People with bicycles, in Oulu, Finland, Dec. 1, 2022. (AFP Photo)
If you’re a cyclist, it is probably not a hobby but a life choice. For locals in the Finnish city of Oulu it certainly is and nothing can stop them from living their lives, not snow or even winter temperatures that drop all the way down to minus 25 degrees Celsius (minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit).
The city which calls itself the "capital of winter cycling" has become a pin-up of sustainable transport, with most children still biking to school at minus 20 degrees Celsius.
"I cycle all year around. I don’t even own a car," Ari Karjalainen told Agence France-Presse (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 vapor trails in their wake as they cycle around the city in the icy air.
"Just put on enough clothes," quipped 22-year-old Mimmi Kahkonen when asked how she manages to cycle in the frosty weather. A man as he rides a bicycle on a snowy cycle track, in Oulu, Finland, Dec. 1, 2022. (AFP Photo) For many locals, even the term "winter cycling" sounds odd, as biking all year-round is so common despite the city being only a little more than 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of the Arctic Circle.
Many cyclists use wider winter tires with better grip, sometimes with steel spikes, but some people bike with the same tires year-round."We are so used to the winter that we […]
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