Here’s a neat book: How to Live Well Without Owning a Car: Save Money, Breathe Easier, and Get More Mileage Out of Life.

The book was written by Chris Balish, a seven-time Emmy Award winning broadcast journalist, TV news anchor and reporter, primetime network TV host, bestselling author, and an on-air contributor for NBC’s Today Show, MSNBC, and CNN.

Chris wrote How to Live Well Without Owning a Car based on his experiences living car-free in St. Louis and Los Angeles:

I was a very car-addicted person. I drove everywhere. I had a big Toyota Sequoia SUV that I loved. But I was really feeling the pinch at the pump. So I decided to sell the car. I got online, went to the route map of my local transit system, found out I could easily get to work. Once I got that problem solved, all of the other pieces easily fell into place. If you can get to work without a car, you can live without a car, in most cases.

Look for things like bike paths, bus stops, sidewalks, transit stops, light rail lines, park-and-ride lots, car sharing hubs. Then, you want to talk to your neighbors. Find out anybody in your neighborhood that actually commutes car-free. You also want to ask your co-workers. Chances are somebody you work with commutes car-free.

When you live car-free, you spend less time sitting in traffic, you deal with less stress and aggravation, you get to know your neighbors because you’re not zipping through the neighborhood at 45 miles an hour surrounded by glass and steel, and you have fewer things to remember and less to worry about. [read more]

Here are some quotes about the book:

“Chris Balish offers a mix of the practical-a worksheet to figure out a car’s total cost and impact-as well as the horrifying: The average American walks just 300 yards a day.” – Sierra Magazine

“If ever there was a practical inducement to get out of the car trap, this is it. For the multitude of Americans stuck in traffic and spending thousands of dollars a year on their cars, Chris lively and pragmatic step-by-step solutions provide a way out.” – Jane Holtz Kay, author of Asphalt Nation

“Chris Balish’s book can help environmentally conscious Americans live their values. If you’re concerned about pollution and global warming, follow the program in these pages. There can be life without a car. And a good life at that!” – Ed Begley, Jr., actor and environmental activist

“[Chris Balish's] prescriptions are feasible and most important, reasonable.” – San Antonio Express News

“Even if living car-free or car-lite isn’t for you, you’ll still learn a lot from this book. I did.” – Michelle Singletary, Washington Post

Here’s some additional information from Chris’s interview with the Today Show’s Matt Lauer:

Living car-free in America is not difficult, but it does require some mild lifestyle changes. This book will walk you through the process step-by-step. The strategies in this book will put you on the car-free path to financial freedom; or, if you do not wish to get rid of your car entirely, this book will help you save money by using your car less. So even if living “car-free” isn’t your style, this book can show you how to live happily “car-lite.”

If you currently own or lease a car, truck, or SUV, this book has the power to give you the equivalent of a $5,000 to $10,000 raise. Following the program in these pages can help you slash your monthly expenses, pay off your credit cards, build an investment portfolio, save for a house, and possibly pay off your mortgage early. You could even become a millionaire, or retire at age forty. Regardless of your income level, this book can help you keep more of your money and lead a richer life.

And financial benefits are just the beginning. You’ll also learn how not owning a car is liberating, rewarding, and fun. Without a car to constantly take care of, you’ll have fewer hassles, lower stress, less aggravation, and less to worry about. You may even find you have more free time. With no car in your life you may also improve your health, get more exercise, lose weight, and sleep better. In other words, you’ll be happier, healthier, and much wealthier.

Sounds like a great book! If you’ve read it, please leave your impressions in the comments.

Image courtesy MSNBC.

May is Bike Month, so here are some stories about bicycling to work and saving money:

• Bike to Work, Get in Shape, and Save Money: May is National Bike Month, and you won’t get a better opportunity this spring to jumpstart your get in shape program, do your part to green-up the environment, save money for a vacation and, of course, impress everybody at the office.
• Ditch Your Car and Save Money: Do you realize how much it costs every year to own a car? Did you know more and more people are getting by without a car? When factoring in other costs, such as car payments, maintenance, and gas, AAA found that the average annual cost to own and operate a sedan is $8,487 . That comes out to $707 a month.
  
• Making Your Own Energy Enhancing Snack: How to make your own energy enhancing snack bars from honey, oats, nuts and other healthy ingredients. from BikeMag.
  
• Good tips on renting or buying a bike when traveling: So you want to travel around a city by bicycle, I mean who doesn’t? Here is an article from the NY Times with some tips on finding a bike either for rent or to buy.
• How to make DIY Bike Panniers: Make professional looking panniers from mostly re-used materials. As an added constraint for me, it has to work with my recumbent bike AND your traditional diamond frame bike. Total cost: $20 plus 1-2 hours construction time.
• Bicycles on a Budget: At Let’s Go Ride a Bike, Trisha and I aim to show how transportation cycling can be simple, stylish and fun. A major factor of “simple” is low cost – the only lower cost transportation option is walking, which we also enjoy, but it takes quite a bit longer.
• A Sports Drink You Can Make at Home: Newt Nectar: Strenuous exertion can take it out of you. Literally. Exercise means sweating, and sweating depletes your body’s electrolytes and fluid levels. If you don’t keep hydrated and if you don’t maintain an electrolyte balance, you’ll run out of energy. Why would you want to make your own sport drink? Two reasons—cost and flavor.

These tips are expanded versions of the items posted regularly on the Frugal Cyclist Twitter Feed and the Frugal Cyclist Facebook Feed. To get up-to-the minute tips, news, and deals, follow @frugalcyclist on Twitter or FrugalCyclist on Facebook.

Image courtesy roland.

Here are some frugal bicycling links, just in time to save money for the holidays:

• Becoming Your Own Massage Therapist: Devices for self-massage have become more common as more people compete in endurance sports and, more recently, as the recession has made professional rubdowns look prohibitively expensive. While it’s hard to say how many people do self-massage, many athletes swear by it, and a growing range of products and how-to videos is available in stores and online. A foam roller, which costs about $25, is just one of a family of products, manufactured or improvised, that can relieve tight muscles.
• Lifehacker reports on a DIY Bike Trailer: Riding your bike is all well and good, until you have to carry home more than 2 bags of groceries at a time. Toby from the DIY cyclist website Bike Hacks has assembled a pretty keen towing package for your wheels. Toby used parts easily found at your local hardware store. The trailer hooks to a wooden box that sits snug on the rear of the bike.
• Continuing with the utility theme, Chris Durr say Be Green: Build A Cargo Bicycle!: With some plans, a few old parts from Craigslist, and some elbow grease, you’ll have a cargo bicycle in no time at all. If you’re looking for a creative way to sweat off a few pounds, and you’re interested in being kind to the environment, check out a cargo bicycle.
• In Going With the Glow: A Fall-Foliage Bike Ride, the Frugal Traveler finds that without a car and without spending a lot of money, we could have the kind of day that, in Rob Kelley’s words, you’d kill for.
• From New York City’s Health Department says Better health linked to active transportation, where “active transportation” is any self-propelled mode of transportation to and from work or school, such as biking or walking. And, of course, improvements in health can have a huge economic benefit, both for individuals and society as a whole…

These tips are expanded versions of the items posted regularly on the Frugal Cyclist Twitter Feed. To get up-to-the minute tips, news, and deals, follow @frugalcyclist on Twitter.

Image courtesy fahrradfahrer.

Last day of the month, time to round up some frugal bicycling links!

• Ben Woodall gives us instructions for making a cheap and simple DIY Bike Camera Mount: “I’m way too cheap (and intelligent) to spend $50 on a store bought camera mount, so I figure I might as well just make my own.” Ben’s design really is quite simple and elegant. Not sure if it’ll handle the pounding of mountain biking, but it should work great for capturing road and path rides.
• Over at the Dornob blog, the Modified Bike Trailer Doubles as DIY Mobile Camper Home post describes “The ultimate in eco-friendly mobile living, this ingenious residential bike trailer idea from Tiny House Design is perhaps not as far fetched as it might first appear.” More concept drawing than actual plans, but it’s certainly an interesting concept — essentially a (very) lightweight mobile home built on a bicycle trailer chassis.
• In Sharing to Save Money, The Washington Post highlights “Bike Share, a new city program in which riders borrow bikes from the city for $40 a year. Sharing programs like Bike Share have recently increased in popularity as Americans adopt a kindergarten mantra: Share and share alike.” I think programs like these are going to grow in the coming years, and the more ubiquitous they become, the more useful they’ll be.
• Here’s an interesting post from an unexpected source: “Ski Bike Junkie” has written The frugal cyclist’s guide to upgrading your road bike: “Since I have a limited budget for upgrades, pretty good spreadsheet skills, and a warped sense of what constitutes “entertainment” on a Sunday morning, I decided to figure out exactly how to best spend upgrade dollars on my bike.” Some really good strategies here.
• Mark Stosberg offers up a simple yet effective DIY hanging recumbent bike repair stand. Basically just a ceiling hook and a tie-down strap, it’s certainly a minimalist approach. I’ve tried this myself, and there’s rather too much swaying for my taste, but it’ll certainly work in a pinch.
• Jesse Hammond at Active.com gives us a list of 7 Bike-Friendly Coastal Campgrounds. With sites in California, Oregon, Florida, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Virginia, and New York, there’s certainly a variety of locales to choose from. (Note: This list is hardly comprehensive, but it’s a nice eye-opener for those who don’t realize what opportunities await in unexpected places.)
• Here are photos and text describing a DIY pick-up bike rack that you can build for for less than $30. It doesn’t look terribly rugged or secure, but it’s definitely inexpensive and would be adequate for short trips.
• Matt at BikeHacks ponders possible bicycle-related uses for the infamous Shamwow, a chamois/towel made famous by the ubiquitous television infomercial. Interesting…

These tips are expanded versions of the items posted regularly on the Frugal Cyclist Twitter Feed. To get up-to-the minute tips, news, and deals, follow @frugalcyclist on Twitter.

Image courtesy RichardBH.

Awhile back I bought some super-cheap mountain bike tires on closeout from an online retailer. I think I paid something like $5 each for two of them. Great deal, right?

This Spring, I put them on one of my bikes to use for gravel road rides. They worked great — nice grip, seemed to wear reasonably well, and they seemed to help soak up the bumps on my rigid steel frame. I probably have something like 1200 miles on them.

But lately, I’ve been getting a rash of flats. Some were obvious — thorns making their way through the casing being the most common cause. Others were more mysterious, with causes I never could quite track down. I’d patch the tube, air it back up, and move on.

But it got frustrating, with flats seemingly every ride (and sometimes more than once per ride). I don’t mind fixing the occasional flat, but this was starting to annoy me.

Eventually took it in to my local bike shop to ask for advice. I wanted to discuss perhaps moving to a tubeless retrofit system, but the price on kits was kind of a shocker: $110 for two tires. Yikes.

Talking with the tech more, I told him about the great deal I’d gotten on the tires. He just shook his head. “Dude, what did you expect? Those are crappy tires. Even at that price, they probably made money on them.”

I’m not sure if I buy that. Rubber’s rubber, right? What’s the difference?

But anyway, I decided to follow that line of thought, and I put a couple new tires on order — name-brand tires, supposedly with flat protection built in. At something like $30 a pop, they’re not cheap, but if they can cure my flat epidemic, they’ll be worth it.

With new tubes (themselves pretty expensive anymore), I should be good to go. And the configuration of these tires should be better — a smooth-rolling center with knobbies on the sides vs. big knobbies all around. So I expect a slightly better ride, particularly on pavement or hard-pack.

But still, the basic question remains: Is there really that big of a difference between generic and name-brand tires? What’s your experience?

Image courtesy Michel Filion.

How to save by cycling and on cycling:

• Rebecca Rideout of the Christian Science Monitor writes about her experiences going car-free in Commuter, converted, How bus, bike, walk became a formula for enjoyment when the car went into the shop: “My summer of alternative transportation threw me off my routine, made me interact with new people, forced me to study the shapes of the clouds in the early evening light at the bus stop. The sunlight weakened as the weeks wore on and darkness began to creep in earlier. The difference between this year and last was that I was out in the wind and sun, noticing the changes firsthand.”
• In discussing Columbia, Missouri’s investments promoting bike/ped, and their recent designation as a bicycle-friendly city, Robert Johnson writes Bicycling saves even non-riders money: “Very real and tangible savings come with having a more bicycle-friendly city. So remember to think “green” the next time you see a bicyclist in Columbia. Not just “green” in the environmental sense, but think of all the money that person is saving you even if you never ride a bicycle for transportation.”
• At Queercents, Elizabeth has been working on a series of articles diiscussing bicycling commuting. Check out Getting Started, Planning Your Route, Online or LBS?, Getting a Bike, Outfitting Your Bike: “So you’re going to start biking to work. Good choice. Since you’ve already decided to start bike commuting, you probably know about at least some of the benefits. For those who are still thinking about biking to work here are some of the big advantages.” Good stuff!
• Chris Wood of BikeRadar tells us How to toughen up your bike shed: “The first rule of bike storage is simple: don’t let people know you have a bike. A garage or bike shed is never going to be up there with Fort Knox in the security stakes, but it doesn’t need to be.”
• JensonUSA, a leading retailer of mountain bike gear (although they also carry gear for all other types of bikes) is having a big sale on Shimano components, with most items 50% or more off the list price. If you need new derailleurs, shifters, brakes, etc. this is a good time to make the purchase: Deal Alert

These tips are expanded versions of the items posted regularly on the Frugal Cyclist Twitter Feed. To get up-to-the minute tips, news, and deals, follow @frugalcyclist on Twitter.

Image courtesy Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center.

You got the bike, we got the tips. Check ‘em out:

• Kay Luna from the Quad-City Times posted a profile of avid Quad-City bicyclist Chuck Oestreich, who says he “got his bike after ‘going to visit Aunt Sally and Uncle Will.’ (That’s the Salvation Army and Goodwill stores.) He spent $5 on the bicycle he pedals around Rock Island and beyond, proving that it doesn’t cost a lot of money to get the equipment you need to bike around town.” Cut down costs and weight: Ride a bike
• The How To Fix Bikes blog has a piece on How To Prevent Bicycle Theft: “Bicycle theft is rampant in major cities and suburbs. Nothing stands in the way of a determined scumbag who wants to grab your ride away from you. But, there are some steps you can do to prevent that.” Some good tips and suggestions here.
• London Cyclist offers us Get a new bicycle for less by following these 10 rules of negotiation: “The only thing stranding between you and and riding away with a gorgeous new bike is the expensive price tag. In this article I will outline the rules of negotiating that will ensure you get a good deal.”
• From Dump the Pump: Benefits of biking to work keep adding up: “The federal government just made it easier for you to ride your bike to work. You’ll see more bicycling and pedestrian paths, thanks to the economic-stimulus package, and the IRS has added a bicycle-commuting reimbursement to the list of qualified transportation benefits for employers.”
• Kiplinger Magazine gives us a free online calculator that lets you compute How Much Can I Save Bicycling to Work?: “When you bike to work, it might feel like your commute is uphill both ways — until you realize the added weight you’re carrying is actually extra money in your pocket. How much money? Enter the length of your daily commute, plus any costs for parking or tolls, to quickly calculate the savings you’ll achieve by switching from four wheels to two.”
• Lifehacker shows us a Minimal, DIY Bike Rack, using only two cables, eye hooks, and L brackets: “We’ve always loved a good DIY bike rack, and while the previous two racks we’ve featured grew progressively more streamlined, it’s hard to imagine a more minimalist bike storage unit than this DIY rack.”

These tips are expanded versions of the items posted regularly on the Frugal Cyclist Twitter Feed. To get up-to-the minute tips, news, and deals, follow @frugalcyclist on Twitter.

Image courtesy Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center.

From the frugal cyclist tips archive:

• Mother Earth News periodically posts articles from past issues of their publication, and one of their entries is Build a Bicycle Trailer: “This two-wheeled bike trailer can handle many chores from carrying groceries to hauling building materials.”
• Late last year, U.S.News & World Report published an article entitled “50 Ways to Improve Your Life”. One of the items on that list was Ride Your Bike to Work, which explains some of the many reasons for commuting to your job by bicycle: “You can save money on gas and get some extra exercise. The price of gas is a factor, but not the only one. Riders love the exercise and they enjoy the ride.” Unfortunately, they also indulge in a bit of fear-mongering: “The thought of urban cycling can pose a minicrisis for a newcomer. Even a 40-mph suburban road can be a daunting experience unless there’s a bike lane.” Regardless, the article provides some good info to get you started.
• EcoVelo offers an article in a similar vein, Bank More by Going Car-Less, which looks at some of the savings to be had by ditching your personal car, estimating “an average annual savings of $9,596 per year,” but also offering estimates for a few individual cities, with “Boston coming out on top (or bottom, depending upon how you look at it) with a whopping $13,490 annual savings, followed closely by New York and San Francisco.”
• Make Digital is at it again, this time with a piece called How-To: Pedal-powered phone charger, which provides instructions for “building a simple pedal-powered cell phone charger to mount on a bicycle. The apparatus we built could be a very practical concept for those on self-supported bike tours or those living temporarily in situations without electricity.”

These tips are expanded versions of the items posted regularly on the Frugal Cyclist Twitter Feed. To get up-to-the minute tips, news, and deals, follow @frugalcyclist on Twitter.

Image courtesy Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center.

Tips for learning the ways of the frugal cyclist:

• From Make Digital (U-G-L-Y Your Bike) comes a guide to deterring thieves from stealing your bike by camouflaging its fineness and making them think its worthless. Uglifying your bike might be a bit drastic, but if it’ll keep your ride from being stolen, it’s worth considering.
• Debt-free Scholar explains Why Every College Student Should Ride a Bike: Nine reasons why the bicycle is helpful as a transportation mode for college students, including saving gas, saving yourself from going to the gym, relaxation, keeping healthy, and much more.
• Dirt Rag Magazine offers up an article by super-frugal bicycle tourist Nick Lubecki (Do-It-Yourself Bike Touring): “Nick Lubecki isn’t someone you know, but his attitude towards long distance riding is one you should know. No matter that his way is unconventional, his nature reserved or his appearance slightly disheveled—Nick’s advice is founded on first-hand experience and his story is pure inspiration.”

These tips are expanded versions of the items posted regularly on the Frugal Cyclist Twitter Feed. To get up-to-the minute tips, news, and deals, follow @frugalcyclist on Twitter.

Image courtesy Make Digital.

A compendium of bicycling tips to save you money:

• From Lifehacker (DIY Bicycle-Powered USB Device Charger): “Last week we took a look at MightyMintyBoost, a solar-powered USB charger. If you liked the idea but can’t count on the sun shining, this USB charger runs on the power of your bicycle pedals.”
• From Rob Kerr of the Bend Bulletin (Be a pedal pusher): “When shopping for a bike, ask yourself, what kind of rider are you? For those who want a good bike within any price range, Frey says finding it requires self-reflection. Buy a more durable bike up front, save for it, and you’re more likely to use it.”
• From Michael Townsend of the Burlington Free Press (Commuting by bicycle can save you money): “Bikers won a little tax break this year under the stimulus plan and for each month they commute to work they could receive a tax-free $20 stipend to offset riding costs. The perk must be offered through an employer, who also receives a tax write-off for the tiny effort to reduce the nation’s carbon footprint.”
• From ClickGreen (Bike sales booming as recession-hit travellers turn green): “The UK cycle market is braced for a record year of sales as the recession bites and people look to switch to more sustainable modes of transport. The Association of Cycle Traders says business has soared to unprecedented levels with 20 percent sales increases from this time last year.”
• From BicycleSpokesman.com (Before You Do A Charity Ride): “Before you sign up for a charity ride, it is a good idea to check out the charity. I recently discovered a website that rates the efficiency of charities. The site is called CharityNavigator.org.”
• From The New York Times (Not Just Present at Work, but Presentable): “Like many bike commuters, Ms. Cortes-Comerer speaks about the time she spends on the bicycle each morning as a revelation, the joys of which easily offset the associated indignities. But she also acknowledges the disadvantages of a form of transportation that can leave a person sweaty and dirty at the beginning of each day at work. With the hottest months of the year looming, concerns about personal hygiene on the bike are heightened.”
• For great deals on bikes and gear via Twitter follow @bikedeals @MTBDeals @steepandcheap @chainlove

These tips are expanded versions of the items posted regularly on the Frugal Cyclist Twitter Feed. To get up-to-the minute tips, news, and deals, follow @frugalcyclist on Twitter.

Image courtesy Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center.