No matter how you measure it, August is not turning out to be a good car month. So far this month, the car has cost $2550 -and that doesn't include gas. Of course, sometimes that's going to happen; maintenance now could offset huge costs later. But still. Just yuck. It will take a boat-load of bicycling to offset those costs. Truth be told, though, insurance covered some of those costs, so we only paid $800-ish. But still.
And today is supposed to be my car-free day. Not being entirely dim, I chose a day that I don't need the car much anyway. Except today it's going to be interesting. Our next-door neighbor has been slowly, inexorably passing away over the last few weeks, and he's back in the hospital. I saw him yesterday and it's clear that he's just plain done. Whatever effort he was exerting to stay here is no longer available. All we can hope for now, and it's no small thing, is the grace of a happy death. I can get to the hospital on my bike easily enough. What I can't do is transport his also-elderly wife on the bicycle. Should she need a ride, that takes priority.
Moreover, I have a slightly embarrassing injury of the backside, which makes riding uncomfortable. So I'm stuck with short rides until it gets better. Getting to the hospital is no problem. Getting to the hospital fast could be something of an issue.
So, in short, when I started this silly little plan of mine, I knew there would be days when it was inconvenient. I told myself I would work through those days on the bike -and I will. Unless.... you know, I don't. People do come first, and I can have a car-free day tomorrow, if it comes to that.
1 comment:
My car just cost me $2,000, too -- out of pocket! My neighborhood once had Zipcar, the cars that are rentable by the hour. Friends of mine used that. But Zipcar pulled out of my area for some reason.
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