Adam Wonak's entry video

CHIRP: What kinds of adjustments did you have to make to your life and daily routines? 

Wonak: The transition was not difficult at all because even before I gave up my car I rarely drove. I commute to work mostly via bike, and I have several grocery stores within walking or biking distance and my neighborhood has a lot of fun bars and restaurants, so I don't typically venture too far.

My employers have all valued and supported bike commuting. Although it wouldn't be a problem locking my bike outside during the workday, being able to store my bike indoors and keep it clean helps preserve the longevity of my bike, especially in the winter. At my current office (I changed jobs last fall) there is space to keep my bike indoors, and my previous office even built an indoor bike storage room for its employees.

The biggest adjustment was making the occasional trip to one of my doctors, whose office is in Park Ridge. Instead of driving to those appointments, as I'd usually done, I now bike the 16-mile commute up Milwaukee Avenue to Northwest Highway--and it's a delightful trip!

Another adjustment I made was to ramp up my bicycle safety. Since I'm totally reliant on my bike for transportation now, I wanted to make sure safety was intentional and not an afterthought. Part of the bike shop credit I received went toward upgrading a lot of my safety gear, such as a new helmet with powerful lights attached, for nighttime riding.

CHIRP: How has living without a car changed you? 

Wonak: One thing I miss about my car was the massive bike rack. The Explorer had a trailer hitch with a 4-bike rack. On one bike trip to Wisconsin I took with my friends, we were able to transport 4 bikes on the rack and 2 bikes in the trunk! Without that car, I am no longer the bike mule when we leave town for bike excursions, and we've had to find alternate solutions for how to carry everything.

CHIRP: What do you feel are the biggest benefits of the lifestyle change you made?

Wonak: To be completely honest, I don't feel like much has changed. I had been planning on getting rid of my car for a while and was distancing myself from it further and further, so when it was finally gone I really didn't notice much of a change. That having been said, reflecting on the benefits of this lifestyle, I like to joke about the fact that my active lifestyle supports my eating habits: I like to eat a lot of rich food and sweets, so being active and biking regularly helps me burn all those extra calories!

CHIRP: How can your town, your state, and/or society in general make bicycling more attractive to other people?

Wonak: I really love the work that the Active Transportation Alliance is doing in Chicago. The work they're doing with CDOT on the Chicago Complete Streets campaign is great. The number of Chicagoans that choose to bike to work is large and growing, and it's important to make sure everyone can be on the road safely and comfortably. In fact, when the first protected bike lanes were installed on Kinzie I loved them as both a cyclist and a motorist. Dedicating space for bikes and for cars makes the streets safer for everyone.

CHIRP: What would be your advice for the next person who is going to take up New Belgium's offer?

Wonak: If you live and work in the city, Chicago has some great infrastructure to get around by bike, and it's getting better every year. If you live within about 5 miles from where you work, the daily commute will be totally doable--even in winter. Take the time to experiment and figure out the gear that works for you (warm boots in the winter are a must) and you can handle anything!

If you're inspired to take the Car For Bike challenge, click here for more details!