Too hot to cycle ? Thousands of bikes still ridden to a beach near Assen

When the sun shines people like to go to the beach. The Dutch are no exception. However, how they get to the beach is perhaps a bit different. See the video for thousands of bicycles parked at a beach near Assen on a sunny week-day afternoon during school holidays.

How hot was it today ?
Today the official temperature according to the local weather station reached 34 C. Our own thermometer in the shade in the garden said 37 C, but I don't do "hype" so let's trust the official figure, presumably taken by a proper calibrated thermometer sited in a way that corresponds to some official standard or other which leads to consistent readings, above our cheap domestic digital thermometer.

Isn't 34 C "too hot for cycling" ?
It's often the case that people elsewhere claim that their high temperatures make cycling impossible "because it's too hot". Others claim that they can't cycle "because it's too cold". Now I don't doubt that in some extreme parts of the world it is sometimes genuinely too hot or too cold, but I've yet to see a temperature here in Assen at which people stop cycling.

Assen today. When it's hot in the Netherlands,people ride to
the beach. When it's cold they ride to go skating.

The difference between summer and winter temperatures in this area is very broad indeed so we can make a range of comparisons with places where it is claimed to be "too hot to cycle" as well as those where the claim is that it is "too cold to cycle". People cycle through all seasons in the Netherlands, and as the weather station we use is based half way between Assen and Groningen, and the highest rate of cycling in the world is in Groningen, I think we can safely say that any temperature which is within the range of what is recorded by our weather station is not too extreme for cycling elsewhere either.

Peak temperatures are of course lots of fun. The hottest temperature recorded since 1981 in this area is 34.7 C, not all that much hotter than today when I shot the film above (it was really lovely cycling weather, I went out just to go to the beach but rode another 20 km anyway because it was so pleasant), and the lowest recorded was -22 C. The lowest we've experienced since we lived in this area was -18.6 C in March 2012. People kept on cycling when it was that cold just as they kept on cycling today when it was hot.

Climate data for Groningen Eelde airport, approximately mid-way between Assen and Groningen. The average summer high temperature is 22.2 C while the average winter low is -0.6 C. Note that these are averages and that temperatures outside those averages are not uncommon. Peak temperatures in Groningen have hit 34.7 C and the lowest was -22 C.

I'm going to compare average summer highs and average winter lows from from now onwards. These are far less dramatic - the average high in July here is 22.2 C and the average low is -0.6 C in February. That sounds much less dramatic, and of course we get higher temperatures than this every summer and lower ones every winter. These temperatures are consistently recorded and make the best base for comparison from one place to another so they are what I will compare with below.

New Zealand
As a child I lived just south of Auckland in New Zealand. When I lived there in the 1970s we all cycled to school and for recreation. It was never "too hot" and certainly never "too cold". However, a few weeks back I was contacted by someone in Auckland who asked me about the problem of temperatures being too hot in Auckland for cycling. So how does Auckland compare with Groningen ? Here's the climate data for Auckland:

Climate data for Auckland. In the summer, the average high is 23.7 C while the average winter low is 7.1 C.  Certainly no great problem here compared with Groningen

As you can see, Auckland's high temperatures in summer are on average only 1.5 C greater than Groningen. In my view, Auckland has an almost ideal climate for cycling or any other outdoor activity. It never really gets "too hot" and it's certainly never too cold either. You guys hardly ever even have grey skies like we do all too often in Northern Europe. Get out there and enjoy yourselves !

July 2015. A temperature of 34.8 C
in Assen. Once again higher than
ever recorded in Auckland. An
identical map in blue shows when
kept cycling through -18.6 C

Also note that in Auckland "The absolute maximum recorded temperature is 34.4 °C". This is actually lower than we've experienced in Groningen and Assen on several occasions since we moved to the Netherlands.

Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand and also the warmest city. All the other cities are further South, so colder.

The capital of New Zealand is Wellington. Wellington's climate is very mild. Average highs in summer are 20.3 C while the average lows in winter are 5.9 C. The record low was just -0.1 C while the record high was 30.1 C. Wellington's problem is absolutely not the weather. It's that they designed cycling out of the city in the 1970s.

What about Invercargill, right down on the south coast of the South Island ? Invercargill is not only the southern-most city of New Zealand but also one of the southern-most cities in the world. It's also known to be the coldest city in New Zealand. Summers are relatively mild there with an 18.8 C average high, but it's perhaps surprising to find out that the winters are quite mild as well. Even Invercargill's average winter low is well above freezing at 0.9 C. Much milder weather than winter in Assen and Groningen, where the average winter lows are below freezing.

I conclude that there is nowhere in New Zealand where it makes sense to claim that the weather is either too hot or too cold for cycling. In fact, New Zealand's weather is perfect - especially around Auckland.

The United Kingdom
I also recently found myself discussing climate with people from Scotland. Scotland is of course known within the British Isles as a relatively cold place. All of Scotland is further North than Groningen and you might well expect that this makes it colder in the winter. However, like the rest of the British Isles, Scotland's temperature does not vary as much you would expect because of the warming effect of being surrounded by ocean. Aberdeen is claimed to be "the coldest city in the UK". Here is the climate data for Aberdeen:

Climate data for Aberdeen. Average summer high is 18.3 C, average winter low is 0.2 C. No problem here compared with Groningen

Aberdeen turns out to be quite similar to Invercargill. Both of these cities have temperatures which reach neither so hot as Assen and Groningen in the summer nor so cold as these Dutch cities in the winter. The "coldest city in the UK" has temperatures which fall well within normal for Assen and Groningen, so temperature is not the reason why people don't cycle in that city either.

Similarly, cities on the south coast of the UK, where it is warmest, have temperature ranges which fall well within normal for Assen and Groningen. For example, Plymouth (where I studied) has average highs of 19.8 C and average lows of 3.6 C. Really nothing to get excited about weather-wise. You need to look elsewhere than the weather for the reasons why British people cycle for such a small percentage of their journeys.

Australia
The most populous city in Australia is Sydney. It's on the South East coast, far from the extremes of the North of Australia which can be very harsh indeed in the summer. Sydney's climate data follows:

Climate data for Sydney. The warmest we've looked at yet with average summer highs of  25.9 C and average winter lows of 8.0 C.

Sydney at last offers somewhere which is absolutely definitely warmer than Groningen in the summer. the average high on the warmest month of the year is 3.7 C warmer and four other months are also at least slightly warmer than the peak here. However, this also means that seven months of the year are cooler than the warmest Dutch months.

It might well be that an average 3.7 C higher temperature on the hottest month of the year reduces cycling a little in Sydney relative to Groningen, but I'm not so sure. Today's temperature in Assen was considerably higher than an average high in Sydney and it was very pleasant to cycle. It doesn't seem logical to think that a 3.7 C difference is enough to explain why just 0.8% of commutes are by bicycle in Sydney but even if we accepted that this was so, shouldn't the city be able to make up for this with a higher rate of cycling for the four months of the year when Groningen's average low temperature is lower than the lowest temperature ever recorded on the worst day ever in Sydney's history ? Believe me, it's much more difficult to cycle when it's really cold than when it's really hot.

People used to cycle in Australia in large numbers. In the 1960s, school cycle parking in Australia (much like New Zealand as I mentioned above) looked much as it does in The Netherlands now. It's no hotter now than it was then.

Canada
Toronto is Canada's most populous city. The climate data is here:

Climate data for Toronto. Average peak in the summer is 26.6 C. Average low in the winter -6.7 C.

Toronto has the most extreme variations in temperature seen so far. In the summer it's hotter than Sydney while in the winter it's much colder than Groningen. I'm still not convinced that the average high is really much of a deterrent to cycling, but temperatures that low might well be for many people.

Also note that Toronto isn't all of Canada. Vancouver by contrast has relatively mild weather, about the same as Groningen in the summer, not as cold in the winter.

I wrote about Ontario recently with regards to the low quality of the recommendations of their new Bicycle Facilities manual and this is something that Canadians with an interest in cycling should keep an eye on. Average commute lengths in all Canadian cities certainly are not a problem.

Conclusion
Not single one of the big list of myths and excuses explains why people don't cycle in other places as they cycle here. However the claim that "it's too hot" or "it's too cold" is used in many places where temperatures are not really particularly hot or cold.

The main reason why people do not cycle, regardless of where they live, is that the conditions simply don't feel safe. a high degree of subjective safety is required to make people want to cycle and to achieve this people must be able to complete their journeys by bicycle without being threatened by cars. This requires a comprehensive grid of very high quality cycling infrastructure. The better the conditions for riding a bike, the more people will choose to do it.

Really not "anti-car"
We still find that people are confused about how the Netherlands can be so pro-bike without being anti-car. Another example in Assen this evening. The same road as was closed to cars in order that a time-trial could take place earlier this week was closed to normal cars this evening so that David Coulthard could drive a Formula 1 car along it at a speed somewhat above the speed limit.

The start of the rush home

I heard the noise and rode down there to see what was going on but was too late. Thousands watched it live but I arrived just in time to see a huge flow of bikes escaping the event start to head towards me so turned and rode back rather than get stuck in the rush.

The Netherlands demonstrates how far it is possible to go with regard to encouraging cycling without taking any real anti-car measures. This has unfortunately resulted in a high and growing rate of car ownership and use. To achieve more and to ensure a liveable climate in the future this country will eventually need to limit car ownership and use.

If you read this post and then find yourself with the desire to write a comment along the lines of "oh, but it's this", please go and read the big list of myths and excuses first and look for your objection within it. Almost all these myths have already been busted. If you think of a genuinely new reason why it is that your country has a low level of cycling then I'd be pleased to hear about it.

Parking hell at the beach

Sometimes it's difficult to find anywhere to park... but I'm not complaining.

Going to the beach

Last Saturday, Judy and I rode past the local beach while planning a cycling holiday route. As usual, virtually everyone there had arrived by bike, and as the weather was so nice, lots of people were there.

I've covered cycling to the beach twice before.

Cycling to the beach

We've had a few very icy looking photos and videos on here lately, but it's not always cold here. We get much warmer summers than where we used to live in the UK.

Assen is quite a way from the coast, but nevertheless we have some really lovely places to swim in the summer. The photo is of one of over 30 artificial beaches which are within Drenthe, some of which are on our cycling holiday routes.

You can swim here surrounded by woods. The water is safe as it is not too deep and it is regularly checked for quality.

If you come for a cycling holiday in the summer, you may want to bring your swimming gear too. It's quite normal to arrive at the beach by bike. In another post there is a photo of bike parking at the beach.

Another view of cycle parking

The Netherlands has a lot of bicycles, and as a result also a lot of cycle theft. However, most theft is in the bigger cities. Assen is a very safe place to park your bicycle. The insurance companies know about this stuff, and cycle insurance costs half as much here as in Amsterdam.

Here, you'll find that people are generally quite happy to leave their bikes secured just by the inbuilt lock which prevents the rear wheel from turning. They will leave what they've bought from one shop on their bike while they visit another, that removable lights / panniers / bike computers etc. are left on the bike and don't go missing.

While there are very many cycle racks, there is never enough formal bicycle parking. What's more, even though the racks are outside virtually every shop, people often want to park their bikes even closer to their destination than the bike racks. As a result, on busy days (which means pretty much every day except Sunday) there tend to be as many bikes parked "wild" as in racks.

There are no cars on any of the streets shown here, so there is plenty of room for bicycles and a relaxed atmosphere for cycling. It wasn't always like this. The city centre was once dominated by motor vehicles. However, changes were made in the late 1970s / early 1980s to exclude cars from the city centre and the result is the vibrant city you see today.

We've many types of cycle parking here, and the most popular racks are those which support the bike by the front wheel. The problems with the inverted U shape "Sheffield" type racks is that they don't stop the bike from falling over, they don't allow bikes to be parked very densely (which is important when there are a lot of bikes) and they get in the way of one side of the bike. For people trying to pack large panniers on both sides with shopping they don't work very well while racks which support the front wheel do.

I'm not talking about "wheel benders," but racks which support a greater part of the radius of the wheel and actually work. When they also have a loop through which you can put a cable then the frame can be secured as well. Not that many people bother here.

Finally a view of a different kind of bicycle parking. There is a beach right on the edge of the city. We're quite a way from the coast, so it is a lake surrounded by trees. I took this photo on a hot day in May this year. The cycle parking stands at the beach were of course overflowing, and many bikes were parked in with the trees instead.

Previously I've shown the cycle parking at Assen railway station as well as in Groningen.

Marc at Amsterdamize also covered cycle parking today. Or click for many more cycle parking examples.

A video showing parking at the beach:


Assen is a great place for a cycling holiday. Bring your swimming gear too. The Netherlands in general is very safe for people too.