hidden treasure helsinki

Cycling in Helsinki

 

To be honest Helsinki is still far behind fromproper  cycling culture. Though our city is small and would work very well with bicycle. But no.

 

13/8/15 a 60-year-old cyclist died after man hit him with his car intended. He (cyclist) was driving in car lane as there was no cycling lane in that street part. And if you drive in walking lane, people will complain. And actually you're not allowed to cycle on the walking lane, usually.

 

But there are also plenty of cyclists who are doing it wrong. They are driving too fast in places where there are others. Also people cycle wrong side of road often and way too close to other cyclists. There are no exact rules on what side you should cycle, but hopefully there will be in upcoming years.

 

Also you'll need to pay extra attention when cycling in the morning around 7-9 am and evenings 4-6 pm as then there are lots of cyclists on roads and most of them have no interest on respecting other cyclists. The worst are usually men who wear cycling shorts. You know those shiny ones? They have high speed bicycles and they drive like crazy. Othen dangerous ones are women in their 20's to 30's as they are usually pretty new in cycling in the city and traffic. And one more group: men in their 70's! They don't usually see or hear anything - they just go.

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One problem is also where there are cycling lanes, people are walking. Often also people start crossing biking lanes without looking if someone is coming. 

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So, we have huge problem here. Cycling is good excersize for all ages. Most of people are working behing computers and sitting all day long, so for these people this hobby is very useful - if they cycle to work. Also cycling doesn't pollute. Especially in cities the air is getting polluted easilly because there's less ground for dirt to blot as the ground is mostly concrete. So the dirt just keeps on rolling up and down.

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There should be a proper book about cycling in the city sent to everyone straight to home. Also tourists who are visiting should be warned to check out where biking lanes are.

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Baana is a 1,3 km long cycling route which was to replace old railroad tracks. It was opened in 2012 as part of Helsinki Day. It starts from modern art museum Kiasma and takes you all the way to just around the corner of Jätkäsaari. Baana is a very pleasant route for cyclist without any negative side effects. Or actually there has been a couple of conflicts: in other a man stragled other cyclist. Yes. Don't ask.

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Are there city bikes available? Yes, you can register as a user here. They're not the most comfortable bicycles but better than nothing!