Meet a Reader | Biker Liz
Today, we're meeting a reader who has managed to live for 2.5 years with no car (and two small kids!). I am so impressed by the amount of biking and walking she and her family do, especially since it's the functional sort, to get yourself from point A to point B.
Here's Liz!
1. Tell us a little about yourself
When asked the question "Where are you from?", my response is always "How far back do you want to know?"
I've moved a LOT - not as much as a military family, perhaps, but quite a bit for someone my age! I've lived on both coasts, and my siblings and I were born in 3 different states!
My own kids were born in different time zones, too - one in MN, one in OH.
I'm a long-distance cyclist, a triathlete, a wife, a mother of two, a sister, a daughter, a friend, DIY-er, and a community member!
My degree is in mechanical engineering, but I'm just starting a transition to nursing - before I got pregnant with my son, I was working as a nursing assistant while my husband finished grad school, and planning to go on to nursing school.
Having our first child just one month after our first wedding anniversary was NOT in the plan, but so far it's worked out well!
Our son is now 15, and about 25 hours into his private pilot's license, which he's funding by earning money working for my father-in-law.
Our daughter is 12, and very into the arts and science. She's still exploring herself and the world to figure out her path!
2. How long have you been reading The Frugal Girl?
Oh, I think it's been nearly 15 years now! I found Kristen while searching for a recipe for something, and just fell in love with her writing style & pictures.
The Frugal Girl is one of the few blogs whose URL I have memorized, so I've never missed an entry!
3. How did you get interested in saving money?
My interest in frugality is less about saving money specifically, and more about making good use of the resources I have.
Limiting waste is what really drives most of the habits I have that would qualify as "frugal" - reducing/eliminating food waste, returning unneeded items, pursuing refunds, checking on warranties, repairing things, etc.
Because I've lived so many different places, I've seen first-hand how good use of available resources can really improve overall community experiences, such as community gardens that utilize city-wide composting programs, to libraries, cycling infrastructure.
I've also learned how much more isolated and "trapped" one can feel in a community that doesn't prioritize publicly-oriented infrastructure (hello, living in a suburb that didn't even have sidewalks as a teen!).
4. What's the "why" behind your money-saving efforts?
Making good use of the resources I have - not only money, but my health, physical abilities, skills, etc. I don't want to feel like I'm wasting all the gifts I've been given, including my finances.
5. What's your best frugal win?
I have two!
1. I learned how to cook and bake at a very young age, and I've always enjoyed kitchen work as both creative pursuit and scientific inquiry.
For me, being in the kitchen and making food for people is an act of love.
Even in college, when I was living in a dorm, and had a dining hall meal plan that meant I could get whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it, I still cooked and baked.
I stored all my equipment in a dishpan in my dorm room. I'd load up that dishpan with whatever gear and ingredients I needed, and carry it down to the one full kitchen in the entire dorm of 150+ students on the first floor.
There, I'd make everything from homemade bread to Steak Diane (seriously - my mom came to visit one time and bought $100 worth of beef tenderloin so I'd have leftovers - at the time, that was like 5lb of tenderloin! We made a lot of Steak Diane that night.)
2. I fell in love with pursuing a car-free life.
One of the moves we made, out to Seattle, the only way we could make our budget work AND have me be home with our young kids, was to not own a vehicle at all. We lived for 2.5 years without a car, and our kids were 4 & 14 months when we moved there.
Most folks find this absolutely bananas. I transported my kids everywhere either by walking, biking, or taking the bus. Early on, my daughter would be in a stroller, but as soon as she learned how to walk, she wanted nothing to do with that stroller.
By age 2, she was walking 4-6 miles per day. Not fast - we used to joke that she walked "at the speed of toddler", which was about 2 miles per hour, so if we needed to walk 1 mile, I needed to plan at least 30 minutes into our schedule!
It's pretty amazing how long and far kids will walk if you just keep putting in food & water, and taking breaks to rest a bit.
My history with loving car-free options stems from some experiences I had as a kid.
The summer after 5th grade, we were living in Grand Forks, ND, population 50,000 at the time. My dad had been working with me on learning how to read a map, and at the beginning of the summer, he handed me a paper map, a quarter to call home if I needed it, and told me to go ahead and explore.
I biked to the library, to the mall, to the TCBY, to visit my parents at their offices in the university, to the pool, basically everywhere a kid would want to go. The freedom was amazing. This was in the early 1990s, for reference.
When I was 14, right at the beginning of my freshman year of high school, we moved to Cincinnati, OH. To a land-locked subdivision where I went from having the freedom to go to the library whenever I wanted, to being completely, 100% reliant on my parents to drive me everywhere.
It was suffocating & awful, especially as a teen who was used to being able to get out of the house whenever I wanted.
I had to take a school bus just to get to the school that was barely 3 miles away, because there weren't even sidewalks in my neighborhood, let alone along the no-shoulder 45-mph road that connected my neighborhood to the rest of the community.
That was a major lesson in how the built environment can force families to own an expensive vehicle, and I decided in high school I never wanted to be 100% dependent on a car ever again. And barring one job I had as a young mother, I never have.
6. What's an embarrassing money mistake you've made?
I wouldn't qualify it as embarrassing, given the time period, but we lost our entire downpayment on the first house we bought.
We had to sell it less than 3 years after buying it, and between that and the market timing (bought in 2009, sold in 2012), we were lucky to come out of the whole situation with our original mortgage paid off completely by the sale!
7. What's one thing you splurge on?
Cycling equipment and gear.
I'm a plus-size lady, so finding bike components rated for my weight (most bikes are built with the assumption that the cyclist is 200lb or less, and I'm not!) or cycling shorts & jerseys that fit well is challenging to begin with, and I'm just not willing to put up with poor-quality materials that will break or make me physically uncomfortable to begin with.
Anyone who's looking - Online Cycling Gear has some great plus-size options for men and women.
8. What's one thing you aren't remotely tempted to splurge on?
Hair/makeup/nails/fashion.
It's just not my thing - I haven't cut my hair for about 2 years now, I don't like the way makeup feels on my face (and I have naturally good skin, plus what I think is a pretty face!), I use my hands WAY too much for nail polish to last more than a day, and I vastly prefer a kind of "uniform" over having to make decisions about my clothes every single morning (that sounds exhausting!).
I wear jean-type stuff on the bottom, black on top, and add interest/color with accessories like earrings or a duster (long cardigan).
9. If $1000 was dropped into your lap today, what would you do with it?
Throw it at a house project!
We have several we're either saving towards, paying off, or working on right now - our current home was built in 1989, but we bought it just 3 years ago, so a lot of maintenance stuff is coming due!
10. What's the easiest/hardest part of being frugal?
Easiest - saying "no" to things that I've figured out don't really matter to me
Hardest - figuring out what matters!
11. Is there anything unique about frugal living in your area?
We specifically chose a community with biking, walking, and public transportation infrastructure.
If something happened to my car tomorrow, I wouldn't need to buy a new one immediately - I can run almost all of my errands on a bike, even in the winter. My kids are able to bike to school and activities - my son even bikes to the airport where he takes flight lessons.
I don't have to drive my kids everywhere, which means I have more time to do things like cook or projects around the house, or volunteer (and build connections) in my community.
My kids are learning independence and self-reliance by problem-solving issues that occasionally arise from biking themselves places.
Things like...
- how much time they need to allow
- weather considerations
- planning a route
- what to do in a biking emergency (like when my daughter got a flat tire on the way home from school one day, and had to walk her bike to the library to call me because she doesn't have a phone).
12. What is something you wish more people knew?
The built environment (roads, sidewalks, bike paths, housing density, etc.) has a major & direct influence on how easy it is to live a frugal lifestyle, especially a lifestyle that is car-free.
Car ownership IS optional, as is getting a driver's license at 16. Pay attention to what your local communities are doing with dollars dedicated to the built environment, like roads, bike paths, sidewalks, etc.!
13. What single action or decision has saved you the most money over your life?
Knowing Kristin's history, I feel weird saying this, but here it is: The person I chose to marry when I was 24.
I've been very, very lucky - Brian is not only a great romantic & parenting partner, and my best friend, but he is also a natural saver. I'm not - I'm more of a spender, and struggled with budgeting as a young adult. Being married to someone who is a natural saver has saved me the most money.
Brian is very good at living below his income, and that has made a big difference in our ability to stay on budget in general over the course of our marriage.
14. Did you ever receive any financial education in school or from your parents?
Yes to both! I have a distinct memory of being taught how to create a budget and write checks in 5th grade, and because my formal education is in mechanical engineering, I've also been taught project budgeting & estimating.
My parents were married for 7 years before having kids, and during that time they both worked - my dad is an engineer, and my mom's a nurse, so they made pretty good money! They had me, and then my mom decided to go back to school full-time and get a PhD. Three years later, she graduated, and my dad decided to do the same.
His degree took 5 years, and during those 8 years of essentially being a 1-income couple with kids after 10 years of being a 2-income couple with no kids, they'd racked up $30k in credit card debt because they didn't adjust their spending to their change in circumstances.
I was in 4th grade, and had 2 younger siblings when they began their debt-repayment journey. They finished around the time I was finishing high school, and then there was college - my sister's freshman year was my senior year!
So they lived on a pretty strict budget for over 15 years, first to repay debt, then to build their retirement savings up while setting aside a little to cashflow helping us kids with college.
We all ended up with some student loan debt, but much less than we would have without my parents cash-flowing some of the costs. We also all had academic scholarships to help with costs.
My parents didn't have a big chunk saved up to help us with college, but they were clear with how they could help when we were making school decisions, which I really appreciate.
Seeing them go through that on a day-to-day basis, of making a money "mistake", and then the long journey to come back from that mistake, was a big influence.
15. Do you have any tips for frugal travel or vacations?
Eat at grocery stores!
In the US, many grocery stores (especially in cities) will have hot or cold bars where you can grab food that can be eaten immediately, or warmed up. These options are usually a LOT less than nearby restaurant food.
In Seattle, going to the hot bar at Whole Foods was the only way we could manage to get a full meal for 2 adults for under $20 and not end up at a place like McDonald's.
Pack what you can!
On a recent trip that involved flying, I packed dry oats, dry chia seeds, frozen homemade applesauce, homemade cookies, a loaf of Jimmy John's bread made into 3 salami sandwiches, and a bag of baby carrots.
When I got to my destination, I bought a quart of whole milk and some trail mix from a grocery store. That covered 2 breakfasts & 3 lunches plus snacks for the 2.5 days I was there - I only needed to eat out for 2 dinners during the whole trip.
Choose a place to stay where you don't need a car
So many places I've traveled, I've deliberately picked a hotel or other accommodation near a bus line or bike trail, so I don't have to rent a car when I'm there.
It's usually cheaper overall between car rental costs & paying for parking wherever I'm visiting, plus you get to know the area much more intimately than you would from inside a vehicle.
16. What frugal tips have you tried and abandoned?
Hosting garage sales & reselling items.
For a while, I was really good about trying to get money back from items I no longer needed or wanted.
Then, I had a major decluttering experience during our move out to Seattle, and my focus changed - I try to be much more thoughtful about what I'm bringing into my home, and I choose to donate or "pay it forward" (give items away to people in my life that could use them).
For me, this is the right choice - the time it takes, plus the space required to store things that are in transition is just not worth it to me.
17. How has reading The Frugal Girl changed you?
Watching Kristin's nursing school journey finally gave me the push I needed to actually get started on pre-requisites.
As I said earlier, I was working as a nursing assistant when I got pregnant with my son, even though my degree is in mechanical engineering. I'd worked in that job for 18 months before returning to engineering.
If I hadn't gotten pregnant, I would have continued on to nursing school once my husband was done with grad school, but that just didn't turn out to be our path.
I spent 6 years as a stay-at-home parent while Brian completed post-doctoral work, and then went back to engineering (eventually, after an initial testing-the-waters-of-working-again stint as a barista) when he got an industry job.
Since my first internship in college, I've worked in several different types of engineering jobs - mechanical engineering is one of the most universal engineering majors out there. You can find MechEs in pretty much every industry.
Yet, I'd never found a job I really liked - I missed working more directly with people and I didn't like sitting still at a computer for 90% of my workday (despite what Iron Man can make engineering look like, most engineers don't actually build things or even create plans - that work tends to get handed off to drafters & technicians).
But going back to school felt daunting - not because of the academic work (I'm a good student in general), but because the last time I was in school, I didn't have any of the responsibilities I do now.
Back then, I lived in a dorm that had housecleaning for the bathrooms & common areas. I ate the majority of my meals in a dining hall where "cleaning up" just meant putting my tray on a rack near the exit. Someone else took care of all the landscaping. And I had no kids or spouse!
Watching Kristen go through everything she's been through these last few years, and the excitement she communicates about her nursing studies, really made me think "I could do this. I could figure out how to pay for the classes at my local community college, and I could make space in my life for this work that actually matters to me."
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Aww, Liz, this last part made me smile. I'm cheering you on over here, and I have great faith that you can do nursing school. You've got a stable family life and a supportive husband, and with that in place, you're definitely going to be able to figure out all the practicalities like cooking and cleaning.
Since you obviously have a serious winter where you live, how do you handle biking when the ground is covered in snow? Do you switch to walking during those months?
Hi Biker Liz, glad to meet you!
I am impressed with your 2,5 years of no vehicle. Even in our small country, not having a car is an exception (except for the cities where the prices of parking lots are prohibitive, and where public transport is very good). In NL learning to bike is as important as learning to swim - kids start learning from preschool onwards. You may be shocked though, both as a biker and as a prospective nurse, that it is quite uncommon for people to wear a helmet unless they are young than 12, or older than 70, or biking for sports (mountainbiking/racing). People who use a bike to go to work, or errands, will not normally wear helmets. It may become standard in a while though because with the increase of e-bikes there are also more accidents and this may lead to a change in attitude towards helmets from not cool to wise to wear.
Regarding your remark that you like cooking for scientific inquiry, I was not sure that that would recommend your recipes 😀 but the pictures of your cupcakes and spider cake are scrumptious!
That is weird, part of my comment disappears! Again: unless they are either younger than 12, or older than 70, or biking for sports. There, now the comment should be ok!
Oh, that is so strange! I fixed your original comment for you. 🙂
@JNL, You don't see them on kids around here either. I begged and begged and begged for my son to wear a helmet, but he wouldn't. (My younger brother was hit by a car on his bike and killed at age 15. After that, I lost my fearlessness about biking. 🙁 )
@JNL, I lived in a building with a man who used to be extremely intelligent and rich, and a bike accident gave him significant brain damage and his life became very small. One of the few things he could say after was - always wear your bike helmet!! Now I won't even bike up and down the street in front of my house without one. I love my brain too much, I keep all my favorite stuff in there!
I am in Ontario and I don't think I have seen anyone not wearing a helmet for years (of any age) so I had to google the law in Ontario and it only applies to having to wear a helmet to those under 18. Who knew, everyone seems to wear helmets. But the same for skiing - I rarely see anyone not wearing a helmet skiing either. Because - broken bones mend almost like new but broken brains are a different matter.
I am so sorry to hear that Rose and I can quite get that biking was not the same for you after that event. I think helmets became common for primary school children some 20 years ago, when our children were that age. So we bought helmets for them. Adolescents however and adults are harder to convince in spite of what neurologists advise. There is more stress on helmets for the over 60s now because brains are like chestnuts. They shrink in their shells over time and that increases the damage in case of an accident. And with an ageing population, a great deal more traffic than a few decades ago, and the introduction of e-bikes senior citizins are more likely to be involved in accidents.
That said the Netherlands are great for biking. Most of it is pretty flat and there are plenty of cycling paths also in towns and villages. Also if there is an accident between a motorist and a cyclist and the accident is not obviously caused by the cyclist, the benefit of the doubt will be for the cyclist. As the less vulnerable party, the motorist is expected to be the more careful.
As a country by the sea we have a lot of wind and it never seems to come from behind -. We even have a national championship Cycling against the wind: 8,5 km against a southwesternly wind with a force of at minimum seven, and e-bikes or bicycles with gears are not allowed. The championship often has some 300 contestants! Not for me though - I am more of a functional cyclist - to the railway station, running errands, visiting people in our little town, going to doctor, library etc etc.
@JNL, You know, I'd also forgotten (about to be my usual downer self) that when I was 17, I skidded off my bike on sand and was knocked cold for a couple minutes. Fortunately, my sister was right behind me and was able to tell the nice mom in the car who saw the whole thing our address, and she walked my bike home. I was very excited, as a nerdy teen, to look into my bedroom mirror and see that one pupil was huge and one tiny (a sign of concussion). My parents took me to the hospital, and they were going to keep me in for observation (I was planning on acting like a chicken to freak them out--yes, I've always been a weirdo), but in the end let me go home. I had daily migraines for weeks. Ugh, it was awful. Traumatic brain injuries are no joke, even if the patient keeps clucking loudly.
Great, while looking that up, apparently different sized pupils are symptomatic of a greater brain injury than a concussion. As are all the other symptoms I had. Well, this was 1982 and I lived, I guess!
@JNL, actually, I’m not surprised about the helmets!
Helmets are a bandaid attempt to fix a more underlying structural problem of vehicles hitting cyclists.
I wear one, because I ride fast enough to seriously injure myself in a crash (and I’ve had a helmet save me from a concussion!). But kids & adults riding 5-10mph just to get around don’t need them any more than a jogger would need one.
@Liz,
You are so right there. However I noticed in your response something that I often see in writing and that I find hard to explain. That in such an accident the parties are usually referred to as the cyclist and the vehicle - as if the vehicle cannot help itself. I think we need to mention the motorist and the cyclist to stress that the accidents are between people who should each have an awaress of each other and responsibility towards each other, in traffic. Which is exactly the point you started out with.
(I am a bit of a language nerd even in a language not my own)
@J NL, Absolutely correct about the language!
I bet you would love doing a deep dive into Vision Zero (reducing road fatalities among ALL road users: drivers, passengers, cyclists, pedestrians, etc., down to ZERO).
My husband is a cyclist and has been hit by a car three times. He always wears a helmet, but the last time he was hit just over a year ago, he spent a few days in the hospital due to a subdural hematoma (brain bleed). He was very lucky that it was a small hematoma and he had no other significant injuries. The worst part is that police in our area often seem to have no idea what laws apply to bikes (bikes are actually considered vehicles in our state and the same road rules apply). However, in the case of my husband's accident, the vehicle hit him from behind and the policeman who responded ticketed my husband for being "on the wrong side of the road." That doesn't even make sense because that implies he was facing traffic. He was actually in the left lane of a multi-lane road planning on turning left when the vehicle hit him. If he had been driving a car, the person who hit him would automatically have been at fault. Mary areas of the US definitely need more education related to cycling and much better infrastructure to protect cyclists.
@TRS, amazing that he still got back on a bike after the second accident!
@Kim from Philadelphia, that's what everyone says! I don't understand it either, haha. He always wants to be back on the bike as quickly as possible and I have to force him to stay off. I did tell him after the last accident that he has to ride only with a group, rather than riding all over by himself.
Hi Liz! Does your son have something particular he wants to do with a pilot's license, or is it just to learn the skill?
I also have a son who is set on getting his pilot's license. He's still a couple of years out from being able to start, but he's been working in the summer on a fencing crew (barbed wire--we live in ranching country) to earn the money. He will not, however, be able to ride his bike to an airport, since the nearest flight school is 150 miles away. 🙂 We'll probably have to send him to live with my brother or parents for a summer or something so he can be within even a reasonable distance of a flight school. He's set on it, though, so we'll figure it out.
@kristin @ going country, he wants to become a commercial airline pilot!
Specifically, he wants to work for United, so he can be based at O’Hare, not too far from home.
Surprisingly, he’s kind of a homebody, even though he also looks forward to flying all over the world!
Biker Liz,
Thank you for sharing your extensive interview. You had so many interesting things to share. I can really relate to your comment "Limiting waste is what really drives most of the habits I have that would qualify as “frugal” – reducing/eliminating food waste, returning unneeded items, pursuing refunds, checking on warranties, repairing things, etc.". That so mirrors my thoughts these days.
We live in a suburb that is not very friendly to walking and biking. Bike lanes become vehicle turn lanes at stop lights and are often blocked by parked vehicles. Side walks are missing or have large utility poles in the middle of them in some places and/or you have to cross a busy street to stay on a sidewalk. Yet I walk where I can.
I grew up in Iowa and remember the early days of RAGBRAI. My brother rode it a couple of times as did friends and neighbors.
Hi Liz-
Lovely to meet you! Do you build your own bikes, or do you just tweak ones you buy pre-assembled?
We have a lot of bikes in my home- my husband used his bike as his main mode of transportation all through grad school and most of his working years. We try to send our kids off to college with one- most schools are bike friendly. My husband has built some, but usually he'll buy a bike, and then upgrade half the components. Our recent purchase was an adult trike for my special need child. It handles so nicely- I was surprised how easy it is to ride.
@mbmom11, I'm not really much of a bike mechanic, so I buy pre-assembled bikes.
My dad worked as a bike mechanic while he was in college. He was a racer, too, so he had to know how to perform basic maintenance "on the fly", and he taught us basic work. But because he was always around when I was in high school and college, (and even after I moved out, he'd do things like send me a custom-built wheel!), I never got really good at the more intensive bike repair stuff.
So, I find good mechanic shops near me for complex things like replacing a cassette or derailleur, but when it comes to simpler stuff like replacing a flat tire, or swapping out smooth tires for nubby ones, or tweaking my brakes, or replacing brake pads, I do that myself.
And if I realize that some piece of work isn't getting done because I'm not making the time to do it, I'll just take it to the bike shop (this happened with a flat back tire on my road bike, because it has disc brakes and I HATE trying to readjust them after pulling the wheel off - the brake disc isn't perfectly flat, which is common & normal, but make it a very annoying process).
I'm planning to get a trike when I get older, if falling ever becomes a risk. My parents are 70 and still riding 2-wheelers regularly, though, so I'm guessing that day will come later rather than sooner! My mom did get an electric-assist bike this year, though, so she can keep up with my dad on longer rides!
My daughter and family in NY have no car either- she walks the kids to school, shops daily for food and son-in-law either works from home or takes the bus. She loves it and they chose this particular office because it was so walkable. They walk the kids to all activities too- coding, swim lessons, art class, etc. If they want to go some place farther like for Thanksgiving, they just rent a car. GD will more than likely take the subway to middle school.
@Nan, I agree that car-free living is a lot easier in the heart of a big city. My JASNA BFF lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and she's not only never owned a car, she's never learned to drive--because she's never had to. She walks or takes mass transit nearly everywhere she goes (with cabs for emergencies or on special occasions).
It is a pleasure to meet you. It was so wonderful to hear that you and I hold the same opinion regarding community infrastructure. Safe bike paths, sidewalks and sensible public transportation are important to having a healthy, happy and connected community.
I hope this isn’t too political, but I get frustrated with all the emphasis being placed on EVs when my community doesn’t even have a sidewalk or bike path to the local library.
Good luck with nursing school!
@Bee, completely agree on all counts!
Hello Liz I loved your meet the reader interview. I love you and your children bike as much as you can.
Being a child of the 60s that was my main mode of transportation during my child/teen years.
Now being older I want to go back to biking again for the exercise but also for the balance. At the beach this year we rented bikes for the 2 weeks. The first week I was all over the road. The 2nd week I noticed I was much more competent on the bike.
I also love you giving your children a chance to develop their interests but in an independent way. Generally speaking parents today hover too much over their children. This does stifle them.
Loved this!!! So nice to meet you!
Yeah!!! Another biker person! Nice to meat you Liz!
I didn't start re-riding till 7 years ago when my husband wanted to go to the Netherlands and ride a bike around for his 60th birthday. We were in FL at the time (I see your picture on the Shark Valley Trail in the Everglades with no shade!) and there were plenty of places to bike and walk. I just love the freedom that biking allows.
We both grew up on Long Island in the 70's and the way kids got around was walking or riding your bike. Then we got married and started a little riding, but not very much at all. The Hubs and his sisters started getting together and doing bike rides for fun. There were no sidewalks where we used to live in Upstate NY and some of the back roads had no shoulders either and it was too scary for me (someone was hit by a car and killed on the backroads).
Now we are in WV (hubs retired) and there are absolutely no places to ride to town. There are no sidewalks or shoulders around here at all. And the roads are twisty and hilly. We have to drive 20-25 min to get to a rail trail for riding. But that's OK because we have fun riding together. And there are plenty of rail trails around WV and PA. If you want to do a multi-day trail, try the Great Allegany Passage (GAP) from Maryland to Pittsburgh. Beautiful trail, but gravel and not road bike worthy!
Safe Biking!!!!!
@Maureen, We are in Western Maryland, so you took the words out of my mouth. I don't even like my kids to walk on the roads around here because there aren't shoulders. Because of the curves and hills, visibility is poor too. And, to be honest, not many people want to walk straight up or straight down for a leisurely walk. But we do have two trails in our town (5 miles away). (I think one links to the GAP.)
Thank you so much for this - loved it all! 2 random thoughts to add:
Living somewhere walkable has been huge for my husband this year; he has temporarily lost his driving license due to medical issues, and while he's understandably struggling with this, it would be far worse if we weren't within walking distance of the main street of our small town. Grocery store, coffee shop, pharmacy, library, bank, beach....all 15-20 min walk. His resilience is about to be tested by our Canadian winters, but we remain grateful; he is retired but I'll be working for another couple of years so it would be very difficult if he was geographically isolated right now.
And I too don't have to bookmark Kristen's blog! Morning routine - kettle on, check world news, Canadian news, (embarrassed to admit, but also People.com) and then this site. Kristen & community teach me so much and lift me up in so many ways xo
Forgot to mention, Liz - the sunhat/bike helmet combo is amazing!
@Shelagh, Was thinking the same thing about the sunhat - brilliant!
@Suz, My pal MARTHA wears one of these. https://bikepretty.com/products/straw-hat-bike-helmet?variant=45116590467
If I ever get back on a bike I want one.
@Rose, Wow, very pretty; I had no idea there are such stylish options.. When I scrolled down, I got a pop-up to enter a giveaway for that straw bike helmet, so I'm thinking you should enter, to be prepared for when you do get back on a bike. (I was thinking @ the sunhat for my husband since he's the one who rides currently; he'll stand for a lot, but Not a stylish straw sunhat, ha.)
@Suz, What if you glue on some fake daisies? heh.
Wow, does your daughter look like you! I'm so impressed by how physically active you are, as well as your kids. I used to live on my bike as a kid and I rode for many happy hours exploring. Unfortunately that never seemed to happen with my kids. Oh well, autre temps, autre moeres.
Great to meet you!
Hi, Liz. Along with everyone else, I enjoyed your interview. I think the aspect I appreciated most is that plus-sized athletes rock! I myself don't expect to get back on a bike--the combination of Central NY's winter weather and hilly terrain is too much for me--but I remain what Jane Austen would have called a "desperate walker," despite being short, stout, and elderly.
@A. Marie, Biking is big here, and I hate to give up, so sometimes--like now--I think about an e-bike, or more likely trike since I have balance problems. They're so expensive, though: what if I don't use it?
Super impressed with your athleticism and love of biking. I'm a rails to trails gal myself but unfortunately we live in one of those mostly unwalkable/unbikeable areas so we have to haul our bikes to safe trails in order to ride.
Really enjoyed your interview, thanks for sharing!
Hi Liz - thanks for sharing; what an interesting interview! I too moved when I was a kid, to a busy street with no shoulders - I had to dart across that street with my bike to get to slightly more bikeable areas - and I remember how isolating it was, compared with my previous neighborhood. In my first job, I lived in a city for years with no car, and loved that freedom. Our current area is not walk or bike friendly in terms of errands etc. It does have lovely walking trails in parks, so I'm grateful for that.
I especially enjoyed the pictures of your family - your Christmas family photo made me smile, clearly enjoying each other!
I also struggle with trying to get "value" out of something I own that isn't serving my household anymore! I usually will list something on craigslist for a week or two and then try to find someone that can use the items after that. Last week my 9 year old hauled 43 books to school that my kids were done with. I had reached out to her teacher to make sure it was ok first, and they are using them for prizes, in their classrooms, or for any other teachers that don't have copies of those books. Teachers have been my go-to for donating so many items, organizing bins, books, craft supplies, even a little holiday tree! (The tree was used to decorate for Dr. Seuss day!) I also try to reach out to my pastor, he always seems to know who can use items and I always feel good that they aren't going in the trash and are actually being used!
So nice to meet you, Liz, and you have such a fun, fascinating life.
I am with you on giving up on having garage/yard sales. My last one brought me $41 for two days of hard work. When I retired a year ago and decluttered every closet, cabinet, cupboard, chest and drawer in the house, everything we did not need or use went to charities instead.
Same for my yard sale experience! Too much work for too little monetary gain.
@Ruby, the last time I did a yard sale was truly the last time. Someone came to me with a wooden spoon and asked if I'd take a dime instead of quarter. That was the final straw.
i thoroughly enjoyed this one 🙂
what an inspiration on biking everywhere!! I feel like a wuss using my car now! lol.. (though similar to her story, there's no sidewalks or paths where we live either and car drivers are too nuts to risk it on the road 🙁 BUT - reading all this is giving me good thoughts to consider for our next move!! i want a walkable/non-drivable community!!)
I had some of the same thoughts; maybe when I am ready to buy a house again, I will try to find somewhere that is a bit more walkable/bikeable (my current location is dismal for both except that I CAN walk to college!)
Liz, I enjoyed your post full of fun, frugality, fitness and family! I love that you focus more on making good use of the resources you have.
Thanks, Liz, for a super interesting post. It is filled with practical and joyful lifestyle that are well-thought out and clearly explained. And that joy your life brings you is evident in every photo of yourself and your family.
Like you, I won the lottery with a husband who is engaged on every level, a person of character and a dear to live with. He brings wit and love to every situation and I have learned through Kristen’s blog how crazy valuable that is. I’m sorry to say I’ve taken all he brings to the table for granted but no more!
You are an inspiration Liz!
Like too many others, I live in a bike-unfriendly place, and it's even more walker-unfriendly. I live on a truck by-pass for our small town - no sidewalks, no bike lanes, no shoulders, but my daughter lives in an old residential area in the heart of town and even she has no sidewalks, road shoulders or bike lanes. I used to love riding a bike for pleasure, but it's been decades since I've been on one.
Congratulations on all you do and how you do it! Congratulations on finding a wonderful man and on your kids going happily along with your athletic and frugal life styles! I know it won't be easy but I think you will be successful at becoming a nurse. You are too determined and hard-working not to make it.
This was a fabulous glimpse into your life, which is very different from mine! And I admire it greatly. Thanks for sharing and inspiring!
We have the same DaBrim! I wanted the larger size but I couldn't sacrifice on color. I even contacted the company seeing if they would ever make the larger size in the pink, but they said no lol. It's my favorite bike accessory!
I really enjoyed this!
I lived in SF and that’s where I first took up bike commuting. It was wonderful, there was a bike map with bike routes and lots of people on bikes so I felt like I was always riding in a big group, lots of dedicated bike lanes and routes too. Many people thought it was crazy to ride a bike in a big city but that’s where it actually felt safest since they had the infrastructure for it! I then moved to a suburb that was less bike friendly but still somewhat ok (could bike to the train, which had a dedicated bike car) Sadly I’m now in a suburb that is not bike friendly at all and I haven’t ridden my bike since moving here 6 years ago. I do manage some walking though (to my sons elementary school, the library, the beach)
Also am dealing with the same decluttering dilemma and I like your solution to focus more on not bringing items in. I don’t like the hassle and delay that comes with trying to sell something, I’m in a parents group, a buy nothing group and another group where people can give stuff away so it’s often faster to just give it away and people really appreciate it.
Biker Liz, this was a delight to read - thank you for sharing! Your bright and sunny perspective is so refreshing.
Hi there!
I have been becoming more aware of the need for infrastructure to support biking/walking in recent years. My husband and I both have cars, but in our area, we are considered oddities because we don't automatically get our kids a car when they turn 16. It's interesting to me how so many parents consider this to be an essential. There are a bazillion different scenarios and in some cases, yes, it's important for the child to have a car. In other situations, though, it seems like they are in a revolving door, working to afford a car so they can get to work so they can pay for their car. Anyway, I like how you have shown that there are different options--you are so right, the correct infrastructure can make all the difference in a person's ability to safely walk and bike places, and unfortunately, where I live, we don't have that support.
I live close to Lake Michigan and I loved seeing your photos. Maybe I missed it--was that from a vacation, or are you also located close by?
Thanks for taking the time to give us a peek at your life. For several years we lived in a village where everything was within walking distance. when I did an analysis of our spending, I was stunned at how much we saved by not having a vehicle. Good luck on your nursing school plans.
@Lindsey, This is something a lot of Americans do not see. My husband and I had no car while he was in graduate school in Seattle. We used the excellent bus system, walked a lot, and paid for the occasional taxi. It was astonishing how much we saved by not paying car payments, parking, gas, insurance, or repairs.
@Kristina, I have noticed that people walk/bike/take the monorail/the light rail in Seattle more than any other city I'm familiar with, except New York.
Triathlete Liz, thank you for sharing so much about your well planned life. I wish I had thought of looking for a house in a walkable/bikable community when I was first in the house market in the 1980's. My bank accounts would be very different today. Love the photos!
I LOVE your attitude to transportation. We have one car, and I will do my darndest to avoid buying a another. I dislike driving, and the expense of a second car is so huge (buying it, insurance, gas, maintenance, renting another parking spot, paying for a parking spot at my work.) I walk and take transit; your comments on the built environment really ring true.
Hi Liz, nice to read about another biking family!
I live in a pretty mixed area for biking; like in many smaller American towns/suburbs there is a limited number of trails or bike lanes, not very suitable for getting you around to run errands or go to work or school, but just enough to get exercise or for fun. If you actually want to go places, you have to take leap a faith and bike in traffic part of the way, sometimes getting yelled at by cars although the roads have bike signs. Accidents is huge worry of mine, I do admit.
That said, when we chose our neighborhood, walkability/biking was a huge factor in our decision where to live. The neighborhood is old and doesn't have sidewalks, but it is next to an old railroad converted to a bike/jogging trail. I use that trail almost daily, it's perhaps my biggest frugal win as I can just leave my house to go exercising or to get around.
We can use the trail to go to library, to a few restaurants, and we also live within walking distance from a small shopping area.
Our kids bike to school once a week with a group of friends instead of taking the bus. They do have to cross a multilane 50 mph road at one point, but on the other hand there are more and more designated bike signs, and I feel like we have to encourage bikers to be out there to show that we are part of the traffic also.
As my older son who lives at home is also a full-time biker or takes the bus, we manage with just one car as a family of three adults and two teens.
I do miss our time in Europe where we had designated bike trails or lanes all over the city, and could hop on the bus, metro or tram to get to places so at times we didn't own a car at all, but in the U.S. it's also possible to push the barrier!
@Kristina M., Good thinking. I had a bike only and was scared a few times by rude and clueless auto drivers, but I had no choice except to walk. Auto drivers need to learn to share the road, and they will have to as so many more of us are walking or biking, I hope. Accidents happen in cars too, so practice reasonable defensive biking, wear a helmet, and you are likely to be OK. The costs of owning a car are going up much faster than most people's incomes.
Another possibility to help build a better future is to go to all the public planning meetings for new projects. They don't happen very often but if we all speak up for pedestrian and bicycle safety, building in sidewalks and bike paths is cheaper if they are built with the original road. I have had good success with this, as my town has an old infrastructure but a new rails-to-trails path, and hopes to have the business of bicycle travelers. It is slowly making the whole town more bike friendly, and teaching more drivers to slow down in the 2,000 pound machines. It is good for residents, good for business, good for the environment, and adds a whole dimension of possibilities for families.
@Kristina, Definitely! I should also join some of the public planning meetings for bike transport, but I know a lot of the work done thanks to my neighbor who is an advocate.
The least we can do is to show our support by actually using the infrastructure created for us!
I loved this (the Hardest response):
10. What’s the easiest/hardest part of being frugal?
Easiest – saying “no” to things that I’ve figured out don’t really matter to me
Hardest – figuring out what matters!
So different for everyone. My husband and I struggle some in terms of agreement here but we are learning. 🙂
Biker Liz - thanks for the resource for plus size biking gear! I really enjoyed this.
You mention you pick accommodations near a bus line or bike trail when you travel. Do you travel with your bike or do you find bike rentals when you are there?
Hi, Liz! Thank you for your fitness example.
I'm really glad I'm not the only parent who allows their children not to have a phone. I don't even have a phone. I remember being stranded on the road many times in my first car-- even on the interstate, even in the middle of nowhere. And somehow I managed. And I did become more resourceful.
Aw, thank you for this, Kristin!
Biking in the winter is a bit more difficult here in northern IL than it was in Seattle, but only because my community doesn’t prioritize plowing/shoveling all the trails I normally use. It doesn’t have to be this way, though - there are places in Europe like Finland who DO prioritize clearing cycling paths, and everyone rides year-round. (See: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU )
Having the right equipment helps, too - I don’t use my road bike in winter, because the tires are too smooth & narrow. I use my trail bike, which has wider & nubbier tires. If you want to ride on fairly deep/fresh snow, there are also bikes with really wide tires called “fat tire” bikes - they can even ride on sandy beaches!
There are a ton of cyclists in northern US states and Canada they have loss of advice on what kind of gear to wear to stay warm, too. It’s a lot like skiing or any other winter sport - the physical activity helps you stay warm, as long as you’re using gear that wicks sweat & blocks wind.
I also ride in the road on streets I’ve determined are safe (in general, speed limits 35mph & under plus a decent shoulder and relatively low traffic volume at the times I travel). Streets get plowed right away, and salted, so they dry out quickly.
If the snow is very fresh, I walk or C take the bus, or drive if I have a time constraint.
And there are still a few places I can’t easily my bike to - my doctor moved offices a few months ago, and her office is now on the other side of a railroad track that doesn’t have a safe street or bike trail crossing it (one of the major trails I use stops just short! So annoying). I’m still trying to figure out a work-around for that one, but for now I just drive to those appointments.
@Liz, The fat tire bikes are super trendy here in the Hamptons. Over the summer, I (driving) passed Robert Downey Jr riding his.
It's a pleasure to meet you! My hat's off to you. I had no car, and no bike, living in Seattle, but the bus system was good (1981-86) and I was younger. My husband and I saved a lot of money by not having a car--he was a full time graduate student and I worked full time, commuting by bus.
Your plans for nursing school sound very feasible to me. Best of luck.
Hi Biker Liz
I thoroughly enjoyed your post and the peek inside your amazing life.
My eldest sister is 72 and now walks way more than biking. She also gave me this great advice: when traveling you can use the restroom, walk the aisles for exercise in the summer, and eat at the deli in grocery stores. Plus she feels safer in a store as she now has to travel alone.
You have a can-do attitude and you will make a wonderful nurse.
I love all of your pictures, Liz! Thank you for sharing with us! It was especially interesting to see your sunrise pictures on Lake Michigan. Being on the other side of the lake, I'm so used to seeing sunset pictures of Lake Michigan and I guess I never really thought about people taking sunrise pictures on that same body of water.
I am impressed that you managed to go completely car-free. We went down to one vehicle for about a year before we had our first child and it did save us money. My husband invested in a good bike, I walked to work when I could, and we made it work. But that was in a city in Virginia. Growing up in rural Michigan we had to drive 20 miles to get groceries. I didn't even own a bike when I was a teenager because I lived right on a highway and had nowhere to ride (seeing that I didn't want to get flattened by a semi!)
The shirt you got for your dad is awesome!! I might need to share that with my cycling instructor when I see her tomorrow. 🙂
Thanks for all of the travel tips and for giving me things to think about with the built environment. I think your interview will stick with me when that topic arises! I appreciate your insight here.
Loved the tip about eating at grocery stores on vacation!
Really enjoyed learning about your life and great frugal travel tips. I will definitely check out the grocery store hot bar next time I’m on a trip! And yes, 100% agree about community design influencing your ability to live frugally. That’s one reason why we chose to live in town — walking and biking are viable options vs. having to drive everywhere. I really enjoy seeing kids walk and bike to school or hanging out with their friends after school, there’s so much freedom in having their own way to get around.
thanks for sharing. i have been car free since i had an accident during junior year of college. my i2 year old son can't wait to have a car of his own. my 15 year old daughter does not want to learn to drive. was great taking a peek into your life. you will be a great nurse. just like kristen. we live in nyc so we take public transit and the kids bike with their dad all the time.
must have really been hard to have your wings clipped when you moved as a teen. my local library is three blocks from my apt. i am there 3 times a week or so.
I live in Montreal, a very bike friendly city. Walking and biking are my main means of transportation, even when it's -20c.
Update: I’m in my first semester of nursing school, and working as a PCT on an ICU unit in a hospital!
I love LOVE my job in a way I never did with engineering. Even the 12-hr shifts are preferable to a “normal” 8-5. I don’t drive at rush hour (I’m driving almost the same route I did for one of my engineering jobs and the traffic difference is really noticeable!), on days that work all I do is work (no more trying to squeeze other things in before or after work), but I still have time to relax with my family.
And I even got an award within my first 90 days for great patient care! I never got recognized like that in engineering - the things I’m naturally good at (connecting with people quickly, teaching to many different levels, compassionately noticing when someone needs something, etc.) just weren’t valued.
I love this SO much and I am SO proud of you!!!!! I'm beaming from ear to ear. 🙂