This picture taken on December 1, 2022 in Oulu, Finland shows a man as he rides a bicycle on a snowy cycle track. Winter鈥檚 first snowfall and freezing temperatures do not mean the end of the cycling season in the northern Finnish city of Oulu, which brands itself the 鈥渃apital of winter cycling鈥�. (Photo by Olivier MORIN / AFP)
Oulu, Finland 鈥斅燱inter temperatures that drop to minus 25 degrees Celsius do not stop cyclists in the Finnish city of Oulu.
The city which calls itself the 鈥渃apital of winter cycling鈥� has become a pin-up of sustainable transport, with most children still biking to school at minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit).
鈥淚 cycle all year around. I don鈥檛 even own a car,鈥� Ari Karjalainen told AFP as he returned home after shopping for groceries.
Despite the snow, bike racks are jam-packed in downtown Oulu, with bundled-up locals leaving vapour trails in their wake as they cycle around the city in the icy air.
鈥淛ust put on enough clothes,鈥� quipped 22-year-old Mimmi Kahkonen when asked how she manages to cycle in the frosty weather.
For many locals, even the term 鈥渨inter cycling鈥� sounds odd, as biking all year round is so common despite the city being only a little more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of the Arctic Circle.
Many cyclists use wider winter tyres with better grip, sometimes with steel spikes, but some people bike with the same tyres year-round.
鈥淲e are so used to the winter that we don鈥檛 consider it much of a challenge,鈥� Harri Vaarala, one of the city鈥檚 traffic engineers, told AFP.
While the seaside city averages five months of snow and below-zero temperatures, a fifth of all journeys within Oulu are done by bike.
Part of what makes this possible is the priority its main bike lanes get over roads for snow ploughs, said Vaarala.
This picture taken on December 1, 2022 in Oulu, Finland shows a man as he rides a bicycle on a snowy cycle track. (Photo by Olivier MORIN / AFP)
Bike 鈥榟ighways鈥�
That means that 1,000 of the 1,200 pupils at Metsokangas school bike to school throughout the winter.
In recent years, the city has opened multiple new 鈥渃ycling highways鈥�, six-meter-wide roads paved in red asphalt, adding to the nearly 1,000 kilometers of existing bike lanes.
According to Vaarala, the city has made 鈥渁 clear value-based decision鈥� to support cycling, at times prioritizing cyclists over motorists.
鈥淚n some cases, we have moved motorways to fit in a good quality bike lane,鈥� he said.
When the city sought out contractors for its winter maintenance, one of the conditions was that the snow plough drivers as well as their supervisors had to cycle the routes they maintain.
鈥淭his gives them a first-hand understanding of how different conditions affect cycling,鈥� Vaarala said.
The city also employs a number of 鈥渃ycling agents鈥� that report weekly on how well the bike lanes are maintained, which directly affects the contractors鈥� bonuses.
To combat snow covering traffic signs, Oulu is also experimenting with new technological solutions to make winter cycling safer.
In some locations along bike lanes, traffic signs are illuminated on top of the snow using projectors.