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Winter cycling

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in4:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20231220-why-oulu-finland-is-the-winter-cycling-capital-of-the-world

Combinations out folks!

John Saxby:
Thanks, Ian.  Similar story on this website: https://theurbanactivist.com/idea/why-arctic-conditions-dont-stop-cycling-in-oulu-finland/

I first heard about this city through a post by a fellow in London, Ontario.  Not much winter there -- but he was making the case for better cycling infrastructure in Ottawa.

Winter in Ottawa this year is, er, shy and reticent:  since Christmas Eve we've had 4-5 days of mild mist'n'drizzle, and there is nothing left of our 20 cms of snow from early December.

"Normally", winter cycling here is hazardous: not because of the snow & ice, but because of the lack of cycling infrastructure.  That said, in the past twenty years or so, our default winter mode has become snow-thaw-freeze, so that ice buildup on roads and sidewalks is very marked, and dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists. (Motorists' behaviour is part of the problem, as you might imagine: auto-body shops report year-over-year increases of revenue on the order of 25%.)

There was a time when we could expect cold, clear, sunny weather for some part of December, much and January, and into Feb., with daytime highs around -15º C, & nighttime lows to -30 or colder.  No longer -- rarely do we have more than a day or two like that at a stretch.

Ottawa has the rep of being the coldest national capital in the world, jostling with Ulan Bator for that "distinction".  This, despite being at a latitude only slightly north of Marseille.

Stay warm'n'dry  ;)

WorldTourer:
I have bicycle-commuted in Finland in the winter and indeed it is just as easy and normal as other countries’ media reports. However, its conditions are hard to replicate elsewhere. For one, even various other developed European countries don’t clean bike paths well in winter. But secondly, Finland is a fairly prosperous country and people have money to spend on necessary gear like winter tires. Elsewhere, the class of people who would commute by bike might not necessarily have the funds for such purchases.

UKTony:
Another grey, wet and windy day here ☹️. So far this winter in this SW corner of the UK we’ve had very few dry days around Zero. Although it’s been quite mild - single figures up to low teens -  it’s also been much wetter than usual. The surrounding fields are sodden and even if you can dodge the showers it only takes one short sharp shower for water to pond and stream down the lanes carrying debris - mud, gravel, leaves, twigs etc - across the roads. Recently on one 10 mile route where it would be unusual to have to ride through one minor flood on the road we encountered 6 “ponds”, fortunately not deep enough to submerge the Rohloff if you’re careful. The excess surface water also further erodes imperfections in the road surface and old repairs pop out creating more hazards for cyclists!

So, at the moment I think I’d happily swap cycling here for the dry, not wet, cold in Finland. And the
country is quite flat isn’t it? 😀

mickeg:
I have not been on a bike since Dec 7, or for three and a half weeks.  On that day I did a 21 mile exercise ride, temp was about +5 (C).

Am in Madison Wisconsin, USA, thus a bit north and east of the center of USA.  Has been very warm this winter.  We had a couple inches of snow two days ago, has not melted yet.  The ten day forecast has temps above freezing on eight of ten days.

Plan to use an exercise bike today for an hour, that will have to do for now.

I have studded tires, but I am not going to install them unless they are needed.

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