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Joe "M500" Marinaro just e-mailed us with an update on life without a car to get him around. He took a quick photo of his first trip to the grocery store (Whole Foods South Loop) on the bike he received when he traded in his Jeep.
On his flickr page, Marinaro said that the groceries pictured should last him and his wife through the end of the week and that the bike handles well with the combined weight of rider and groceries.
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A general question to all Chicagoans....
Who uses a car?
I have family 300 miles out of town, so I keep a car mainly to see them once a month or so. Sometimes, probably also about once a month on average, I get an urge to drive to the suburbs, usually to get something specific not available in the city. And once every three or four months, I take a long road trip for the hell of it. I rarely use a car inside the city.
I'm not sure why this is news here in Chicago. My wife and I haven't had a car in over a year. We take the bus when the weather is bad, bike when it's not, walk to the grocery store, and use I-GO when we need a car to visit family. Lots of people we know have made the same decisions.
Yeah, it sucks that our friends are in the burbs where they are 100% dependent on their cars, and we don't get out there to see them nearly as much as we would like. And when I took Amtrak home a couple of weekends ago, it was much, much less than fun. But the money we save on car payments, insurance and gas is worth it.
It amazes me when I travel to other cities how unfriendly they are to people who don't own cars (bad sidewalks, no bike lanes), and how dependent people are on their cars.
I have a small car that's mainly used for business (have alot of film equipment) purposes. My daily commute is relatively short, under 7 miles each way, but the CTAs complete unreliability means that can take anywhere from an 45 minutes (rarely) to 2 hours (more likely) so I drive that as well. I drive a really fuel efficient car so I tend to fill up once ever 10-14 days.
I don't bike in rain or snow. No, that's craziness.
This is news here, more for the fact that I traded the Jeep for a good cause, West Town Bikes, and it had a circus-like event anchored to it. Plus, it serves (or maybe I serve) as an example to everyone that it can be done. We all know plenty of people here in the city without cars.
Showcasing the great bicycle culture in this city is also a plus.
Congrats, Joe. My wife and I took part in the were Tour de Fat ride and saw you riding around on the sling-shot "art" bike. We had a great time but left with one question regarding your swap. How did they make sure the custom bike actually fit you? Were you just stuck with whatever bike they gave you?
props to anyone who can get by without a car. i like having a car in teh city for the following reasons:
family in burbs
transporting big shit (see: drum set)
taking pet places
lazy ass no food havin scrub getting grub post 12AM
rain/weather
other stuff
don't have to drive it all the time so i enjoy it
that said i walk/take public trans and do bike but i am all about having a car. gas prices obviously suck though.
I live in the city & work in the 'burbs. My office isn't anywhere near a Metra station, hence I own a car.
I don't move it at all on the weekends unless I'm headed out of town to visit family.
If I worked in the city I'd definitely get a bike and keep my car parked 95% of the time.
Joe, didn't mean to belittle what you're doing. It is a big step, no doubt. Glad it's going well.
Big deal, its a stupid bike.
I'm 27 years old and I've never owned a car in my life. I don't even have a driver's license. Even when I lived in semi-rural Virginia, I managed to get around town fine with the local bus, my skateboard, my two feet, and occasionally trading gas money/cookies for rides to the next town over. Making the transition to Chicago a few years ago seemed luxurious in comparison.
I'm glad that more people are adopting a car-free lifestyle. I imagine it must be liberating to no longer have to worry about gas bills, maintenance, parking, etc.
Being "all about biking" is easy when it's June. It's like getting married after the first week of living together. Come back and tell us how great it is and how wonderful you feel when she gains 20 pounds (i.e. December-March). Nothing makes getting groceries funner than riding on black ice at night.
Editor at Large:
Complete agreement with you. It's not small part of the reason I get very irked by the "Cars=evil" crowd.
Here's a thought I've had for years. Why not designate a single street, a two lane street that's usually congested anyway, on the north and south sides and block them off for just pedestrian and bike traffic? Say if you did it on Lincoln avenue, which is awful to drive as it's frightfully narrow in parts and winding, all the way from Peterson down? You could make it a city-long promenade, a place for parades, festivals and car-free commuting. Businesses along the route would benefit from foot traffic and you'd have a wide, clear space running the length of the whole city.
Just a thought.
Because the best indicator of marital happiness is how much the wife weighs? Jesus. What a fucked up analogy.
How about "Come back and tell us how great it is and how wonderful you feel when you realize you've got a superficial drone asshole of a husband."
If my bike was fat, I would throw it out and get a new one.
Oh, FYI
In light of Joe M500’s civic spirit at the tour de fat, I presented him with a one day pass to get in and out of Logan Square if he choose to wear his Chicagoist T shirt. He chose not to, of his own accord.
I hope his decision was not an indictment of the quality of the Chicagoist shirt or his fear that I am not a person of my word
I gave up my car last August, and yeah, it's been ok - I zipcar or get rides from friends if I'm desperate, but now that it's biking weather and I raised my seat an inch life is all cake. Winter sucked a fat one, but I'm sure that's shocking exactly no one. Going to D.C. and will be biking around there, so it'll be interesting to see whether I survive their driving.
i think what joe did was totally fucking rad. and anyone who can get by on bike all year round in this region is as equally fucking rad. no reason for any hate. save that for friday when you're stuck at the stoplight.
save that for friday when you're stuck at the stoplight.
Um, bikes stop at stoplights too.
When they don't they put everyone in jeopardy. No matter how you travel, be mindful of those around you.
This is true. Bikes should abide all road and traffic laws. So, Friday night, stoplight, have fun. Sounds pretty lame to me. I'd rather be doing something, anything, other than looking at a traffic light on a Friday night, mr. kickstand.
i think what joe did was totally fucking rad. and anyone who can get by on bike all year round in this region is as equally fucking rad. no reason for any hate. save that for friday when you're stuck at the stoplight.
Word... DROOO!
I aint even one of the above
Congrats JoeM500!,
Ignore the hater babies.
Ummmmm Joe, that was you rocking the Solve Memorial shirt?
Yes, that was me. SOLVE was a friend that I had met several times at art shows, on the street, and I have bought his art directly, too.
The haters are fun, especially itchy.
ps- AD, I told them my size before they sent out the bike. They made a few different sizes for the tour, luckily one of them was a big one!
Well, now, consider your Amnesty to wear your Chicagoist T shirt extended indefinitely Chicagowide! And of course it has nothing to do with the fact that you look like a bone crushing biscuit eat'n human Sasquatch!
p.s where do I get a SOLVE shirt?
I had ours printed quickly at Propaganda to show our respect because Saturday was the same day as his funeral.