Diary of a pedaler

(Boston Globe Photo / Lisa Poole)

Excerpts from Beth Potier's journal

April 30, 2008

Tonight, I will park my car in the garage. Hardly a radical act, but this time, it's there to stay - at least for a month. What impact will not using our car have on our lives? Will these car-dependent activities cease? Will we be forced to buy groceries at the convenience store and become antisocial hermits who don't leave home? Will our friends disown us? Will the dog starve? Or will we perhaps bike ourselves into such outstanding shape that we drop 15 pounds and buy sleek new cycling outfits with all the money we've saved on gas?

May 7, 2008

It's been a week since we parked the family car in the garage and pledged not to use it until June. Here are some observations on the experience so far:

1. Life is different, but not necessarily worse. We're reconsidering our needs and journeys and staying more local. Instead of dinner and a movie in Portsmouth this weekend, for instance, my husband and I celebrated my birthday at Three Chimneys in Durham and rented a movie. Instead of devoting a weekend afternoon to a major grocery shopping expedition, we're picking up dinner supplies at the Durham Marketplace on the way home.

2. Bike trailers are awesome. The Burley trailer that usually carries our son to and from preschool has been pressed into service for groceries, dry cleaning, and other unwieldy items. It adds a cargo bay to a bicycle!

3. Rain? Not so awesome. We were sorely tempted to drive to downtown Durham during Sunday morning's downpour. But we resisted what my husband called "the motorized umbrella." We suited up in rain gear and walked.

4. Our insanity is infectious. Friends and colleagues have told us they have been motivated to dust off their bikes and try a car-free commute.