Farewell to a car

I missed the play with the eponymous title that colleagues were pretty excited about. Anyway, from 28 January 2022, my life becomes a bit that play. Because on that day, our private car, an ugly but handy Citroën Berlingo, went out the door irrevocably. According to some, a comedy, the majority think it will be a drama. I think: if we can do it, then surely there are others who can and simply should.

There was not 1 moment when we made the decision. We, that is my girlfriend and I, and also our two rascals aged 6 and 9. For the latter, sitting in the car was and is a chore, a necessary evil. Our littlest one is only too glad that stinky car is finally gone. Driving it was still fine, but all the car parts that make driving a car somewhat comfortable had given up the ghost after 20 years of intensive use.

The decision-making process, as it is in most democracies, took a long time, a very long time. First we had to get a bicycle that would allow us to transport all the children including shop goods. After much deliberation, we went for a longtail Yuba Mundo. The kids still think it's a top purchase. And so do we, in fact. As a result, our old sootbox was even more stationary, but at the same time more available than ever before. And so it was driven again anyway. At all those times, it often seemed the only option, or at least we liked to believe so. So keep it then?

If we want to live up to this, my friend decided, you must also have a means of transport with which you can and want to easily make necessary trips. At Tom's, the best bike shop in the country and also a recognised craftsman, I bought an electric Raleigh with Bosch motor. A real winner: smooth-running, just enough power and competitively priced.

And the car, from then on it stood still even more. Visiting relatives in Limburg, going to the container park, making big purchases: we could take it out of its stable for that.

At the technical inspection, they were amazed that it lasted so long without any major defects. At the final happy receipt of the all-too-familiar green invitation card, it suddenly fell on our heads. Were we still going to get that car inspected? Nope so, we weren't going to. Consequence: within a month we were no longer legally allowed on the track with that thing. And then things moved fast.

We looked at and discussed alternatives such as private car-sharing and Cambio, planned train journeys, took the bus to the hospital ... I took off my old rain suit I used when I still rode my Suzuki Bandit. Turned out that was pretty comfortable cycling too. There were warm gloves and a buff under the Christmas tree. And during the Christmas holidays, we could take our time quietly on all our trips.

Meanwhile, I also took the time to read another book. It became 'The Right of the Fastest' by Thalia Verkade and Marco te Brömmelstoet also known as the Cycling Professor. I had been given that as a thank you for my participation in Fietsberaad's Cycling Forum. A finely written book but not very earth-shattering for someone working in the mobility world. And yet. After the last page, it cleared up in my head. I agreed with the book's assertions to such an extent that the cognitive dissonance became just too much. When Cathy Macharis suggests in De Standaard that you leave your car on the side of the road for a month - a great idea around which we will build a whole campaign with Mobiel 21 in 2022 - we simply add: That car has no place here. The same day, it was shining -nay- on a number of auction sites.

Meanwhile, after a few emails on our part, Cambio settled down in our village. Still a modest start, four small cars 10 minutes' cycle from our house. Boarding was quickly fixed, the first Cambio ride was crazy fun for the two youngest clan members. Look mummy, music in the car! And we can play our playlist! It still smells a bit, but not so much anymore, cried the littlest one.