Schoolchildren in Finland cycle to school
 

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Kids In Finland Continue To Ride Bicycles To School In -17°C (1.4°F) Weather And It’s A Lesson In Commuting

LOL! In our school district, you can't even let your kid WALK to school in WARM weather without signing a release from the district absolving them of any liability.

I like how the racks are basically unused. I'm sure if it snows it's a lot easier to recover your bike if it's not locked in the drift

Likely the kids have a dedicated bike path that's either groomed or plowed in a timely manner, that's also segregated from vehicular traffic. And if the kids are dressed properly it's quite safe and doable for a reasonably short distance.

Such set of circumstances does not exist here, unfortunately.

I noticed the same thing. Also, do you see how many bikes are parked (on the plowed sidewalk?) near the furthest edge of the racks? In the U.S.A. their parents would want the bike rack in the entryway at the far side of the picture.

(And FWIW, the shed I park my bike in at work is the closest place to park ANY vehicle -- it's inside the sidewalk between the building and the parking lot.) :D

I have some nice studded tires, made in Finland.. (older than schoolchildren) so domestic supplies are abundant..

Love it!

Very nice...Some countries know how to get it right.

Even if we did have the infrastructure, majority of people would never allow their kids to do it. The mentality here in Canada/North America is different than in Europe.

I think you'll find it depends very much on the town. I can honestly say I didn't see many cyclists at all in winter on the streets of Helsinki. The Finns are intelligent, they understand snow and the risks involved.

Probably true and I can't read the article, but at -17C distance makes a lot of difference too. I remember from high school that when it was about -10C in the morning, probably more windy than Finland, the kids who always biked from a village 20km away had a bus arranged. I lived much closer to school so I just had to put on mittens instead of gloves and ride to school, by the time I got really cold I was already there. Cycling for an hour in those temperetures is a different matter, and outside an urban environment it might be hard to get to a safely warm environment in case of an emergency.

Awesome, but also very unique to their culture and climate. One of the comments mentioned that temps in winter don't get too warm so no ice worries. Lots of cool pictures. Kick sleds!

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Did you know that, down to a certain temperature, it is the pressure of, say, a foot or bike tyre, that melts the ice briefly which is what makes it slippery? That's what makes rain on ice such a hazard in many countries. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I guessing that below -15°C air and ground temperature that doesn't happen.

Anecdotal, but I found walking muck easier when the temperature was lower, less of the unexpected sitting down.

Assistant driver in Alberta in a heavy goods truck at minus 40, driving smooth & careful, no quick moves, but no chains or traction tires..

we had a lot more wheels on the road than 2//







...

It makes no difference what the temperature is, ice is slippery at any temperature... A frozen lake at minus -20 Celsius will be just as slippery as black ice at minus -3 Celsius.

Nice. My kids ride to school in any weather too, but they also have options for public bus or walking from where we live.

But when it got down to -28 F in Madison, they closed the schools.

One of the funniest 2 minute videos about biking in Finland in the winter:

To be fair, he rides his 2 wheel recumbent in pretty severe conditions:

Fun videos!