I’d like to welcome Patti Smith to the getDowntown blog!  Patti is going to be blogging about trying to go carfree this summer.  Patti is also a poster for Arbor Update and other stuff.  -Nancy Shore

Let me start by saying that I love my car. I’ve always loved my cars, starting with the first car that I ever had—a 5 year old black Dodge Omni with no air conditioning.

I still remember being 16 and when my first friend to get her license became my first friend to get her own car. We had to do some science experiment or another involving acids and bases. (I think the acids turned the paper red and the bases turned it blue, but I could be mistaken). My friend picked me up at my house and then we went to her house to do the experiment. When we were done, we wanted ice cream. And not just any ice cream; we wanted a Dairy Queen cone. Alas, the nearest Dairy Queen was a few miles away. But instead of having to beg a parent to drive us…my friend and I just hopped into her car and she drove us. At that moment, something in my life perception changed and I realized that once I got a car, I could go…anywhere.

A few weeks later, I got my own drivers license and possession of the used Omni. I fondly remember tooling around the fair cities of Troy and Sterling Heights that summer. Of course, it was hotter than anything that summer and of course, I had no air conditioning but the Omni had four wheels and a radio and really, what else does a 16 year old need? I drove that sucker until it flew off to whatever afterlife awaits cars that fall apart on Dodge Park Road. (A white Cordoba, black Dodge Shadow, blue Tempo, red Jeep and silver Jeep all followed—all of which are, as far as I know, playing harps with the Omni in Car Heaven).

I loved all of those cars and indeed still get a kick out of driving. You truly can go anywhere in this great country so long as you have the gas and the time and the patience. I still love nothing more than driving with the windows down and the radio blaring. So given this, it may seem strange that I asked my pal, Nancy, if I could guest blog on the Get Downtown website, a site that is dedicated to (among other things) alternate modes of transportation.

Well, there are a few reasons that I wanted to try a Summer That Is Almost Car-Free. First, in my pre-car heyday, I really loved riding my bike. I remember when the city of Troy opened its first Burger King within biking distance of my house. (In those pre-Fast Food Nation—and er, better metabolism—days, I could scarf down onion rings and shakes with the best of them). A few years ago, I decided to see if I could recapture the love of childhood by riding a bike. (Okay, first I tried roller skates. Not blades but actual “I’ve got a brand new pair of roller skates, you’ve got a brand new key” skates. After a few falls, I decided to try that another day). I got a bike and it’s been pretty good. I still have a hard time with the hills, but I’m getting better.

Second, I went to my doctor this past November. She said (quite rudely, in my opinion), “You’re too fat! Lose weight!” Now you must understand that I love to eat and I hate to exercise. Think of the thing you hate most in this world—traffic, the dentist, taxes—and multiply it by about a billion times and you still aren’t even anywhere close to how much I hate exercise. But, doctor’s orders so I figured I had to do something. For some reason, my brain registers bicycling as “transportation” and not “exercise” and so I don’t get crabby when I have to do it. This spares my husband a lot of whining, so everyone wins.

Third, those who know me know that I am “careful with my money”. Putting gas in the car literally sets my teeth on edge and I delight when I just put in gas for $2.84 and it is $2.87 down the street. Seriously, that will make my whole day. But on the whole, it pains me to have to literally pump so many of my hard earned dollars into my gas tank. So if I can save a buck, I’ll usually do it.

So! I have decided to try to reduce my carbon footprint, save money and save my booty from becoming to big by using alternate forms of transportation this summer.

I am someone who will never be able to walk or bike to work (more on that later) and I hope that I can encourage others who drive to work to join me. There is more to smart transportation than just how you get to work. To give this slightly different perspective, I will blog from time to time about what I am doing, how it is going and the like.

So! See you at the Route 5 bus stop!