no car week, how it went

 I wouldn't say it was a compete failure, but it didn't go quite how I imagined either. To quickly own up to things, yes, I drove my car. Multiple times. Most of those times were for good reason. Toward the end, it came more down to being worn out, not just me, but my kids too.

So I guess, I didn't drive my car this week, except for when i drove to...

-Austin (3 hrs) to help my brother unload his moving van
-Conroe (1 hr) to go boating
-the grocery store, the one far away has the best produce/prices
-meet up with friends to go swimming
-buy ice cream with my buddy visiting from Dallas, very important!
-to run around town getting paperwork from girls I work with at church so we can go horseback riding

So, those are the times I drove my van. Full disclosure. It was harder in some ways, but easier in others. My legs are pretty worn out. Towing my kids behind me all over town has taken it's toll. However, the short trips to take Jeff to school, to church activities, to the gym... those weren't too bad. I realized that I can probably continue to only bike for some of those types of things. At least, until it gets too hot.

We're going to continue on our little adventure, allowing ourselves to drive when we need to drive. I think it'll make for toned calves, and a smaller gas bill. Also considering investing in something like this...

The first day, sans car

I have to admit, doing this whole thing probably sounds a lot more ambitious than it is. I live less than a mile from the following:

-Jeff's school
-Nate's pre-school
-Walmart
-the church
-Lowe's
-the park
-the health food store
-Walgreen's
-another park
-the gym
-the swimming pool
-Dairy Queen... that one's a must :)

So really, there isn't much reason for me to drive at all. Scott has a three mile ride to school, but he's been doing that since we moved here. The only hardship, really is the rain.

Yesterday went pretty well. Here's some things I observed:

-Nate scares me to death when he veers all over the road on his bike while cars are passing
-Jeff does a pretty good job of following and not veering
-Gracie does a fine job of sitting on her throne inside the cozy bike trailer
-Nate hates it when I make him ride in the bike trailer to give my heart a rest
-Speeding cars ignite a little bit of anger inside of me - very nearly chased one down
-Walking Jeff to school was peaceful and enjoyable - it's nice to slow down a bit
-It's really not that bad to ride in the rain

Day one, is a success!

No car, just bikes

We've been toying with this idea for a while. We live close to everything we need. Why not park our car and try to make it without. We've had reasons to NOT go forward with it. Rain. Laziness... Okay, maybe not as many reasons as I thought. Anyway, we finally decided that since it's "bike to work week" this week would be as good as any to give it a try.

We'll be putting our keys away, and using our bikes and bike trailer (maybe two if we can get one on loan) to get around town as a family. I'm excited and a little nervous. Can we do it? I think so. I hope so, otherwise anyone who reads this will know I'm a complete wuss. I just don't think I could handle that. So, onto the adventure. I'll let you know how it goes.

Peace out,
Sadie