Bike commuting with kids

In a perfect world for most outdoor families our kids walk or bike (or ski) to school each day. We don’t want to strap them into cars for the short journey to school, or we want to bike commute ourselves. This is great when the weather is perfect and the sun is out, but then there’s the rest of the year. And many of us (ourselves included) are part of a two working parent family, so the kids are in after school programs or all-day daycare/preschool and have to be picked up when it's dark out.

​What are the best ways to get the kids to school and home as safely as possible, while minimizing whining?

Make it a habit: 

• If they know it will happen (almost) every day, and you won’t change your mind, there will be less whining. 

Make it fun: 

• Put fun lights on their bikes.
• Make sure they have warm clothes
• Make sure they have rain pants/jacket if it’s raining
• Put a bell on their handlebars
• Put toys in the trailer

Wearing rain pants and gloves for warmth (not an example of true winter of course)

Ikea reflective vest

Keep them visible:

• Reflective vest (we loved the Ikea Patrull but unfortunately it seems to be discontinued)
• Reflective backpack
• Front/back lights - make sure they’re charged up,
• Spoke lights
• Light up your trailer
  • I built a lighting system out of red LED strip lights hooked up to a battery pack with a blinking function, but it might be so much easier to just buy some battery powered Christmas net lights
• If it's better for your route, have them bike on the sidewalk instead of the road
  • But read your local ordinance to determine the legal age ranges - where we live under 13 are allowed to but not adults

Set up an organization system for the gear:

• Getting to school:
  • Have the parent bring any critical items with them so that they don’t get left behind in classrooms
    • Helmets, warm layers they don't need for playing, reflective vest
• Coming home:
  • Create a routine for charging the lights to make sure you the batteries run out
  • Set up a storage system for the gear at home so everything is easy to get to
  • Get kids in the routine of putting everything away as soon as they come home

Here are some tips on gear to use:

Clothing:

• Warm layers:
  • Helmet liner or balaclava
  • Snowpants to pull on over school pants
• Hands:
  • Full-finger bike glove or ski liner glove
  • Ski mitten (if very cold and if the kid can operate the brakes safely)
    • I used an OR shell mitten over warm gloves when biking in the winter in Wisconsin, because it blocked the wind and had more dexterity than an insulated mitten, but it doesn't seem like anyone makes something like that for kids
• Wet weather gear:
  • Rainpants to pull on over school clothes
  • Rain jacket
  • Rainboots

Bikes:

• For babies/toddlers - bike trailer or WeeHoo
• For bigger kids - WeeHoo or tagalong (our favorite is the Burley Piccolo for it's stability)
• Leave the trailer or tagalong at school if the parents split drop-off/pick-ups, as long as you have access to them from the after school program
• Cargo bike if both parents can share it or if only one person is doing both pick-up/drop-off (they're expensive and pretty specialized, so not often worth buying two of them)

Gear hauling:

• Trailers are great for carrying gear and keeping them dry (button down the rain cover for the kid of course)
• Waterproof panniers on the adult’s bike to carry backpacks
  • This is important when the backpacks don't fit under reflective vests (or if the backpacks aren't reflective) and also to keep them dry in the rain

Other references for good tips on bicycle commuting in the winter:

• Cycle Sprog tips on biking in the winter
• Rascal Rides tips on bicycle commuting with kids