Winter Cycling in Oulu and Helsinki (Finland) 

What kind of clothes do you wear, especially how you keep your hands warm?

@@jannetteberends8730 Good quality winter gloves! If they are wind- and water-resistant, they'll retain the heat your hands naturally radiate in any type of cold weather. :)

​@@jannetteberends8730 This is my first year if winter cycling in Finland and I wear basically the same what I would wear if I went downhill skiing, but a tad lighter outer layer. Helmet, gloves and if it's snowing, goggles too. Usually a long sleeved breathable shirt and a t-shirt on top of that, lightly padded jacket. A set or two of long underwear pants + cargo pants. One should probably wear wind or rain proof pants but I like my cargo pants :D Tldr; you don't really need much clothing, you warm up nicely when cycling.

@@jannetteberends8730 For the most part, the same clothes as you'd wear walking. Wind-proof winter gloves keep your hands warm. I use relatively cheap pair of leather mittens, and they are warm in any weather (I've used them down to -25C). If you don't want to use helmet, a beanie is a good choise. If you use a bicycle helmet, a tubular scarf (or two) keep your head warm (it starts to feel a bit cold in temps below -15C). Locally I've seen some people use downhill skiing helmets and goggles, which will keep your head warm, keep the cold wind and snow off your eyes, and provide much better protection for your head overall. Probably a good choice for cold weather, or if you travel longer distances.

As a Finn, I give it a rating on the strong end of "close enough" 😁

It was clearly a real effort to pronounce them correctly. It doesn't sound like a native, but a person who has heard the name and does their best attempt to say it the same way. Well respected.

L'Italia sotto questo punto di vista è da terzo mondo, sono già stata investita tre volte.

I'm sad that Helsinki is investing in non protected one way bike lanes a lot in the centre, even when there is space for better solutions :/. The suburbs of Helsinki are really good though

I wish the cyclists gave a shit. They ride in dark clothes without the mandatory head lights and reflectors in the dark without looking anywhere and not giving a shit or knowing anything about the traffic rules. Not even the cops care.

There was, from Montreal!

@@BicycleDutch That's great!

As a Montrealer, I would also go when I have the chance!

In Oulu they plow the bike paths sooner than the roads since that's more important. It takes much more snow to slow down car traffic than it takes to make cycling very difficult with a normal bike.

Does it matter if you get wet from the sweat anyway

This is correct, and our city does a decent job of keeping the network clear and connected, but I am still really jealous of what they show in this video. Hopefully we take more steps in this direction.

Untill 2007, every house owner was required by law to keep the walkway in front of their house snow- and ice free. Since 2007 the municipality is required to do that. But ofcourse they have no means!! We don't often have snow anymore, yet both me and my neighbours still keep the walkway free of snow and we sprinkle some salt. Makes life for the postman easier 😀. Seems we are a dying breed Blueroom..

Well, I live close to the city centre and the bicycle lanes aren't very well plowed because they plow the fresh snow once and then bigger car lane plowes leave heaps of snow on the bicycle lanes, that isn't removed. Another problem is that the leftover snow melts and freezes into ice. If it were removed or plowed somewhere properly there would be no water to freeze

@@xWood4000 mmhh that sucks. My experience is only from one evening and a busy morning so I haven’t actually seen that much of the city. I hope they improve the situation sooner than later.

No need to imagine. Lots of cities do. And some countries do it properly on a national level.

2 of my university classmates did go to Oulu University for their exchange programme (on a side note 1 of them found fishing thru a hole in the frozen lake surface the most memorable, although she also caught a cold then)

Such as?.

Like what? We don’t get snow like that in the Netherlands. We get a light dusting of snow maybe twice a year, if at all. It’s getting less and less common with climate change.

Never done that in my 54 years in Finland. They are not necessary

Depence of style of bike and riding, but not like must have thing

​@@Kerppu68 I clearly hear spike noise in this video

@@the_udmurt So you do. But I have never used them

Well, yes and no. You don't need studded tires, if the maintenance is decent, but you shouldn't really use slick tires (or something that completely loses it's grip in the cold). The regular bike tire (with some grooves) is good enough if the maintenance is good. More agressive treads are better, especially if the maintenance is decent (but not great). Studded tires tend to provide the best grip, but are not really needed unless the maintenance is bad (similar to how chains or spikes are not needed for cars if the maintenance is decent). If you run slick tires (or something else not suitable for winter riding) during summer, you might as well get the best winter tire you can buy, but most bikes have tires that are super good enough for winter driving, if the condition of the cycling paths is even remotely similar to the condition of most roads. In the video you can see, that some people do use studded winter tires, but others (like Pekka Tahkola) do not. Also notice that most people do not wear helmets.

Use studded tyres for winter biking. They can be a lifesaver, literally.

Not really, the most dangerous thing to cycling (or any trransportation really) is quickly changing weather. Because when you're unprepared you can get into more accidents more easily.

Jep

Headwind both ways?

They're not slippery at all. A lot of bicycles even had normal tyres (no studs) and that worked just fine.

@@BicycleDutch Whoa!

Hard packed snow is easy to ride on.

Packed snow has surprisingly good grip. Normal tires have no issues with it unless you try to push the limits of grip

Yeah, packed snow has very good grip, and the small grooves produced by the teeth of the plows make it even better. Much better than wet leaves or grit on asphalt. With studded tires, the grip on packed snow is better than the grip on wet concrete/stone (at least in my experience/opinion).

Actually winter tires are typically narrower, atleast in the Nordics. They dig through the snow thus providing more traction. You can also check out winter tires on rally cars and see that they are narrower than the ones used on dry asphalt.

You completely missed it apparently, but I start with that information after a brief introduction of the city (and only then you get more information about the event). (0:56) "Most of the city’s expansion took place after 1960. Because Oulu has had a bicycle master plan since 1971 most of those expansions have separate cycle ways or rather a completely separate cycling network, of over 950 kms of cycle ways. Oulu does have a lot of car traffic, but cycling can safely take place, thanks to the excellent winter maintenance of those protected cycle ways." In other words: Having a network of separate cycleways that you maintain well in winter, that's how you achieve cyclability. This is what's lacking in Helsinki, but that city (5:12) "is determined to improve the cycling conditions by closing gaps in the cycling network and by working on the complete overhaul of the winter maintenance."

At 3:55 you see the snowplow at work on the cycle path, with a close-up of the fine-toothed blade they prescribe to get the correct surface finish.

Maybe your gloves don't block the wind well enough? I have no problems with the fingers. The toes are more problematic for me even though I ride with regular winter boots, but walking for a bit gets the blood flowing and then I'm good again.

Winter gloves. My personal choise are leather mittens, but honestly anything that blocks the wind should work. Just make sure that the gloves are not tight, as it may restrict blood circulation, making your hands colder. Also, air is quite a good insulator. Mittens are warmer than lobsters, and lobsters are warmer than regular gloves. All of these provide enough control to break and change gears without any problems.

Sturdy skiing gloves, but there are also mittens for your handles or even electric gloves that keep your hands warm.

I prefer well plowed snow on the bike path over melting it with salt, especially when riding with winter tires. The snow rides so smooth and silent.

@@jattikuukunen Not when the temps get slightly warm and road users start carving features into the snow or you try to ride and it's just pudding. Then the temp drops again and you have an absolute nightmare of a road surface. It's only smooth if the temperature is stable and the maintenance is regular.

@@difflocktwo yeah, it's a bit more difficult when the temperature alternates between positive and negative celcius. That's when studded tires are not a bad idea.

@@jattikuukunen Car roads seem to be just fine though. Also after snowfall it seems car roads are prioritized so you end up having to cycle there anyway.

@@difflocktwo Yeah, except in Oulu where they chose otherwise.

Or just any old bicycle, gloves and a wool beanie

@@jkoepis depends on who is riding the bike 😄 at my age not anymore old bicycles, especially when there is more than a centimeter snow on the path...

@@Troobeli69 those electric fatbikes don’t mind if there’s 20cm of snow, they go just about anywhere 😄

@@jkoepis absolutely true, even if the rider is fat size too lol. But imho better choice than choosing your car to drive those few kms to the grocery shop etc.

@@Troobeli69 absolutely