John (and others) - There has been lots of good advice flying around. Tips from the local experts is worth it's weight in gold. Here are some short ideas:
Great webpage: Bike Winter (Chicago) - go to the "resources" link for tips and links to more pages. Investigate the rest for inspiration and silliness. http://www.bikewinter.org/bikewinter0102/main.php [shameless BFW promotion] The BFW web page: www.bfw.org has several articles on biking in winter and hauling stuff by bike. Go to the "commuting" section to look at articles. [more shameless self promotion] I am teaching a class titled: Bike Through Winter. The same class will be offered in two locations/times: 1) Thursday, Oct. 23, 6-8 pm Wisconsin Union Mini-courses (call 262-3156 for cost and registration) 2) Thursday, November 21, 6-8 pm Fitchburg Community Center call 270-4290 to register A couple more general tips on not owning a car: 1) Don't feel guilty about renting one once in awhile. You don't have to be a hermit and it's still cheaper than ownership. If you have a whole lot of big-stuff errands, rent one for the day 2) Take cabs if you need to. Again - still cheaper than car ownership 3) Ask your friends if you can borrow the car. As far as I'm concerned, there should be a "neighborhood car." for the whole block. 4) Become familiar with putting your bike on the bus. No matter how hardy or prepared you are, there are days when you just don't want to ride - at least not both ways. Using the bus for part of the trip, or going home when there's freezing rain, or if you have a flat, or just are tired, is a welcome choice. 5) Get a trailer. I own a car, and yet I use the trailers at work quite a bit. We all know that it's easier to negociate traffic on a bike than in a car, and doing your Farmers' Market or Willy St errands with a trailer is a breeze. (I still haven't found the perfect one. My suggestion is to borrow a few from others and "test drive" them.) 6) Get a copy of "Divorce Your Car" for more encouragement and tips on going car-free. -- Robbie _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
