Editor’s Note: This is a second in an ongoing series of guest posts from Sally Miculek. an Austin mom who’s trying to ride her bike more places and leave the car in the driveway.

So, when you read about bicycling for transportation, you read a bit about planning ahead.  Planning for how long routes take (cause the bicycling takes a little longer than the car), planning for what you’ll need along the way (water, grocery bags, laundry to drop off at the cleaners…), planning what you’ll need when you reach your destination (especially if that destination is an office and you’re bicycling in Austin in July!)  Also, packing is a bit of a thing to consider when one is bicycling for transportation.  For me, riding my bicycle wherever I need to go isn’t a problem.  Planning and packing, though?  Those are definitely difficult.

This week I’ve planned three bicycling days.  The first was Tuesday.  That meant that on Monday evening I needed to get my things packed and ready to go, as I wasn’t going to want to get up any earlier than I had to on Tuesday morning.  I didn’t really feel up to packing on Monday, though, so I did a half-hearted job.  When I went to put everything in my panniers on Tuesday morning, it didn’t quite all fit.  So I had to move some stuff around and my purse got squashed, but it survived.  I also didn’t wake up quite as early as I needed to on Tuesday morning, so was in a rush to get out, and managed to leave the security card that allows me to get in to the Library before it opens to the public in the car.  I still managed to ride to work on Tuesday morning, though, and dropped off a bunch of work clothes for my husband at the cleaners on the way.

Tuesday evening’s ride home was considerably more relaxed, as I just strolled out of the Library and hopped on my bike, then took a leisurely ride home.

Tomorrow, Thursday, is likely to be another hectic morning getting to work.  I’ve done a better job packing my work clothes (I don’t like to wear slacks on the bicycle in the summer) and the hair dryer (I attempt to make my hair a bit tidier when I get there, and the hair dryer is a necessary part of the process) for the trip.  And I’m not taking a pile of clothes for the cleaners in the morning, so I’ve got more pannier space to work with in general.  BUT, I have to drop off the trailer at Iris’ school on my way.  My husband takes the girls in the morning, but I do pick-ups on non-Tuesdays, and so I’ve gotta get the trailer to Iris’ school in order to get her home in the afternoon.  Pulling the trailer always slows things down a bit, whether the girls are in it or no, and then there’s the couple of minutes it’ll take to get it unhitched and put in the trailer parking area at the preschool.  So I have to make sure I get out of bed in time to get shower, breakfast, and final packing completed with enough time to then make the pedaled journey down to the Library!

Friday will be a leisurely biking day, but will include the challenge of pedals and pedicures.  It’s time to get the toesies done, and since my off Fridays are also bicycle-only days, I’ll need to do some riding with fresh nailpolish.  Can I avoid chipping?  Only time will tell!