Imgaine this goon riding his bike down the road...

So that is what I look like on most mornings and afternoons! I recently ditched the backpack as a installed a rack and bag on the bike. It is amazing what a difference it made to get the backpack off... I would sweat like crazy and the backpack just kept all the heat in. It is quite nice to ride home from work as most of the stress is expelled during my trip. In fact, on most rides I don't even think about work... I just think about riding and watching traffic and what the next crazy driver will do. The health benefits are extraordinary as well. Round trip it is about 18 miles of decent roads. Typically, I ride on the shoulder unless there is some obstruction. You are welcome to make any smart comments you like, however, bear in mind I will send a hitman after you. Should I have to send a hitman after you it will be one of these two:


Dangerous Girl.

Psycho Killer.

Mass transit... buses...

I have never really thought much about carpooling or mass transit until energy prices began to rise so sharply. In fact, when I thought of mass transit I pictured people that were poor and unable to afford a car of their own. I am seeing the larger picture now... it is much, much less expensive to buy a bus pass than it is to buy a car and pay for all associated costs of owning a car. Doing on quick search on google.com I found the bus company that is located in Lynchburg, VA where I live. http://www.gltconline.com/ I can get a month long pass for $40 and a bike certificate for a one time fee of $3.00. So even if the bus routes don't go all over the city they certainly cover a wide area that is surely enough to get me near where I need to go and then ride my bike the rest of the way.

What is onefamilyone.com?

With the rise in gas prices people are going to try and drive less, find other means of travel, carpool, or ride a bike. Personally, I choose to ride a bicycle. My wife and I sold our second car earlier this year in favor on one car and two bicycles. It did take some getting used to as from the age of roughly 16 I had my own vehicle to take me wherever I wanted. The benefits of riding a bicycle are many fold. First, we got rid of the expense of owning a second car... no more gas, oil changes, insurance premium, or personal property taxes. Second, it is great exercise riding a bike. During the first 4 months of riding a bike I lost at least a one clothing size. Third, stress relief. When I have a stressful day at work there is nothing better than hopping on my bike and riding 10 miles home. Sometimes I get home and I didn't think a single thought about work the entire time. In fact, most of the time it is really relaxing... except when some idiot honks at me because they have never seen someone commuting by bike to work.

For me and my family it works having one vehicle. It is certainly not the standard, but for a long time families had a single car for parents and kids. I believe it will take some getting used to for most people but once they do it is nice. Looking back to when we had two cars the times I would use the car other than for work was to go to stores I really didn't need to buy anything from anyways.

So, onefamilyonecar.com is a blog environment that explores the life of one family with one car.