Roody

That's very cool. Your optimism is refreshing in this gloomy age we live in.

gerv 

I'm thinking you're more optimistic than I. Otherwise why post on LCF?

tandempower

It's nice that people recognize the effort and endurance that goes into it instead of just calling you crazy, etc. as also tends to happen when someone does something exceptionally difficult without an explicit reward like a sports prize, etc.

Yes there are people who break down and take the easy road because raising kids puts a lot on your plate regardless. On the other hand, though, I think there are a lot of people who could gradually settle into a car-free lifestyle and then want to maintain their cultural achievements by passing them on to children. That's sort of what happened to me. I was cycling for a long time without really wanting to have kids but once the reproductive 'spirit' hit me, I didn't want to give up my life skills just because other people said it wasn't possible to live the way I lived AND have children.

Bike trailers, trailer-bikes, bike towing bars, and tandems are all perfect for raising children by bicycle. I've seen much neater stuff in Dutch bike culture but much of it hasn't caught on widely enough to be affordably available in US cities.

It will be a big deal if some decent and affordable weather protection shows up on the market. I've been toying with the idea of using a u-bolt on the frame just below the handlebars and bolting two pvc-pipes to them, bending the pipes back to the luggage rack, and then spacing them with rods and tying a tarp as a sun/rain shade. I'm just hesitating because of the potential wind-drag it could cause. If you look at the bike trailers for kids, though, they are basically fully enclosed by fabric so if something like that was made to enclose full size bikes, you would have weather-proof bicycle transit for the masses.

That is cool, btw, they you ride all winter in that climate. Do you use a ski-mask? Do your eyes freeze or do you use ski goggles as well? Do you have to use special tires for ice?

Roody

Up until last winter, I rode 365 days a year here in Michigan.

The dirty shameful secret of winter riding is that you rarely if ever get cold. As long as you have simple winter clothing and you keep your muscles moving, you will stay warm. Nobody believes me when I say this, but it is true.

I hate ski masks but will wear one in temps below about 15 deg F. Its never cold enough here for goggles, IMO.

The special tires are studded tires, of which many brands and styles are available. You don't need them for commuting, assuming you ride on plowed streets, but they are nice to have. If you do need/want to ride on ice, studs are a good idea.

gerv 

I've been winter riding since 2005. I don't go every day. I probably miss 10 commute days a winter. Coldest day for me last winter was 2 F with a brisk tail wind.

Lately I've been seeing a number of lady commuters in winter... which tells me it must be a good idea whose time has arrived!

Roody

I think my first year of winter riding was 2001-2. I never saw another snow rider for the first 3 or 4 years. Then I turned onto the Rivertrail after a fresh snow (they didn't even plow it back then) and I saw that I was riding over another set of bike tire tracks in the snow. Skinny road tires at that! (I was using knobbies with studs at the time.) That was a very exciting day for me. Now I see a number of riders on any given day. It's getting to the point where there are so many of us that we don't even wave to each other any more.

cooker

Ah, Robinson Crusoe first spotting Friday's footprint in the sand.
It would have been cool if it actually was a Bike Friday, named for Crusoe's Man Friday.

rossiny

grumble grumble