Today, I’ve got a post over on Utility Cycling about getting started with family bicycle commuting. Please take a look!

First, in a guest post on Hobo Mama, Rachel Jonat tells about her experiences in going car-less with kids in Vancouver, B.C.

And on YouTube, Stanford University’s graduate journalism program has posted a five-minute video featuring Dr. Maren Pedersen of Palo Alto, and her experience as a life-long bicycle commuter. Enjoy!

Here’s a detailed post on How To Waterproof Your Xtracycle. I’m especially thinking about this because my SnapDeck is, in fact, showing signs of water-wear. Xtracycle is now offering a FireHouse Deck, which was designed by a Portlander with rain in mind; I’ve also thought of getting their FlightDeck, which is made of recycled plastic and has holes for bolting things onto it (extra carrying capacity!).

David in Bozeman, Montana, has a post on winter commuting for those dealing with sub-freezing temperatures and snow.

CycleWorks in Lincoln, Nebraska has great advice for those who are bicycle commuting with kids in winter.

I’ve pulled out my gloves, hat and scarf, but my hands are already getting too cold! I think I need to find some wool or leather gloves this year. Or maybe those funky lobster-claw mittens. And my eldest daughter keeps borrowing my hat, so I think I need to knit a new hat for one of us.

30 Days of Biking has returned for September! This Minneapolis-based event is open to everyone in the world.

The only rule for 30 Days of Biking is that you bike every day for 30 days—around the block, 20 miles to work, whatever suits you—then share your adventures online.

Yeah. That works for me. I participated in the original 30 Days of Biking in April, but didn’t quite make it to 30 days, because I had to take my bike to the shop, and they kept it for several days. C’est la vie. I’m doing it again. So far I’m two for two.

September is also Bike Commute Challenge month in Portland. Every year, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance sponsors this month long event, in which workplace-based teams compete based on the total percentage of commutes made by bike. I’m entered as part of my employer’s team, and plan to make 100% of my commutes by bike.

Work and life are already bringing challenges, frustrations and setbacks this month, but at least I’ll be getting out on my bike.

So what do you need to know about bicycle commuting in the wind?

Dress for cold. Even if weather.com says it’s in the high 40s, you’ll probably feel cold, and even more so if it’s raining at all. So wear your woollens, hat, scarf, gloves, etc.

Tuck your scarf in. You don’t want that thing blowing around. Put your scarf on first, then your coat. If you like , pull the scarf over your mouth. But do you remember this from the Little House books?

Laura’s veil was a slab of frost against her mouth that made speaking uncomfortable…
–These Happy Golden Years, Laura Ingalls Wilder

If it’s cold enough, and your scarf is over your mouth, you too will have a slab of frost. But if it’s not cold enough, your scarf may just get slimy! Yum!

Wear pants. Well, there are probably people who can and will wear a skirt anyway. I’m not one of them. A straight skirt that won’t fly up at all might work. But pants are warmer.

Wear your leg bands. Even if you have an effective chain guard like I do, the leg bands will keep your pants from blowing around and will keep cold air out.

Tie everything down. Make sure your belongings are secure. If you’re an Xtracycle rider, tighten up your Freeloader bags so that everything inside is secure.

Yell into the wind. I do.

“Howl! blast you! howl!” he shouted. “We’re all here safe! You can’t get at us! You’ve tried all winter but we’ll beat you yet!”
–Pa Ingalls, The Long Winter, Laura Ingalls Wilder

OK, I don’t yell that. But I do sometimes let out an “Aaaaaarrrrrgh!” when the wind is pushing me back. It helps.

Other helpful posts on bicycle commuting:

Low Temperature Cycling

Cycling In the Dark

Photo by Sarah McDevitt http://www.flickr.com/photos/smcdevitt/ / CC BY 2.0

Yes, we’ve gone from sub-freezing temperatures to a soaking rain. Temperatures are getting into the 40′s, so at least we’re not so cold. The problem is that I don’t have rain pants I had some, but they disappeared this past spring (I still haven’t figured out how). They were very close to being worn out anyway; they were just old hiking pants that I bought in, oh, 1993 or 1994, and the seams were beginning to come apart.

I am wearing a rain poncho, which is fine for the top half of me. But it really isn’t enough protection.  Today I suffered through an entire morning with cold, damp legs. I have an idea for making rain chaps and shoe covers out of an old vinyl tablecloth, but I haven’t implemented it yet. If I don’t do it this week, I’ll definitely do it over the winter break, when I’m not working.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/candescence/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

First, on Sunday, I messed up and forgot to not drive.  Then on Monday, I had to take my daughter to an event at the local Masonic lodge. I’d thought about biking, but in the end, it came down to a safety decision. There’s no bike route to get there, unless you go a long way around. We’d have been biking on the shoulder or on the sidewalk in the dark, uphill, on a freeway overpass.  Or on a narrow path under a freeway, if we went the other way around. So we drove.  It was probably just as well. Someone purposely bent the antenna on our car while were inside; who knows what they might have done to a bike.

On Tuesday, I drove to a Girl Scout leader meeting, which was more than two miles away. I then used the “combining trips” strategy and stopped at the grocery store on my way back. Hey, I was out anyway. Combining trips really is a recommended strategy for saving gas and reducing emissions. So I feel pretty good about that workaround.

And the rest of the week was just commuting. Honestly, I don’t seem to run that many errands, so I didn’t need to plan extra bike rides. I do still need to make a grocery trip this week; weather permitting, I’ll stop on my way home tomorrow. By bike.

Today I didn’t ride my beloved Radish.  There’s a steady rain falling in Portland, which actually had me wishing for a car.  That’s not an option for me, so instead I rode my old bike to the bus stop and then rode the bus most of the way.

I’d forgotten how different my old bike is.  I was perched several inches higher, hoping at every stop sign that my rain-slick brakes would actually work.

If weather is one of the things stopping you from bicycle commuting, there’s no shame in doing it this way. You’re still doing something good for yourself and the community.

Bicycles, Rolling Stops, and the Idaho Stop from Spencer Boomhower on Vimeo.

I even get to make a semi-scary left turn across Glisan, at an unsignaled intersection.  I’ve gotten used to this; I can make the turn just as easily and quickly as I can in a car.  Once in a while, I get surprised by drivers, though.  For instance, on Friday, someone waiting behind me honked at me as I pulled out into the intersection.  Sorry, dude, but I would have waited just as long to make the turn in my car.  And maybe you still would have been unhappy.

Occasionally, someone will also stop in the middle of Glisan to let me through.  I know they’re trying to be kind, and I do appreciate that.  But it’s really not a very safe move for either of us.  Often, when the person in one lane stops, no one in the other lane stops anyway, so it doesn’t make any difference.  Or worse, people behind the stopped person will try to dart around them.  So it’s not really a safe situation for me.

Similarly, it doesn’t really help for drivers to wait for me to go at a stop sign, even if they got there first and have the right of way.  You see, I don’t know if you’re really waiting for me, or if you’re going to suddenly pull out at the same time I do.  Even though I am a proponent of the Idaho stop law, if a car gets to the stop sign first, I expect to stop and wait.  It’s OK, really.

Even people in the wilds of eastern Washington are thinking about these things.  Here’s an excellent article from the Spokesman-Review with thoughts on sharing the road.