13.6.2025

Pyöräilyinfo

Cycling is for all -series, PART 4

SMITTEN BY THE CITY BIKES AND COASTAL ROUTE IN ESPOO

We met Maarit from Espoo near the city bike station in Matinkylä. For Maarit, cycling is a light form of exercise that is also a safer option from motorised traffic. For her, cycling is a simple choice, where one gets to enjoy exercising in fresh air.

Maarit is quite new to Matinkylä, and she has already found the joy of the coastal route in Espoo known as rantaraitti. For instance, from the Merenneito Coffee House one can go towards Haukilahti or Nuottaniemi and enjoy the beautiful scenery. The coastal route is long and Maarit encourages everyone to experience cycling there. You don’t even need your own bike, since there are plenty of city bikes along the way. “These are my favourites,” Maarit says of the city bikes.

MORE IMMIGRANT WOMEN TO CYCLEWAYS

“I have worked as a language teacher for immigrants and I think one good way of integrating might be to teach cycling to immigrant women. Culturally speaking they don’t usually have a lot of experience in cycling,” Maarit says. She read a lovely piece about an experiment where women who had moved to Finland were taught how to ride bikes and was impressed by the joy and empowerment they experienced from it. Maarit supports the idea of exploring ecological forms of transportation and sharing the joy of exercise through cycling.

Maarit also remembers what it felt like when, as a child learning to ride a bike, she finally found her balance and cycling started to come naturally. It takes practice, and balance can also change again as one ages.

BIRDSONG WHILE CYCLING

According to Maarit, city bikes are an easy way to get into cycling if you don’t own a bike. They are affordable, as for just 35 euros, you can have seven months of cycling time. ”They are almost always in good condition, considering the heavy use they get.” For Maarit, city bikes are an inspiring factor for cycling, and when using them, you don’t have to worry about the potential challenges that come with owning a bike.

The proximity to nature provided by the cycling routes in the capital region and across Finland is also something that Maarit enjoys. Cycling and nature go well together. ”You get to cycle in the midst of nature, hear the birds sing, and travel longer distances than you would on foot,” Maarit sums up the joys of cycling.

MORE BULLETINS AND BIKE REPAIR STATIONS

Maarit would welcome informational campaigns about traffic rules for cyclists, as it seems not everyone is familiar with them. Especially when cycling in traffic, it is important to know the traffic rules, and they should be brought to people’s attention more often.

Maarit also hopes that fast-paced cyclists would opt for a bit more relaxed attitude and to ring their bike bells in time, to avoid any dangerous encounters on cycle paths.

”It would also be great to have bike repair stations where you could easily pump up your tires. I sometimes struggle with it with my own bike,” Maarit says. Easy access to repair stations could help if a tire unexpectedly deflates during a ride. Maarit is positive this would also help increase the number of cyclists on the road.

Bike repair stations can be found in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area as follows:
In Espoo: Free bike repair workshops in Espoo in the summer of 2025, organised by the City of Espoo and RD Physics Oy.
In Helsinki: Bike Centre in Töölönlahdenpuisto park
Bicycle maintenance stands in Helsinki
In Vantaa: Länsi-Vantaan Pyöräpaja in Myyrmäki

Traffic rules for cyclists can be found on Finnish Cyclists’ Federation’s website.

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

We are a community and advocate 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.