Sad Statistics

I've been reading a book called "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson, which chronicles a man's walking journey over the Appalachian Trail (about 2000 miles). I came across a few sad statistics (please note these book was published in 1997, and things may have changed). Let me quote his words if you don't mind. He seems to have said it better than i ever could.

"Now here's a thought to consider. Every twenty minutes on the Appalachian Trail, Katz (his friend) and I walk further that the average American walks in a week. For 93 percent of all trips outside the home, for whatever distance or whatever purpose, Americans now get in the car. On average the total walking distance of an American these days -that's walking of all types: from car to office, from office to car, around the supermarket and shopping malls-adds up to 1.4 miles a week, barely 300 yards a day. That's ridiculous." (pg. 135)

For those of you who like a visual example, I've done the conversions for you. 300 yards is equivalent to 0.27 kms. That's the distance from House of James on Emerson to the Tim Hortons on Gladwin. That's ridiculous! The length of Tim Ave (that's where we live) is TWICE the distance that most people walk in a day!!!
To Dan and I, that seems utterly ridiculous. Dan even commented aloud when I told him the distance, that he was shocked and that these stats are from over 10 years ago. He wonders how much they have changed!!!
But somehow these don't shock me. How often do we drive around (wasting precious expensive gas) to find the closest parking spot to the mall? Walking from one store to another seems like too far a distance, so we hop into our cars and drive to the next store.

Last summer, we were lent a car for almost 6 weeks. Dan and I enjoyed the vacation from walking, and took the opportunity to tour around the Lower Mainland (a staycation if you will). But about 5 weeks into it, i took the car on a beautiful day to go shopping. All of a sudden, i realized that it was a bad thing for me to have. I wanted to drive from Michaels to the Seven Oaks Shopping Center. Why do i need to drive??? The weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold. I normally walk, so what made it different? It was at that moment that i realized that having a car makes me lazy. I don't walk short distances, i prefer to drive. It was awful. I couldn't wait to give the car back to its owner (who couldn't have come home at a better time. Another week and i would have driven it off a cliff somewhere)

Walking has become second nature to us now. We love it. We talk more as a couple, as opposed to listening to music silently in the car. We spend less money, since who wants to walk home a large item, or even who wants to walk 30 minutes just for a Starbucks? I found that I am more relaxed and less anxious and uptight. Having a vehicle makes me rush and feel like i can't get somewhere fast enough. Walking relaxes me, slows me down and calms my nerves. Walking keeps us healthy and active. We are strong advocates of walking if at all possible. We know its not possible for everyone (i mean, it does have its downsides) But we do encourage people to slow down and try it. Even if it means pulling into a far away parking spot and walking from one mall to another.