A bicycle umbrella (like this one we tested last year) isn’t necessary, but the great tips below are required reading.
(Photo: Juli Maus)

Note: This post was submitted by BikePortland Subscriber Kevin Schmidt from Pedal PT. Want to submit posts on behalf of yourself or your business? Become a subscriber today!

With the onset of the rain this week, it’s always good to review some ‘best practice’ tips for dealing with the weather, while still enjoying your ride.
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Savor it.
(Photo: J.Maus/BikePortland)

For those of you who’ve moved to Oregon in the last year: yes, every winter is like this.

Just kidding. But this soggy, blustery week has certainly given us a reminder of what we do to pay for those long summer evenings. In Monday’s open thread about riding through the day’s downpour, BikePortland reader Pedal PT offered a list of simple suggestions for rainy riding. They’re a perfect introduction to a commute that can be surprisingly fun.

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After some very cold weather last month things have now gotten wet. Very wet. Streets throughout the city are flooded, we’ve seen at least one closure due to a landslide, and of course as a result traffic is even crazier than usual.

So, how are you holding up out there?
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PBOT recently joined a special Breakfast on the
Bridge event to promote winter biking.
(Photo by PBOT)

Though those scurvy (and yeah, OK, pretty badass) vikings in Minneapolis might not understand the concept of biking in the winter actually being fun, a new city promotion is looking to spread the word to more Portlanders.

“The fresh air, the lack of congestion along Waterfront Park, the ability to consume eggnog without weight gain,” city transportation promoter Timo Forsberg explained in an email last week. “We want to encourage them to try it out.”

So the city is asking Portland bikers to use the hashtag #Resolve2Ride on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to share their decision to pedal through the January weather. The city’s Active Transportation Division will then use the list of folks who do to pull four winners of a “Winter Cruise send-off package” or a $25 bike shop gift card.

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Undeterred.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Portland was pelted with a serious storm this weekend. High winds and heavy rainfall lasted throughout all of Saturday and Sunday and while forecasters say the worst is over, this morning’s commute was far from a cakewalk.

But like always when the weather turns tough, there are still a lot of Portlanders who will bike right through it. I headed out with my camera this morning to capture some of the action.

Sideways rain hammered the bike commuters I saw this morning in north and downtown Portland. Yet while the number of riders was down significantly from an average weekday, there was still a relatively steady stream of people on bikes. In addition to rain and wind, they had to dodge fallen tree limbs, curbside lakes, and all manner of debris on the road.[Read more…]

Rider in the storm.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)r

OK folks, it has begun. After an unnaturally long spell of dry and sunny weather, some wet and cold weather is here. This morning’s commute was probably the toughest one since the end of last winter. While I’d love to think that we all pay it no mind and continue on our merry biking ways, it does have an impact.

The bikeways are much less crowded than they were just a few weeks ago. Last week was the lowest count of trips on the Hawthorne Bridge recorded since the new counter went in back in August and Saturday’s 1,536 trips was the lowest ever recorded. But, as a photo shared by the BTA this morning shows, lots of folks are still riding!

For those of you who press on through the darkness, wetness, and the cold, what are your secrets? [Read more…]

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Flooded bike lane and shoulder on N. Williams tonight.
(Photo © J. Maus)

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Raingear comes in all styles, forms
— and budgets.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Now that the rain has arrived in earnest, it’s time to get the daily wet weather riding routine down pat.

For many of us, that isn’t going to include shopping for a new, name brand rain jacket and pants, fancy washable wool, or a new bike with disc brakes.

Fortunately there are plenty of local options for staying warm and reasonably dry without going broke. [Read more…]