Fredda

Week One:

After our pledge I enjoyed a lovely bike ride home later that evening. I rode down the Parkway as the sun had just set and the evening sky was giving way to the darkness. The temperature was a bit brisk but the ride was smooth and refreshing.

On Friday I rode in to work and back again on the Parkway- oh what a rush to pass all the stifling traffic as I glide by in the bike lane - arriving home in record time.

Saturday morning I rode my old bike to Trophy bikes and spent some time learning about the Brompton collapsible bike before heading back home with the Brompton for the Month. I'm still adjusting to it. I don't quite have the hang of how to collapse it and try to look cool at the same time, but riding it - that is a total hit.

Sunday - a glorious day and my Birthday. After a nice Brunch and the New York times at home my husband and I took a cruise into center city on our bikes- no trouble parking right on Walnut street at Rittenhouse Sq. The street person sitting on the sidewalk was the first one to remark that the Brompton was the coolest bike he had ever seen! We took it right into the store with us, Did some shopping and headed back on the Schuylkill river recreation path. It couldn't have been nicer. The only problem was just as we got into town our 16 year old daughter called- asking if we had taken both bikes as she wanted to ride into town too? She felt a bit stranded - no bike and no drivers. So it may be an adjustment for the whole family. I can't wait to ride the Brompton into work tomorrow. I have the large carry bag ready to fetch some groceries at the Reading Terminal for dinner tomorrow. Let the good times roll.

Week Two:

Week 2 had all the variety of car share and transportation. The Brompton bike is easily becoming the preferred mode of transportation, even over my own old 3 speed ladies Raleigh, much to my amazement. The front mounted carry bag is large enough for groceries and well balanced so as not to alter the ride with the additional load. Riding my old Raleigh again the other day was the revelation on how nice the Brompton really is. I have been keeping the bike in my cubicle at work and many of my co- workers have taken it for a spin either around the office or around the block- they all love it. I would recommend that CC offices invest in a few Brompton bikes for office sharing.

Monday I rode the Brompton into CC for work and then stopped after 5 to pick up the Smart car so that I could pick up my daughter from Masterman HS. She had spent our entire European vacation a while back - photographing Smart cars in every town. Now was the moment that she had been waiting for. The look on her face as I pulled up in the Smart car was total amazement and awe. She invited the whole team to come out and admire the car as she entered the passenger seat and we rode home. I have to admit that the attention one gets in the Smart car gives one a little extra enjoyment. People are giving one the thumbs up and smiling at you- pretty nice.

The only trouble I had - was opening the hatch door- maybe I missed it but some direction on it would help.

The rain mid week made me opt to use SEPTA to get into CC and because of the Parkway closures I opted for the Market street subway. I was quite pleased at how quickly a subway train arrived and transported me into work- arriving in almost the same time as my bike commute.

Over the weekend I rode to Trenton and then to NY Penn station with the help of the monthly trans pass to meet a cousin from Argentina whom I had never met and stopped to see the Design exhibit at MOMA. What a great day! The train was relaxing, on time and made both my husband and I convinced that we should do this more often. The train ride back from Penn Station to Trenton we sat in a double decker car with Amtrak style seats- felt like we were in Europe for that segment of the trip. The last segment a fellow in our car had his bike and I thought perhaps next time we'll bring our bikes too and take a ride thru central park.

Monday morning again too windy and rainy for the bike I opted to try a Septa bus. The #38 from Spring Garden street into CC was the choice. The wait for the bus was almost long enough to have walked into town- That bus route was not a choice to be repeated at rush hour again. i arrived at work 15 minutes late and quite wind blown. A bus shelter and a schedule timetable at the bus stop would also have been helpful.

I have to confess I used our car to take our daughter to school in the morning - in the rush to be on time getting the PhillyCarShare was not going to work and I choose not to use the car at 33d and Hamilton as it is parked in a residential lot not zoned or permitted for parking lot use.

Week Three:

I took my bike for the tune up at Trophy Bikes and what a difference! It was a lot less than our car inspection and tune up but more involved than what I had thought. Of course the bike now has a new wheel, tire, secure rack etc. Still it doesn't compare to the new Brompton Bike- everyone has a comment on how cool a bike it is! Most of the week was glorious and perfect bike riding weather. On the rainy days I used my trans pass and took the 38# bus into CC and home- some days I even got lucky without having to wait. We're kicking off our Sustainability training at work so it feels so right to also have given up my car for the month while I actively push for The City to be more sustainable and we will be soon!

We've done our first on line car booking which was really easy and user friendly. We easily navigated thru the car choices availability and pod locations to find what we needed. Now the hard part- driving and then packing up our college daughter. We're hoping all her stuff - and they have a lot of stuff, will fit into the Honda Element.

Week Four:

We had our best PhillyCarShare journey yet. We rented a Honda Element to pick up our daughter from school in Middlebury Vermont. It fit all her stuff including a bicycle! It drove well too. Upon our return to Philly we promptly returned it to it's Pod- no hassles. The car log already had the wiper blades listed as needing to be replaced- We would have appreciated if that had occurred as we did hit a fair bit of rain. Perhaps extra wiper blades could be in the cars as we would have changed it had we had the blades.

Back to Philly and onto my Brompton bike commuting to and from work, I hit the Reading Terminal and filled the bike bag with at least two full grocery bags full. It was enough to take us thru to the weekend. The bike gears somehow loosened up but Mike at Trophy Bikes quickly adjusted them and off I went.

Wednesday our 10th grade daughter was playing in the High School final soccer play-offs and I didn't want to miss it. I rented a mini- cooper convertible a few blocks from my office. I sped over to the car after work on my bike- quickly collapsed it into the car and sped off to the game in the Northeast. The car was so peppy and fun and thanks to little traffic- I arrived in time for the second half. They lost in the second overtime, after rain, lightening, and some fierce play on the field. It was a tough end to the season. But I was glad to have been there to watch. I was able to offer a ride back to school for another team mate, my daughter and the collapsed Brompton bike. Once back to the pod I biked home. Without the convenience of the CC car I could not have made the game- Thank you PhillyCarShare!

We are a two car family, but I am now looking forward to becoming a one car household and using PhillyCarShare to fill in the gaps in the near future. I like being able to access cars all over the city and getting the right size vehicle for the task at hand in addition to being a bit more green. Green in every sense of the word- the environment and economically too. Why wouldn’t we like it? It was tough getting thru on the phone just before a holiday weekend so I did lapse on my return time- but it was worth it.

Week Five:

I used my SEPTA pass on the 38 bus home one rainy evening and not being used to having a pass I unintentionally slipped the pass into the dollar bill slot OOPS! Now it was gone into a windowed compartment of the money box. " I can't believe you did that" said the driver! me either. I get the novice SEPTA pass award for that. SEPTA however was very helpful in re-issuing the pass so I assume I'm not the first patron to have had such a mishap.

Because my car is there - it is assumed I will use it. Curiously each of us in the family has adapted over this month to this no car and both my daughters have been using alternative transportation- how liberating for all of us. The last week was a very busy one at work and since the weather was perfect I biked to and from work on the Brompton collapsible bike - see photo in front of my office. It's a great bike to commute and do errands around the city. I don't know if I can go back to my old clunky 3 speed ladies bike.

Wrapping up the week I reserved a Prius for a few hours on Saturday to stock up at BJ's - so convenient. Filled the gas grill tank and purchased what seemed like way too much stuff but we've already used quite a bit of it. My husband a new PhillyCarShare member took a short test drive in the Prius and immediately started doing the math on how inefficient his car is- now we'll see how soon we sell one or more of our cars.

On Sunday both my husband and I biked along the new Schuylkill path and into Fitler square- had a swim at our swim club and a bike ride back home as the sun set. The path was filled with joggers, bikers, strollers and a photographer. It was almost like being on vacation in Philadelphia.It has been a glorious month and I thank you PhillyCarShare!

P.S. My daughter wanted to know if you could add some competition in Middlebury Vermont and have cars with snow tires!