Winter is Coming, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Cold
By Jenny Rilling
Y’all, I am that person who’s always cold, brings a sweater to the movies during the summer, and hates to feel cold. This can present a problem for biking during the winter months, even in Texas. Last year, I made it down to about 30 degrees by wearing a bulky parka, but on days the temps dipped below 30, I just couldn’t do it.
However, this year, my goal is to commute all winter, every day, to the greatest extent possible. I’d like to share my winter clothing strategy in case it’s helpful to anyone else.
Read more…
Doing Errands by Bike
By Jenny Rilling
In addition to commuting by bike, this year I’ve been using my bike more for errands that would usually involve driving. It’s worked out so well that I even added large wire baskets to one of my bikes and made it my designated grocery bike.
So far, I’ve ridden my bike to go grocery shopping, get takeout, go to the bank, the drugstore, and to pick up food for our two dogs. I’m trying to use a bike instead of a car more often for trips of under 5 miles. Besides the exercise benefits and reduced emissions gained from leaving the car at home, pedaling though neighborhoods and side streets is a lot more fun and feels like less of a chore than driving to accomplish the same errands.
Bike-thru banking - Like a boss.
Last weekend, my husband and I rode out to do some grocery shopping at Sprouts, which is on the other side of US 75 from where we live. We took the Central Trail to Campbell Rd. and crossed under the freeway at Campbell. There are conveniently placed curb cuts and signal request buttons that make it easy to cross on the south side of the intersection (Starbucks side). From the Starbucks / hotel parking lot, we hopped on Richardson Dr., then took Melrose Dr. to Mimosa and went north on Mimosa to Sprouts.
It was the Gluten-Free Jubilee...
The bikes wanted to take a break in a nearby park.
Between my baskets and James’ pannier, we were able to get a good amount of food.
There's some rice and lentils hiding under the clementines.
If you’re thinking of shopping by bike, I have a few recommendations:
A double-footed kickstand really helps keep your bike from falling over to one side and keeps it level and steady while you’re loading and unloading. I love the Porteur Double Kickstand from Velo Orange, so much that I now have it on two of my bikes.
Load the bike as evenly as you can – if you have two panniers or two rear baskets, try to distribute the weight of your purchases evenly among them.
Invest in a cargo net and a couple of bungee cords for strapping things to a rack or covering the top of a basket.
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A little more about those Near Term Action Items
Last week, the Richardson City Council didn’t really dicuss any particular item on the list of Near Term Action Items. However, it looks like this Monday, the Council will most likeley vote to adopt the list of action items they’ve been working to identify and rank.
Cycling is specifically mentioned under item L., Transportation and Mobility, as “Evaluate the expansion of the City’s bike lane system and enhancing pavement markings and signage”.
Some of the other items on the list are:
Community Vitality and Neighborhood Integrity
Environmental Management
Health Care Facilities and Community Wellness
To me, a vibrant and diverse cycling culture contributes to all three of the items above, in additon to Transportation and Mobility. Hopefully, the City Council and City staff agree. Every time that cyclists make a trip by bike instead of using a car, they cut down on emissions, get a healthy dose of excercise and fresh air, and provide another pair of eyes on the street in our neighborhoods. A win for cycling thus often provides a parallel win in another category.
We’ll continue to monitor the progress of the Near Term Action Items and provide updates as information becomes available.
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Accommodating cyclists is a Near Term Action Item of the Richardson City Council
I’m signed up for the Week In Review email sent out by the city of Richardson every Friday. From the September 16th email:
“City Council Discusses Near Term Action Items
The Richardson City Council continued discussion on its 2011-2013 Near Term Action Items at its meeting Monday night. The Council reviewed the latest revisions and suggested several changes, additions and deletions. Among the top items proposed are: a charter review to evaluate the selection of Mayor, finding ways to make Richardson more accommodating to bicyclists, and enhancing signage and making other improvements to make City Hall more customer friendly.
The Near Term Action Items have been discussed at previous meetings and are on the agenda for next Monday’s work session. The Council hopes to officially approve them at the September 26 Council meeting.”
If you have any ideas to share with the Council about how to continue to accommodate and attract cyclists, the city’s website says that:
“The City Council holds business meetings on the second and fourth Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Work sessions are held every Monday at 6:00 p.m. Citizens are welcome to attend Council meetings and may speak during the visitor’s section. Citizens also may attend work sessions and speak to the Council during the visitor’s section (promptly at 6 p.m.) on weeks when there is not a business meeting at 7:30 p.m.”
Alternatively, you can write a letter to the City Council. Letters and speeches regarding Council agenda items become part of the public record and may be accessed on the City’s website as part of the agenda packet posted after each Council meeting or work session.
Personally, I feel that the City of Richardson has been very proactive and responsive in terms of understanding our needs and implementing MUP trails and bike lanes. Two of the essential items for making cyclists feel welcome are safe routes to get where they’re going, and a secure place to lock a bike up when they get there. The City seems very aware of and responsive to the first item. Towards the second item, it would be great if the City could offer incentives or partner with local businesses to offer more secure bicycle parking options. It would make it a lot easier for cyclists to do more errands, dining out, commuting to work, etc. by bike if there were more secure parking facilities for our bikes. Those are my 2 cents – please feel free to post your ideas in the comments and let the City Council know.
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Bike Friendly Richardson 
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