Biking input

A friend of mine reminded me a couple of weeks ago that unemployment is a great time to try out new things without the stress of wondering what bosses and co-workers might think. So I've been scoping out bike/bus options for places within my preferred travel range. I took two buses in to Whole Foods last night and camped out with Grist's "Wake up and smell the planet" and a cup of chai (soy milk) until my grocery-shopping buddy showed up. This test run put me very close to a whole bunch of employment options since there is a transit center nearby.

The other piece of the evaluation is looking at multi-modal travel... i.e. taking a bike on the bus, taking a bike from the bus stop to the destination, and possibly catching a ride home from there. Or, in the case of my summer vacation plans, take the bus to the train, take the train to local major city, and then spend 18 hours on my own until the shuttle shows up. Or, since Amtrak is bike (and especially folding bike) positive... take a bike? I don't know that this will become down the road, but I had a heck of a good time watching the "Gal from down unda"'s series on taking Bike Friday's new tikit folding bike around NYC.

And then I realized I especially appreciated seeing what a real bike commuter wears. There's a difference between when one is talking about it and seeing a whole bunch of vids of that person riding in all kinds of conditions.

Along that line, here's a piece from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune interviewing winter bike commuters.