Children riding in winter on bikes to school

[shootingstar]

A little video of children who ride to school (http://fitfrog.ca/index.php/kids-winter-biking-to-school-video-self-propelled-independent-kids-in-calgary/)in the winter on snow often. There are 2 girls ..out of the gang of approx. 10 kids.

They were also featured in the local news...which reaches nearly 1 million people living in our city.

This is in the city where I live with snow often. And cold enough.
They look like children in the build/weight of kids that I grew up with --slim and healthy.

(And no I don't choose to ride directly in the snow like these kids do.)

[Anelia]

shootingstar, thank you for the video! It's such a nice start for a day like today. We have some late snow from yesterday. The weather was really bad with strong winds and rain and snow but today the wind is less and the sun is shining beautifully over the snow covered trees.
It's a pity that in my country the wind and cold is considered as the cause for the "colds" and flu. So when the weather is cool, I cannot find company for riding or running. Anyway, it doesn't stop me but I wish more people would enjoy red cheeks and nose.
I'll go ride my bike today no matter what the weather is :)

[Crankin]

I find that being outside in the winter has kept me healthier in the past few years. I did get sick this year, but it's been a long time.

[Jolt]

Nice! Those kids look like they're having so much fun. I wonder if the fact that they're riding in a group makes the parents feel more comfortable wtih them riding to school...maybe that's one way to get parents to feel safe letting their kids ride to school instead of driving them. Certainly a group of kids on bikes is easier for drivers to notice than just one.

[shootingstar]

Certainly a group of kids on bikes is easier for drivers to notice than just one

I tend to agree with you. The children all converge at a meeting area before cycling off to school...which is a blend of a bike path and some road streets. In the video one of the kids complain about 2 steep hills going up.... I believe one of the long hills is over 12% and it twists upward. It would a serious challenge if there was snow.

This video was shown at an evening lecture session where there was a Dutch professor and some of his students presenting to us on how our city could be redesigned to make it more cycling, pedestrian friendly.

Some of the children were there at the evening session. Several do cycle to school as cold as -30 degrees C....which I barely can stand still outdoors for long. I can only cycle as cold as -25 degrees C in the winter for about half hr.

2 of the children are each with parents who do bike regularily. One of them has a mother who runs a little company that offers snowshoeing and hiking tours. The other has a father who bike commutes to work and is a professor at local university on geography and urban planning. So important for parents to model/be a role model and offer support for their cycling children.

[Crankin]

That sounds really nice, Shooting Star. I occasionally see kids riding to school here, but not from my neighborhood. In fact, the kids in my neighborhood go to school on the other side of a major highway. But, kids closer in to the center of town do ride to school. There are sidewalks. Usually, they are in groups, or twos, sometimes with a parent leading. Last week, I saw 2 girls, around 10 in the west Concord shopping area, on their bikes. This is so unusual to see, as parents are just afraid to let their kids do this. These girls were doing the same stuff I did as a kid: go the five and dime, eat ice cream, and poke around in the other stores.