Students In Finland Are Still Riding Their Bicycles To School In -17°C (1.4°F) Weather

Are you a cyclist? If so, are you one among the many that carefully puts old faithful into storage during the winter months, convinced that all that rain, snow and ice is simply unsuitable for biking? Well, this Finnish town is living proof that winter cycling is absolutely possible with the right planning and infrastructure. It makes 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. as well as a cycling coordinator for the City of Oulu, took a picture of the local school’s bicycle parking lot in -17C (1.4°F) recently to show that no matter what the weather conditions, nothing is keeping these children off their bikes.

Because though it may seem strange for some parents to let their children loose on two wheels, exposed to the freezing cold of a northern winter, in Finland, it is a perfectly healthy and normal thing to do.

Image credits: TapioKettunen, pekkatahkola

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