How hard would it be to give up the car

SailorSam

I've looked into maybe getting an electric bike. They're quite expensive to buy but thinking of the saving in having no car would soon pay for themselves. And less hard work tnan a conventional bike.

Rachel_B_3

Hi there,

I sold my car on Sunday - I work from home and was hardly using it, the threat of renewing the tax this month was enough to spur me into action!

I dragged my dusty bike out of the shed and decided to see if I remembered how to use it. I have now had the sum total of 2 cycle trips! It's hard at first and the weather doesn't help but I'm feeling quite good about myself and I could do with losing some weight

Good luck - If I can do it.....

bonnie_2

Well i managed the school run o.93 of a mile and it took me half an hour each way, hopefully i will be able to speed up. Feel full of energy now but my feet ache, lol.

arkonite_babe

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Woofles

Well done on your first attempt.

Because of lack of car and public transport I have to walk to work and it takes me half an hour each way, it always surprises me that it never seems like half an hour. Just remember you are not in a race, go at the pace that suits you mines a steady stroll and yes comfortable shoes are a must, which doesn't always equate to fashionable, I find trainers are best.

As someone else mentioned you learn to plan ahead, maybe overstock initially on those bulky but not perishable items like loo roll and washing powder when on offer, I get Mr T to do most of the heavy stuff every 5/6 weeks, but am fortunate to have a co-op only five minutes walk away.

I am a fair weather cyclist too, but only started about five years ago after a twenty year lay off, if you do decide to get a bike take it easy to start with I found aching muscles I didn't know existed.

Fire_Fox

bonnie wrote: »

I am really unfit and would like to stop using the car, but i don't know if i am fit enough to walk everywhere and do all the housework, cooking, washing and ironing plus the allotment.

The school run would be 4 miles a day, plus i would have to walk into town twice a week and back to pay bills and get the shopping and walk the kids to girls brigade and back. and also the allotment is another 15min walk.
Is it all doable or am i just lazy. I really nead to lose 4 stone.

Whats the best way to start.is it best to just walk it all at once or to add the journeys week by week to get used to it. At the moment i can barely walk up the stairs without huffing and puffing.

I am a qualified fitness instructor so can comment on this. Firstly to say that walking upstairs is a very different animal than walking on a relatively flat surface. Walking on the flat is moving forwards, upstairs is lifting your entire bodyweight against the forces of gravity ... much much harder.

First thing to do is buy some proper footwear: if you carrying more weight or have any niggles with joints this is very important. If possible go to a running shop or other 'proper' sports shop. You want to ask for your gait (walking style) to be analysed. This usually involves walking on a treadmill, or up and down the room and putting your feet in the sort of measures you remember from being a kid (Clarks shoes!). :rolleyes: This service should be FREE!

Tell the salesperson your budget and stick to it - good trainers will start from £25 and go up to £100. It's only necessary to get the expensive ones if you have postural problems or want to run/ walk a marathon. Proper fitted trainers will cushion your feet and support your arches in the way that's needed for your own walking style. Fashion trainers will not suffice - this is one area you must get right. I know it doesn't sound MSE but if you get the right footwear I promise you will never look back!

Health-wise it's sensible to build up your time steadily. Start with ten to twenty minutes at a pace which feels harder than normal, so you are a little puffed out but could still hold a conversation. Do this for one week, then work your way up each week by adding five or ten minutes, and try not to walk unaccustomed distances every day as a beginner. Five times a week is plenty - let your joints recover.

The government recommend a minimum of 10,000 steps each day which is actually about four to five miles! This can be in bits and pieces tho. Children are supposed to do an hour of physical activity each day minimum. These recommendations are based on scientific research. So walking your kids to and/ or from school is just as important for their health as yours. :j

I would not give up the car right away if you feel very unfit. You might drive in to school one day and walk home, walk in the next and drive home .... or walk in and get the bus home every day. Or use the car for the longer journeys/ heavy shopping and walk the short ones/ light bags for the first month. Or get a bike and walk the hillier journeys and cycle the flatter ones! Bear in mind you burn approximately 100 calories per mile so, once you are fitter, your daily routine will get those pounds off very quickly.

:cool:

BungleGirl

I gave up my car this year and I have no desire to drive ever again!

In fairness my husband still has a car but that is because he works a fair distance away and it is not possible for him to get there on public transport.

I started walking my daughter to school before I sold my car - this was in the winter - and I really enjoyed it, it's 0.9 miles each way so that's 3.6 miles per day for me. One tip is if your children are young make sure you allow more time for walking with them than you do when you are walking on your own.

I then decided that I wanted to sell my car and we agreed that I could buy myself a decent bike as I got about £1000 for my car and would be saving on tax, insurance and petrol. I ordered myself an absolutely gorgeous dutch bike (I have named her Margot) and some groovy panniers to carry my shopping in - this worked out at about £500 but I think that it is worth every penny as it is fantastic to ride and I can get up hills that on my old freecycle bike I would have to get off and push the bike up the hill.

I do a Tesco delivery shop about every four weeks and order loads of the bulky and heavy things (cereals, washing liquid, washing up liquid, pasta, rice, tinned toms, beans etc.) and then get any extras from the local coop or occasionaly cycle to Tesco. I get meat from the butchers which is a short bike ride away and veg/fruit from a vegetable van that stops a short bike ride away from me every Friday. It only takes a little bit of planning and then it just becomes part of your normal routine. There is a shop on the way to/from school which is really handy.

The main thing that I have noticed is that I am happier! The physical exercise, being outside and getting fresh air and smiling or saying good morning to other walkers/cyclists combine to make me feel great. When I get home from the school run in the morning I am truly awake and tend to get much more done than I did when I drove. I also enjoy when walking the fact that I get quality chatting time with my daughter - we do her spellings/times tables on the way to/from school and chat about what we will have for dinner and what she has been up to that day. I love that!

We also calculated the mileage my husband did last year and our new years resolution was to reduce it by 50% so we have something to aim for!

I also took myself off the insurance on my husbands car as I thought that I would always be able to justify having to drive and I haven't looked back.

Once when my daughter was ill at school I got a taxi to take me to pick her up and bring her home which cost £10 which is nothing compared to the cost of running a car.

camaj

Some brilliant advice here!

First off, kudos to Bonnie for even considering this. You're in a great position of being able to kill two (or three) birds with one stone, you can drop your excess weight, make a major impact on your contribution to the enviroment and save money all in one go. I don't know if it gets better than that.

I haven't driven for 6 months, and while I plan to get back behind the wheel soon-ish I know I'll use it for a fraction of the time. I used to spend £10 a week at least on fuel so that's £260 I've saved.

You might be unfit now but you'll be surprised how quickly you get used to it. The best thing to do is just start and see how you cope. If you need to go somewhere, say Girls Brigade, and still feel sore then perhaps you should drive that time and see how you feel the next morning. That said I've felt sore after playing football and not warming down properly and gone for a walk later with no ill effects. I think the best advice is listen to your body and don't try and do too much but also don't start making excuses.

Let us know how you're getting on, I'd love to hear about it.

Fire_Fox

Sore muscles is damage at the microscopic level, causing inflammation which is part of the repair process. Doing some light activity is safe as it gets the blood flowing, bringing nutrients to the area. It's not a good idea, however, to do the same activity that brought on the soreness or to work at the same intensity.

Muscles get used to increased physical activity very quickly, joints take much longer to adapt. Microscopic damage won't be felt in the same way as sore muscles; if you let your joints recover between sessions of exercise they will repair stronger than before. If you overtrain as a novice, you risk building up to an injury. Those who are overweight, have been injured before, do not wear fitted trainers or do a lot of high impact activity are most at risk of injury.

Ben84

I don't have a car, and mostly it works fine.

However, much as I like walking, I wouldn't walk everywhere. The bus is great when I need to save time, or it's late at night, or the weather is bad.

It's just me I'm shopping for, so I mostly buy little and often rather than big heavy shoping trips. However, if I was shopping for a family I'd use home delivery. No point struggling with loads of shopping when you can have it delivered so easily and cheaply. It could save you time too.

I'd check out the public transport options, as you're likely to need them, and I'd use google map to look up the distances to places you often go to decide how practical it is to walk them. A mile takes me about 20 minutes. Sometimes I walk somewhere to do the shopping, but catch the bus home because I have heavy bags.