Calgary often has six or more months of winter conditions which make biking throughout the city challenging and, at times, nearly impossible.
Regardless, many Calgarians brave the winter conditions and choose to bike year-round. Kim Bruce is one of them, often running errands while biking in temperatures as low as -27 C.
“I started winter biking because I loved summer biking so much, I didn’t want it to end,” says Bruce. “If you’re an outdoor person and you don’t mind the cold too much, I think it’s great.”
Cost, convenience, and work are the primary reasons for winter biking with several thousand Calgarians bike commuting in snowy weather, according to Bike Calgary.
The temperatures in Calgary — dropping to average lows of -12 C to – 14 C in the peak winter months — discourage many warm-weather bikers from continuing to bike in the winter.
“What I discovered was the way I had to drive didn’t take much longer than to ride my bike,” says Ming Hon, a cyclist who used to regularly bike commute in the winter. “I didn’t have the frustration of dealing with traffic.”
General recommendations for dealing with lower temperatures while biking include wearing extra layers and making sure no exposed skin is showing. Additional winter biking gear can be purchased at many bike shops around Calgary including Bowcycle, a bike shop in Bowness.
“Most people when it comes to winter riding are going to have limitations in terms of blood flow to their extremities, fingers and toes,” says Ty Cutforth, general manager of Bowcycle. “I would say as long as you’re used to the cold and you’ve got the gear to go outside, riding to and from work is awesome.”
Tom Babin is another regular winter biker. He has written about his cycling experiences around the world for decades, including his experiences in the depth of harsh Alberta winters.
“I just tried to push my season a little bit longer each time and I found it wasn’t as hard as I thought it was,” Babin says. “I find the cold really easy to deal with, because once you start riding, you generate your own heat and actually find it harder to stay cool than to stay warm.”
Another major challenge of winter biking is dealing with the ice and snow which can lead to hazardous and slippery conditions.
“Make sure you’re not braking on ice and that you try to roll over it and keep going,” says Andreas Loewen, a regular winter bike commuter. “Don’t try to turn quickly or brake.”
Many experts recommend riding with studded tires which creates extra grip and traction on slippery patches.
“If you’re trying to do it on a budget-friendly thing by buying one studded tire, putting that in the front of your bike is more important than the rear because the weight of the rider is going to push that tire down into the snow to create more traction,” Cutforth says.
Although Calgary has a vast network of bike paths, the city’s urban sprawl creates difficulties navigating throughout the city by bike. Clearing the plethora of multi-use pathways after large snowfalls often takes longer in the communities further from downtown.
“The biggest challenge is when the pathways aren’t cleared and you have to bike through deep snow. That can be hard because then you’re doing a hike-a-bike where you have to push your bike,” says Bruce. “Sometimes you get ice and snow stuck in your chain and that can freeze up if it’s a little bit wetter, but usually we’re lucky here in Calgary with the dry snow.”
The city generally places a greater priority on clearing roads than clearing bike pathways which can lead to some difficulties with both cars and bikes sharing the road.
“Wherever cars have been, it’s usually cleared a bit better,” says Loewen. “The one downside of winter bike commuting is definitely the interaction with vehicles. It can be unpredictable and stressful.”
Despite the challenges, Calgary’s bike infrastructure is more extensive than most cities in Canada with more than 700 km of multi-use pathways according to Bike Calgary as well as seven km of downtown cycle tracks and extensive bike lanes on many roads.
“I would say most people don’t understand how good our bike scene is here,” says Cutforth. “We have 150 km of inner-city bike paths.
“No other city in Canada has that. You could go to Vancouver they don’t have that.”
