How This All Started - Part III

As I was having to deal with more and more hassles from the towing and insurance companies and finding out that the driver was uninsured, I became more and more disillusioned about getting to work by car. What was I going to do? Rent a Car for now? Wait to see if by some obtuse chance that he was insured and use the proceeds to buy a new car? Or just say screw it, I'll just ride my bike to work.

Actually given my initial frustration with cars, traffic, and the whole system in general I decided for a while to just take the bus. For $1.75 each way. I could get there in about 25 minutes, which didn't seem too bad.

My previous experiences riding the bus was in spread out San Diego. After getting a hold of a paper route schedule, I would study it to see what time the bus would arrive and figure in the 8 minute walk. This worked ok since I was only along one route I would have to carry a pocketful of route schedules.

Well, now its all so much easier. With my cell phone I just called the number listed on the bus stop. I certainly did not like the phone number gymnastics of having to numerically input whether I wanted responses, in English or Spanish, today's bus, the direction the route number, where on the route etc. But after a while it wasn't so bad. I put the number in my speed dial and when I would here the automated voice responded I would just type in 1182#12. This would give me the current time schedule for the route 82 bus headed westbound. Wow it was actually getting easier and easier. My memories of late buses never really occurred. In fact bus arrivals were dead on with the published schedules. If I wanted to run some errands later or travel further from a stop I would just bring my bike along and put it on the rack which is conveniently placed on the front of the bus.

It was now becoming easier and easier. However, for must of May I was paying the standard rate. I thought, well as of June I'm going to have to get me one of those passes. I made the trip downtown to spend $61.25 for a one month's pass. Wow, little did I know however, that my employer would pay one half of the monthly pass. That was even more of an incentive now. I also found out that for the July pass I could purchase my pass right at my local Lucky's or Safeway. No need now to go all of the way downtown to pick up a pass. So now it was only costing me just slightly over $30 in transportation costs for the month. That would normally be about a tank of gas.

How All This Started - Part II

How All This Started - Part I

How This All Started - Part II

The day that finally got me out of my car quite literally was on April 29, 2007. It was a quite Sunday and I wanted to stop by my storage locker in Santa Clara. As I headed up De La Cruz Blvd., just west of the San Jose Airport, I proceeded into the left hand turn lane to go west. While waiting at the light I notice a red Geo Metro start its left hand turn to go north on De La Cruz. Just as it pulled into the intersection it was struck or more like broadsided by a black Acura headed south on De La Cruz. It was obvious it ran the red light. It hit hard into the front end of the drivers side, bounced off that car and headed straight for me head on. There was nothing I could do as I sat at the front of the left turn lane. He hit me head on on the left side of the vehicle.

I could see that the occupants in the small red Metro were obviously in trouble. In the car was a family; mom, dad, and about a 10 or eleven year old son. They were all hurt and shaken. My first instinct was to make sure they were all right and they would be hit again by cars coming through the intersection. Just as I was checking inside the car to ask the driver (mom) if she was all right I looked over to my car and the black Acura was still attached to the front end of my car. The driver, who was ok was trying to drive (back up his car). I couldn't really tell if he was trying to flee the scene or just trying to park his car out of the intersection. He didn't however ask me and I had realized that I had left the car on and in gear, so as he backed up from my car my car accelerated forward towards him trying to back up his own car. Needless to say it shook him up, and if he had any idea on fleeing the scene his hopes were now dashed.

I couldn't get him to help me. I asked him in Spanish and in English to give me a hand directing traffic but after his attempt to back up the car, he just stood by the side of the road, not helping to direct traffic away from an already dangerous traffic situation. No call was offered or made by him to the police. So after checking on the Metro I called them myself.

Well I didn't realize it at the time but this intersection lies right on the boundary between Santa Clara and San Jose, so now both fire department vehicles were on the way. Both police departments were represented as well. After some negotiation they decided that the accident happened in Santa Clara and the Santa Clara police now took over.

The three victims in the Geo Metro were taken to the hospital and I believe were alright but I never really found out for sure and I feel bad for them. The driver at fault turned out to be 17 years old with no license or permit, and no insurance. The funny thing about all of this; if there is anything funny is that this young unlicensed, uninsured driver had a better car than all of us. I guess if you don't have to make insurance payments you can afford more car.

The sad part is that my car was totaled. They would have to tow it away and I would have to walk home. After a horrible experience with "the system" I was having more misgivings about driving in the near future.

First of all the police would not allow me to call my auto club AAA. They said that I had no choice but that Lima Towing of Santa Clara would tow the vehicle away. They did not tell me that I would not have access to my own property that would be left in the car, but that turned out to be the least of my worries. Although it was obvious who was at fault I would have to wait over12 days before I could access the accident report.

How All This Started - Part III

How All This Started - Part I

How this all started. - Part I

After living in the valley for ten years now; I have contemplated going without a car for several years now. After reading a couple of very good books by James Kuntsler; first "The Geography of Nowhere; the Rise and Decline of Americas Man Made Landscape" and "Home from Nowhere" my eyes were opened to how American cities used to be and how they are now. My mother told me of growing up in San Diego and using the trolley to go the 2-3 miles downtown to go shopping or see a movie. They lived above the family business just as described in Kuntsler's books with a very tight knit fabric of families.

As for myself I grew up loving bikes, bike rides, bike races and any other thing having to do with bikes. At 14 I had a paper route or sub for others with a paper route. Having to get up at 4:00 in the morning wasn't so bad. I got to ride when no one was out and I still remember the smells at the time of the morning when there were no cars out and no winds or breezes. I used to ride or walk to school. In fact I had a friend and classmate who lived on the other side of town (back then in San Diego, the other side could have been 10 miles) and bike to school everyday.

In high school I met a friend of mine at a street corner early one morning with our bikes and crude panniers and headed north to Los Angles. We camped on the beach in San Clemente right next to the Western White House; President Nixon's old summer home. We got as far as Long Beach before heading back but we were hooked.

My next big ride wouldn't be until 1984, to ride north to Los Angles again to see the Olympic Bicycle Road race which was open to everyone. We rode up the day before putting in about 120 miles to get to our night's lodgings. The next day we rode to the venue to see the men's road race and watch Alexi Grewal win the U.S.'s first ever cycling gold medal.

After this I rode for fun and fitness but it wasn't until I took a two week bicycling trip around British Columbia, Canada that I really got into it again. I don't know what it is but the feeling of making my way around on a trip under my own power is intoxicating as it is practical.

How All This Started - Part III

How All This Started - Part II

One Less Car in the Silicon Valley

Well after being hit by an unlicensced, uninsured, minor, I decided the time was right to say goodbye to my automobile. The accident totaled my car, while severely distrupting the lives of a family of three who was in another car.

I had already been riding my bike everywhere having surpassed 500 miles a year in the previous year. But now, I also decided I was going to walk and take public transportation. If I was going to give up the car I figured April 2007 was going to mark that turning point. Giving up a car isn't easy, but this appeared to be the event that was going to motivate me to try. Soon after I read books such as Divorce Your Car, and How to live without a car. Of course you cannot escape the warnings with regards to global warming. But my effort was motivated by more than that. Over the last ten years I really began to dislike my relationship with my car, and personal auto ownership in general. The reasons for myself were just beginning to clarify themselves but I have always looked around at our current state of affairs as realized our relationships with our cars were becoming more and more troublesome. In fact I have a list of just some of the things that have grown increasingly detrimental to drivers and society over the last 30 years.

Of course if you have read any of James Kuntsler's books you would instantly know what I'm talking about. Books such as