articpiecitylights

As summer nears its end, I'm very curious to know what everyone does to handle the rain. For myself, I throw on a pair of rain pants over rubber rain boots with a GoreTex rain jacket.

At my work desk I have an old pair of Toms shoes that I bought at Goodwill that are super comfortable - I slip into them when I arrive and out of them when I leave.

I have a waterproof Timbuk2 saddlebag-style pannier, which I use to bring my lunchbox.

If you're intimidated by riding in the rain, give it a try! It's really quite invigorating and people will think you're either crazy, or a badass. Both seem fine to me!

You may know the actor Nick Offerman as the gruff city parks director Ron Swanson on the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation or from his turn as the survivalist Bill on the HBO series The Last of Us, but he also has a lot to say about how people get around, share public space, and relate to nature. In his book Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside, Nick takes a wry and philosophical approach to our stewardship of Planet Earth, the value of working with one’s hands, and the many problems with the massive agricultural systems on which we all depend. Nick Offerman joins The War on Cars to talk about his experience biking for transportation in New York City and Los Angeles, his views on masculinity and conspicuous consumption, and why the best way to explore an unfamiliar city is at the speed of a good walk.

Cities are pouring millions of dollars into making safe bike lanes to enable more of us to use a bicycle for transportation. But there's an underappreciated barrier for many people -- there's no safe place to store their bike at home. This can be a huge problem for millions of people who live in smaller apartments and flats where bike parking wasn't considered when it was built, and for millions of people in newer buildings where expensive car parking is often mandated but storage for bikes is not considered at all.

This is my Surly Long Haul Trucker! All of the branding was removed by a previous owned who lived in a city and was concerned about theft, so I'm happy to have an anonymous bike!