Who rides a bike in winter? Study sheds light on thousands of urban winter cyclists in Calgaryhttp://blogs.calgaryherald.com/2014/02/11/who-rides-a-bike-in-winter-study-sheds-light-on-thousands-of-urban-winter-cyclists-in-calgary/

February 11, 2014. 6:24 am * Section: Pedalhttp://blogs.calgaryherald.com/category/calgary/pedal/

http://blogs.calgaryherald.com/2014/02/11/who-rides-a-bike-in-winter-study-s...

The average winter cyclist in Calgary is a middle-aged man who rides almost every day, usually to work, and will brave temperatures down to -20 C and colder to do so.

That's some of the initial findings of a project from the University of Calgary http://www.ucalgary.ca/ that is shedding light on heretofore enigmatic winter cyclists in Calgary, those sometimes misunderstood and maligned people who ride their bikes through Calgary's long and ever-fluctuating dark season and have become a major part of the debate over cycling in Calgary.

The project is being spearheaded by Dr. Farnaz Sadeghpour in the Schulich School of Engineering http://www.schulich.ucalgary.ca/ and is designed to teach engineering students the importance of engaging with the community and users before designing solutions to real-life civic problems. The nice side-benefit to the project is that it gathers data on winter cycling in Calgary.

Sadeghpour, a passionate professor, recently agreed to show me the data that has been collected so far, and work with me to present it here. It's still early in the process and she has yet to do much serious analysis, but after attending the world'sfirst winter bicycle conference in Finland http://blogs.calgaryherald.com/2013/02/13/never-mind-the-plows-five-things-i-learned-from-the-worlds-most-bike-friendly-winter-city/last year and seeing how little information has been collected about winter cyclists anywhere in the world, I don't think it's a stretch to say this may be the most advanced project of its kind in the world.

This is the third year in which Sadeghpour will ask her students to stand at strategic places around the city and stop cyclists during the evening commuting hours with a survey that asks questions about themselves and their cycling habits. In the first year, the project was limited to about 100 cyclists on the then-newly painted bike lanes on 10th St. N.W. Last year, it was expanded throughout downtown and captured more than 2,000 different cyclists in all kinds of winter weather. This winter, the project will focus even more on downtown.

Sadeghpour loves to speak about how the project gives her students a chance to tackle a pressing issue in the city -- she has even involved planners at City Hall to help judge students' final designs- but what grabbed me most was what the data revealed about winter cyclists in the city. These highlights were pulled from the 2013 data:

* Most of the winter cyclists were male (more than 70 per cent). Most were over 35 years old, and the biggest segment was those older than 44.

* More than 30 per cent said they ride when the temperature dips as low as -20 C, and nearly 25 per cent will ride no matter how cold it gets. That means about 55 per cent of them say they ride to -20 C or colder.

* The most common distance travelled was 10 kilometres, but many cyclists travelled much farther distances. Nearly 30 per cent said their ride was longer than 10 kilometres, a distance Sadeghpour notes is farther than has been recorded in academic literature from any other city.

* Fifty six per cent of survey respondents said they were on their bikes as part of their commute. The second most common reason for riding in winter was recreation and exercise.

* The biggest safety concern of the 2,100 cyclists surveyed was ice and snow, which was cited by 30 per cent of respondents. Lane width (which also includes proximity to moving vehicles), poor pavement, and gravel were also areas of concern.

* When asked where bike routes should be expanded, 38 per cent said downtown, 36 per cent said routes into downtown, and 25 per cent said communities.

* A quarter of respondents said their bike trip was supplemented by another form of transportation. Among those, 44 per cent said their multimodal trip included a car, while 35 per cent said transit.

* More than 75 per cent of winter cyclists said they own a car.

What does all this mean? Sadeghpour is reluctant to read too much into the early data. It did, however, point out some intriguing things to me.

The data contradicts some common perceptions of winter cyclists in many ways. The vision of cyclists being aggressive young men is only partly true. Yes, most are men, but they aren't necessarily young. The single biggest segment, 33 per cent of respondents, were 44-years-old or older. The data also suggests they are committed commuters who let little stop them from riding, including cold weather.

In fact, I was surprised to see more than half will ride when the temperature reaches -20 C or colder. Assumptions are often made about northern cities being unsuitable for cycling because of the cold. Considering the temperature last winter reached -20 C or colder only four times, according to Environment Canadahttp://climate.weather.gc.ca/climateData/dailydata_e.html?timeframe=2&Prov=ALTA&StationID=50430&dlyRange=2012-07-12|2014-01-29&cmdB1=Go&Year=2013&Month=3, that means there aren't many days that would be considered too cold to ride for most winter cyclists. (So far this winter, 13 days have been colder than -20 C).

A bigger challenge to those surveyed, however, is snow and ice, which was cited as the biggest concern. Cracks in the pavement, gravel and proximity to vehicles were also big concerns, which underscores the importance of road and pathway maintenance, snow clearing, and good-quality infrastructure.

All of this is important information because Sadeghpour says it offers insight into one of the bigger questions facing civic leaders as they consider ways of making the city more bicycle friendly: In a city as cold as Calgary, is it worth investing in bicycle infrastructure? It's proving to be a contentious question these days, so this data may prove to be crucial.

Sadeghpour says a great addition to the data would be querying people who don't ride in winter to find out what is stopping them. For now, however, she plans to repeat this project every year, building up our understanding of what motivates people to ride bikes in winter and how city leaders can accommodate them, if they choose to. This student assignment could wind up to be an essential resource as Calgary evolves.