Gifts for your favorite bike commuter

Here in the U.S., over-commercialized gift-giving season is in full swing! I thought I would share some unique gifts for the bicyclist in your life (even if that's YOU!). (None of these organizations/individuals even know that I am writing about them, and I have not received-somewhat regretfully-any payment from them for my comments.)

You could always start with the not-so-subtle hint on the Christmas stocking pictured above, made by etsy seller PursuitsofHappiness.

Once you get that bicycle, perhaps you'd like to add a bicycle cargo trailer. (Another not-so-subtle hint: I really want one of these!). They're on sale over at the Bike Shop Hub. I've ordered other items from Bike Shop Hub and always received prompt and efficient service.

If you're more of the DIY type, head over to Planet Green for some plans to make your own trailer.

This fall, I treated myself to an Ortlieb bicycle briefcase, fully pictured and reviewed at Ecovelo. I pretty much agree with their review, with the one caveat that the bike rack hardware can get a little uncomfortable when one is carrying the briefcase across a college campus.

You could also follow in the footsteps of Jody at that which rolls and make your own panniers out of kitty litter buckets. I love the concept, but I would look even funnier carrying that across a college campus.



(picture from Cyclelicious.)

Along with constant reminders to shop or else our economy will go to hell in a handbasket, this time of year brings cold, snow, and ice to many regions in the U.S. Yes, Virginia, you can bike in the winter. My compadres over at RocBike have lots of tips. In addition to the link provided above, type "winter biking" into the search engine there and you will get lots more tips and tales.

One item that many RocBikers have found useful in this time of shortened daylight is the DownLow Glow. (I wouldn't mind one of these in my stocking either.) You will definitely be visible in midwinter darkness with these mounted on your bike.

For the first time this year, I have studded tires for my bike. Now, I haven't actually had the time to put them on the bike, even though we have about a foot and a half of snow on the ground, but this weekend it will happen! I was sold on studded tires by Adam Durand and Jack Bradigan Spula, also of RocBike fame.

I purchased mine, but apparently you can make your own. Who knew?

One more winter bike necessity that would make a great gift are fenders. They keep that stuff on the road from ending up on your back.

For more DIY ideas, try the bicycle repair stand at Instructables. Or, head over to Cyclelicious for a whole bunch of ideas, including a sew-your-own bicycle cap, shoe covers from old conference bags (I for one have way too many of those), and a bicycle Ipod charger.

Happy whatever-you-celebrate! (Me, I mostly celebrate the end of the academic semester!)

Biking is hot!

In more ways than one! I don't know how it is in your community, but around here, cycling as a form of tranportation is finally getting some press. First, the Secretary of Transportation, a Washington, D.C. cyclist himself, talked about the importance of cycling infrastructure on National Public Radio. Locally, my city (Rochester, New York) has been listed as one of the top 50 U.S. cities for bicycling by Bicycling magazine. Okay, granted, it's number 50, but we still made the list! Finally, Rochester is also working on a bicycling master plan.

And, with the rise in gas prices and the recent tragedy of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, many people are turning to cycling as transportation to minimize the use of fossil fuels.

Well, there is a definite need for public policy advocacy in terms of the issues surrounding the oil spill, but that's a topic for many other blogs. With sewgreen's emphasis on living in an earth-friendly manner, I thought I would address one of the perceived barriers for people who would like to commute to work by bike: what to wear.

Specifically, I have found I really have to have a system for what to wear on the bike, and what to wear once I get to work. Some people have jobs where dress is not an issue, and others are comfortable wearing business attire while biking. That's not the case for me, though.

First of all, like I said, biking is hot! Even when it's relatively cool outside and I'm going a short distance, I sweat. So, for the ride, I wear comfortable clothing. It doesn't have to be bright neon lycra and spandex, but light-colored clothing is helpful in terms of visibility. Generally, I wear what I would wear for a walk, except that I pretend the temperature is about 15-20 degrees (Fahrenheit) higher than it actually is, and dress accordingly. (I tend to get warm very quickly; your internal thermostat may vary.)

I carry lunch, clothing, and anything else I need for the day in 2 rear panniers on my bike. I recommend ones that are waterproof, as you never know when a downpour might come. (I'm looking out the window at one right now and hoping that it stops before I have to bike home!) Two panniers are better than one if you carry much of a load at all, as they allow you to evenly distribute the weight.

I find it fairly easy to towel off at work and change into my work clothes. After many times of forgetting some essential piece of clothing, I keep the following in a filing cabinet at work: black shoes, a simple black top, black jacket, bra, and pantyhose. (Black goes with everything!) I also keep a pack towel (found in the camping section of stores, this is a very thin towel that dries quickly), deodorant, and hair product.

Speaking of hair, I'm an au naturel kinda gal, so hair and make-up is mostly a non-issue for me. My hair is extremely short, but I actually do still get helmet head. My solution for that is a cycling cap worn under my helmet. That helps capture some of the sweat and eliminates the indentations in my hair, which really wouldn't add much to my professional credibility.

As a case in point, yesterday, I biked to my first meeting of the day, at another campus of the college where I work than the one in which my office is located. I have biked there several times, and I have a favorite bike rack and big bathroom where it's easy to change. I got there, grabbed one of my panniers with my clothing in it, and changed for my meeting. I should have gotten there a bit earlier, as it was a muggy day and frankly I was still bright red when I got to the meeting. Fortunately it was a fairly casual group whom I know pretty well. I try to have about 10-15 minutes of cooling-down time before my meetings on hot days, but I just didn't have the timing right yesterday!

My next meeting was at a university down the road/bike trail. I changed back into my biking clothes. I could be casual at this meeting, so I just changed into a clean and non-sweaty top for that meeting. Then I headed to my office, and followed my usual routine.

It took some planning, but by 11:30 that morning I had biked over 10 miles, just going about my business. All of these trips only took 5 minutes more (at most) than it would have to drive, and I got some exercise to boot.

Today, my partner gave my bike and me a ride to work (we do have a car; we just try to minimize driving as much as possible) because I was doing a video and didn't have time for the cooling down time. At the end of the day, I grabbed the pannier with my bike clothes in it, changed, and headed home. First, though, I did a 30-minute fast ride along the trail to get my aerobic workout in. Then I headed over to the neighborhood farmers' market. And finally I made it home.

Biking is an invigorating and yet relaxing way to get around. Yes, commuting by bike takes some planning, but once you get in the routine, it's much more carefree than driving, dealing with traffic, and circling for parking spaces.

Share your tips and/or questions about bike commuting in the comments!

Green commuting

Here in the Northeastern region of the U.S., spring has officially arrived! We're supposed to see temperatures near 80(F) this weekend, highly unusual for this time of the year. In addition to getting my garden started, I'll be out on my bike. As you can read in my bio, cycling is a big part of my life.

There are lots of good reasons to bike: it's good for your health, connects you to your surrounding community, reduces the amount of your budget for transportation, and reduces impact on the environment. I first wrote about this at RocBike in 2007, but since this is my first post for sew green, I thought it would be a good idea to re-visit the green reasons for bike commuting.

According to The Consumer’s Guide to Effective Environmental Choices from the Union of Concerned Scientists, the 3 priority areas for consumers in reducing environmental impact are: transportation, food, and household operations. These are the 3 areas in which individual consumers can have the most impact, with transportation being numero uno.

The 5 specific recommended actions to reduce your transportation impact are:

1. Choose a place to live that reduces the need to drive.

2. Think twice before purchasing another car.

3. Choose a fuel-efficient, low-polluting car.

4. Set concrete goals for reducing your travel.

5. Whenever practical, walk, BICYCLE, or take public transportation.

The Earth Policy Institute reports that since 1970, bicycle production has outpaced automobile production, with bicycle production having quadrupled while car production has doubled. The report is optimistic about the potential of bicycling for reducing traffic congestion and pollution.

If you're an aspiring bike commuter, here are a few resources to help you get started:

--Bike Commute Tips blog by Paul Dorn.
--Ten Bike Commuting Myths Dispelled
--and there's always RocBike, which is especially relevant to those of us in wintry climes, but also expresses the sheer joy of bike commuting.

Finally, if you're concerned about safety, check out my post about how I overcame my own fear, after a near-miss accident involving my daughter.

I admire people who are completely car-free, and aspire to be one some day. But I haven’t quite figured out how to make that happen. However, I have been able to figure out how to live less than 5 miles from my place of work/study/yoga practice/spiritual community. I bike, walk, or bus whenever feasible, but since I do have access to a car, I have some guidelines about when I'm "allowed" to drive, which include circumstances such as extremely inclement weather, work-related reasons to drive, illness, and carrying very heavy loads.

What about you, our readers? How do you "green" your commute? Any other bike commuters out there? I'd love to hear about your experiences in the comments, as well as any suggestions for future transportation-related posts you'd like to see here at sew green.