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.

Winter. How did we cope ? How did you cope ?

We had quite a mild winter this year right up to the start of February when we had quite a cold snap. As is usual in the Netherlands, the plans for sweeping and gritting were followed, and as usual the GPS controller gritters (drivers follow a route but salt comes out only when they're in the right place to avoid waste) did a very good job. Cycling wasn't much affected by the weather.

Friday 3rd February
Quite a snow-storm today. It left about 10 cm / 4 inches of snow.

Snow storms are of course no reason not to take children by bike. Due to the freshly fallen snow it's difficult to tell, but this is a cycle-path separate from the road.

You can see in this photo that the cycle-path has been swept already. However, more snow has fallen since then. It's no problem to ride through soft snow like this but it must be moved before it is compacted.

Saturday 4th February
Some of the temperatures around this date in February were very low. The lowest temperatures where we live were about -19 C, which according to the weather websites "felt like" -22 C. Temperatures weren't very much higher than this when people rode to work.

We live where it says -18.6 C. That's about -2 F. Due to wind chill, it felt like -22 C ( -8 F ). This does not stop people from cycling.

This is the cycle-path which featured in yesterday's photos. After the snow stopped falling it was swept of snow and treated for ice.

Bicycle Road towards the centre of Assen. The canal is frozen solid, but cycling is no problem at all.

Lots of people cycling in the centre of the city going about their business as usual. The surface is wet due to the action of the salt but it is not slippery.

All the routes in and out of the city by bike and by car were clear of snow and ice.

Early evening on the edge of Assen, cycle-paths continue to provide safe passage for cyclists, wherever they're riding to. In this case the route is to the furthest suburb which is still part of the city.

5th February
The temperature was -11 C, but the cycle-paths were clear. I went out for a ride early this morning.

Robert and I not only rode next to the canal, but also on the canal. I made a video which shows this beautiful day. We covered a long distance, mainly on cycle-paths as clear of ice and snow as this.

6th February
Another really beautiful day today, and again a very cold day. The lakes were frozen and covered in skaters. By now there was real hope that the Elfstedentocht (a 200 km ice-skating race/tour on canals between 11 cities) might take place. It was -13 C ("feels like" -17 C) this morning when I set off to ride on almost entirely clean cycle-paths to the Paterswoldsemeer lake just south of Groningen.

Frozen lakes are not just for skaters. I made a video of riding on this too.

The cycle-paths were of course almost all like this.

And people again kept riding right through the day and into the evening

10th February
People started skating a lot. A friend of one of our daughters was one of those who skated to school. She lives in a village called Smilde, 10 km South of Assen. Normally, like all older children in that village, she cycles this distance to get to school.

A pleasant place to skate in the afternoon. A lot of school children had taken skates with them to school so that they could skate with their friends before riding home. I've made videos from this hill before, showing typical morning traffic patterns, and why very few cars are ever seen here.

11th February
The Bruggentocht took place today - this is an ice-skating touring event with distances of between 10 and 60 km which goes through Assen. Over 2000 people took part. Also, a few km west of here, quite a lot of people skated the Elfstedentocht route (unofficially). We went shopping for ice-skates in the hope of at least trying to do a bit of skating (I've never learnt) but couldn't find any to fit.

Inside the shopping centre there were as many bikes as usual

Outside, people were taking advantage of the weather and doing everything that they possibly could on the canal

12th February
It's warmed up through the week and was -5 C this morning. I went out again for my usual morning ride. Other people go to church on Sunday mornings, and I decided to take photos of the bikes parked by a couple of those churches.

You'll notice that the snow looks a bit thinner in these photos. This didn't happen because it thawed but because the air was very dry and so the snow was evaporating into the air. Despite the cold weather, wet clothes hung outdoors dried quite rapidly this week.

Part of the route of my morning ride today. This rural cycle-path clear of snow and ice was not an exception but the norm. I made a video here a couple of years ago showing the contrast between summer and winter and why cycle-paths likethis are kept clear in winter.

Cycle parking by a church at -5 C. The wonderful wide smooth and completely ice free cycle-path next to the church is a good part of the reason why most of the congregation choose to cycle here even in such cold weather (click on the picture for a larger view)

This rural church was also on my route this morning and there was a smaller crowd of bikes (too spread out to fit in one photo) here too. Clearing of ice and snow doesn't stop at the edge of the city.

In early afternoon there was a small shower of snow. We waited for it to finish before taking our dog for a walk and almost immediately saw this vehicle clearing a cycle path a couple of hundred metres from our home in the suburbs. Because it is less wide than the four metre width of the cycle-path, more than one run is required.

This is the cycle-path that the vehicle above had just come along.

The temperature has now been above freezing for more than a week. All dreams of the Elfstedentocht happening this year have unfortunately been crushed.

How was winter for you ?
How was winter where you live ? Were cycle-paths kept clear so that cyclists could use them ?

It is all too common in the UK that excuses are given and promises made after winter, but that nothing actually changes for the next winter. Did this happen to you ?

The main railway station of Colchester in the UK serves 11,500 people daily. 300 m from the station, the road was clear, but the shared use cycle / pedestrian path stayed icy.

If you wish to "name and shame" your local council in the UK, or elsewhere, please send a link to a photo and a suggested caption in the comments and I'll add them to this blog post.


Prepare for next winter !
We still have stock of Marathon Winter studded tyres. Unfortunately for us, the Dutch mostly don't need them, and with a mild winter like this they need them even less. However, if you live somewhere which isn't treated for ice so well as Assen is, you perhaps wish you'd had them this winter. Until the end of this month, we have a very good discount on these tyres. Stock up now and be prepared for next winter.

It's too cold to cycle...

A few weeks back someone pointed out to me that cycling in winter is difficult in Portland, Oregon because of the low temperatures.

I looked into this. Portland's average low in January is 1 C (33.7 F). Groningen's average low in January is -0.6 C (32.9 F). I haven't found figures for Assen, but it is just a few km south of Groningen so it'll be virtually identical.

Note: Video has captions which are only visible on a computer, not on a mobile device.

Last year we had several days of -12 C ( 10 F ) weather. Cycling continued, and ice-skating became popular. So, as you'll see in this video and several other examples, people cycle to go ice-skating.

It was quite cold today, and the radio reported that in some areas it is already possible to skate on natural ice, so there will already be scenes as in the video.

OK, so sometimes the weather really is too extreme in some places. However, mostly "it's too cold in the winter here" is just another of those excuses people use not to cycle, and not to provide for cyclists. It isn't necessary for everyone to make all their journeys by bike, but there are few places where the weather is really too much of a challenge for cycling in all four seasons.

Here in the Netherlands the cycling rate in winter for utility purposes is about 95% of the rate in the summer. Cyclists are supported by the cycle paths and roads being kept clear of snow, and cycling is thus just as convenient and safe as at any other time of year. That's why there is significantly more cycling in Assen and Groningen in the middle of winter, despite the conditions, than in Portland in summer.

It almost never rains (het regent bijna nooit)

A Dutch blogger who makes a 36 km commuting round trip (40 minutes each way) by bike 3 to 4 times per week has produced a website called "It almost never rains". On this website he documented rainfall during his commute over the year from September 2008 to August 2009. Just 32 days out of 288 days had rain during his commute.

The Netherlands is not the driest country on earth, but rain isn't a very good excuse for not cycling here.

Flags

Quite apart from their patriotic usage (the flag in the centre of the image is the Dutch national flag, while the one at the top is the flag of Drenthe), flags are very popular in this country for advertising.

It's easy to see why. These photos of flags were taken on my commute last Thursday. Every one of them was flapping briskly in the wind, and unfortunately every single one was pointing in the wrong direction for both my journey to and back from work.

It's a myth that cycling is easy in the Netherlands because it is a flat country. A flat country is also a very windy country, and Wind is far more of a problem for cyclists than a few hills. You can go down the other side of hills, but wind stays with you. It may not be immediately apparent, but it isn't just when the wind is right against you that it is a problem. It still slows you down when it is a side wind, 90 degrees to your direction, and only starts to help you when it significantly behind you. Even then, a tailwind provides less assistance than the same strength headwind hinders you (if this seems strange, try the mathematical analysis here).

This is perhaps why the Netherlands is a big market for the most aerodynamic type of cycles, and why people fit tri-bars even to the most unlikely types of bikes.

As for me ? Well, the wind last week nearly made me late for work on Thursday. It took an hour and five minutes to cover the 31 km to get there, and virtually the same time to get back again afterwards. On Tuesday I had a very similar headwind on the way to work, but the wind had dropped off by the time I got home and the return journey took under 55 minutes.