Active Lifestyles: 4 things to do instead of driving somewhere

Katy Mueller

May 25, 2016

(photo courtesy of David Marcu via Unsplash.com)

Driving is super convenient. It gets you places fast, but now that it is summer and we have a little more time (hopefully), we should all be trying to cut down on our car usage. It’s not that great for the environment or for our health. Instead of driving somewhere, we could be doing something else that provides us with a bit of exercise and cuts down on fossil fuel usage and emissions. Here are a few ideas that may be a nice alternative to driving this summer.

With the added benifit of getting ready for snowboard season, skateboarding and longboarding are great ways to travel to and from campus. (Photo by Ryan Arb) — With the added benefit of getting ready for snowboard season, skateboarding and longboarding are great ways to travel to and from campus. (Photo by Ryan Arb)

1. Board

Longboard to your friends house instead of driving one day. I am telling you, it isn’t as hard as it seems for those who haven’t tried it. It is a bit difficult at first, but once you get the hang of the balance part, it is actually fun. As long as there is a sidewalk, you will be ready to go!

Stephen Melendrez (Left), 21, and Tanner Hetherington (Right), 24, take their dog for a bike ride on the CSU campus. Photo by Bianca Torrez

2. Bike

Obviously, this makes the list. Biking is the best alternative transportation. It is fast and a great workout. Also, the nice thing is that you can ride as fast or as slow as you want, so that you don’t have to get sweaty. Burn fat, not fuel!

Walking around campus (via the Collegian Archives)

3. Walk

Honestly, as college students, everything is in walking distance. Sure, it may be a mile or two, but that is really not far. With the beautiful weather, we should all be outside walking and moving our legs. Sometimes it is fun to all meet up and walk together to a restaurant instead of driving. Make an adventure out of it!

Students can save money getting to campus by getting a carpooling pass. By doing this, they are committing to driving into school with two or more people. (Photo Credit: Megan Fischer)

4. Carpool

This is a great idea to save money on gas while still being able to drive places. If you need to go to the store, coordinate with a friend and go together in one car. You can switch off who drives to make it fair and save money. Or, if you can’t find a friend with a car, you could try the Zipcar car-share service that is provided on campus, which helps you save money on gas and parking permits.

So park your car for the summer and have fun travelling!!

Collegian blogger Katy Mueller can be found at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @katymueller13

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