Celebrating World Car Free Day - September 22

Growing up in the Karakoram Mountains, far north of Pakistan, Aziz Khan dreamed of owning a bicycle. But between the rugged landscape and lack of a biking culture, his family never bought him one. That didn’t stop the Stanford Cancer Institute research scientist, though. “I used to steal eggs from my mom’s hen cage, sneak off and rent bikes just to feel that sense of freedom and joy,” said Aziz.  It wasn’t until he moved to Beijing to start his PhD that he bought his first bike at age 28.

After moving to the U.S. in 2019, Aziz recalls being told that living without a car in the Bay Area was impossible. “I said, ‘Let me see how it goes,’” he recalled. “Five years later, I proved that not only is going car-free possible, it's also a more sustainable and rewarding lifestyle.”

Aziz started with a regular bike, commuting daily to his lab on the Stanford campus, but eventually upgraded to a pedal-assist e-bike. Until a recent move to Abu Dhabi to start his independent research lab, Aziz biked 6.5 miles each way to work from Los Altos. During the last two years since he upgraded to an e-bike, Aziz’s e-bike estimated that he traveled almost 5,500 miles, saved 76 trees, and reduced his carbon emissions by 972 kilograms.

“Biking has given me a sense of independence that I can’t imagine living without,” said Aziz. “Each ride is a small step toward protecting our planet, and still carries the same joy I chased as a kid.”