Yesterday, I rode my bicycle to a downtown area a little further away for the first time. That experience impressed me. I will talk about it today.
How to solve transportation problems to live in the countryside
Sometimes, we want to live quietly in the countryside. If we are not good at socializing, we might prefer a peaceful life rather than being a social winner with enduring stress, even if we need to be frugal. We can often enjoy frugality if we are empathic and creative.
However, we are sometimes not confident in living in the countryside.
One reason is the problem of transportation. The countryside is inconvenient. Grocery stores are often far away. Even if we can use online shopping, we want an affordable means of transportation to buy fresh foods.
If we own a car, it will solve it easily. However, it costs a lot. We want to live as affordably as possible. That is why we need effective transportation.
A sport-type bicycle, such as a road bike, could solve it. Today, I will introduce it through my experience.
The transportation we can use
When we think of transportation, we tend to choose typical means: walking, a bicycle, public transport, and a car.
However, we have more means, as follows (I exclude public transportation this time):
- Walking
- A short-range bicycle, like a city bike
- A long-range bicycle, like a road bike
- A motorcycle
- A car
Choosing a long-range bicycle and a motorcycle could be a good option.
To live frugally in the countryside, a road bike often would be a good option because it requires low running costs. We don’t need to use fuel. Although it is more expensive than a regular bicycle, we can regard it as an initial investment. The initial cost will not make much difference if we use it for a long time.
In my case, I bought an entry-level road bike about two years ago. Although it cost almost twice as much as a normal bicycle, it weighed half as much and was comfortable. I sent it to this apartment.
Do we need a car to live alone?
Now I live in an area between the two towns, with a major road connecting them. In other words, it is an inconvenient place to go grocery shopping.
Many people, such as real estate agents or bloggers living in this city, said that we need a car if we live in this area.
I also felt so. I calculated it would take around a 25-minute bicycle ride to reach the smaller town and 45 to 50 minutes to get to the other larger downtown. Of course, it is a one-way time. We have to ride double for the round trip. It would be a hard effort.
That was why I thought I could barely live with my bicycle.
The potential of a road bike
However, fortunately, my prospect was wrong. It was far easier than I thought. I could reach the smaller town in 15 minutes and only 30 to the larger downtown.
This was because I could use the main load. It had a paved road, a flat road, no traffic lights, and less traffic.
The most labor-intensive part of a bicycle is stop-and-go. If we bike in the urban area, we often have to stop by the red lights. That takes time and effort.
On the other hand, we don’t have to stop in the main load of the countryside. No red light, no need to stop. Once we are up to speed, all we have to do is maintain the speed. That was very comfortable and easy.
A 15-minute bike ride is too easy. A 30-minute ride is a good exercise! It is not hard at all!
We can often use such main loads in the coastal area between two towns. It is often a paved, flat, no-traffic-lights road. We can easily bike, even if it is 10 km away.
Of course, we can only carry what we can fit in our backpack or bag. However, we can buy large items online. It will not be critical.
Conclusion
That is why a sport-type bicycle, such as a road bike, could be a good transportation in the countryside.
It would be an affordable means to solve the transportation problem.
This knowledge might provide you with another option to live in the countryside.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope to see you in the next one.
