It is rather beautiful here in Oulu 🇫🇮, right now.
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@Neotheta
#PostOfTheWeek (season 3):
Through a series of simple changes, the city of Oulu, bordering Lapland, encourages its residents to cycle through the long, dark, snowy winter. What can other cities learn from the pioneer of winter cycling?It's a crisp winter morning in the Finnish coastal city of Oulu, the fourth most northerly city in the world, just 100km (60 miles) south of the Arctic Circle.
@Neotheta
Last night there was a snowstorm and today the temperature hovers around -5C (23F), but that is not deterring the city's hardy cyclists. Everywhere you go, people of all ages flurry by over the fresh snow, wrapped in winter clothes and seemingly enjoying the brief pale sunshine and bitingly cold air.Oulu, which proudly calls itself "the winter cycling capital of the world" is blanketed in snow for five months of the year.
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@Neotheta
Last night there was a snowstorm and today the temperature hovers around -5C (23F), but that is not deterring the city's hardy cyclists. Everywhere you go, people of all ages flurry by over the fresh snow, wrapped in winter clothes and seemingly enjoying the brief pale sunshine and bitingly cold air.Oulu, which proudly calls itself "the winter cycling capital of the world" is blanketed in snow for five months of the year.
@Neotheta
During the depths of winter, temperatures can drop as low as -30C (-22F), with just four hours of daylight.Despite these harsh conditions, 12% of winter journeys are made by bicycle in the city of Oulu. Compare that with the milder climate of England, where year-round the proportion of trips made by bike is just 2%.
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@ThePolishDispatch I was just using simple cheap lobster type gloves/mitts. These are pretty beaten already
Cannot really recommend this brand, but I like these 2+2+1 style lobsters in general for winter stuf.@pekkatahkola thanks!
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It is rather beautiful here in Oulu
, right now. Absolutely no filters needed at all 🤌
-20°C, wind chill -28°C.This is one of our main cycling and walking routes (#8) and here we have a 5 km stretch with ZERO at-grade crossings with motor traffic. I repeat, it's physically impossible to meet any motor traffic here. So it is very peaceful, safe and comfortable to ride and walk completely uninterrupted. Just bliss.
@pekkatahkola Absolutely stunning.
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It is rather beautiful here in Oulu
, right now. Absolutely no filters needed at all 🤌
-20°C, wind chill -28°C.This is one of our main cycling and walking routes (#8) and here we have a 5 km stretch with ZERO at-grade crossings with motor traffic. I repeat, it's physically impossible to meet any motor traffic here. So it is very peaceful, safe and comfortable to ride and walk completely uninterrupted. Just bliss.
@pekkatahkola This is really beautiful, thanks for sharing. 🩵
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It is rather beautiful here in Oulu
, right now. Absolutely no filters needed at all 🤌
-20°C, wind chill -28°C.This is one of our main cycling and walking routes (#8) and here we have a 5 km stretch with ZERO at-grade crossings with motor traffic. I repeat, it's physically impossible to meet any motor traffic here. So it is very peaceful, safe and comfortable to ride and walk completely uninterrupted. Just bliss.
@pekkatahkola When I see these bike lanes, it makes me sad. Just think of what could be possible if there was the will to do it. #Hamburg, the self-proclaimed “cycling world city,” apparently doesn't want it.
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It is rather beautiful here in Oulu
, right now. Absolutely no filters needed at all 🤌
-20°C, wind chill -28°C.This is one of our main cycling and walking routes (#8) and here we have a 5 km stretch with ZERO at-grade crossings with motor traffic. I repeat, it's physically impossible to meet any motor traffic here. So it is very peaceful, safe and comfortable to ride and walk completely uninterrupted. Just bliss.
@pekkatahkola It's -30 here in Ontario around Huntsville.
You often don't need special tires for this is kind of snow because the snow packs down but it can be displaced by the tire knobs.
The danger is in cold humid climates that hover around 0C (looking at you Jutland in DK) where the water on the bike paths freezes at night.
In Vejle DK they would send a sander or salter around the bike paths in the city around 4:00 or 5:00 so the commuters had a fighting chance against the ice.
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It is rather beautiful here in Oulu
, right now. Absolutely no filters needed at all 🤌
-20°C, wind chill -28°C.This is one of our main cycling and walking routes (#8) and here we have a 5 km stretch with ZERO at-grade crossings with motor traffic. I repeat, it's physically impossible to meet any motor traffic here. So it is very peaceful, safe and comfortable to ride and walk completely uninterrupted. Just bliss.
@pekkatahkola Wow!
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It is rather beautiful here in Oulu
, right now. Absolutely no filters needed at all 🤌
-20°C, wind chill -28°C.This is one of our main cycling and walking routes (#8) and here we have a 5 km stretch with ZERO at-grade crossings with motor traffic. I repeat, it's physically impossible to meet any motor traffic here. So it is very peaceful, safe and comfortable to ride and walk completely uninterrupted. Just bliss.
@pekkatahkola pretty! I'have been to Tampere in December years ago and this reminds me of it.
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It is rather beautiful here in Oulu
, right now. Absolutely no filters needed at all 🤌
-20°C, wind chill -28°C.This is one of our main cycling and walking routes (#8) and here we have a 5 km stretch with ZERO at-grade crossings with motor traffic. I repeat, it's physically impossible to meet any motor traffic here. So it is very peaceful, safe and comfortable to ride and walk completely uninterrupted. Just bliss.
@pekkatahkola just wondering... what happened to that bike?
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It is rather beautiful here in Oulu
, right now. Absolutely no filters needed at all 🤌
-20°C, wind chill -28°C.This is one of our main cycling and walking routes (#8) and here we have a 5 km stretch with ZERO at-grade crossings with motor traffic. I repeat, it's physically impossible to meet any motor traffic here. So it is very peaceful, safe and comfortable to ride and walk completely uninterrupted. Just bliss.
@pekkatahkola looks so beautiful 🤩
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It is rather beautiful here in Oulu
, right now. Absolutely no filters needed at all 🤌
-20°C, wind chill -28°C.This is one of our main cycling and walking routes (#8) and here we have a 5 km stretch with ZERO at-grade crossings with motor traffic. I repeat, it's physically impossible to meet any motor traffic here. So it is very peaceful, safe and comfortable to ride and walk completely uninterrupted. Just bliss.
@pekkatahkola @Tarnport niin kaunis
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It is rather beautiful here in Oulu
, right now. Absolutely no filters needed at all 🤌
-20°C, wind chill -28°C.This is one of our main cycling and walking routes (#8) and here we have a 5 km stretch with ZERO at-grade crossings with motor traffic. I repeat, it's physically impossible to meet any motor traffic here. So it is very peaceful, safe and comfortable to ride and walk completely uninterrupted. Just bliss.
@pekkatahkola In our Belarus also are beautiful now. But here are warmer, -16, and the roads are worse.
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It is rather beautiful here in Oulu
, right now. Absolutely no filters needed at all 🤌
-20°C, wind chill -28°C.This is one of our main cycling and walking routes (#8) and here we have a 5 km stretch with ZERO at-grade crossings with motor traffic. I repeat, it's physically impossible to meet any motor traffic here. So it is very peaceful, safe and comfortable to ride and walk completely uninterrupted. Just bliss.
My love of snow and ice grows as I get older. I used to get frustrated by the inconvenience and discomfort that can come with it, but when you accept winter's rules and work on it's terms it's an opportunity for a lot of pleasantness, joy and coziness.
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@pekkatahkola just wondering... what happened to that bike?
@tg9541 Wondering that too. Poor fella might have been damaged and or stolen, and abandoned, and/or maybe set aside by the snow plow driver. Still seems mostly bicycle-shaped though. No idea
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It is rather beautiful here in Oulu
, right now. Absolutely no filters needed at all 🤌
-20°C, wind chill -28°C.This is one of our main cycling and walking routes (#8) and here we have a 5 km stretch with ZERO at-grade crossings with motor traffic. I repeat, it's physically impossible to meet any motor traffic here. So it is very peaceful, safe and comfortable to ride and walk completely uninterrupted. Just bliss.
@pekkatahkola I want to go there... I really do miss those very cold days where the snow squeaks and the trees crack and groan.
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It is rather beautiful here in Oulu
, right now. Absolutely no filters needed at all 🤌
-20°C, wind chill -28°C.This is one of our main cycling and walking routes (#8) and here we have a 5 km stretch with ZERO at-grade crossings with motor traffic. I repeat, it's physically impossible to meet any motor traffic here. So it is very peaceful, safe and comfortable to ride and walk completely uninterrupted. Just bliss.
whoa!! so beautiful!! talk about a winter wonderland!!
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@mxchara Thanks! 🥰
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It is rather beautiful here in Oulu
, right now. Absolutely no filters needed at all 🤌
-20°C, wind chill -28°C.This is one of our main cycling and walking routes (#8) and here we have a 5 km stretch with ZERO at-grade crossings with motor traffic. I repeat, it's physically impossible to meet any motor traffic here. So it is very peaceful, safe and comfortable to ride and walk completely uninterrupted. Just bliss.
@pekkatahkola This looks absolutely magical, like something straight out of a winter fairy tale. totally brings me back to growing up in Canada in this kind of deep‑freeze glow.
I love it, but I can’t stop thinking that biking on what looks like a frozen sugar glaze has to be way more dangerous than these calm photos suggest
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@pekkatahkola This is really beautiful, thanks for sharing. 🩵
@nachtet You're welcome (also to visit Oulu)
