13.6.2025

Pyöräilyinfo

Cycling is for all -series, PART 1

THOUGHTS ON CYCLING IN FINLAND

The first interview was with Isabel and Harit, international students, with whom we met at the Bike Centre in Helsinki. The Bike Centre is a service provided by Metropolitan Area Transport Ltd in cooperation with Inurba Mobility, where you can get practical advice on bike maintenance. At the Bike Centre, you can service your own bike with the help of the Centre’s professionals and tools.

Isabel is from Germany, she is a doctoral student at Aalto University and has been living in Finland for 2.5 years. Isabel’s own research is about cycling, and she’s highly interested in improving cycling in Helsinki, which really intrigued her to join us for the interview. Harit is from Thailand and has been living in Finland for about a year. He is doing his master’s degree at Aalto University on transport engineering and transport planning.

CYCLING IS REFRESHING AND GIVES A SENSE OF FREEDOM

Isabel and Harit both agree that cycling gives a certain sense of freedom. “You are not bound to schedules or traffic as much as in other modes [of traffic],” Harit says. Isabel sees cycling as refreshing and a good way to wake up, if you’re feeling tired. There are also several positive effects on one’s mood.

“Cycling is also a different way to explore a city. When you are in the metro, you are mainly underground. In the bus you can maybe see a bit more around you, but when cycling you can see much more of the city. I really like exploring cities by cycling,” Isabel tells us.

“I lived in Jätkäsaari for some time and I had to cycle to Otaniemi to get to my workplace and study place. There’s this one route going over the little islands – Kaskisaari and Lehtisaari. It was quite nice to get from the modern Jätkäsaari to a bit more natural areas with cute little bridges,” Isabel continues. Harit is not as familiar with cycling in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area just yet. He already has a favourite route, which goes from the Otaniemi campus to Keilaniemi, and from there until Koivusaari metro station. Especially the scenery on that route is something Harit enjoys. He also likes the smoothness of the route, meaning there aren’t steep hills so he doesn’t get too hot when cycling.

MORE CHILDREN AND EVERYDAY CYCLISTS TO THE CYCLEWAYS

“It’s always good to have as many different people as possible cycling,” says Isabel. She continues: “Not just to plan the cycling paths for one specific kind of person, but many different personas.” When planning cycling paths, everyday cycling is something to consider. According to Isabel, there are plenty of spaces for cycling as a sport. Cycling should be an attractive option also when cycling in the city in people’s everyday life, not just for sporty people exercising.

“I would not want cycling to be seen as an extreme sport or extreme activity. It has to be part of everyday life for it to work,” says Harit. He hopes to see everyone cycling, but especially people in a more vulnerable position who might have difficulties in getting started with cycling. Harit also mentions children as the future of mobility and future cyclists. They should be encouraged to cycle for them to find the confidence needed. “Maybe in the future we could have more everyday cyclists,” Harit says.

GUIDANCE FOR CYCLING IN THE WINTER AND CLEARER INFRASTRUCTURE FOR EVERYONE

Isabel highly recommends the city bikes. She says they are extremely convenient during summer and help new people try cycling. Using the city bikes is affordable and flexible, and one doesn’t need to worry about owning their own bike.

Cycling during the Finnish winter is not Isabel or Harit’s favourite activity, mainly due to the lack of proper winter maintenance in some areas. When living in Germany, Isabel used to cycle year round, but in Finland she has stopped. When she visited Oulu, she saw that people manage to cycle even in the snow and cold. Isabel suggests that there would be courses or workshops where people could practise cycling in winter in a safe environment. People could practise cycling on slippery terrain and get familiar with different winter cycling equipment.

Harit admits that he cycles “significantly less” during winter. There are only a few routes he rides during winter, which have proper winter maintenance. According to Harit, improving winter maintenance and organising courses for winter cycling might encourage people to ride their bikes around the year.

“Infrastructure should be safe and easy to understand for everyone. When people cycle, it’s important for them to know where they are going, which way to go and how to use the infrastructure,” Harit says. He says that infrastructure should be universal and understandable to everyone, from every group of the society and different backgrounds.

CYCLE WITH FRIENDS AND ENJOY THE WIND

Isabel suggests that beginner cyclists should start cycling with a friend who already knows how to cycle. A good place to start could be in a park or some other place with no traffic. When afraid of cycling, Isabel encourages to follow more experienced cyclists who can help you to start and help you realise how easy and approachable cycling can be.

Harit thinks that for many people lack of cycling is not about fear, but how distant cycling feels to their everyday life. They might not feel that cycling could be a part of their own life. Harit reminds us that cycling is not about being good at it or being the fastest, but one should just relax and enjoy the wind when riding a bike. Isabel agrees: “Have fun with it!”

BUILDING A CYCLING CITY TAKES TIME

“In Thailand cycling is seen as a very extreme activity and not a lot of people actually do it. The urban infrastructure is also not very ready for urban cycling and we are working towards that. I think Finland is on the right path regarding that. We have very confident and easy to use infrastructure. I know there is still room for improvement but I believe you guys are doing great,” Harit says when comparing cycling in Thailand to cycling in Finland.

Isabel is on the same track with Harit and adds that sometimes cycling in an urban environment can be frustrating. Especially narrow cycle paths and surprising plants in the middle of the cycleway can make it difficult. “On the other hand, there are so many positive examples, like Baana or Kaisantunneli, the new tunnel under the railway station,” Isabel says.

“The most important thing is to see it as a progress. You can’t just snap your fingers and have a perfectly built cycling city. It takes time. I think Helsinki is a nice place where a lot of things are happening and it’s good to keep up with what will happen in the future here,” Isabel concludes.

Bike Centre is located in the Töölönlahdenpuisto park, next to the Finlandia Hall. The Centre is open from Monday till Friday at 9–17 and on the first Saturday of each month at 10–17. Find out more about the Bike Centre from City Transport’s website.

More information on city bikes and how to use them can be found on HSL’s website.

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH HELSINKI REGION CYCLISTS – ALSO KNOWN AS HEPO?

We are a community and advocate group for cyclists in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Our goal is to improve the conditions for cycling and make the Helsinki Metropolitan Area a more pleasant, safer and smoother place to live and move around.

Helsinki Region Cyclists, aka Hepo, is an NGO focused on promoting cycling. Hepo has more than 1,500 members. Our goal is to influence law-making and traffic planning both on the local and national level. Hepo is not a political actor and is politically independent. In addition to influencing, bike travels have been an integral part of Hepo’s activities from the start and continue to be so.

By becoming a member you get access to member discounts and other offers for you and your bike. The annual member fee is 32 € and it pays back in no time. If you feel like making a difference in cycling conditions, you are welcome to join Hepo – in our activities or as a member. You get our member newsletter to your email once a month, member discounts from our partners – and you keep on track about cycling-related news and events.

By joining Finnish Cyclists’ Federation or any of its member organisations before September 28th, 2025 at 11.59pm, you have a chance to win Helkama’s electric bike (value approx. 2,800 €). Join Hepo now!

You can also take part in the draw by filling the Google Forms document.

Rules for the draw can be found on Finnish Cyclists’ Federation’s website.