18 December 2009

Freezinghagen

Heels and Wind Chill -16
Oh boy oh boy it's chilly. Yesterday morning the snow had stopped falling but the temperature was around -5 C. With the wind chill we were down around -16 C or so.
Wind Chill -16
I was waiting for someone outside the City Museum and watching the late morning bicycles roll past.
Snow Heels and Freezing Temperature
This is some of what I saw. Style over Speed in the winter air.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

70+ degrees here in Phoenix Arizona. Had a nice ride at lunch.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the reminder that I need to buy some nice warm hats and gloves for my visit to Copenhagen come february...

dr2chase said...

Oy. It's not the biking, it's the exposed ears. It was 8F (-13C) earlier this morning, my son and I saw a woman with her hair pulled back tight in a pony tail, no hat. Uncovered hands hurt in minutes in this stuff.

Colville-Andersen said...

personally, my ears have been frozen so many times that I don't think about it anymore.

it's got to be really, really cold and winter before i dig out the ski hat.

Roger said...

Well it was -35C (-31F) here this week before wind chill (-50C with the wind) so when it warms up to -13C you see people without hats (toques) , jackets undone and eating ice cream.

It is actually a good time to eat ice cream because it doesn't melt.

It sucks to bike in that kind of weather.

Christa said...

I imagine it's better to cycle in the snow than in the rain. Can't wait to try it.

Anonymous said...

oh my goodness I don't think I have ever been in weather that cold! It's summer in Australia and HOT!

Anonymous said...

It makes me cringe to see all these stylish bicyclists without helmets, even on the slippery snowy wet roads.

What is the helmet culture in Copenhagen? Is it a strict no-no, style over safety thing?

Is it different further out from the city? In other Danish cities?

kfg said...

"Is it a strict no-no, style over safety thing?"

I'd hazard a guess that it has a lot to do with the dearth of death.

What do you posit is the benefit of a helmet if people aren't dying from the lack of them?

Colville-Andersen said...

I don't get it.
Do you cringe when you see people on beaches not wearing lifevests? Do you cringe when you see motorists not wearing helmets? Or pedestrians?

It has little to do with style - these people on bicycles feel safe and are safe. Cycling isn't dangerous, it's healthy and fantastic for society.

Here's what the European Cyclists Federation - Europe's leading advocacy group for cycling - has to say about helmets.

And the Bicycle Helmet Research Foundation can help you with your cringing.

cloudsofviolet said...

do ppl in copenhagen have to use snow tires in the winter? or is it okay w/ regular ones because streets are cleared? b/c personally I would be afraid to cycle with all that slush.

Colville-Andersen said...

regular tires. if it's a bit slippery, people just slow down.

Anonymous said...

So good to see people cycling in the snow because they can choose to do so. Here in the UK it is not just the inability to deal with the weather that puts people off, it is also the climate of fear, which is sad, as it is so needless.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Mikael for the interesting links. I looked for other threads here on helmets but did not find any. Did not know that it is a hot button in cycling promotion.

I live in the US and I'd love to see more cycling happening here. Apparently it is very safe to cycle in Copenhagen. For us here there is much work to be done (educating both motorists and cyclists!) Kudos to Copenhagen for being a dream model for the world to look up to.

She Rides a Bike said...

Okay, now that I've seen in Copenhagencyclechic, I've got to try pedaling in the snow! Just pedal slowly. Okay, that's what I do anyway. I just need to find a really chic hat.