On Friday, 12 February, was Winter Bike to Work Day 2021. It was the 9th edition of the day when the world bikes with you and you bike with the world. This year the event was a little bit different. No need to explain in detail why right? The organizers have decided on the Covid-19 edition and invited everyone to join for WinterBikeALoopza. Since many people still work from home, hundreds of volunteer mappers added a bunch of bike loops on the map, so people could choose a loop close to their home or cycle their own route. In the SABRINA project team, we have decided to respond to the invitation. Project partners together with some friends hopped on their bikes in Austria, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Slovenia. We made it the whole winter bike weekend: bike to work, bike after work, bike during the weekend. The temperatures were below zero degrees Celsius, it was very windy in some places, but we were happy to see we were not alone on our bikes and enjoying the outdoors. The inspiration and the courage to take our bikes for a winter spin came from the Finnish city Oulu, where many people of all ages cycle all year round despite their harsh winters.*

The idea for International Winter Bike to Work Day is connected to Bike to Work Day, an annual event with origins back in 1956. The winter edition is usually held on the second Friday in February. The official website of the International Winter Bike to Work Day encourages cyclists to sign up and provides a leaderboard that shows which cities have the most participants. Traditionally, there are many participants from cities in Sweden, Finland, Poland, Canada, etc. Places, where winters are for sure not mild. On the other hand, “Copenhagen and Amsterdam never show up for this event for a very good reason: some things are just too normal” as the organizers wrote on their official Facebook page this year. The goal of the event is not to see which city would have the most participants and win the unofficial 'competition'. The fundamental aim of the event is to encourage participants to commit to cycle more often even in the winter since cycling is a climate-friendly mode of transport. The organizers want to encourage year-round cycle commuting and prove cycling is more fun than it first seems even in colder months of the year.

Do you still have the picture of icy roads, snow, freezing wind, cold rain, and other weather inconveniences in your mind? Sometimes winter months keep only the hardest cyclists on their bikes. However, different research on winter cycling has shown something else. We can hear in the video about winter cycling in Finland (link below): "In cities with cold winters, there is almost no correlation between winter temperatures and the amount of winter cycling. It is a complete myth that people do not cycle in the winter because of the cold." There are two things that keep them cycling year-round: (1) a network of safe bicycle paths and (2) proper maintenance of the bicycle network in the winter.

With the SABRINA project team, we biked in Vienna (Austria), Tutrakan (Bulgaria), Chisinau (Moldova), Ljubljana, Škofja Loka, and Vrhnika (Slovenia) (watch the video HERE). We tackled low temperatures, snow, and especially strong wind. Extra caution was needed since in some places proper cycling infrastructure does not exist and in others, it is not well maintained. A big challenge for many cities remains the clearing of ice and snow from cycling infrastructure. For the SABRINA project, infrastructure safety is the number one priority. When people feel safe on their bicycles, they will go out and ride them. Safe infrastructure plays an important role. In this case, we agree, riding your bicycle all year is possible and is amazing. The winter in the Danube area countries is slowly coming to an end. If you are still not convinced to hop on your bike during the colder months, soon there will be another event that could encourage you. The third Friday in May is usually dedicated to Bike to Work Day. Winter will be over and our bikes ready for spring and summer spins. So, if you will not ride your bicycle before that, keep 21 May in your mind and commit to riding that day. To your office, after your work, together with your friends or family. Enjoy it and stay safe!

*Check out the video on YouTube, where Finnish city Oulu is featured from 0:36 to 1:21. 

Photo credit: Automobile Club of Moldova & Vasile Fotescu, Association of cycling amateurs of Moldova