In the Winter Pannier and Happy New Year

Winter has been tiptoeing in and out in Chicago this year.  The air has been balmy for a midwestern December, hovering around 40 degrees many days since before school vacation started. The long days of hibernating at home have caught us up and helped get our bike legs back under us. On two wheels to the Art Institute and the Nutcracker we were barely in our heavy coats and gloves. Usually in December we wouldn't leave the house without our snow pants and boots.

Waiting in the wings are the real cold days of this winter, and we are readying our winter pannier that was so disorganized this early winter and late fall. Last year's colder winter posts --Keeping Kids Warm Riding in Fall and Snow are good primers on how we dress the kids depending on if they are riding their own bike or passengers, where we get our favorite layers, and how we care for them so they last.
The Riding in Fall post is very detailed and has most of the information about winter, too, including caring for hands, feet and faces. The Snow post has good pictures of what the kids wear.

Our winter pannier is much about keeping hands, feet and faces comfortable. Having a good selection of supplies makes all the difference -- it lets you get out of the house without missing anything. This is what we keep inside ours--(toilet training toddler version- substitute wipes and diapers for your baby winter rider)

Hats and balaclavas or neck gaiters and extra mittens litter our pannier because they get lost, forgotten inside at school or drenched with snowballs. Windproof mittens can be cheap to find second hand (let's just say the ones in the pannier usually don't match) and we prefer ones with grippy palms. We never use wool gloves. Children's fingers get very cold very fast in them since they are neither wind nor waterproof. Mittens are warmer. We always try to have lip balm to avoid chapping.

Our school commute is about four and a half miles each way so we carry extra warm clothes too.  The early ride is in the coldest part of the morning and the afternoon commute can be with the sun down when we do errands on the way home.  Our small guy does two school runs since he gets picked up and later goes back out to get the big guys. On short trips we carry a few fewer extra layers. After two or three weeks of cold riding you figure out what everyone needs.

On the other hand, we bring extra things on longer trips. Hot drinks come along if we are going to see friends far away or will be out for a long time sledding.

Mostly our guys are used to the cold and are toasty but if not - we go in a coffee shop or bakery and make the most of it while we all warm up, then try again. Once we locked the bike up and took the bus.

Hands and feet really grew at our house this year and our eldest got his first pair of lobster style riding gloves for his birthday. He loves them so far. We couldn't find Smartwool long johns and used Icebreaker wool layers for the middle guy who grew out of the thick German ones.  The Icebreaker layers have lasted well, but it's important to try not to put them in the dryer.

We find that babies' bottoms heat up in all the extra layers and they need to be changed a little sooner than you might think sometimes. Our winter baby kit includes Balmex cream, a plastic ziplock bag for yucky clothes, and wipes (which can get very cold so don't just bring wet ones). A friend of ours kept the wipes in an inside pocket of her coat or under her daughter in the trailer to keep them warm. Toilet training toddlers of course need everything in multiples. Ugh. You can bail out and use a warm bathroom at a coffee shop or museum.

Happy new year and einen guten Rutsch!

Fall Morning Pannier

We had our windy chill this morning as we rode to school. It was time to bring the windbreakers even though it was so sunny and bright. Our post about dressing for the blustery mix of fall weather from last year says exactly what we like to bring in our panniers on these autumn days. It's very detailed and I'd suggest a look if you seek a solid explanation of what our kids wear at each age, from just not a baby on up, during mixed fall and early winter weather.  It also explains where we get clothing and how we take care of things so they will last. Lastly we touch on the difference between dressing a child who is pedaling -- like on the tandem or on their own bike -- and a child dressed to sit in the wind on the bike.

Today if I had packed right, my pannier would have held a windbreaker for each kid. I would have put each kid in a nice medium weight wool or polyester layer as well, as it got pretty cold in the wind. We actually left with a mix of heavy wool and hooded poly layers over long sleeves on, and a not so perfect mix of extra in the bag. I definitely could have packed more wind breaking layers!

We did not break out the under hats and gorgeous matching neck warmers that Erin made us over at Kozie Prery, but they are coming out this weekend for morning rides. (Peek for pictures of the hats and cowls that I should be able to put up at the end of the weekend, or check out their etsy shop at the link. They were worth every penny!) I will probably be breaking out the light gloves to at least keep in the pannier just in case.

Hope we see you out riding one of these beautiful mornings.

p.s. Check out our interview with Nick Wilson of Rapid Transit on the Chicago Parents Ride On page. I started doing interviews for the page in January and that is when we spoke. It's been a bit of a trick figuring out how to post them but now Blogger is upgraded to do it and we decided to go with audio. Our first talk is a pinch long, but Nick is a very experienced family rider and has lots of interesting things to say. Stay tuned as we get some other families up on the same page.

Many other family bike blogs also talk to other families about riding, which is very exciting and always fun to read! Two to seek out are Mamafiets and Simplybike.

What's in the family pannier for sweltering summer days?

It's been very hot here the last few days, up into the three digits. (°F) We've still been out on our bikes to work, to the park and to friends' houses, but with an eye to keeping everyone safe in the heat.

In the summer pannier when riding with babies/ kids we carry some essential hot weather goodies that keep us all rolling along. We have:

• Thermos bottles of cold water
• Plenty of hats and sunscreen
• Lots of extra diapers, Balmex tube and wipe material
• Some extra clothes and plastic shopping bag in case we get somewhere we can get wet  (in Chicago there are wonderful playground sprinklers and the lake to jump into) Sometimes a swim diaper too. 
• maybe a small towel or two (depending on how many kids you might have with you) 
• Extra snacks and some juice bags. For non nurser babies extra small person food. 
• a tool kit and pump just in case, including a little first aid kit

The excess of extra diapers are so the smallest people don't get icky in the heat. We find this especially important with babies and not-training-yet toddlers. Diapers (cloth diapers get hot too) are best changed as often as possible in the heat, which isn't complicated but good packing makes it easy. Keep clean, wet cloth washcloths in a ziplock, (or carry baby wipes) and an extra closeable ick bag to keep everything apart and ok in the heat if you don't use disposables. (We love to carry a tube of Balmex too just in case you need to grease a bottom)

Extra water and a favorite snack for nursing moms help too if you are out for your first summer rides as a family. Surprisingly, moving on the bike is often cooler than walking or public transportation, especially if you are coasting a lot!

We are not shy about spending days at the cool bookstore, museum, library, or just plain home on these baking hot afternoons. Moderation is our habit when it gets extremely hot. Whenever we ride in summer we are game for an ice cream or gelato stop. Hot days are the perfect excuse to duck happily into an air conditioned coffee shop.

Hope you are staying comfortable in the heat and enjoying these sunny summer days on two wheels!

Patagonia a little on sale

We mention Patagonia's annual half price sale in our getting dressed suggestions posted last year. We got an update on the sale which usually happens this week. The Patagonia store in Chicago and the website are having a 30% off sale this week. It's not quite their usual blow-out yet. The Chicago store said that if curious sale watchers link on facebook to their page - the only Patagonia Chicago page according to them -they will announce the deeper sale to folks linked there. They said that there is not much inventory for them to sell off this year so if there is something one covets it may be better to go with it at 30%.
I'd keep watching unless there is something you have been waiting to get. The retro -x kids jacket is a layer we have often used - buying big and handing down. It's about thirty dollars less than full price just now... so we are watching for the deeper sale if there are any left by then!

Snow?

Our kids winter gear is snowsuit or jacket and snowpants, fleece or wool sweater under, long wool underwear, face mask,  goggles, windproof mittens, wool socks and a warm insulated snowboarding helmet. When they are actively pedaling we adjust the fleece underlayer or carry it along. We use fleece vests instead of jackets if the weather is warmer. Check out the post about keeping kids warm riding in Fall for more info about where to get them and how to choose and care for them so they last a long time.

We have a crush on Belden St. From De Paul to the lake, it's all stop signs and lights, trees, and no busy cars. We rode it today with our friend here. We love his red trike!

We couldn't help but stop and visit the horses and goats at the Farm in the Park. They were all wearing goggles, too.

Look, horsies!

Our pannier is usually full of extra layers just in case. We almost asked our red trike friend if he needed a hat!

Keeping kids comfortable riding in Fall

So today was chilly and blustery – a big change from the balmy skies we've had the last week. We went on our Alderman's ward ride – the first ever in our ward. It started at 10 but we needed to show up early, so we had to get our mice ready to roll in the windy, cloudy morning with rain possible and sun later on. Here are our suggestions for getting kids ready for the heady mix of early to late fall weather with a whisper of winter.

We dress our kids differently depending on if they are going to ride or not.

If they are going to be a passenger in the seat or box instead of pedaling they can't stay as warm, and the wind blows on them even if they are in a kid seat on the back rack behind us. (The people at Bike Winter have more good information about kids in trailers here.)

Kids on ride alongs or pedaling on the tandem have a pretty wide range of activity, when they are moving and not, because they don’t need to pedal to move. Check in with riders and almost riders to see how comfortable they are. If they are complaining, listen, because they are usually right about being cold or too warm, and help them adjust accordingly with what you’ve got stashed in the pannier or carry bag or whatever. Keeping kids comfortable and hearing out their complaints goes a long way towards growing a bicycle lover. We have learned a lot from each of our kids about what keeps each one comfortable by listening to their complaints and observing if they are a warmer kid in the cold or a kid that needs a little extra layering. They are all different!

Passengers (not pedaling) in the fall require:

a soft under layer- cotton or, even better, a wool t-shirt

a medium wool or fleece layer, long sleeved

a heavier sweater, again wool or fleece

a definitely wind proof shell

extras we take are gloves and a very thin fleece cap to fit under helmets. We often bring an extra layer for each kid in the panniers.

Later fall can require long underwear on legs too, maybe an early appearance of snow pants! (Winter is a different post but we tend to have our guys in layers under a hooded snowsuit that is one piece and windproof, goggles and a fleece face cover, boots and wool socks.)

Fall is a tricky time of year with hats under helmets as the weather changes, even during the day, and sometimes a helmet needs a little adjustment with a hat underneath. Some folks use balaclavas made of fleece. By and large we have used fleece hats with the rain jacket hood pulled up over the hat and under the helmet in early and later fall. If your kid switches out of having their head covered check that their helmet is well adjusted and try not to leave it loose.

When the kids ride – on the tandem, a ride along, or their own bikes – the mix changes a little. Kids need clothes that can be comfortable as they heat up and cool down through the ride.

Our riders (pedaling, not sitting) wear:

wool or polypropylene – cotton can get sticky and then make them cold

a heavier fleece layer

really wind proof jacket ideally with a hood

gloves that are not slippery on the handlebars if it is that cold

hat again and hood (or balaclava )

extra layers for each kid spend the fall and winter in our panniers

again, later fall can require long underwear on the legs as well as early snow pants

Just a few words on bottom layers and paying for riding clothes for kids! Thrift shops are a major boon for gearing kids up for fall and winter rides. Most have an overflowing supply of perfect heavy and medium wool and fleece layers, gloves in all sizes that won’t slip on the handlebars, and hats. Sometimes there are terrific wind proof jackets. Unique in Chicago has a half price Monday at their stores that is a great day to stock up. They put the new stuff out that day so the pickings are good.

We mention wool underclothes, which our kids wear.  Please remember that we use these layers as commuter wear and not just for fun so sometimes we have invested for the long run. We have three kids so whatever I buy for my oldest really passes down. Two years ago we bought Smartwool long johns for my oldest. It was a big splurge but we use them all cold season, biking, sledding, snowshoeing or taking walks around the Arboretum. Wool has made a big difference in his winter and late fall bike comfort but we still rode before we had it. It is just about to pass down to my middle kid and the heat is on for me to decide if I can afford to get a new pair for my oldest. Washing has been a big issue in keeping them in good shape and I can machine wash the smartwool on a cold delicate setting but keep them absolutely out of the dryer. After two years of every other day wear they are as good as new. Other, european brands of wool undies must not go in the wash as they will felt very nicely very fast.

Patagonia, REI, Sierra Traders and Erewhon in Chicago have some nice and cheaper-to-more-expensive wicking wool and nonwool bottom layers. The capilene and polypropylene layers also benefit from careful washing. Our have gone into a cold wash and hung dry and had really long lives. Good undies tend to be really cheap in late spring when they are trying to clear the decks so good planning can really help out in getting supplies for fast growing kids.

On Patagonia... they have a major more-than-half-price sale every spring on their winter stuff. We have saved up in the past during winter and bought some nice things for the kids for the following year at the Chicago store. The big Patagonia sale is usually in early-to-mid February online and in stores. A neat layer they make is a windproof pullover outside attached to a thick shag rug like fleece inside that is very useful in the mixed weather of fall. We have used it as an outer and deeper keep warm layer in the past. They have some jazzy jackets and snow stuff too – best saved up for and grabbed at the sale. If you lose your mind and buy something full price, if you have even a shadow of a problem with it they will trade you out the bad stuff for good with few questions asked.

Again this is about getting daily commuter wear for biking in extreme weather with small people, so if you have decided to go completely carless you'll need to do some good thrift shopping and savvy sale work to find the good stuff to keep rolling. Thrift stores are really useful so don't give up on them!!