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Montreal is one of North America's top city for biking and has one of the worst climates for it. People adjust in all kinds of ways. It's mostly about density
by ced 9y ago
Montreal is one of North America's top city for biking and has one of the worst climates for it. People adjust in all kinds of ways.
It's mostly about density and culture IMO.
- ballenf 9y agoCold is much easier to handle on a bike than heat/humidity. You can wear warmer clothes and take them off at work, but you usually can't shower and change into a new set of clothes.
- PascLeRasc 9y agoI have to somewhat disagree. I feel so uncomfortable biking in thick clothes and layers, and you absolutely have to cuff up your pant leg to pedal anyway, so cold wind feels awful. Not to mention pedaling through snow/slush if you're on the side of the road is very hard.
- maxerickson 9y agoLots of commuter bikes have chain guards. And with better infrastructure, the roadside slush is less of a thing.
- sampo 9y ago> pedaling through snow/slush if you're on the side of the road is very hard. Cities with good biking infrastructure also have plow trucks to keep the roads and bike paths clean on snowy mornings.
- iak8god 9y ago> you absolutely have to cuff up your pant leg to pedal anyway You absolutely do not need to cuff up your pant leg. You just need an ankle band to keep your pant leg away from the chain: https://www.amazon.com/High-Visibility-Reflective-Ankle-Strap/dp/B0006ZK8CO https://www.amazon.com/High-Visibility-Reflective-Ankle-Stra...
- sampo 9y agoIs it common that American workplaces don't have showers?
- khedoros1 9y agoMany offices don't. Mine does, but it's always struck me as a little unusual. A few people use it, but most don't. I used to use it as a changing room to change shirts when I went walking on my break.
- Broken_Hippo 9y agoYes. American workplaces rarely have showers to use. That's one of those things you are expected to do at home. I'm still a bit shocked that my temporary factory job here in Norway provides safety shoes and launders the uniforms, let alone having showers on-site to use.
- rockostrich 9y agoIt's the only thing that I don't like about my office, even though we're a start-up and I was a little surprised to learn that we didn't have any showers installed. I'm probably going to sign up for a gym near work once winter comes so that I can shower after biking in.
- bryanlarsen 9y agoYou can't just wear warmer clothes on a cold day on a bike. If you do that, you'll start sweating, and that sweat can freeze, which can drop your core body temperature dangerously fast. So you want to layer your clothing so you can take off layers as you warm up; or you can just adjust your pace to prevent sweating.
- Fricken 9y agoOn cold days I dress for what's comfortable when my blood gets moving. Which usually means freezing my ass off for the first 5 minutes of the ride. It's like taking a cold shower: you never want to do it, but afterwards you're always glad you did, you feel fresh and invigorated.
- analog31 9y agoWhat I've learned is that each one is its own beast. There are certainly more cyclists on the bike path during the summer than during the winter, but oddly enough, I see more cyclists on the coldest days, than when it's raining. Cold also comes with dark, which may factor into the equation. For whatever reason, I'm blessed with a body that doesn't sweat very much. So I handle the extremes pretty well.
- ced 9y ago> Cold is much easier to handle on a bike than heat/humidity. I'll take Austin's summers over Montreal's winters any day. Snow is cold, messy and frankly dangerous. 95% of bikers stop during the snow months, but Austin still had tons of bikers even at peak heat. You just bike slower. Most of North America has bikable weather most of the time. It's not the primary reason why people don't bike.
- dasil003 9y agoAlso Minneapolis which is similar climate except more extreme in both directions. Sometimes the bike paths are plowed before the streets!