Happy Friday — we’re back with more Hot Bones.

Mid-Atlantic weather is usually pretty lame: hot, muggy summers and freezing winters without any snow as a fun distraction. But for two weeks every April and October, we forget all that because there’s a handful of gloriously sunny days and cool, crisp nights. I’m happy to report we’ve just entered into the fall fortnight.

➡ Last edition was all about the best healthy(ish) snacks that aren’t out to BS you with pretty packaging.

➡ This week is all about how to enjoy these sunny days in anything but a car.

About a month ago, I heard about an event called Week Without Driving and was intrigued. For seven days, you avoid your car and use alternate modes of transportation to raise awareness for the nearly one-third of Americans without consistent access to a vehicle.

I signed up because it sounded like a great excuse to ride my bike more — and maybe get out of some household tasks like picking up groceries or driving to Target for $10 candles and a flimsy full-length mirror.

New research shows that people who commute by bike live longer, but honestly on most rides these days I feel like I’m going to get hit by a car. Must be some combination of less tolerant drivers and my increasing awareness that mortality is, in fact, a thing. The buses are too close, the trucks are too close, the SUVs are too close. And god forbid someone open their car door while I’m biking by.

Which is why, right after I heard about Week Without Driving, I drove (sorry) up to DC to visit the Brompton bike store.

I went to the Brompton store because I have a working theory that the nerdier you look on a bike, the more respectful cars will be around you. The more you look like Bambi or someone who spent the majority of their childhood being tickled or dunked in toilet bowls, the more the pickup trucks will feel sorry for you, give you a wide berth, and check their rearview to see you’re still pedaling behind them.

Conversely, the more you wear spandex and ride a $10,000 carbon road bike, the more likely that bus will cozy up next to you and the cold, hard cement curb.

Nerdier = safer

Cooler = danger

And if you’ve never seen a Brompton bike, they are the Oscars award night of nerdiness. They’re ultra-compact, quintessentially British folding bikes with toy-size wheels and upright handlebars.

This is what they look like.

And these are the type of people who ride them.

You may wish to give any of these characters a gentle wedgie, but I bet you wouldn’t want to drive them off the road.

Of course, the only thing nerdier than a Brompton is not knowing how to fold a Brompton.

After Scott at the DC store let me test ride a handful of models through Georgetown’s rush hour traffic (very satisfying to breeze by hundreds of idling cars trying to get out of the city), I then had to figure out how to unfold the loaner bike I was taking back to Charlottesville.

This is when those hundreds of cars got to do something more interesting than listening to Kara Swisher podcasts: watch me trying every iteration of metallic loops, spins, twists, and turns to try.and.get.the.damn.wheels.to.fit.in.this.is.so.dumb.i.hate.bikes.

About the same time that rush hour traffic subsided, I gave up, threw the half-folded bike in the trunk, and drove home.

This is what the folded bike is supposed to look like, if you’re a nerd who knows what’s what.

Scott was nice enough to let me use the loaner Brompton for the whole week, so I figured now was as good a time as any to fully commit to an auto-free life. I put the bike in the trunk (properly folded this time) and drove to Peacock Auto to get our oil changed and finally fix our nonfunctional back hatch. With the car at the shop, I wouldn’t be tempted to drive anywhere during the week.

MONDAY

👍 Good things that happened: I biked home with the wind in my hair, the sun on my back, and narey a car nudging into my personal space, even during Cville’s rush hour. Brompton nerd thesis holding up.

👎 Bad things that happened: Once you get to your destination, you can fold up the Brompton and wheel it into a closet or under your desk etc. You can also carry it down staircases (like to the London Tube) or across your just Swiffered front hallway. But if you have twig arms, this can be a pain in the ass. The next day you may wonder why your triceps are so sore.

TUESDAY

👎 Bad things: I got covid.

👍 Good things: After a week of hustling around New York, a reason to sit still, drink tea, and wear my pajamas all day wasn’t so bad. Pretty sure the Brompton enjoyed the day off too.

WEDNESDAY

👍 Good things: Week Without Driving is pretty simple if you’re sick and medically encouraged not to leave the house, but making Week Without Driving interesting when you’re sick is quite difficult. I can’t just wheel in the TV and set up a science documentary like every substitute teacher on a Friday; I had to find some plot.

Later that day, I got a call from Peacock Auto saying our car was ready early, so I masked up, ate a sleeve of saltines, and drank a glass of orange Gatorade to energize myself for the 2 mile bike ride back to the shop. Lunch of champions.

👎 Bad things: No car, bus, or truck incidents on the bike ride there. But until this point, I guess I hadn’t realized what an ego blow being this nerdy for this long would be. If cars were being respectful, that means my nerdy thesis was correct. But also that means I’m no longe even remotely cool.

Being in your thirties seems to be one long string of examples repeating this point. God I miss pencil jeans.

THURSDAY

👍 Good things: Another day in nerd paradise.

It was an absolutely stunning fall day, full sun, not too hot, and I used my lunch hour to test the climbing abilities of this little toy racer. Or rather, I intended to. My lungs said “make a different decision,” so I pedaled the 1.1 miles to campus with so little elevation toddlers walk it without asking to ride in their stroller.

👍 More good things: A massive red pickup snuck up behind me on the tight part of JPA and instead of shouldering me into the sidewalk as I was expecting, it gave me half the road to pedal along unencumbered. They probably heard my dry mouth breathing from a mile away.

I continued biking safe and unscathed! So who cares about egos! Today, I’m the nerdiest and germiest person for miles — harder than it looks in a college town — and I love it. Not too shabby, Brompton!

FRIDAY, SATURDAY, and SUNDAY

I bequeath these days to you, Hot Bones readers, to do as many non-car-related activities as you can. I’ll be under a heap of blankets, willing the covid to go away by the sound of Martin Short’s voice in all available episodes of Only Murders in the Building season 5.

Here are a few ideas of how you can participate:

By midday on Monday, I found that Week Without Driving can also be called Week of New Ways to Annoy Your Spouse. They’re the ones still driving, picking up the groceries, and going to Target. Saying thank you was a useful peacemaker, as was offering for next week to be called Week of Charlotte Mowing the Lawn and Cleaning the Toilets.

HB readers head to Biscuit Run for good dog romps.

Got your own adventure pics around town? Send in your favorite ones by replying to this email.

How much could a water bill cost, Michael? $10?

Love a good thread on how much people are paying for things in the Cville area, including water bills like:

This poster even broke it out: Water $47 + sewer $45 + tax $5.60 = $97.6

Full scoop is here.

⏰ Things happening TONIGHT: C3’s Party for the Planet at IX Park is from 5:30 - 8pm, with free live music, food trucks, prizes, and all that good stuff. Jump on Endeavor Cycle’s cruiser ride to get there? Rollout at 6pm.

🌱 How to plant a garden that takes care of itself: You had me at “little to no weeding.”

👶 As a new aunt, I’m legally obligated to now include things like: Target’s car seat takeback program, where you’ll get 20% off new baby gear when you bring in your sticky, throwuppy model. Old car seats are repurposed into new products instead of thrown into landfills. Promo ends tomorrow, Saturday, Oct 4.

🏡 Cool house of the week: A Queen Anne masterpiece, possibly haunted. Craftsman stained glass windows, wood burning stove, and the questionable choice of a swing in the kitchen ($420k, 3 bed, 3 bath, downtown Staunton).

🐶 Pet of the week: Oso! Hearts melt instantly when a dog leans against your legs, asking for rubs. Oso does this. All the more adorable because he’s a 100 pound Great Pyrenees mix (4 years old).

💸 Hey look, free money: Cville’s e-bike lottery is open again for Q4 ($1,000 off an e-bike of your choosing). Did you know Brompton has an e-bike option?

💼 Important, thankless job of the week: Long-Term Substitute Teacher for Middle School English at St. Anne’s-Belfield (no salary listed but countless Starbucks gift cards at the end of the year)

⛰️ PS Shenandoah Ntl Park is still open, despite the gov shutdown, but with limited staffing. So park bathrooms are closed, but roads and trails are open.

Have an event or rec you’d like to share? Hiring? Interested in advertising?

Share any and all info here.