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Comment by petermcneeley | Hacker News Reader

It is currently -1 to -3 in Montreal and -2 to -7 in Quebec (city). So yes folks literally freezing. It will remain so (down to -35) for the next 4 months.

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Helsinki hits more or less the same weather, people cycle there just fine. It's only a matter of infrastructure and gear.

According to Wikipedia, the mean daily minimum of Helsinki in January is -5.6°. In Quebec City, it’s -17.7°. Not the same, at least according to Wikipedia.

Yes I agree but in general we dont have infrastructure and it gets much colder. Salt doesnt work at some point so you dont have dry pathways.

Bike paths don't have to be dry though, you can sweep them and it's fine. If you use studded tires, you can ride a bike in places where you can't even walk. Source is I used to do this when I lived in the middle of nowhere in Sweden. I agree with you that infrastructure is key though. The temperature doesn't really matter, if you're good to go on a walk, you're also good to go for a ride.

I see bikes in the summer here. I dont see almost anybody biking in the winter here. Like 100:1. The winters here are not mild (like in vancouver). This is basically artic-like weather. People also tend not to walk. The very poor take the bus. Most drive.

People wear appropriate clothing for the weather. Those temperatures are no reason to stop biking. People do not "literally" freeze when it's below 0.

Cycling or walking when it is -20C or even less does sound a little masochistic if there are alternatives available.

It gets much colder than zero. With blinding northern winds. Yes a human can do anything but is it desirable?

Oulu Finland has plenty of biking in the winter, despite its extreme northern latitude. It's about infrastructure and investment.

In Vancouver this mostly works because it is cold but not cold enough. There are only a few days where it is very sketchy. The rest of Canada is not like this.

Studded tires. This is an investment but it works. Caveat is you need space to store them on a second set of wheels or bike because you don't want to ride them all year long so it is not for everyone.

'space to store them on a second set of wheels' This probably explains everything about this discussion. I think im dealing with very poor people (Europeans).

I think I have space in my pool shed or my other shed. Worst case I will put them in one of my many empty rooms.

Again, if you'd just look at the example provided: the coldness really isn't the issue. I checked a few major Canadian cities, and Oulu was similar or colder, looked like, and it has plenty of biking going on.

Investment is the issue. Cities and countries largely aren't willing to invest anywhere close to the same money into bikes the same way they do cars, and then everyone feigns surprise that this somehow makes biking harder and less popular.

Is was like that in the Netherlands about a week ago. It really doesn't make a difference.

Ah well that settles it then! Im going to tell the female lawyer I know to stop taking her car and instead buy gear and a bike so she can bike in the freezing cold for 20 minutes to get to her job where she also has to dress as a lawyer. No problem just pack a bag of clothes in a pack + all other workthings and then don artic style gear. So much fun!

My gf is a doctor and rides year-round. In the winter I swap wheels with studded tires onto her bike (it takes a couple minutes). Where there's proper infrastructure, it's far safer to go out on a bike in poor conditions than it is an automobile. Plus you accumulate tremendous health benefits from not being sedentary. I'd work that into your pitch (of course, my gf is lucky to observe this first-hand at work every day, which an attorney might not).

People dont live like this here. We would view this as hardship for peasants of another ancient time.

This is not to say it must be cars. It can be other forms of transit like bus/subway. Of course standing in an unsheltered area waiting for a bus is also highly undesirable. The windchill makes this literally dangerous.

Perhaps there is a cultural barrier here? or perhaps you are not familiar with real winter.

I live in Chicago, most people I know don't drive, many of us bike in the cold, no it's not because we're poor

Sounds very unpleasant. How do you get groceries? To me this is like having to fetch water from a well rather than using pipes.

Uh, i go to a grocery store? How do you get groceries?

With my car.

Eh, biking in the cold isn't really worse than walking in the cold. The snow is a bigger issue.

The alternative is not walking :)

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