This changes everything...

This quote today really struck a nerve with me. It expressed in a way that I haven't been able to my frustration and annoyance with people who overreact when I tell them I don't own a car:

Jerks say: You’re weird. Skeptics say: How are you going to handle the heat this summer (it gets up to 110 in Santa Clarita)? The Unimaginative say: I could never give up my car, I have kids/dog/insert special problem here.

I've ranted over and over again in this space that our car-culture and subsequent accouterments are only temporary. The means to power this wasteful, slothful, and selfish way of life will soon come to an end. We even may live to see it.

But it heartens me to see, read, and hear about more riders taking to the streets every day. People who are no longer making excuses to tie themselves down in life and to their car. People who discover how much better their lives can be once they realize that there are less limits on a car-free lifestyle, and those limits are only as constraining as they allow them to be.

A breakthrough for me arrived today in my dog Jack's complete acceptance of the dog trailer I'm buying for him. Available from Pet Ego, a higher-end pet store owned by my friend and teammate Emanuele, now I can take him to the beach, to local races - such as the Chicago Crit, and cyclocross - without relying on a friend's car, or renting one.

The trailer is very affordable, extremely well made, and now gives Jack and I the freedom to go so many more places and to enjoy life together - car free.

Tomorrow will be his first day at the Montrose dog beach!