As a family, we had talked about getting bikes for years. We started each of the kids on a strider bike so that they could learn to balance the bike correctly, and during the pandemic we spent hours each day in the parking lot of our apartment complex riding bikes and climbing trees.
When we moved to our house in January 2021, the only downside of the house was the location. It was much farther from Afa’s job. We had two vehicles at the time because Afa’s parents lived with us and graciously allowed Afa to use theirs to drive to work. When they moved back to Southern California in October 2021, we returned to being a one vehicle family. Afa was so accustomed to driving to work that he started driving our van.
This was challenging for the kids and I because it left us without a vehicle from 7am to 6pm most days. We practiced walking to places like the park and library, but there are only a few options near our house within walking distance. At one point, I asked Afa if he could take the bus to the train on some days so that we could keep the van. This was a good compromise for a while, and we would often pick him up from different stations close to wherever we had ventured out for the day.
During this time, we started discussing the possibility of getting a second car, but in reality we couldn’t afford that. Owning a car in California is crazy expensive, including not only an additional car payment but also the gas, insurance, and annual registration. It was simply out of our budget. Around the same time, we were also discussing getting the kids new bikes. We bought all their bikes second hand, but they had all started to break down. We decided that when I started my new job at Meta, we would use the extra income to purchase new bikes for all the kids. Because the kids ride their bikes almost every day, we wanted to have reliable ones.
This eventually led to the possibility that buying Afa a bicycle could solve several of our problems. He would be able to get to the BART more easily than waiting on the bus, and he would start to get some regular exercise built into his day. As he researched the options, he decided that he would buy one from REI. Since it would be his commuter bike, we wanted to get one that would last. He found the one he wanted and that same week, a coupon came to my email for 20% off a single item at REI. I didn’t know if they would let us use it for something as expensive as a bike, but I was thrilled when they accepted it.
Now, Afa and all the kids had dependable bikes. The very next day, he decided to bike to BART. As usually happens with new commuter routes, it took him a few days to find the best roads, but he eventually found the bike paths to the train station and back. He would bike a few days a week and drive the other days. After several weeks of this, he started biking more and more frequently. There would be days that the kids and I did not need the car, but even when I let him know that he could drive, he preferred biking. He got to the point where he biked every day unless there was a specific reason he needed the van during the day.
His evolution from a regular driver to a regular biker brought a multitude of benefits to us as a family. The first was the amount of money that we saved. Riding BART all the way into the city is almost $11 each day, but driving the van meant $7 toll for the bridge, plus parking and gas. We were putting far fewer miles on our van, and his willingness to bike saved us all the money of having a second vehicle. However, the other benefits outweighed even the financial ones. When he drove to work, Afa would frequently arrive home angry and frustrated because the traffic to get home from San Francisco is intense. When he biked home, he was in a great mood. He did not have to deal with traffic, and the exercise endorphins helped too. Since he was biking around 10 miles a day, his life was much less sedentary, and he felt better overall. In fact, 10 miles became easy after a while, and he started looking for ways to add miles to his daily total.
He also started taking the kids on bike rides after work. They all went to one of the paths on the Bay near our house and would ride for an hour or so. The kids loved these opportunities because there were no restrictions like riding on the sidewalks around the house. On the wide paths, they could go as fast and as far as their bikes could carry them. These became precious times to me as well, not only because the children were getting high quality outside time with their dad, but also because I was getting high quality indoor time with all the silence of the children being out of the house. Working from home full time and homeschooling the children, while a privilege that I was incredibly grateful for, could be very draining some days. Having time alone was a precious gift.
We eventually moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and Afa began looking for a job. He was able to get temporary assignments while looking for a permanent position, but one of the first aspects he always looked at was whether the location was bike-able. We quickly learned that biking was far less common and less safe in LA than it had been in San Francisco. As I prayed for Afa to find a job, I asked God to provide one he could bike to. It took almost six months for him to get a full time job, which was challenging in a variety of ways, but when he eventually started his job at Kaiser, his main campus was less than 3 miles away…and had bike lanes from our apartment to the hospital. It was a gift from God!
When we moved to LA, we needed to find a much smaller place to live because we wanted to live in the city instead of the suburbs, and while we were viewing places, I was always on the lookout for where we would store the kids’ bikes. I was willing to let the bikes go if we needed to, but I always held out hope that we would find a solution. The apartment complex we ended up in was perfect in so many ways – including a special area in the garage for bike storage. There are also small parks and paths throughout the complex that the kids use for their bikes several times a week. We continue to reap the benefits of becoming a biking family.
As much as we have loved the change that it brought us and as much money as it saved us compared to purchasing a new car, this was still an initially expensive solution. Between Afa’s bike, three new children’s bikes, and all the gear we have purchased, it cost more than $1,000. For us, the expense has been an investment in our long term health and family connection, and we believe it was the right decision for us. However, it’s important to understand it as an investment before making the decision to go this direction because the opportunity costs can be high. However, even understanding these costs looking back, it was well worth the investment for our family.