"My feet not cold daddy!"

Nineteen degrees on the TCF bank sign - not too cold for a Minnesota daycare dropoff. I considered zero degrees F. the limit for biking Theo the 1 mile to his daycare. If it were that cold, we would call a taxi or get a ride with another daycare family. We have done this many times this cold winter. But having observed how the little Theo furnace heats up the Burley trailer, we tried a -4 degree morning the other week. Wind pants, insulated booties, and face mask for me. Blanket, boots, scarf, and balaclava for Theo. We biked the 5-10 minutes. I opened the trailer flap to the gleeful announcement, "my feet not cold daddy!" A furnace he is. One day I will measure the temperature differential inside and outside the trailer.

But today it was a balmy 19 degrees. We were treated to a 1/2 inch of snow on the ground and flakes were still falling. Ephemera. By day's end the snow was mostly gone, but we were lucky enough to roll through the crisp, snowy air. Amidst the rush to work, the snow slowed me down as I enjoyed it by bike.

First bike commute of 2009

After 2 months of a rutted bike lane frozen by a cold Minnesota December and January, I seriously craved my bike commute to work. By last Friday, temperatures had finally risen to convince me that bike lane conditions had improved. I seized the day and mounted my bike for the 8.5 mile ride to my office in St. Paul. I paused on the Lake Street bridge and soaked in the view down the frozen Mississippi River Gorge. I savored the clearing bike trail along the river and the lane along Summitt Avenue - there was at least 5 inches of ice-free lane! Finally I was back to starting my work day invigorated by the ride.

Phrius in the winter

It has been two months since I bike-commuted the 8 1/2 miles to my office in Saint Paul. I love winter biking for so many reasons - the quiet, the rising sun cutting the crisp air, the exercise. I also respect the alertness it demands of you as you navigate the changing and sometimes challenging road conditions. But 8 1/2 miles on packed, rutted snow in the bike lane is just not sustainable for my nerves, no matter how many carbide-tipped studs I have in my tires. And it has been wicked cold much of the time. So it has been the bus entirely for 2 months.

But fortunately the winter does not cut down much on our transportation within the neighborhood. Trips to daycare, friends' houses, to cafes, to the food coop and grocery store are often done by bike. A developing family tradition is to go to the neighborhood garden center to get a Christmas tree. We pull right up, strap the tree to the cargo trailer, snap some pictures, and deliver the tree to the front door of our house.

Introducing Riding Phrius

"What kind of car do you drive?" "A Phrius", I replied. My family has been car-free, "riding Phrius", for over 5 years. This blog shares our car-free life - from our daily bike commute to work and daycare to the surprises of the Bus 21A gourmet.