Full-time bike commuting and being a one-car family

The other day my husband called home in the late afternoon to ask if we wanted to come have dinner downtown and give him a ride home. His legs just weren't up for the uphill bike ride home that day. It's so rare that he asks, and heck, we always like dinner out, so we were happy to oblige. I think if I were the full-time bike commuter in the family, I'd be calling home asking for rides much more frequently. Especially when you take into consideration how snowy, cold and otherwise soggy this winter has been.

I can't remember exactly when, but sometime last summer we sold my husband's car, and became a one-car-many-bike family. The selling of the car was prompted by me. But after doing a cost-analysis on our insurance, smog testing, registration, and auto maintenance, etc., it didn't make sense for us to hold onto a car we were hardly using. What's also cool is that my husband no longer needs a gym membership, since getting a workout and endorphin-boost is naturally built in to his daily commute.

So most work days, I am left with the image of my husband's blurred backside blazing down our hill on his way to work. And often we hear him race to a stop in our driveway after the long, uphill ride to our house from his work. He likes to time himself and see if he can beat his time. There are often stories of people he passed on Terwilliger Boulevard. Or days when he didn't have his legs, and politely let others pass him. There have been numerous trips to the Bike Gallery and REI for the acquisition of bike gear: lined leggings for those cold winter rides, flashing helmet lights, clipless pedals. It's for a good cause.

The biggest challenge in the past year was Artic Blast 2008 (and no, we're never going to stop lamenting it). While the main roads were plowed and coated with sand/gravel, bike riding was pretty much out of the question on the snow and ice. Plus, when they plow it, snow fills up the bike lanes. There's still a bit of loose gravel on the streets, but overall, the city has done a commendable job of sweeping and collecting the gravel for reuse. During this time period, there was some "hitching a ride" with neighbors going downtown. There were lifts to work in our one chained car, and carpools home with coworkers. There was some telecommuting (luckily my husband's company and job are telecommute-friendly). There were days the company told its employees not to come in, and then there were some vacation days. All in all, we weathered the storm as well as any other family.

Being a one-car family has a few challenges. It's hard for us to divide and conquer on the weekends as most of our friends can. But it's taught us to be more creative. We often ask friends for rides if they are going our way, so that the one of us who needs the car the most gets it. It also prompts us to walk more, to bike more and to just not drive on a regular basis. We also let those of our family and friends know that if they are on our "alternate pickup" forms for school, they may really be asked to help. There's no way my husband is going to bike home to pick up a sick kid. His commute bike doesn't support a trailer or tag-along bike.

There's also a fair amount of weekend time spent on bike maintenance. My kids have learned the importance of cleaning and lube'ing the chain, and will sadly point out a rusty chain on an ill-treated, anonymous bike parked in some rack we spot downtown.

A few challenges remain... Trying to find a bike rack that works with our car and fits all of our bikes is vexing. Bike racks don't seem to be made to accommodate kid bikes or tag-alongs. If you have any success stories, please share. Also, I hope not to always be looking out the window as my husband rides away. My oldest daughter learned how to ride without training wheels late last summer, but still needs practice riding on roads. My youngest has been doing her darndest to grow taller so that she will fit on the tag-along (because she's too big for a co-pilot). And me? I'm busy growing my hair long so I won't let fear of helmet hair stand in my way of riding my bike!! We all do our part, with my part, ahem, being decidedly small.

Almost finished. Just added a new book to my "must read" list: Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists are Changing American Cities, by Oregonian reporter Jeff Mapes. Chew on this: "If everyone cycled for an hour and reduced their driving by an equivalent distance, the US would cut gas consumption by 38 percent." and greenhouse gas emissions would drop below the Kyoto Treaty protocol. Ride on!