear up congestion. In most places in the world (though not Canada unfortunately) motorcycles can filter up to the front at a traffic light by passing in between lanes. People in Canada frown upon this because it is unfamiliar and therefore looks unsafe, but statistically it is safer than sitting in traffic. I think they are just jealous.

Carrying things on a motorcycle is no problem with appropriate equipment. Saddle bags and top boxes offer as much room as several suitcases, allowing you to carry things to and from work, get groceries, etc. Carrying another person is also not an issue as long as you plan for it in advance by carrying a spare helmet and other safety gear.



While I'm not against cars or trucks in principle, and do in fact drive a car very regularly, I like having options available and wanted to point a few of them out. I use my car to carpool to work or to get large/heavy materials that would not be practical to bring any other way, but I prefer to minimize driving when there are other, more efficient ways to accomplish the same thing. This is just the tip of the iceberg. What are your preferred ways of getting around?




*Having a vehicle available to you doesn't mean that you have to own it. For example, a car or truck can be available for occasional use through a rental service or buy borrowing one from a friend, spouse, room mate, etc.