Happy New Year! Whether you’re back to work or back to school, busy schedules and winter conditions may challenge your biking resolutions. Hold on to that promise to yourself to bike more.
Know that biking will only get better as the daylight lengthens and the 2019 street improvements roll out. Here are tips (or maybe a pep talk) to help you keep pedaling this winter.
- All weather is biking weather when you’re well equipped. Invest in rain gear, then put it to use. Get out there and shine in your reflective jacket. Rain pants and waterproof panniers complete the outfit. Include your kids — they won’t melt! Children need outdoor time and physical activity year round. Rubber boots and just about any raincoat make fine biking gear for little ones.
- Light up the morning when you bike and walk to school. Make sure your trailer and your child’s bike have high-quality bike lights, just like your own bicycle: a white light in front and a red rear light. You can decorate backpacks with reflective stickers and blinky lights as well.
- Adjust your riding for wet streets and lowered visibility. Brakes are less effective and tires more likely to skid, so take it slow and give yourself twice as much time and distance to stop completely. To be extra safe when biking with children, you may want to walk your bikes in the crosswalk to cross multi-lane and high-traffic thoroughfares.
- Save the dates for our big spring events. Get ready for fun and camaraderie by joining San Francisco’s Bike & Roll to School Week April 15-19 and Bike to Work Day on May 9.
- Get more involved with the SF Bicycle Coalition, on bike or off. Take a class, volunteer, attend an SF Bicycle Coalition social gathering, and come to our Annual Member Meeting on January 23.
