25 Reasons to Love Family Bicycling, #2: Puddle Readiness

In more breaking news about the small pleasures of riding a bike with children, yesterday we splashed around in a staggeringly large puddle.

This little moment of kid joy was brought to you in part by the humble bicycle, which required the kids to travel fully suited in raingear for the sake of a nearly horizontal downpour.  We usually wear just our regular coats for short trips (woolen long underwear keeps the kids warm even if their jeans get a sprinkling of rain), but yesterday's weather forecast included a warning about 30-40 mph winds and heavy rains.  Biking alongside the creek (where the winds seem to be a bit stronger) felt something like a cross between swimming against an angry current and pushing an elephant with my bike.

Anyhow, because they were covered in waterproofed fabrics, the boys were able to really whoop it up in any puddle they liked.  The one pictured here is satisfyingly deep and broad, and there is a little seasonal pond nearby that we tramped around in, too.  Little's enthusiasm meant that we got five -- that's right, five -- separate puddle splashing sessions in today, ranging from two minutes to a little over an hour.  Every time we passed a puddle, he took the bait: before school, after Little and I dropped Big at school, when we returned to pick Big up from school, and then again after school.  Plus one post-nap puddle jump in our backyard, a place which essentially becomes a small lake at this time of year.

I sometimes suspect that other parents think I am a little cruel to subject my kids to these rainy rides.  True, no one likes to be pelted in the face with cold rain.  (Actually, though, Big discovered this morning that he can swivel a bit on his seat and face away from the wind, and Little just tucks his head into my back with even better results.)  But there is no way we would have stopped for all out splashing if we weren't already forced by bicycling to travel with the perfect puddle jumping attire.  And, believe it or not, only ten minutes after we returned, Big begged me to give his brother a nap on the bike so that we could spend an hour or two riding around the model solar system along the Ruth Bascom bike path.  Either he has a very poor short term memory, or he doesn't mind the weather that much.  (We stayed home, by the way.  The bike is the most convenient way to make necessary and short trips, but in weather this fierce, there's no reason to overdo it.)

While we were drying all our mittens and coats above the heater, we folded a few of these origami boats.  We used kite paper (which is waxed, I think) so that the boats might make it through a round in the seasonal pond tomorrow.  I can't say I'm excited for more of this weather, but it's bearable for short trips.  And really, how else would we find ourselves with such an irresistible constellation of puddles nearby?

Bike vs. Car: Staying Warm in Winter Weather

"Aren't you just freezing?"  I think I've been asked this question (or some variation on this question) at least a couple of times a week since October.  Last winter was the same -- people seem to think that I must be cold and uncomfortable riding my bike through the rain and (relatively) low autumn and winter temperatures of Oregon.  Isn't this how "off-season" bicyclists are often seen in North America -- as gluttons for punishment?

Actually, I am quite comfortable on my bike in the cold weather.  Over time, I've figured out what keeps me warm, and I wear it.  Simple, right?  I'm not seeking out discomfort and chill, I am wrapped in soft wool scarves and mittens, happily avoiding it.  I'm always tempted to make people feel how warm my hands are when they make remarks like these.

Just before Christmas, I needed to have some unexpected surgery.  During my recovery, I've mostly stayed at home, but I've also been transported to a handful of places in the passenger seat of a car.  In the course of these little journeys by car, I've been shocked at how very cold it feels to sit in a car before the engine has warmed enough to get the heater running.  (And the weather this year has seemed unseasonably mild, at least from my perspective.  I'm sure I would feel colder in a more typical winter.)  In a car, I've noticed, I am cold on my walk from the door to the car, cold for the first few minutes inside the car, and then cold again when I step out of the superheated car to walk to my destination.

When I am walking or riding my bike somewhere, in contrast, I stay warm from my door to my destination.  I bundle up inside, scramble around getting my keys or my thermos of tea, and then I walk out the door feeling very warm and bundled.  Then I get on my bike and pull my scarf up over my nose if needed -- still very warm.  In fact, I usually take off a layer if I'm riding for awhile.  I notice a bit of chilly wind on my cheeks, perhaps, but I typically have warm fingers, toes, ears, and nose.  (Unless someone sneaks my scarf from the basket by the door to make an astronaut costume for the dog.  There have been some big sacrifices around here lately in the name of space exploration.)  Our climate is milder than some, true, but even in the nastiest of Eugene weather I'm usually quite comfortable.

Most people seem to prefer wearing only light layers when driving in the winter, relying on the heater in their car to keep the cold away.  It's awkward to buckle yourself into a car wearing heaps of layers, and since the heat is often turned up quite high in cars during cold weather, it might feel too hot to wear a hat and mittens and a big bulky coat.  Plus, with a seatbelt on, it can be difficult to remove layers when the interior warms up.  Most of the folks I know who usually get around by car seem to be under-layered a lot of the time.  No wonder they see me outside and assume that I'm cold.  For those few minutes they spend outside moving from car to door, they're very cold!

Actually, I have to confess that this used to be me.  My friend Erin rides her bike long distances (and short ones) in all kinds of weather.  Not that long ago, I saw her choice to ride her bike through the winter as some kind of mystifying self-sacrifice.  Why was she always turning down my offers to give her and her bike a ride home?  Did she really think it was fun to ride her bike on a chilly evening?  Or, heaven forbid, in the rain?

Of course, Erin was right.  It can be fun to ride your bike in the winter, as long as the astronaut dog doesn't have your scarf on.  Take the car?  Something in the reptile part of my brain instantly recoils at the thought of chilly air blasting from the defroster and freezing dashes from car to destination.  No, thanks.  That would be too cold for me.

Winter Cycling With Kids: How We Stay Warm and Comfortable on the Bike

In my garage sits a dusty and lonesome Burley trailer.  I thought that for sure my kids would be clamoring to get in the trailer by now, to escape the cold (as low as 25 F), the rain, and the wind.  Perhaps if I lived in a snowier or more northern climate (like Miss Sarah, of Girls and Bicycles), my kids would be interested in the trailer.  So far this winter, we've experienced some of the colder and rainier weather Eugene has to offer (including our favorite configuration: buckets of cold rain with strong winds), but I have only heard the words "Mama, I'm cold" once.  (And when he said those words, I reminded Bigger that he could put his coat on over his beloved wool sweater.  He was fine once he added another layer.) I don't know if I have unusually warm kids, or if we are going to be freezing and cranky in a couple of weeks, but right now, we're still excited to get on the bike, and enjoying the ride.

Here is what's working for us right now, in our Oregon climate:

1.  Winter clothing

I've written before about the fact that we spend a little more on winter clothing than other folks in our income range.  Really, though, I think most people I know would have most of this stuff for their kids, even if they weren't riding bikes through the winter.

Here's what the kids wear: long underwear (bottoms only, lightweight capilene or silk for Bigger, and lightweight silk or midweight fleece for Little, who is not warmed by pedaling), mittens (fleece almost every day, but we also have insulated gore-tex ones for extremely cold or wet days); warm, waterproof and windproof coats OR a thick wool sweater; soft wool hats that cover the ears OR a Bern helmet with a winter liner; good shoes or boots (the kids both have Bogs, which I'm told would keep your feet warm even if you poured a cup of water in them first); and soft wool socks.  The kids both have rain pants, but I've learned that they aren't necessary unless there is a true downpour or we are traveling a long distance in the rain.  Their long underwear keep them warm even if their pants get a little bit wet in the rain.

I typically wear a dress with wool tights, and if it's cold enough, a wool sweater.  Then I add my thrifted wool overcoat, which is really not necessary in our weather for the most part.  I choose my wool coat because it is long enough to cover my dress and keep it dry, and because it keeps me warm if we stop at the park and I want to sit down for awhile.  I usually wear it unzipped while riding, because I would get too hot otherwise.  I wear tall leather boots or rain boots (be sure to clean and weatherproof your leather boots periodically if you are riding in a rainy climate!), and if it is particularly cold, I add a pair of wool knee socks underneath the boots.  I have a pair of ancient wool gloves that have been serving me well, and also a pair of technical mittens for unusually cold days.  So far, I've only worn the mittens once.  I've got my eye out at the thrift shops for a wool sweater in an attractive color that I can felt in the washing machine and make some mittens from, because the technical mittens are too bulky to be practical on most days. I have a pair of soft wool arm warmers that I will occasionally use.  My coat buttons up around my neck, but I'm working on a soft alpaca cowl to keep my neck warm.  I could use a winter liner for my Bern helmet or a pair of earmuffs, but other upgrades are ahead of those ones in my budget.

2.  Engaging bike activities

 I don't think I could have predicted how important this is to staying comfortable on the bike.  People who are bored are more likely to be cranky.  Cranky people are more likely to whine and kvetch.  And cranky, whiny people can do a pretty good job convincing everyone else around them to be miserable.  I'm sure that enjoying ourselves doesn't actually raise our body temperatures, but in our family at least, in-transit games and other entertainment keep us so busy that we don't think about (or whine and make everyone else think about) rain or cold.

Bigger, pausing to watch construction on our way to the library

Here's a short list of things we do that keep the kids engaged (and too busy to notice the weather) on our winter rides:

• talk about where we are going or what our favorite parts of the day have been so far
• imagination games (putting out forest fires on your ride, pointing out dangerous lions, piloting ships through a big rainstorm)
• songs (yes, that's me singing "She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain" on the bike path)
• stopping to watch interesting sites, even just for a few seconds (their entertainment value increases if you continue to talk about them as you ride away -- and it's good for your kids' language and cognitive development, too)
• checking out winter lights -- like we'll be doing tomorrow on our way to eat free pie with Kidical Mass
• road trip bingo, pick one: hoot and whistle each time you see winter lights; ding the bell at every letter "S" you see; eat a small treat every time you see another cyclist, etc.
• recite or retell a favorite story or poem (this may sound unusual, but when you think about it, most kids and parents have at least a chunk of Goodnight Moon, or If I Ran the Zoo, or something memorized)
• mitten friendly book, snack, or toy (for Little only, in our family, since he is the only true passenger)
• talk to friends we spot on the way, or who are joining us on our trip (hooray for Heather and her son S on Tuesday!)
• shout something about your, um, incredible speed ("Let 'er tear, Mama!" or "You're going to break the sound barrier, Bigger!")

If all of the above fail, ridiculous howls of agony from Mama seem to lighten the mood so that we can get out of the occasional whiny rut.  (Even though we've only had one weather-related whining episode this winter, there are apparently many other reasons to whine.)

3.  Warm beverages or snacks

If you want to ride your bike through the winter with your kids, go out right now and find yourself a thermos for hot drinks.  I learned this trick from my friend Heather and will never forget it.  The morale-boosting and warming effects of hot chocolate, mint tea with a bit of honey, or any other warm drink are not to be underestimated.  If we are running more than one morning errand (or running a long one), I will make a pot of tea or stir some milk, cocoa, sugar, and nutmeg together on the stove when I am getting my breakfast going.  I seal it up in the thermos, and it's still hot when we get to our errand.  The kids can have a sip or two while I lock up the bike at the grocery store.  It keeps them busy close to the bike, it warms them up, and (in the case of homemade hot cocoa) it offers a little protein and nourishment on the go.

We are also frequently on the lookout for opportunities to stop for a little snack or lunch somewhere warm.  If the snack in question is itself warm, all the better.  Toasted bagels at the library?  Good.  A big bowl of noodle soup at Toshi's?  Even better.  Soup and bread in front of the fire at Hideaway?  So cozy.  I used to avoid eating out with my kids because of the impact it seems to have on the budget.  Now I take more opportunities to get a little something on the run because I'm saving money by riding my bike.

One final thought, and a question: Little's windscreen, comical though it may be, also keeps him out of the wind and rain for the most part.  I'm curious to see if he'll be quite so warm if we switch to a rear seat.  Anyone out there have experience with this one?  Does the adult's body keep kids on a rear seat out of the rain and wind?


Happy riding!  And if you're in Lane County meet us tomorrow at Mezza Luna for the Pie to Pie with Kidical Mass!

Over the river and through the woods...

...to Grandmother's house we went.  This afternoon we took the bus to Creswell to visit Grandma M.  The boys love buses almost as much as they love Grandma, so there was plenty of excitement in the air while we waited to catch the bus to the downtown (Eugene) station.

Today the weather forecast included the possibility of snow, so you might think we were feeling the chill as we walked to, and then waited at the bus stop.  Actually, with only minimal forethought, we were quite warm, even when the wind picked up a bit.

The boys wore their standard cold weather uniforms: soft woolen caps, sturdy pants with silk or capilene long underwear, soft woolen socks, Bogs boots, and rain coats with either a thick fleece or wool layer underneath.  (Mittens are also a part of this set-up, but they were removed in these photos for snacking.)  We probably spend a little more on cold-weather clothing than most families in our income range, but we spend a lot less on mass-produced plastic toys, movies, etc.  We consider an investment in cold-weather clothing as the cost of year-round access to the outdoors, which is the most stimulating and fun "toy" imaginable.  Plus, we get at least four years out of each item of clothing, since Bigger passes things on to Little in good time.  Our team of grandparents supplies some of these items each year for birthday and holiday gifts, which we very much appreciate.

There's little photographic evidence, but I wore my standard cold weather uniform: soft wool tights (sweater tights from Sock Dreams in Portland today), an extra pair of wool knee socks, tall boots, a simple dress, a cardigan, and a hooded wool coat.  I'm still getting the hang of taking my own photo, so you'll have to use your imagination.

While waiting at the bus stop, we find it best to have...

...a snack.  Little in particular seems to be eating nonstop these days.  We also always bring...

...an imaginary border for our kingdom.  Beyond that crack in the sidewalk lies a perilous no mans' land (and a busy street).

We typically pack at least one book for bus trips.  Our current favorite is a selection of stories by Margaret Wise Brown that Ritta got for the boys.  (Thanks, Ritta!)  It hits the ultimate traveling book sweet spot: compact size, sturdy binding, excellent literary quality, and it's an anthology (meaning lots of stories are available for long trips).  What more could you ask?

Of course, we also bring correct change for the bus (though these boys are young enough to ride free), and aim to arrive a few minutes early.

Today we did not need our book, as the boys were enthralled with the bus and its inhabitants.  On the ride downtown, our bus was packed.  We sat at the back, where the seats are elevated, and talked about our plans for the evening and all the things we saw out the window.  The bus was a little late, so we had to rush to make our connection to Creswell.  I think that next time I will give myself more time to transfer.

Creswell is a small town about half an hour from downtown Eugene, by car or bus.  During our ride there, freezing rain dropped in fat circles on the window.  Bigger and I chatted while Little dozed for a minute or two.  People were knitting, reading, and fiddling with their cell phones (though no one was talking on one, thankfully).  It was a pleasant and cozy ride, and I was glad that someone else was driving through this weather so that I could relax.  We arrived 35 minutes after leaving the station, and met Grandma M. at the stop.  When we walked into her place, there was a fire in the wood stove, and dinner waiting for us in the oven.  Is that a tired mother's fantasy, or what?

Little dazzled the company at dinner with the sequel to this bus stop dance.

One of the goals I have for this winter is to take the bus to Creswell more often, in part because I hope that transit service to this part of Lane County will be improved.  On the weekends (when we most often go there), there are only two (on Sunday) or three (on Saturday) bus trips there per day.  Not only is Grandma M. a big attraction in Creswell, it now has a year round Tuesday farmer's market and Heidi Tunnell's Tuesday bakery, Wednesday dinners, and winemaker barn dinners.  I would love to see more frequent bus service to Creswell so that we could get to these events more easily by bus. 

But for now, the times that we do bus down there are hundred times more interesting and enjoyable than a drive would be.