The snow is melting outside which will leave me for a wet commute to work into the morning.  Here are the basic ways I keep dry during the rainy season.

• Fenders – Full coverage fenders are best but even a race style fender that clips on and off quickly will keep the mud off your back and a good amount of water out of your shoes.
• Plastic garbage or freezer bags – I’ll reuse either a plastic grocery bag or a gallon freezer Ziplock bag over my socks, prior to putting my feet into my shoes.  Make sure the bags are tall enough to be pulled up under your pants.  If wearing spandex with knee warmers I’ll put another pair of tall wool socks over the plastic bags, this is mainly to keep the plastic out of my chain and chainrings.  *This helps cut down on the cold from wind as well
• Wool – It keeps you warm even if it gets wet and doesn’t soak up the water as much as cotton.
• Messenger Bag or Backpack – As long as you don’t overheat with the bag on your back, it normally will keep some rain off your back if its a short distance.
• Huge Garbage Bags – A couple times I’ve ridden to work with no need or thought of rain over clothes and had to ride home with two huge garbage bags on my body.  One of them for the top with holes for my arms, and one on the bottom with two holes for legs.  Properly duck taped together of course!

What are some basic ways you keep dry?

Bike commuting is all over the news and maybe your work place has signed on for the commuter tax benefits.   We want to help you get on that bike and out using this amazing piece of transportation.  The more cyclist that are out on the road, the more we will be taken seriously and moving the movement from cars to bicycles.

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Replace your SUV with a SUB (sports utility bicycle) such as an Xtracycle style bike.

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Messenger Bags - Examples : Knog Franks Dog, and Crumpler Part & Parcel

Backpacks – Examples : Banjo Brothers, and Seal Line

Panniers -Examples : Basil Bags and Deuter Rack Pack

Carrying your Laptop : 101

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1. A Guide to a Simple Bike Commute
2. The Slacker’s Guide to Bike Commuting
3. How to React to Aggressive or Angry Drivers
4. How to Find the Perfect Route Using Google Maps
5. Top 5 Reasons to Claim the Lane (and why it’s safer)
6. Top Five Tips for Staying Safe in the Heat
7. How to get Cleaned up at Work
8. Learn Your Local “Village”
9. Learn Your Bicycle’s Anatomy
10. Essential Tips for New Riders

A great video provided by TrekBikes.com and their advocacy program, One World Two Wheels.

This is a guest post by Andreas Kambanis who runs a blog, London Cyclist, about cycling and London. You can find him on Twitter here.

I started commuting into work by bike in the same way I do many things in life. With little or no plan! The way I look at it is if there is anything I need to learn I’ll soon figure it out along the way. Here are 5 of the lessons I soon picked up.

1. Route

When I first started bike commuting I had just moved to London for a new job. It was my first day in that job so I found my route on Google Maps and looked at it once. This was a major error.

After a good start I forgot the route and took a wrong turn. Then another wrong turn. And another. I somehow ended up on Oxford Circus. One of the busiest, most horrible roads for cyclists in London.

After a quick call to my new boss who I had yet to meet I confirmed I would be late for my first day at work.

Lesson learned: Plan the route ahead and do a test run.

2. There are some things you shouldn’t economize on

I noticed something on all the other bikes parked at office that my bike was lacking. They all had massive U-locks. I looked at my weak bike lock and realised a thief could probably chew through it with their teeth. A couple of days later I made sure I got myself to the nearest bike shop and purchased a proper bike lock.

Lesson learned: Spend as much as you can on a good bike lock. It is worth it for all the effort and money you will save by preventing theft.

3. A little maintenance goes a long way

I made all the maintenance mistakes you can possibly make. I over lubricated my chain, I didn’t keep my bike clean and I didn’t replace my break pads until they wore through my wheel rims. I caused a lot of damage to that poor bike. After a while I replaced it with a new one and pledged to learn bike maintenance.

Lesson learned: Learn the basics to bike maintenance as it will give you a much smoother, more enjoyable bike ride and will make your bike last longer.

4. Don’t undertake vehicles

An early error in my cycling technique was frequently undertaking slow moving traffic. The problem with doing this is that drivers are not on the lookout for someone overtaking on the wrong side. This is particularly dangerous with heavy goods vehicles that are a frequent cause of injury to cyclists.

Lessons learned: Be sure you are cycling where drivers can see you and don’t undertake vehicles unless it is safe to do so.

5. Shop around

Whenever I needed something new I would head into the nearest bike shop and pick it up there and then. I didn’t realise how much I could save by having a look online before buying. I ended up spending 30-40% more on a cycling jacket I didn’t particularly like.

There is also a second lesson to be learned here. It is worth building up a relationship with a local bike shop so they can help you out at a time of need. I have since got to know my local bike shop owner so whenever I head in there to buy something new I can ask some advice on any maintenance problems I’m having.

Lessons learned: Shop around for a good price and build up a relationship with the local bike shop owner.

This morning I recorded another episode of The Spokesmen cycling podcast with David Bernstein, Tim Jackson, Carlton Reid and Rich Kelly. We always end the podcat with a tip. My tip: Check the weather forecast.

If you spend time outdoors this seems like an obvious tip, but a weather front can come in during the work day and change conditions pretty quickly. Several times I’ve seen cyclists on a pleasant morning who are completely unprepared for the rainy weather that will arrive in the afternoon.

I’m guilty of this myself — living in California, it’s easy to get lulled into complacency since the weather is so consistently nice most of the time.

When you drive, it’s usually not too big of a deal — you turn the dial from A/C to Heat on the dashboard and you’re good to go. When you bike, however, you’re exposed to the elements, and lack of preperation can make your ride miserable.

How about you? Have you been surprised by sudden downpours, blizzards, or wind storms?

Whether you’re hitting the slopes, making snowmen with the kids or riding a bicycle in sub-freezing temperatures, those who subject themselves to harsh winter conditions will eventually start to feel its wrath.

Some of this stuff might seem girly, but all who spend time outdoors in the winter can benefit from these simple tips. As much as some of us like to think winter commuting is about showing off, I’m certain all of us can do without chapped lips, windburned cheeks, cracking skin on our hands and dry, irritated eyes.

• Use a humidifier

Humidifiers moisturize the air, which is likely being dried out by your home’s heater. This has made the most difference so far the past few winters. My irritated eyes and chapped skin seem to get faster relief with a humidifier. I leave mine running in my bedroom at night.  It’s not an expensive one, it just pulls air through a wet air filter. I’ve had better luck with these than with some of the ultrasonic ones, which seemingly just leave a dew-like residue all over the place.

• Keep skin exposure to a minimum

Even if it’s not terribly cold outside, a thin pair of gloves helps keep the wind away and the moisture in. The same goes for your ears and face. Earmuffs, a headband, scarf, or balaclava not only keeps the warmth close, it keeps things mosturized.

• Use sunscreen, lip-balm and eyewear

Even in the dead of winter, UVA and UVB rays can cause harm. Bonus: UV-Blocking lip-balm and eyewear also keep your eyes and lips from getting irritated as quickly due to wind and snow.

• Vaseline prevents windburned cheeks

This is one I picked up on various discussion boards. A thin layer of vaseline or other petroleum jelly on the face will lock in moisture and prevent some of the effects of wind-chill. If you aren’t one to rock a balaclava, face mask or scarf, this can help a bit.

• Use a moisturizing lotion

When things get really bad with your hands, use some moisturizing lotion. Use it often, especially after washing your hands. Avoid alcohol-based hand sanitizers like Purell if you’re having trouble keeping your hands from drying out.

• Use non-medicated eye-drops

If your eyes are swollen and burning after a particularly brutal session in the cold, some non-medicated saline eye-drops should bring quick relief to those peepers.

I covered equipment and rain the other day and several people provided very helpful comments on biking safety in the rain. Here’s my contribution to the discussion.

• Visibility is paramount! I’m not normally a safety ninny, but consider what you can and can’t see when you’re in a car with the windows fogged up and the wiper blades leaving streaks of bug juice across the windshield. I normally run with lights on in the rain. Consider also high visibility jackets.
• Braking may take longer than usual. Wet braking surfaces take longer to slow you, and you generally want to avoid sudden stops on wet roads. Test your brakes before you have to stop to dry the braking surfaces and brake pads.
• Avoid puddles. They may hide hazards such as deep potholes, bricks, alligators, etc. On the other hand, if you don’t care about your bottom bracket too much flooded streets are a ton of fun to ride through
• Pavement markings can be very slippery in the rain. Ditto (especially so) for anything metal: manhole covers, rail crossings, drain covers.
• A small towel is handy. Like Ford Prefect, I know where my towel is. I keep a small hand towel in an easily accessible pocket to wipe the mist from my eyeglasses so I can see where I’m going.

Besides the excellent contributions some of you already left what are some other safety considerations for riding in the rain?

I’ve heard people express concern about their bikes in the rain. As long as you keep up with some simple, basic maintenance, your bike should be just fine. Here are the simple things to keep your bike running well through wet weather.

• Fenders and mudflaps not only keep wet and dirt off of your body, they help keep it off of the moving and vulnerable parts of your bicycle. In my opinion, this may be the best preventative maintenance you can do on your bike.
• Frames are resistant or even impervious to corrosion. Even steel frames generally don’t need any special treatment in my experience. If you’re concerned, you can spray Frame Saver inside the frame as suggested by nippleworks. Some people drill drain holes at the bottom of the bottom bracket shell on their steel bikes. YMMV.
• Chains and gears can be prematurely worn by grit and sand that’s thrown up, especially if you don’t have fenders and chainguards. To extend the life of your chain, chainring, cogs and external gearing, wash or wipe the parts after a wet weather ride and lubricate.
• Headsets and bottom brackets are best protected by a front fender. Although bottom brackets are all sealed cartridge these days, constant exposure to rain can still shorten the life of his component. It’s a good idea to disassemble and clean out these components after the rainy season is over.
• Brake pads can have grit embedded in them, which will shorten the life of your rims if you don’t use disk brakes. Wipe them off along with the braking surface when you clean your other components.

Your bike will work just fine after a ride in the rain, but to extend the life of the parts it’s a good idea to clean these things off.

I’ve often noticed that many of the people I see commuting by bike are technical or business folks, working in IT or other white-collar positions. I, like many of them, have to carry a laptop to and from work. This usually brings up questions. On my personal blog, the question was asked again: “[Do you] just shove it in your panniers and pray?”

On days I can get away with not toting it around, I will. If you just need to move data between home and work, you can usually get by with storing your data on removable media such as a USB Flash Drive. While that’s a good idea, many companies have policies against it, so you should check first.

Assuming that you have no choice but to lug an expensive, fragile piece of equipment with you on a daily basis, there are plenty of things you can do to make sure your hardware makes the journey as safely as possible.

Most of the time, I use panniers and I ride about 29 miles round trip. In the winter, I switch to a backpack and I ride to a nearby bus stop. This reduces the bicycle part of my commute to less than 10 miles per day.

The key to keeping your laptop safe is padding. I use a form-fitting laptop sleeve (the Laptop Shuttle, made by Case Logic) since it’s barely larger than the laptop itself and fits well in my pannier. You may also opt to pack your clothes around the laptop.

Similarly, I use a laptop-specific backpack when I’m not using the panniers. I opted for the Kensington Contour Backpack, which is comfortable for being a backpack, but is kind of pricey. It’s lasted almost two years, though, without a problem. At computer and electronics stores, you can find many laptop-specific backpacks, sleeves, and even messenger bags that are designed to keep your stuff protected on-the-go.

My MacBook has made the journey to and from work almost every day this way for about two years. Who else is a laptop-carrying member of the bike-commuting work force? What are you doing to keep yours safe and sound on your daily journey?

In the wake of the tropical storms, we’ve had a lot of rain in the past week. My cycling shoes have gotten so wet that they don’t get a chance to dry out before it’s time to leave for work in the morning. Here are some tips for keeping your footwear dry in monsoon season.

It makes sense that the easiest way to keep your footwear dry is to not let it get sopping wet in the first place. On wet roads,
Fenders work wonders at reducing the amount of water that gets splashed onto your feet from the road.  If it’s raining, however, you’re going to get your feet wet. Fenders will potentially lessen it a bit.

Once your shoes are wet, though, the most obvious choice is to use the clothes dryer.  Cycling shoes with cleats can damage the inside of a dryer, though, and shoes bouncing around in the dryer not only make a lot of noise, but it can harm the shoes as well as making them “Kick” the door of the dryer open, stopping the cycle before they’re dry.  One way to take care of this is to use a rack inside your dryer (some new dryers come with a shoe-drying rack that fits inside) or simply untie the laces, tie a knot in the very end of the laces, and allow them to hang with the knot keeping them suspended against the dryer door.  This is how I do it at home.  Alternatively, twine or a re-purposed metal clothes hanger can be used to hang your shoes on the inside of the dryer door.  This way, your shoes don’t make a lot of noise.  Be careful with racing shoes that are made of stiff plastic or carbon fiber. Excess heat can damage them.

Newsprint, wadded up and stuffed into the shoes is another suggestion I’ve seen “kicked around” lately.  If you get the newspaper and never seem to come up with a good creative use for the newsprint after you’ve read it, now’s your chance to re-purpose it.  If your shoes are quite damp, you may need to remove the old newspaper and repeat the process a few times. I don’t subscribe to a newspaper, so I haven’t been able to try this theory myself.

The last suggestion I got from several friends of mine was to use a good pair of cycling sandals. These clipless cleat-ready sandals, when worn with wool socks often remain comfy year round, even in the cold season. There isn’t a lot of material to get soaked.  Sandals dry quickly. Wool socks do as well, but also retain much of their insulating value even when wet.

One trick I use occasionally at the office is to place my wet socks and/or shoes on top of my computer monitor after I’m sure they won’t drip water into the sensitive electronics within.  The heat from my computer monitor isn’t too extreme, but over the course of my entire work day, it’s often warm enough to dry out a few articles of soggy clothing.

Got more cool ways to keep your toes dry? Drop us a line in the comments!