Some Inspiration for Winter Biking

Our brief winter back in December

This winter in Vancouver wasn't as cold as last year, thankfully, so we only had to deal with snow & ice for a week or so.

But the rain.

OMG, the rain.

January was brutal for rain & I am glad to see February is slightly better. But there are definitely fewer cyclists out there on the roads & I get a lot more comments about how "heroic" or "hardcore" I am for riding every day in the rain.

The thing is, I don't really have a choice. We don't own a car & picking up a carshare vehicle for the school run would be a hassle, honestly. Plus, driving to get Linny to or from school actually takes longer than biking: while the trip takes ten minutes for either mode, finding parking around the school takes a few minutes longer in a car. Transit from where we live to where his school is means several blocks of walking on each end, or a bunch of transfers. Not worth it.

So on my bike I go, rain or shine, snow or sleet or hail. & it's okay--I haven't melted yet. & most days, I really enjoy it. Even on the worst days--with the exercise & fresh air & that feeling almost like flying--it's a net positive.

For those of you who have an easier way to get where you need to get--maybe you own a car, or the bus routes work better for you--here's a little more visual inspiration to go for it on two wheels. Check out this Flickr set of cyclists just getting where they need to go in wintry Montreal:

Velo d'Hiver, by Zvi Leve.

You'll see riders of all ages from toddlers in baby seats to seniors on trikes. Just ordinary people, just doing their thing. No big deal. :)

& if you're interested in even more intrepid winter biking, you should head over to visit Coldbike: Cycling With Kids, Sometimes in the Cold. Jim heads out on all kinds of adventures with fatbikes in the snowy wilderness. Definitely worth following Doug on Instagram too for a more regular dose of adventure.

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Back on two wheels

Went to walk across frozen Trout Lake, along with most of Vancouver

Hello there & happy new year! Hope your holidays were fantastic, or at least not too stressful. We did a lot of sleeping in & eating sugary stuff. We also tried to take advantage of the actual proper Canadian winter that descended on Vancouver for the last five weeks & counting.

I am an all weather, all year round cyclist, partly because I like the challenge, but also because even when it's cold or wet, it's more convenient that transit & not painful like walking (on my arthritic hip) can be for me. But. Big but. We had to seriously cut back on biking once the fluffy, somewhat dry snow transformed into packed lumpy ice alternating with slush everywhere. #VikingBiking doesn't work that well here in Vancouver's wet winters. The iciness of the roads & the lack of control & respect from drivers kept even us off our bikes for most of December.

#BikeToSchool every damn day. Almost.

If I'd looked into the long term forecast in the beginning of December & imagined how what has turned out to be the longest cold snap in my lifetime would impact me, I'd have bought studded winter tires back then. But I didn't realize they'd be necessary until it was too late & they became a scarce commodity. Lesson learned for next year--I'm still hoping to find some near the end of the season for future use.

Aaaaaaaanyway, the winter seems to be fading a bit. It's still chilly today, but we haven't had a proper dump of snow  in over a week & the ice is finally melting on most sidewalks & side streets in our area. Which means we're back to riding most places again.

Thrilled to bike (not walk) this load home

This whole experience has really driven home how much cycling keeps me happy. I don't need to tell you about exercise & endorphins & all that--just the regular physical activity is obviously good for us. Biking keeps my body weight mostly off my hip joint, unlike walking, so it means a lot less pain, which has a huge impact on my mood. Getting out of the house, into the sun (vitamin D!) is beneficial just for a change of scenery. The bakfiets also makes getting groceries a lot easier--carrying bags of groceries while walking even a few blocks is a special kind of hell.

For a family, it's also a lot cheaper than driving or taking transit. For all of us to take transit on an outing now costs about $12, which really adds up if you're doing it most days of the week. tThen there's the kids' happiness to think about. Though they can walk quite far for their ages, the 6km round trip to Linny's school is too much for either of them. He seemed to enjoy the 45 minute walk with me the first day back at school, then day two? Oh, the whining. Too far, too cold, too fast, too slippery. If I can just pop him into the bakfiets & zip him to school in 15 minutes, we're all happier.

So here's hoping we won't have another month of actual winter & we'll get back to the balmy above zero dampness we're all used to here in Vancouver. See you on the bike paths!

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Keeping Kids Warm on a Bike Seat: The Tube Blanket

Our winter biking solution: the tube blanket

I recently stumbled upon a simple solution to keep two-year-old Brontë warmer on the Peanut shell seat on the back of our Yuba Mundo. We've been using it for a month or so, but as the temperatures drop all over the place, I thought maybe the idea might be useful to other biking families too.

When it comes to cargo bikes, this is one area where trailers or bakfiets really shine--having your kid(s) sitting on a bench in a box, possibly under a weatherproof canopy, they stay warm, dry, & you don't need much more than a blanket to toss over their laps.

With a longtail cargo bike like our Yuba Mundo, or most regular bikes with child seats on the back, the kids are a bit more exposed to the elements. Our usual solution is just to dress them in extra layers.

But I realized I had a simple way to cut the chill a bit with a circle scarf I made & never really wear. It's just a tube of knit fuzzy fabric about 18-20" wide & long. I slipped it around the whole baby seat so it works as a blanket, covering Brontë from knees to shoulders without the risk of falling off the bike like a regular square blanket might. I'm calling it the Tube Blanket.

The scarf, or, rather, tube blanket, paired with some legwarmers--Babylegs I got for Linnaeus, worn all of three times, maybe--kept Brontë from getting as chilly as she sometimes does on longer rides in the winter.

In case you want to make your own tube blanket, it's basically a rectangle of fabric about twice as wide as it is long. The dimensions would depend on your child seat & the size of your child--if you take a few measurements around your kid while they're sitting in the seat the largest measurement is your long side. Measure the distance from their chin to their knees or ankles & that's the short side length. Fold it in half to make a square & sew up the side opposite the fold to make a tube. Hem the edges if you like, et voila: a tube blanket. Using fabric like polar fleece or thick knit means it'll stretch as needed.

I don't have a clever solution for Linnaeus--sitting on the back rack of the Yuba I'm not sure a tube blanket would work, really. I generally just put him in extra pants--often rain pants.

How about you? What do you use to keep kids warm on your bike? Have you got any great solutions for the older kids who aren't strapped into a seat? Please share your ideas (links to instagram or blog posts are very welcome!)

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Get Outside! (Even in Winter with the Kids)

Four of us bundled up for a cargobike ride

Besides the fact that kids need a few hours of exercise a day & the easiest way for mine to get that is at the park, we also bike everywhere. Year round, rain or shine, we're on the bike going where we need to go. So when I saw a few posts floating around Facebook about how to bundle kids up for the recent cold weather here in Vancouver, I thought I might have something useful to share with you.

Here's a roundup of tips for getting the kids outside & keeping them warm. One caveat, before we get going: these tips are based on my experience here in Vancouver, where the temperature only very rarely gets past the single digits below zero,  & we only get a week or two with actual snow stuck to the ground, so if you live somewhere colder, they may not apply.

Baby It's Cold Outside!

During Linnaeus' second winter, I wrote Winter Baby Tips, with some ideas to keep your tot toasty when they're strapped into the stroller or baby carrier, including a review of our favourite item of baby clothing for winter: the MEC Ursus bunting.

Honey, I layered the kids

Now that I've got a preschooler & a toddler, my focus is more on clothes for the chilly visits to the park or bike rides. Rain or shine, it's all about the layers. On cold but dry days, that looks like winter coats, maybe an extra fleece underneath, hats or hoods, long underwear or leggings under pants, mittens, thick socks & boots. For cold & wet days, we go with fleece layers over clothes, gumboots with double socks, water resistant mittens, then one-piece rain suits over everything. We have both Tuffo Muddy Buddies (I get ours here) & MEC Newt Suits.

I particularly love MEC's fleece hoodies for little kids--the hoods are snug & close fitting, so they work under a muddy buddy hood or a bike helmet & are difficult for toddlers to pull off.

Forgetting anyone?

You're probably all focussed on keeping your kids warm at the park, but like me one day last week, forgot about yourself. I should have worn warmer footwear than the leather riding boots I had on, & maybe an extra pair of leggings. My toes were numb by the time I got home from the park at dusk, even after the mostly uphill bike ride home. Oops!

Bringing along a hot drink in one of these awesome spill-proof Contigo mugs (full review here) is good too--it'll stay hot for the entire time you're there & keep you warm from the inside out. Also: they just squeeze into a bike bottle cage, if you're riding.

That's a wrap

Lastly, I'll leave you with a little motivation to get out there for walks or rides in the holidays: I♥Biking: Riding in Winter.


Have you got any tips to share for keeping kids warm outside in winter? What about those of you who are in cooler climes than the balmy Wet Coast of Canada?

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(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday

The starkness of trees in winter just begs to be photographed, doesn't it?

Taken on my Samsung Galaxy S3, edited in Creative Kit into black & white plus HDR filter

Nothing says “best gift ever” like a caribou!
 

Starting at just $40, Gifts of Canadian Nature help protect habitat for Canada’s native wildlife. A Gift of Canadian Nature lasts for years to come and is a gift that gives thrice! Once to the recipient with a personalized certificate and a beautiful calendar, once to the giver with a charitable tax receipt, and once to Canadian wildlife. This year we are featuring the snowy owl, the grizzly bear, the caribou, the gray fox and the Canada lynx. Click the image or follow this link for more information.

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Wordless Wednesday

What I'm reading

Completely unrelated to this post:
Sliding down the 1m hill at Robson Park

Aside from flipping quickly through Google Reader & all the blogs I subscribe to, plus the occasional news article, & link on Facebook, I have been mainly reading for school. I'd tell you all about it, but you'd probably fall asleep some time between the Concise Handbook of Human Anatomy & Mind, Brain & Language: Multidisciplinary Perspectives.

Here's something you might like that I've read: 25 Rules for Mothers of Sons. Tabitha of Team Studer noticed a list of rules for dads with daughters but couldn't find one for moms of sons, so she wrote a whole list herself. I'm not going to summarize the thing, but I'll just say that #6 & #24 resonated with me the most.

Your homework: click on the link for 25 Rules for Mothers of Sons, read the list & tell me which ones you like best in the comments below. 

Snow

It snowed last night in Sprogland, but sadly, these are not the white, fluffy snows of my youth. The wet coast of Canada generally only manages something that looks like a 7Up slurpee. Nothing you could make snowballs or snowmen with. Tobogganing is possible, but very soggy & by noon, any popular hilly spots would be striped with slushy mud.

Whenever I hear of snow in the forecast, I always go to bed hoping that I'll wake up to a silent white wonderland in the morning. Silent not just because the snow muffles city noise so well, but also because Vancouverites are afraid to drive in the white stuff, so there's less traffic. I'd really love to show Sprout some real snow, go tobogganing in our neighbourhood & jump into a snowbank.

I have some great childhood memories in the snow. From my recollection, we'd have snow from Hallowe'en to near Easter in the Kootenays, where I spent my first eleven years. Hallowe'en costumes had to be big enough to fit a snowsuit underneath & treat bags had to be sturdy, because if they sprung a leak, you wouldn't find the fallen candies until spring. I remember playing in all kinds of forts, igloos & other structures out of snow, including one made of giant ice cubes that my friend's parents had made by leaving buckets of water outside. I brought a Krazy Karpet to school most days when I went to a school with hills in the grounds.

Nearly all my great snow memories involve free activities, which is one lovely thing about living in a snowy place. My family didn't ski (downhill)--I guess because it was so pricey--but favoured the activities with no admission charge like tobogganing, skating on lakes & cross-country skiing around the neighbourhood. Here in Vancouver snow is a user-pay option:  go up one of the three ski hills on the North Shore.

I think today's slush will probably be gone by tomorrow, but I'll still go to bed hoping for a big dump of fluffy white flakes down here in the city.

Do you get much snow where you live? Do you have any great childhood memories involving snow?

Winter baby tips

As the snow started to fall, I was reminded of a desperate mom's message board post last winter about going out with her young baby. She lived in Alberta & was worried that her child would get too cold if she went out. She was also worried about her sanity if she had to stay indoors the whole winter because she couldn't drive.

So I thought I'd post a few tips I learned from other savvy moms or figured out on my own last winter as a new mama living mostly car-free.

1. Baby in the Bubble
The rain cover on your stroller also helps keep babe warm on cold windy days. The little bubble created by the plastic cover helps keep the heat in & cut down on wind chill, so even if it's not raining or snowing, it's still useful.

2. Be Safe, Be Seen
Now that the sun's going down so early, you'll probably be out in the dark more than you think. Get a small LED bike light to put on your stroller or carrier for the days that you come home after 4pm. I like the turtle lights from MEC, which are just $3.75. They have a solid or flashing setting, an elastic loop to attach to nearly anything, come in four different colours & have an easy-to-find replaceable battery.

Sprout & me zipped into my big old goretex jacket

3. Wear your Baby
If it's really cold when you go outside, like colder than it ever gets in Vancouver, the safest, warmest place for your babe is up against your body. Little babies can't regulate their own body temperature very well, so even if you bundle them up in the stroller, they might not be warm enough. If you use a carrier (I love the Beco Gemini), there's nothing in between you & your baby (well, except your clothing), so your body heat can keep them warm. Just layer on a fleece & jacket over both of you to keep toasty. If your winter wear is too fitted to do this, try borrowing a bigger one from your partner or a friend. I did this with an old jacket last year--Sprout stayed nice & warm everywhere we went. I got a few funny looks when people saw two heads popping out of the jacket last year.
Also, most strollers don't do that well in snow, so it just ends up being an exercise in frustration trying to get anywhere with one. Wearing baby in a carrier you are much more nimble getting around all the lumpy snowbanks & slush puddles that seem to be constantly in the way of strollers. Just be extra careful if it's icy--you don't want to fall. Obviously you're worried about hurting baby, but if you're injured, all those diaper changes, baby-lifting, laundry, etc that you need to do is going to be a lot harder.

Just unwrapped from his bunting

4. The Maggie Suit
What to wear? Those little duffel coats are so cute, or the little toques. Baby mittens are adorable too. But does your baby think so? Is s/he the kind to rip off mittens & hats as soon as they're on? Plus, when they get scrunched up in the stroller seat or the carrier, are there gaps where the jacket's ridden up & baby belly is poking out in the cold? Keep it simple by dressing baby like Maggie Simpson.
To keep Sprout warm last winter, we usually dressed him in a one-piece fleece suit, the Ursus Bunting from MEC. At $42, they're not cheap, but we used it every day for months, so I feel like we got our money's worth. The bunting is great because rather than having separate booties & mittens that snap on, there are integrated mitts & boots that simply fold over. I also found the hood to be a good fit & helped keep hats on him if it was extra cold. When Sprout's legs outgrew the 6-month size, we just unfolded the bootie parts & he got a bit more wear out of it.

5. Get out!
All this seems like a lot of work but you neeeeeed to get out when every day is grey & the weather's awful. If you stay at home too many days in a row, the cabin fever will drive you crazy.