Yesterday’s sky-high gas prices — $1.36 a litre — were likely met with ire by most Vancouverites. But Robert Lynds shrugged them off.
“I haven’t been to a gas station in 10 years,” the martial arts instructor and father of two said.
Today is the start of Bike to Work Week, a campaign that lasts year-round for his family.
Lynds, his wife, Emma, and children Kate, 10, and Aidan, 13, ditched their two cars nine years ago for a healthier lifestyle — a move that’s saved them around $10,000 a year.
“People are like, ‘That’s so cool (but) I would never do it because I need my car for this (or that),’” said Emma.
But she said once you commit to biking it’s easy. When her children were young they sat in bike chariots and in the winter they don rain gear or take the bus.
“You’re not sitting in a car, no one’s frustrated … and I think you grow to appreciate your community more,” Emma said.
Aidan said it’s liberating. “You can stop when you want. You can go fast, you can go slow.”
“People think they’re saving time by having a car, but they’re not,” Robert added. “Plus I get the best parking spaces.”
-kristen.thompson@metronews.ca
