Mmm_pickles's Journal: Driving

So my car's all set up for driving, commuting, et cetera. I haven't driven much in the past few months and I'm fairly ambivalent about driving and cars. In fact, I would say I'm pretty negative about driving cars, except that I own one.

Anyway, I have done all that I can to make the driving experience comfortable and safe for myself and for Sara. If I do end up a commuter, I hope I have the will power to bike and take the train most of the time. Nonetheless, I will almost certainly have to drive once in a while and it will be nice to be able to zip through the Fastrak lane on the bridges!

I think the next thing to do is to get that bicycle all fixed up. I have a beautiful Brompton folding bike that is the envy of other Caltrain passengers (and Bart passengers). It needs a new front tire. Freewheel on Valencia is all set up to work on Bromptons, which is unusual -- most bike shops won't touch 'em. But Freewheel is a great bike shop. If you live in SF, they're the one.

I think bicycling does a lot to make a person anti-car. Even if you obey the traffic laws, and I'm pretty conscientious about it, you often encounter people driving cluelessly, endangering the lives of those on two wheels. I often think, "it's your property but it's my *life* here." That is, a bicycle can do some damage (not much) to a car but it's unlikely that the driver will be harmed in a bicycle/car collision. On the other hand, cyclists are often seriously injured or killed in collisions with cars.

It's scary but I keep bicycling -- I try to be safe, keep a sensible distance from cars, and hope for the best.