If You Build It, the Dutch Will Pedal (2017) (opens in new tab)

Besides the practical, physical advice from others on equipment and gear, I recommend a mindset reset that billions of people around the world ride bikes rain or shine every day -- old, young, rich, poor, male, female, etc -- and have for generations.

I remember riding in Vietnam during monsoon season. When the rain started, everyone pulled over a few seconds to put on their ponchos and started riding again.

I suspect that we who don't ride regularly are the exception.

Here's a podcast episode of mine of a school principal who wrote his bike to school every day in Alaska, often below 0F http://joshuaspodek.com/guests/jethro-jones. He was pretty fun about it.

A hoodie (not the sweater-type but a cover for the head attached to a rain-proof coat).

Also, clothes dry remarkably quick in a heated office. Many of my colleagues have rain suits, like these: [0]

[0] https://www.google.com/search?q=regenpak&client=firefox-b-d&...

If your bike has fenders and you dress as you normally would in the rain, it's not that bad!

http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/2014/11/its-raining-its-p...

I cycle to work almost every day come rain or shine. I wear cycling shorts and vest, a light waterproof fluorescent jacket, a rucksack with a foldout waterproof covering, an underhelmet cap, and I've just invested in some overshoes to protect my shoes and socks. I change into that in the morning, and when I get to work I change into clothes from my rucksack and hang the cycling clothes somewhere to dry if need be. Only when it's absolutely bucketing it down will I consider taking the bus.

I live in Amsterdam, I have my winter gear, water-proof shoes, pant cover etc.

I never stopped cycling to work during the winter, even if it was snowing :) my commute is only 8 minutes though.

I hate wind more than rain and snow tbh.

Rain? I'd be more worried about snow. Looking at climate data just on Wikipedia, the Netherlands gets about the same number of 'snowy' days as Denver and it gets more total precipitation. It's winter average temperatures are also a tad lower which really makes me wonder what they do when there is snow & ice on the streets. I'd certainly wouldn't want to be riding my bike in Denver today (the front range got >1ft of snow over the past few days).

I bike in rain, fog, sleet, snow, and -20C. Get wool underwear and a raincoat + pants. It’s a habit, so I just get up in the morning and do it.

Oh, and I have a child seat and a trailer, so I bring all 3 kids to kindergarden, too. I did get an electric bike to go with the 3. child though.

If someone thinks I’m a die hard environmentalist, idealist or nut job: the bike is cheap and the commute is faster as I don’t have to wait for other cars, the bus to come, etc.

It’s just the best solution for me, hands down, on all fronts.

Bike through it :) It's certainly quite rainy and windy some days, though.

Two things: Either move your departure slightly, or, if that is not an option, use a rainsuit. These rainsuits are very good and easy enough to take with you. I always have one in my bicycle bags which are fastened on the rear rack of my bike.

You're not made of sugar.

I've taken a bike daily for years, for one commute the alternative was walking, which took around twice longer. So between getting wet on a bike and spending a longer time walking and getting wet, it didn't change much. And once at school, clothing dried quickly enough that it wasn't much of a bother. Later, when I had switched my commute to bike + train, the other option was to take a bus, but I never did it, because I just couldn't stand to wait for the bus and risk missing my train and getting late to school/work.

You bike, just the same. Some people wear raincoats or waterproof clothing, but most will just go in their usual attire plus a hooded jacket.

It is just a fact of life. Not enjoyable, of course, but so what. Of course, if the bike ride is really long, it might become unfeasible.

I love to bike with my waterproof poncho.

https://www.thepeoples.co

Fenders

Normal rain jacket

backpack with a rain cover

And if you really want to stay dry, something like these leg covers: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rainlegs-Black-Waterproof-Leg-Prote...

let's face it - it basically rains every other day and it never stops traffic on bycicle lanes.

Which largely don't exist. With the exception of like, Phoenix and greater Los Angeles, US cities were also not designed for cars.

Even Western cities that are famous for sprawl like Denver and Houston, their streets were laid down in their modern form in the 1870s, decades before Karl Benz first had the idea of attaching a motor to a wagon.

Cars are recent invaders to our cities, and retrofits were made to accommodate them (thanks in part to massive lobbying from auto makers and hostile takeovers and subsequent shutdowns of private mass transit). There is almost no such thing as a "city designed for cars"

He also has the chance to be fit enough to bike regularly and to live in a place where it's feasible to do a lot of trips on bike, with shorter distances than what you'd find in the US

Granted the Dutch climate has little extremes but even at -5 degC and snow or 0 degC and rain, you will still see many people on their bikes with rain suits and gloves.

"FF reading view", it's really nice.

Explain to me please why we, the Dutch, are an alienated society? We, just like most, still have to help our friends and family, move furniture and so on. Most families still own a car for this purpose, but a lot of the day to day activities can be done without a car. Saving the environment and your wallet.

Edit: spelling

Since I cannot downvote this, I will reply... to say how much I disagree with your comment. One may prefer to bike even if one owns a car; one can help a friend with or without a car; one can dress one's kids appropriately for a bike ride, even in the cold / rain / snow; etc.

It's not all or nothing. There are still cars, they just don't have to be the default mode of transportation. For some circumstances cars can be useful tools, e.g. emergencies or rural living.

Having cities that require a car to participate in social life is hugely inefficient in terms of energy expenditure, public spending on infrastructure (e.g in the article the yearly expenditure on bike infrastructure is 500 million euros, that's probably about the cost of replacing one bridge made for cars), and also disproportionately impacts poor people, for whom car ownership can be a real financial burden.

Jesus christ if something's wrong with your parents you can call them an Uber right? or an ambulance

> putting your child on the backseat of a bike on a rainy day is not frowned upon

This is the best thing you can do for your child.

On the contrary, cars are the vastly more alienating vehicle. You're in a sound dampened box closed off from every single human being around you. You can't even quickly pull over to chat if you spot a neighbor because the thing is way too big for that.

When I see neighbors driving a car, the most interaction I get is a wave - if they see me at all. However if I'm biking or walking, I will absolutely stop and chat because it's completely natural and human to do that.

You act like nobody in the Netherlands has a car. Most households have both a car and a few bicycles (except in a few cities), they just don't use the cars for everything like Americans tend to.