4 ms·

Does Michigan have worse weather than Bergen? The wettest city in Norway, situated 6° south of the Arctic circle? I'm willing to bet not. Bergen has seen a boo

by avar 16y ago

Does Michigan have worse weather than Bergen? The wettest city in Norway, situated 6° south of the Arctic circle? I'm willing to bet not. Bergen has seen a boom in percentage of trips made by bike since they instituted a program to make the city more friendly to that mode of transportation. Cities being designed around the automobile are by far the biggest thing standing in the way of the uptake of everyday cycling, not the weather.

btilly 16y ago
Comparing the descriptions of climate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergen#Climate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergen#Climate and http://www.city-data.com/states/Michigan-Climate.html http://www.city-data.com/states/Michigan-Climate.html, yes. Michigan has a worse climate for biking. Particularly in the portions that are subject to lake-effect snow.
- Locke1689 16y ago
  I don't really understand why Europeans think they have harsh weather. Despite their relatively northern position, water currents and conditions actually produce a calming effect for the majority of Europe (excluding Russia and some of the westerly former soviet satellites). Recently someone asked the same question for a city in Sweden, but I noted that even Chicago has a slightly lower average winter temperature and a much higher average summer temperature. Whatever you do, don't underestimate Minnesota! (I say from experience :(). P.S. Yeah, I know you Canadians have it rough, I feel for you.
  - btilly 16y ago
    P.S. Yeah, I know you Canadians have it rough, I feel for you. Actually I grew up in Victoria, BC. The climate there is very mild for similar reasons to why much of Europe is. I didn't experience nasty weather until I moved to New Hampshire.
tokenadult 16y ago
Does Bergen have ice on bike paths for much of the year? My dad traveled to Bergen when he was in his 60s, but I have never been there. Here in Minnesota (which has a climate similar to Michigan), a big barrier to biking or walking outdoors for shopping or commuting (which I do a lot) is the presence of ice on the streets. In places with a freeze-thaw cycle repeatedly during the winter (and Minnesota is one of those places) streets can be covered with ice on random occasions during six months of the year. Some Minnesotans fly to Arizona every winter to avoid the icy streets here. They are called "snowbirds" locally. I used to think that was an extravagant lifestyle, but when my dad was not quite seventy-two years old, in April in Minnesota, he slipped on ice while on a trip to the local grocery store and then was paralyzed (quadriplegic) for the last six years of life, unable to care for himself at all. Since then, I have taken icy streets much more seriously. I still bike a lot, and I still stay in Minnesota during the winter, but I realize now that walking or biking on ice can have catastrophic consequences. I agree with the idea that designing a city to be more bike-friendly increases bike trips. I enjoy where I live now because my city has an extensive set of city bike trails (which in the winter are sometimes used by Nordic skiers) that connect to regional trails (former railroad lines) that extend all over our metropolitan area. But I watch out for ice for half of each year.
- avar 16y ago
  I clearly shouldn't have underestimated Michigan's climate. I haven't been to Bergen, but I've been in Minneapolis in winter (it was -20 °C). I wouldn't have cycled there due to the bad infrastructure, not due to the weather. Anyway, aside from those two cities the main reason people don't cycle has been shown time and time again to be lack of infrastructure, not the weather. Just look at other places with the same climate as The Netherlands, or Bergen. Clearly the common factor isn't the weather. It's also a much bigger factor than people imagine. I've lived in Iceland which often has these sort of glassy ice conditions an -5 °C, and I'd much prefer it to otherwise equivalent weather at 20 °C somewhere else. The cold allows you to push harder without being sweaty, and I've found that in mixed terrain cycling on ice with studded tires is a lot safer than on no ice. It's a lot easier to slip on loose gravel than it is to slip on ice when your tires have a dozen nails sticking into the ice.

by avar 16y ago

btilly 16y ago

Comparing the descriptions of climate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergen#Climate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergen#Climate and http://www.city-data.com/states/Michigan-Climate.html http://www.city-data.com/states/Michigan-Climate.html, yes. Michigan has a worse climate for biking. Particularly in the portions that are subject to lake-effect snow.

Locke1689 16y ago
I don't really understand why Europeans think they have harsh weather. Despite their relatively northern position, water currents and conditions actually produce a calming effect for the majority of Europe (excluding Russia and some of the westerly former soviet satellites). Recently someone asked the same question for a city in Sweden, but I noted that even Chicago has a slightly lower average winter temperature and a much higher average summer temperature. Whatever you do, don't underestimate Minnesota! (I say from experience :(). P.S. Yeah, I know you Canadians have it rough, I feel for you.
- btilly 16y ago
  P.S. Yeah, I know you Canadians have it rough, I feel for you. Actually I grew up in Victoria, BC. The climate there is very mild for similar reasons to why much of Europe is. I didn't experience nasty weather until I moved to New Hampshire.

tokenadult 16y ago

Does Bergen have ice on bike paths for much of the year? My dad traveled to Bergen when he was in his 60s, but I have never been there. Here in Minnesota (which has a climate similar to Michigan), a big barrier to biking or walking outdoors for shopping or commuting (which I do a lot) is the presence of ice on the streets. In places with a freeze-thaw cycle repeatedly during the winter (and Minnesota is one of those places) streets can be covered with ice on random occasions during six months of the year. Some Minnesotans fly to Arizona every winter to avoid the icy streets here. They are called "snowbirds" locally. I used to think that was an extravagant lifestyle, but when my dad was not quite seventy-two years old, in April in Minnesota, he slipped on ice while on a trip to the local grocery store and then was paralyzed (quadriplegic) for the last six years of life, unable to care for himself at all. Since then, I have taken icy streets much more seriously. I still bike a lot, and I still stay in Minnesota during the winter, but I realize now that walking or biking on ice can have catastrophic consequences. I agree with the idea that designing a city to be more bike-friendly increases bike trips. I enjoy where I live now because my city has an extensive set of city bike trails (which in the winter are sometimes used by Nordic skiers) that connect to regional trails (former railroad lines) that extend all over our metropolitan area. But I watch out for ice for half of each year.

avar 16y ago
I clearly shouldn't have underestimated Michigan's climate. I haven't been to Bergen, but I've been in Minneapolis in winter (it was -20 °C). I wouldn't have cycled there due to the bad infrastructure, not due to the weather. Anyway, aside from those two cities the main reason people don't cycle has been shown time and time again to be lack of infrastructure, not the weather. Just look at other places with the same climate as The Netherlands, or Bergen. Clearly the common factor isn't the weather. It's also a much bigger factor than people imagine. I've lived in Iceland which often has these sort of glassy ice conditions an -5 °C, and I'd much prefer it to otherwise equivalent weather at 20 °C somewhere else. The cold allows you to push harder without being sweaty, and I've found that in mixed terrain cycling on ice with studded tires is a lot safer than on no ice. It's a lot easier to slip on loose gravel than it is to slip on ice when your tires have a dozen nails sticking into the ice.