A stranger called and transportation ideas

A stranger called today because he heard something about me. Those calls always kinda make me feel a little weird. What EXACTLY did they hear about me? Over the years I've worn a number of hats. Sometimes phone calls get me involved in some strange things. This time it turned out to be pretty cool. The guy reopened a local restaurant and heard I was willing to pick up waste vegetable oil. Works for me. That's more free fuel for the veggie van.

I'm always willing to take waste veggie oil. If I can't use it, I know others who can. There's a few of us grease burners in the area. I know just about all of them.

In fact, I was talking to a guy who used to run a converted VW diesel. He's found a an even cheaper way to get to his job. His car stayed parked all winter long. He commuted to work on a bicycle. It wasn't just any bicycle, but a fat tire bicycle designed for use in snow. I'm guessing his commute is about a 12 – 15 mile one way trip that includes some serious hill climbing. It was a cold and snowy winter in New Hampshire. He never missed a day of work, and he never dumped the bike.

My lovely wife and I are thinking about replacing her car with something cheaper and more environmentally friendly. We plan on spending half the year sailing, the cold months of New Hampshire. It just feels wrong to keep and maintain a car that's only going to get used during the warm months. We are thinking of selling the car in the fall before we head south.

We aren't quite sure what to replace it with. About the only thing my lovely wife uses her car for is to go to town. Perhaps we'll put together some sort of 3 wheel bicycle with electric assist -something that can take a bit of cargo. We are still kicking around ideas.

It's all part of our downwardly mobile life. The trick is to adapt to something else before you absolutely have to.

-Sixbears