>>>>When we came here, I got an old car, so to have transportation until we manage. It lasted a few months, and then when it broke we were pedestrians for a few weeks. One rucksack (ordinary, not mountain climber's or hunter's) can take two gallons of milk, and about as much of other stuff on top of it.
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>>>Are you carless now ?
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>>No, that was eight years ago - and the second hand pre-owned Corolla we bought then still runs. It's just that I'm trying to lose the 6-7kg I found since I lost smoking. All other forms of workout are boring and don't attract me much; pedaling has this uncanny power of changing the scenery around me, and then there's the challenge of being faster at the lights than the guy who runs four tons and a few hundred horses :).
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>>And there are times when I really don't want to open the car door, too hot this time of the year.
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>>>A trailer might be a good idea for the big shops
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>>Bike trailer? Not quite sure, can't drive on the road in most places where I need to go to reach a shop (this is America, there's no little shop on the corner anymore, not by a dozen corners), and the sidewalks are too zig-zaggy for four wheels; at least one wheel of the trailer would bump into something and even if I tied everything up, there would be some damage when it rolls over. Just too impractical here. And nearly impossible to press the button for the pedestrian light (but at least these buttons work here - in Charlottesville barely a half did), because the sidewalk goes around the pole, not to the pole, so on every major corner I have to unmount, take the extra step to the side, press the button, mount, be ready...
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>>May as well get the tote bags. I think I can still handle 10kg on each side of the handlebars :).
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>Having driven for nearly 30 years we are on our fourth car. I still regret not keeping the first one and just fixing it up. It had one of those engines that you could repair with very few tools. Sometimes when I open the bonnet of our current car and see all the bits I wonder where engine design went so wrong.

With computers!