n bed for an extra 15
es than have to drag
f outside.
I, I'm out the door by 8:15 to a and rainy morning (thank God, I put on in boots). I forget my iPod, so I have to to the swoosh of cars through the wet s and the sound of raindrops during my y trek. I begrudgingly pull my hoodie my head and shove my hands into my ts. This sucks, I think.
teabear two miles from the University of St's main artery, off of 15th and Crestline. Out a five-minute drive in light traffic to my front door to a parking spot on us. Today it takes me nearly 45 minutes toeing around puddles and dodging cars in crosswalks to arrive a cold boggy mess to my only class of the day. My minutes later, I'm out the door to back home. The trek back isn't so bad as the sun finally starts to come out, but my 45-minute walk back I suddenly he urge to go to the bathroom. I do the nince as I march up the hill that leads to use before bursting through my front
ake up sore and sick with a stuffy nose,
I attribute to my rainy journey the day.
Day three: Saturday
end the rest of the day inside until it
to walk to the gym in the evening.
the weekend, and some of my friends dask if I want to go shopping in Kansas can't, i say — there's no way I can make ip by foot or bike.
difficult to have a social life without e of a car. It might be easier if I lived in ork or San Francisco, but Lawrence is crawling and suburban for anything of st happening late at night to be within asking or riding distance. I live too far my good restaurants, shops or bars to me to make the trek there by foot. aid of riding a bike anywhere at night itself, too. Plus, how cool would it be led up to a bar on a bike in my dress ed platforms, let alone trying to pedal under the influence of too many gin nics?
s problem might be solved by an known as the new urbanism, says Topilkar, 2005 graduate. Topilkar will use the film The End of Suburbia April Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts St. The film addresses the United States'
oil dependence and ways to reduce it. One way to combat
he overuse of gas and oil is the building of new urbanneighborhoods that promote walking and biking capabilities, a design theory known as the new urbanism, Toplikar says. These
neighborhoods combine homes, schools, shopping centers and businesses together in the
and businesses together in the same community to make the use of cars almost obsolete.
"There's not really a way to stop using oil," Toplikar says. "Our supply will eventually run out, but if we use less there will be less of a problem. We just have to change how we live."
For now I try to change how I live by I thinking of other ways to spend my evening, like baking red velvet cake or watching reruns of Family Guy on DVD.
Day four: Sundav
I finally work up the courage to hop on a bike. it takes me about an hour to ready myself for the challenge, but I'm off to get some work done on campus by late afternoon.
Despite a few pitfalls, the ride to campus is rather breezy. My favorite part is going downhill as I feel the wind rush through my hair. Dorn is right, there is something about connecting to all this nature stuff that's helped clear my head. I even think I can feel my skin turning golden in the sun.
I take off, furiously peddling while trying to keep my balance.I'm reminded why it took almost a year to get my training wheels taken off my bike when I was a child — I nearly fly into two oncoming cars in the street.
After doing some work in Stauffer-Flint, I ride down to the Student Recreation Fitness Center for a workout before riding back home.
The ride home is exhilarating and I feel like I can ride a bike for fun every once in awhile. Once home, I jump off in the driveway and feel nearly every muscle in my legs pulsating — muscles I didn't even know I had just a half hour before at the gym.
I've started to look out for things I normally wouldn't pay attention to, like the amount and location of bike racks and walking trails. These things make alternative transportation easier, safer and less time consuming. Luckily, I've noticed plenty of bike racks on campus. Around the rest of Lawrence, though, this is a bit of a different story.
I know I have to be on campus until the wee hours of the morning, so for safety reasons I decide to go back to my car for one day before finishing up my final day without a car.
Day five: Mondav
I wake up this morning still dreading the long trek to class, but I'm excited to get outside. A steady and refreshing breeze is blowing and I can feel my body waking up and becoming more energized with each step I take.
Day five (take two): Tuesday
The best part about walking is that I don't have to deal with the headache of finding a parking spot on campus. I have new sense of freedom. I can get wherever I need to go without two tons of metal, rubber and gas. I can spend all day on campus darting back