Going the distance
Green Mountain College student trades car for bike in sustainable living experiment
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Ruth Larkin, a Poultney resident and senior at Green Mountain College, is putting her studies in ecology and sustainability to the test by giving up her car for the semester. Paul Dahm |
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By RUTH LARKIN HERALD CORRESPONDENT - Published: November 15, 2009
A Green Mountain College student, as part of her senior project, asks “Can you really live in rural Vermont without driving a car?”
I live with my husband, Tim, and our one-year old son Zeb about five miles outside the small college town of Poultney. We own a car, a 2000 Mazda Protege, but we stopped using it at the end of August and don’t plan to use it again until mid-December.
As part of my project for Delicate Balance, the senior capstone course at Green Mountain College, I’ve decided to take my education in ecology and sustainability into personal practice by not driving or riding in personal vehicles for 15 weeks. My exceptions to this rule are medical emergencies and class field trips. Tim says that he’ll only use a car for what he needs a car for. (So far, that’s been once for work and once between the train station and his parents’ house.) Zeb hasn’t said much on the subject.
Our commute to town isn’t too bad — one mile of dirt road and four miles along Route 30. The shoulder width varies, and there’s not much traffic. There are two uphills on the way into town and three on the way home. Getting into town takes about 20 minutes; coming home takes about 30 or 35. I have classes five days a week, but with weekend activities, I often find myself riding in six or seven days a week. Tim comes into town four to six days a week.
I have a baby seat for Zeb on the rear rack of my bike; Tim added a rack to the front so I can carry both book bag and baby. Tim carries Zeb on his back in a soft baby carrier, so his rear rack is free for bags and groceries. I’ve tried this method, but I find it hard on my body.
We have a trailer for large loads that Tim built. We looked at buying a trailer, but the prices were prohibitive. In one morning Tim built a simple, rugged, flatbed trailer from dump parts and a piece of plywood. The total cost was about $17.
Cars, buses and cold toes
As we got into October, temperatures started to fall below the freezing point at night. On one cold, rainy morning my uncle, an enthusiastic cyclist who was visiting, informed me that I was crazy as I saddled up on my bike in shorts and sandals for the ride into town. He was right. My toes cold ached for at least an hour after I arrived on campus. The next day I wore socks, shoes, and long pants — much better.
One afternoon I took a long-postponed bus trip into Rutland, about 20 miles north and east. Last winter the Rutland bus service had expanded to include Poultney. Buses make the round-trip five times a day during the week. It costs $2 and takes about an hour each way. There is even a bike rack on the front of the bus that can be used for no extra charge.
Once in the city, I was able to catch local buses for $0.50 a ride to the various stores that I needed to visit. In a few hours I had everything I had come for and caught the next bus back to Poultney. Altogether the trip took a little more than four hours and cost $5. For occasional trips, the bus seems to be a much cheaper option than owning a car and paying for gasoline, insurance and maintenance.
The savings
One morning as I rode to town, to keep my mind off my sore thigh muscles, I started to calculate our savings from not driving the car this semester. With traveling to town and back an average of six days a week, over fifteen weeks we will have saved 30 gallons of gasoline and kept 150 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. At current gas prices of about $2.69 per gallon, that is a savings of $80.70.
What? Only $80? The new rear wheel on my bike alone cost $60, not to mention the new chain and sprockets on Tim’s bike, our studded snow tires, and the hours of tune-up that Tim has put into keeping our bikes functioning.
As I whizzed down the last hill into town, I was dismayed to think we were actually spending more to leave our car sitting in the parking lot. Then I reconsidered. My previous calculations assumed that as a family we would be able to coordinate our schedules so we could always drive together. But coordinating early morning classes with a sleepy one-year-old doesn’t usually work. So the previous number should be doubled since Tim would be driving separately from me — that means we’ve saved $160.
Of course, I’m comparing apples to oranges: the fuel for our car versus the repairs for our bicycles. Generally repairs and parts for cars are much more expensive, even if you can find a good mechanic. And then there is the cost of insurance, inspection and registration. Our car is still registered and insured, so we haven’t seen any savings from that. This alone would be a significant savings — about $400 per year — if we completely switched to bicycles.
As I rode home that evening and mulled over these additional savings, I realized that there were intangible aspects of commuting by bike that I appreciated more than the money saved. When I ride my bike I feel more alive and more connected to this place and this community. I move more slowly. I experience weather directly. I shop at local businesses. I see my neighbors more. I notice the wildlife.
I also appreciate the things that I am not doing. I don’t buy gasoline. I don’t have to start an engine and check all the gauges to go somewhere. I don’t have to scrape ice off my windshield. I don’t add to the amount of noise and air pollution. I don’t have to justify using the car. I don’t feel guilty for driving to hear a speaker at the college talk about climate change.
By foregoing the car and riding the bicycle, I am living more on a human scale. I’m a small step closer to aligning my actions with my beliefs. And that is priceless.
Ruth Larkin lives in Poultney and can be contacted at RMLarkin@gmail.com. This article is the first in a series that will report on her project. To read more of her story, see her blog at http://carfreesemester.blogspot.com/2009/10/cars-buses-and-cold-toes.html.
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