‪It is rather beautiful here in Oulu 🇫🇮, right now.

[jqheywood@mastodon.social]

@pekkatahkola And I thought I was cold here ...

[thepolishdispatch@mstdn.social]

@pekkatahkola What are the gloves of choice for you in this cold?

[neotheta@toot.finfur.net]

@pekkatahkola Pretty!!

[pekkatahkola@mas.to]

@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.

[cosmiccactus@mastodon.social]

@pekkatahkola Do you use some sort of winter tires on bicycles?

[pekkatahkola@mas.to]

@CosmicCactus No, I don't.

[wthinker@libranet.de]

@pekkatahkola Fantastic!

[pekkatahkola@mas.to]

@jqheywood Depends, how cold are you? 🤭

[wobweger@mstdn.social]

@pekkatahkola 🥰

[0ptimist@troet.cafe]

@pekkatahkola

[alexafontanilla2024@mastodon.social]

@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.

[alexafontanilla2024@mastodon.social]

@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.

[alexafontanilla2024@mastodon.social]

@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%.

[thepolishdispatch@mstdn.social]

@pekkatahkola thanks!

[sesav@mastodon.social]

@pekkatahkola Absolutely stunning. ️

[nachtet@norden.social]

@pekkatahkola This is really beautiful, thanks for sharing. 🩵

[maniabel@mastodon.de]

@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.

[rhempel@mstdn.ca]

@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.

[xs4me2@mastodon.social]

@pekkatahkola Wow!

[mxchara@seattle.pink]

@pekkatahkola lovely shot of the first-order corona around the Moon in that first shot