Kids In Finland Continue To Ride Bicycles To School In -17°C (1.4°F) Weather And It’s A Lesson In Commuting
Are you a cyclist? If so, are you one of the many who carefully puts old faithful into storage over the winter months, convinced that all that rain, snow and ice is just unsuitable for biking? Well, this Finnish town is living proof that winter cycling is perfectly possible with the right planning and infrastructure, and making us feel a little soft for getting in the car at the sight of a little snow.
Pekka Tahkola, an urban well-being engineer for Navico Ltd. and a cycling coordinator for the City of Oulu, took a photo of the local school’s bicycle parking lot in -17C recently to show that no matter what the conditions, nothing is keeping these kids off their bikes.
Because although it might seem strange for some parents to let their kids loose on two wheels, exposed to the icy cold of a northern winter, here in Finland it’s a perfectly normal and healthy thing to do. “We organized a study tour for participants from southern Finland for them to see how cycling to school is taken care of in our city,” Pekka told the informative environmental website MNN. “We visited a couple of schools and also spoke a lot with local teachers and principals. I’m pretty sure this school is among the best ones. It is definitely not the only one, and there are numerous schools in Oulu where the majority of kids cycle and walk to school.”
Image credits: pekkatahkola
Image credits: pekkatahkola
Image credits: pekkatahkola
Image credits: pekkatahkola
Image credits: pekkatahkola
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“It’s normal; always been like that. I cycled and kicksledded to school when I was a kid, too,” he says. “And it’s the same thing even in minus 30 C.”
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Share on FacebookIt's hard for me as a Swede to understand why this is a big deal, people ride bikes in -27°C bikes are more reliable than a car or bus as they easily break down in the cold
I lived in Oulu (the city in the article) the colder it got during winter, the more people wanted to cycle or take the bus, because they didn’t need to mind their cars then. The problem with cars is that you have to leave them somewhere during your work day, and if it doesn’t have electricity for pre-heating the motor, how is the car supposed to work properly in -30 degrees?(They might start, but it is really bad for the non-electric cars) Buses work just great, they don’t get cold because they are on the move whole day.
Load More Replies...Kids in Finland ride bikes to school in below freezing weather, while kids in America get driven to school a block away. Let me tell you how ridiculous it is where I live (a quiet suburb in California). In the image I posted, you see a school. Yous ee houses directly across from the school. There's a woman that lives in one of those houses. She DRIVES her son to and from school every day. She backs out of her driveway, to the sidewalk in front of the school, drops her kid off, and pulls forward back into her driveway. Then repeats the process int he afternoon. Yep. Capture-5c...24-png.jpg
I live in a very cold northern state in the US where it gets 0° or -10° all the time in winter and kids are walking to school. They aren't wimps lol. Maybe it's just California haha.
Load More Replies...I believe that when you grow up in this type of environment you don't "know" the difference, nor do you care. I would imagine that the children from Finland would not care much to go to school in the California desert where my sister lives which is 90F (32C) during the warmer months... and even hotter in Summer
You do know that we have summers to right? And this summer we had 35C for two months. I'm swedish, not finnish, but they are our neighbours with the same climate as us.
Load More Replies...I moved to Finland 10 years ago with close to none cycling experience. And I have been cycling here all those 10 years regardless of the weather. Trip to university approx 7 km takes about 15 min by bike and buses are rather expensive here. Cycling in winter is not that hard even for inexperienced person. Cold weather does not mean ice on road. Most of the winter roads are covered with pressed snow and it is not slippery at all. I normally don't even have spike tires, just the regular ones. If roads get icy, then city workers cover them with sand/gravel and everything is fine again for cycling. And you are not getting cold, if you are dressing properly: layered closes, wool long underlayer and so on. And, since you are cycling, you are getting warm pretty fast. Even international students, who are coming from contries without snow, learn quickly how to dress to keep warm and cycle here without problems. I have never seen here anyone who broke a bone falling from bike, some bruises yes, that happens every so often. And there are no warm parking, because moving your bike from +18 to -20 temperature to cycle is not really good for bike parts. And we do have locks in bikes most of the time and there are people who are stealing bikes here
I'll ride my bike as long as the roads arent slippery. You'll warm up on your bike when its cold outside. Just wear the right clothes! I got a temp cleaning job once and when the asshat boss saw I was arriving on bike every day, he asked the agency I worked for "how will she get here when its cold or raining" the lady told him "by bike. She's Dutch" :-D (I live in Belgium)
I thought (according to Donald Trump) that the Finns were all busy raking their forests
That's hysterical - lol, I imagine they have to rake when they get home haha
Load More Replies...I've ridden to work in temperatures as low as -28 C, but it wasn't easy. Glasses or goggles fog up within seconds every time you stop. A temperature of -17 C is actually not bad - cold enough that there isn't any wet ice, not so cold that you have trouble with numb fingers or fogging glasses.
In the cold you can actually feel your bike getting a bit "stiff": there's extra friction in the hubs, you lose some tyre pressure, rolling resistance is bigger and at -20°C even the air is about 10% more dense than at +20°C. All this plus the thick clothing you're wearing adds up to a slower kind of a cycling experience.
Load More Replies...I live here and my 8yr old son cycles to school every day, 2km one way, and even when we had around -27 degrees (for several days) in January. And he hasn't complained once or asked for a ride. We got him a good mountain bike before he started school and he loves biking! Cycle paths are well maintained in Oulu and are ploughed first when it snows. When it's cold enough snow isn't slippery or icy but dry and good to ride on.
I hope you'll answer my question! I lived on the Canadian Prairies for a number of years so I'm familiar with very cold winters. I found when temperatures were much colder than -12°C, even a slight breeze was freezing cold on my face - it quickly felt numb. So when one's riding a bike in cold weather, it's like having a light breeze on the face. My question - do you have to wrap a scarf over the face or don't you notice the cold on your skin? I understand how the rest of the person would stay warm, properly dressed but not bare skin on the face. I looked at all the photos and everyone has their face exposed.
Load More Replies...I am amazed by how the bikes are left. The trust and security there is simply amazing, at least for me, a person from a country were the bikes are stolen even from the chained up places.
Most bike thefts in Finland happen at the hours between 2am and 4am from friday to saturday, and are often solved by searching the nearest taxi pole or residency neighbourhood from the thefts location in the city centre.... ;)
Load More Replies...So? I know many people who ride the bike all year round, be it + 30 Celsius or -30 Celsius (me included). Good for the kids, cause it's healthy!
Biking in winter is avoided by most not because of the temperatures but because you can have awful accidents slipping in ice. Most places don't have perfectly maintained biking paths like this city does.
Bikes are used even if the snow hasn't been cleared yet.... ..it just slows you down, wont stop you... Fat tires are a new phenomenom, but mostly the bikes in Finland are of crosscountry in style, you just use the smaller gears to get by...
Load More Replies...Hahaha, indoor bike parking. My school had that, but that was mostly because there wasn't much room outside and the basement was empty anyway, so we parked our bicycles under the school. But most schools here have open bicycle parkings. Except for the teachers, óbviously, and luckily I happen to be one of those nowadays. :P (The Netherlands)
Minnesota designed bikes with fat tires to ride in the snow. Try to keep up.
I'd rather ride a bike than take a sled. At least the schools are paved. Why not? Same problem with sleds. Kids are the best.
See those two narrow skids (don't know what to call them)? You stand on one of them, and kick with your other foot for speed. You hold on with your hands. The seat is for a passenger or bag.
Load More Replies...Good for them. Our winter is usually around 0°C during the day, it's not very suitable for bicycling.
One great thing about cycling is the way in which you can go real slow, real fast or anything in between! Unless you have a somewhat serious illness or disability you can enjoy cycling, just make sure to control your effort.
Load More Replies...I'm from Oulu and I did this. The thought of riding a bicycle in below zero temperatures seems horrible to me now (I'm used to living in a warmer place nowadays), but at that time I didn't mind.
This is amazing to see and makes you realise the Finnish place so much importance on the benefits of physical activity regardless of the weather!! Check out my TEDx talk on the downsides of the physical inactivity epidemic and what we can do about it here: www.primalplay.com/tedx
Basicly it!'s easier to fall by walking than riding bike on ice. It's just technique. Dont try to steer if wheel slides, just continue forward over icy spot.
Yes, cycling in winter is possible, fun, easy, rewarding. It's necessary for any town who wants to be a cycling community. You can't just bike for six months a year. Whenever someone tells me, I HATE WINTER! I say, I don't want to be rude, but MOVE. There are plenty of tropical countries who will take you. What's the point of living in a place you don't like?
I'm from The Netherlands, and when I went to high school I also went on my bike. Summer or Winter, rain or snow, no matter what weather. Just wear the right clothes, and have clean bikelanes.
My Swedish friend, who haS live in the UK for over 12 years complains that UK winters feel colder than the winters in Sweden. We think it's because the air is damp in the UK, that it makes it seem colder when actually it's not.
Most people might think that riding a bike at -17 is epic or deserves special mention. Have you ever tried to cycle at 42 degrees celsius?, you have high chances of dehydration and, hence, death. -17 just requires bit of clothing.
I don't even ride my bike in the rain!! Soft (literally!) American!
My cut off point is 40 degrees F and I felt kinda macho about that. Thank you Panda for making me realize I'm a wuss.
Nah, don't call yourself a wuss. Besides, a lot depends on how long you ride for. Talking about long rides, you're definitely looking at a different challenge than just a couple of km to school/work. Over longer distances you tend to get challenging cold spots where your clothes' insulation is flattened by your riding position (knees, seat area, elbows), and for some reason your toes get more easily cold riding a bike than they do walking. Some use electrically warmed insoles for long rides. A short dash to school is more refreshing than risky.
Load More Replies...Well, they make us Victorians here in BC, Canada look like a country of wussies. However, if, there was more of an effort and I would say, a big effort to prepare for winter,, invest more in winter roadside equipment, especially here in Victoria, BC, winters would be easier to handle.
It's -11 C in Norway right now. I still bike everywhere. It's far better feeling than being on buses and trams. The cold isn't a real issue with good, warm clothes on anyway :)
54 years ago, walked to and from school AND to and from home for lunch in Fairbanks, Alaska. Temps were rarely in positive digits in Winter. Only time that was suspended was when it hit 65 below. Bikes would have been nice.
Do they even oil their chains?... Because surely cold weather is not good for chains
Yes. There's chain oil that works all the way down to -50C.
Load More Replies...Why not ski to school instead? Cross country skiing is more efficient in winter, and usually faster too. I thought the sport was invented in the Scandinavian countries, so it seems odd that cycling is chosen instead.
Wow, sounds like you have never ever done cross country skiing. You need to have the proper skiing track to do cross-country skiing, and usually they don't go straight from you home door to your school door. Whereas the road for biking does. And even if you talk strictly speedwise on a proper track/road, biking is still faster.
Load More Replies...Americans are wimps...they shut down for snow flurries and buy out the stores when it 's going to warm up in the afternoon....
Well I live in Finland and have used my bicycle throughout the winter since I was a child (I am now nearly in my thirties), I've never broken a bone nor gotten any bruises from riding my bicycle. I'm also ill incredibly rarely. I grew up in a tiny town and I genuinely do not recall anyone breaking a bone by falling off their bike in the winter during the school-years. As for buses, schoolkids that live further away from the school, do have the option of taking a free bus. I lived 2.2 km away and would've had the chance to jump on the bus but I preferred to bike as the bus would've left earlier and I preferred to sleep for a bit longer. Still bike in the winter but I draw my line at -20.
Load More Replies...It's hard for me as a Swede to understand why this is a big deal, people ride bikes in -27°C bikes are more reliable than a car or bus as they easily break down in the cold
I lived in Oulu (the city in the article) the colder it got during winter, the more people wanted to cycle or take the bus, because they didn’t need to mind their cars then. The problem with cars is that you have to leave them somewhere during your work day, and if it doesn’t have electricity for pre-heating the motor, how is the car supposed to work properly in -30 degrees?(They might start, but it is really bad for the non-electric cars) Buses work just great, they don’t get cold because they are on the move whole day.
Load More Replies...Kids in Finland ride bikes to school in below freezing weather, while kids in America get driven to school a block away. Let me tell you how ridiculous it is where I live (a quiet suburb in California). In the image I posted, you see a school. Yous ee houses directly across from the school. There's a woman that lives in one of those houses. She DRIVES her son to and from school every day. She backs out of her driveway, to the sidewalk in front of the school, drops her kid off, and pulls forward back into her driveway. Then repeats the process int he afternoon. Yep. Capture-5c...24-png.jpg
I live in a very cold northern state in the US where it gets 0° or -10° all the time in winter and kids are walking to school. They aren't wimps lol. Maybe it's just California haha.
Load More Replies...I believe that when you grow up in this type of environment you don't "know" the difference, nor do you care. I would imagine that the children from Finland would not care much to go to school in the California desert where my sister lives which is 90F (32C) during the warmer months... and even hotter in Summer
You do know that we have summers to right? And this summer we had 35C for two months. I'm swedish, not finnish, but they are our neighbours with the same climate as us.
Load More Replies...I moved to Finland 10 years ago with close to none cycling experience. And I have been cycling here all those 10 years regardless of the weather. Trip to university approx 7 km takes about 15 min by bike and buses are rather expensive here. Cycling in winter is not that hard even for inexperienced person. Cold weather does not mean ice on road. Most of the winter roads are covered with pressed snow and it is not slippery at all. I normally don't even have spike tires, just the regular ones. If roads get icy, then city workers cover them with sand/gravel and everything is fine again for cycling. And you are not getting cold, if you are dressing properly: layered closes, wool long underlayer and so on. And, since you are cycling, you are getting warm pretty fast. Even international students, who are coming from contries without snow, learn quickly how to dress to keep warm and cycle here without problems. I have never seen here anyone who broke a bone falling from bike, some bruises yes, that happens every so often. And there are no warm parking, because moving your bike from +18 to -20 temperature to cycle is not really good for bike parts. And we do have locks in bikes most of the time and there are people who are stealing bikes here
I'll ride my bike as long as the roads arent slippery. You'll warm up on your bike when its cold outside. Just wear the right clothes! I got a temp cleaning job once and when the asshat boss saw I was arriving on bike every day, he asked the agency I worked for "how will she get here when its cold or raining" the lady told him "by bike. She's Dutch" :-D (I live in Belgium)
I thought (according to Donald Trump) that the Finns were all busy raking their forests
That's hysterical - lol, I imagine they have to rake when they get home haha
Load More Replies...I've ridden to work in temperatures as low as -28 C, but it wasn't easy. Glasses or goggles fog up within seconds every time you stop. A temperature of -17 C is actually not bad - cold enough that there isn't any wet ice, not so cold that you have trouble with numb fingers or fogging glasses.
In the cold you can actually feel your bike getting a bit "stiff": there's extra friction in the hubs, you lose some tyre pressure, rolling resistance is bigger and at -20°C even the air is about 10% more dense than at +20°C. All this plus the thick clothing you're wearing adds up to a slower kind of a cycling experience.
Load More Replies...I live here and my 8yr old son cycles to school every day, 2km one way, and even when we had around -27 degrees (for several days) in January. And he hasn't complained once or asked for a ride. We got him a good mountain bike before he started school and he loves biking! Cycle paths are well maintained in Oulu and are ploughed first when it snows. When it's cold enough snow isn't slippery or icy but dry and good to ride on.
I hope you'll answer my question! I lived on the Canadian Prairies for a number of years so I'm familiar with very cold winters. I found when temperatures were much colder than -12°C, even a slight breeze was freezing cold on my face - it quickly felt numb. So when one's riding a bike in cold weather, it's like having a light breeze on the face. My question - do you have to wrap a scarf over the face or don't you notice the cold on your skin? I understand how the rest of the person would stay warm, properly dressed but not bare skin on the face. I looked at all the photos and everyone has their face exposed.
Load More Replies...I am amazed by how the bikes are left. The trust and security there is simply amazing, at least for me, a person from a country were the bikes are stolen even from the chained up places.
Most bike thefts in Finland happen at the hours between 2am and 4am from friday to saturday, and are often solved by searching the nearest taxi pole or residency neighbourhood from the thefts location in the city centre.... ;)
Load More Replies...So? I know many people who ride the bike all year round, be it + 30 Celsius or -30 Celsius (me included). Good for the kids, cause it's healthy!
Biking in winter is avoided by most not because of the temperatures but because you can have awful accidents slipping in ice. Most places don't have perfectly maintained biking paths like this city does.
Bikes are used even if the snow hasn't been cleared yet.... ..it just slows you down, wont stop you... Fat tires are a new phenomenom, but mostly the bikes in Finland are of crosscountry in style, you just use the smaller gears to get by...
Load More Replies...Hahaha, indoor bike parking. My school had that, but that was mostly because there wasn't much room outside and the basement was empty anyway, so we parked our bicycles under the school. But most schools here have open bicycle parkings. Except for the teachers, óbviously, and luckily I happen to be one of those nowadays. :P (The Netherlands)
Minnesota designed bikes with fat tires to ride in the snow. Try to keep up.
I'd rather ride a bike than take a sled. At least the schools are paved. Why not? Same problem with sleds. Kids are the best.
See those two narrow skids (don't know what to call them)? You stand on one of them, and kick with your other foot for speed. You hold on with your hands. The seat is for a passenger or bag.
Load More Replies...Good for them. Our winter is usually around 0°C during the day, it's not very suitable for bicycling.
One great thing about cycling is the way in which you can go real slow, real fast or anything in between! Unless you have a somewhat serious illness or disability you can enjoy cycling, just make sure to control your effort.
Load More Replies...I'm from Oulu and I did this. The thought of riding a bicycle in below zero temperatures seems horrible to me now (I'm used to living in a warmer place nowadays), but at that time I didn't mind.
This is amazing to see and makes you realise the Finnish place so much importance on the benefits of physical activity regardless of the weather!! Check out my TEDx talk on the downsides of the physical inactivity epidemic and what we can do about it here: www.primalplay.com/tedx
Basicly it!'s easier to fall by walking than riding bike on ice. It's just technique. Dont try to steer if wheel slides, just continue forward over icy spot.
Yes, cycling in winter is possible, fun, easy, rewarding. It's necessary for any town who wants to be a cycling community. You can't just bike for six months a year. Whenever someone tells me, I HATE WINTER! I say, I don't want to be rude, but MOVE. There are plenty of tropical countries who will take you. What's the point of living in a place you don't like?
I'm from The Netherlands, and when I went to high school I also went on my bike. Summer or Winter, rain or snow, no matter what weather. Just wear the right clothes, and have clean bikelanes.
My Swedish friend, who haS live in the UK for over 12 years complains that UK winters feel colder than the winters in Sweden. We think it's because the air is damp in the UK, that it makes it seem colder when actually it's not.
Most people might think that riding a bike at -17 is epic or deserves special mention. Have you ever tried to cycle at 42 degrees celsius?, you have high chances of dehydration and, hence, death. -17 just requires bit of clothing.
I don't even ride my bike in the rain!! Soft (literally!) American!
My cut off point is 40 degrees F and I felt kinda macho about that. Thank you Panda for making me realize I'm a wuss.
Nah, don't call yourself a wuss. Besides, a lot depends on how long you ride for. Talking about long rides, you're definitely looking at a different challenge than just a couple of km to school/work. Over longer distances you tend to get challenging cold spots where your clothes' insulation is flattened by your riding position (knees, seat area, elbows), and for some reason your toes get more easily cold riding a bike than they do walking. Some use electrically warmed insoles for long rides. A short dash to school is more refreshing than risky.
Load More Replies...Well, they make us Victorians here in BC, Canada look like a country of wussies. However, if, there was more of an effort and I would say, a big effort to prepare for winter,, invest more in winter roadside equipment, especially here in Victoria, BC, winters would be easier to handle.
It's -11 C in Norway right now. I still bike everywhere. It's far better feeling than being on buses and trams. The cold isn't a real issue with good, warm clothes on anyway :)
54 years ago, walked to and from school AND to and from home for lunch in Fairbanks, Alaska. Temps were rarely in positive digits in Winter. Only time that was suspended was when it hit 65 below. Bikes would have been nice.
Do they even oil their chains?... Because surely cold weather is not good for chains
Yes. There's chain oil that works all the way down to -50C.
Load More Replies...Why not ski to school instead? Cross country skiing is more efficient in winter, and usually faster too. I thought the sport was invented in the Scandinavian countries, so it seems odd that cycling is chosen instead.
Wow, sounds like you have never ever done cross country skiing. You need to have the proper skiing track to do cross-country skiing, and usually they don't go straight from you home door to your school door. Whereas the road for biking does. And even if you talk strictly speedwise on a proper track/road, biking is still faster.
Load More Replies...Americans are wimps...they shut down for snow flurries and buy out the stores when it 's going to warm up in the afternoon....
Well I live in Finland and have used my bicycle throughout the winter since I was a child (I am now nearly in my thirties), I've never broken a bone nor gotten any bruises from riding my bicycle. I'm also ill incredibly rarely. I grew up in a tiny town and I genuinely do not recall anyone breaking a bone by falling off their bike in the winter during the school-years. As for buses, schoolkids that live further away from the school, do have the option of taking a free bus. I lived 2.2 km away and would've had the chance to jump on the bus but I preferred to bike as the bus would've left earlier and I preferred to sleep for a bit longer. Still bike in the winter but I draw my line at -20.
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