3 months in to our challenge

There is a lot of good news but also some hiccups.

First the good news.

We have been able to reduce our need for a car to an acceptable minimum. Most of our local shopping and commutes are now by feet or bicycle.

Our Burley flatbed is the ideal partner for the bulky stuff and we have only be using the car in case the total weight or measurements would become a real stretch.

What also helps is that we both have a smartwatch which tells us "to get moving" or that we do not have enough steps for the day yet.

About the hiccups.

It stays rather tempting to use the car whenever it rains, it's very windy or it's a little further away. In Belgium, public transport increases the travel time dramatically and whenever you are with 2, it also quickly gets a lot more expensive than using your own car. When I was living in Singapore, it was more simple as we had no car. The only option was to walk, cycle or take public transport.

Again some good news

For day trips, when time is not that important, we have taken the train.

Sometimes taking along the Brompton (only foldable bikes go for free on the train) or just to do a day hike between train stations (see our trips - train walks)

About the long-awaited e-bikes.

Everyones planning was that they would be ready just before Christmas and just in time for the start of our challenge.

But, towards the end of last year, there was a worldwide shortage of bicycle parts and the fork of Linda's bike was stuck in Taiwan. Beginning of this year, the Brexit for weeks distorted the delivery of our Hope brakes. The last couple of weeks, Corona restrictions prevented us from crossing the Belgian border to pick up the bikes at the Santos factory in The Netherlands.

Next week, it's going to happen.

Let's see how this will further increase our mobility without having to use the car.

We'll start keeping a log.