in the last six years or so, i've made a regular habit of renting a bike while traveling. the first time was in london--i reserved one online from a lil' bike shop that left it locked up for me outside of my hostel. literally as soon as i arrived, i went out for a ride on this red french cruiser-style with no gears. all of my previous experience in london had been on the tube, and it's hard don't really get a perspective of how things connect when you're underground. that meandering journey led me from the theatre district to the famous crosswalk on abbey road to the river thames in less than an hour. i biked around buckingham palace gardens because i was already, unexpectedly, there. despite london's "size," i couldn't believe how all these landmarks were actually very close to one another. (i also stupidly rode around picadilly circus, wall-to-wall blocked in by double-decker buses. it was scary and i hummed a lot of morrissey to get me through it.)

now, it's been a decade since i've owned a car. because cycling is a huge part of my life, it's only natural that i'd start biking more on holidays and trips. that was part of my logic behind investing in a folding bicycle a few years ago: the complete freedom, gate-to-gate, of my own two wheels. (pity my body didn't jive with my brain's decision...)

the way it feels to explore a city on a bike is one thing (smells! pulling off whenever you want!), but you also learn a lot about how the cities and communities support (or don't support) bike infrastructure by riding around. for example, i hated biking around seattle, partially because of the hills, and partially because the road conditions and signage were poor. i've never biked in park city, utah, because as a pedestrian i've experienced their flawed infrastructure and can't even imagine dealing with tourists, snow, ice, and elevation on two wheels. i loved biking around minneapolis, vancouver bc, amsterdam, glasgow, and copenhagen for varied reasons. i have a love-hate relationship with biking in nyc. i've never biked in california unelss i'm blocking it out, which i sometimes do about california.

Biking in Helsinki

i've been cycling around helsinki for a couple of months now, and have some observations about this city based on their infrastructure choices. first of all, there's clearly no logical reason you'd need to drive here, and the roadways reinforce that philosophy. at least once a day, i see traffic coming off the ferry from estonia backed up, while trams and cyclists race past. that's the way it should be. obviously as a major harbor and entry point for goods for the rest of finland, there's a great deal of importing that happens here, which means lots of freight trucks. as for cars, there's a lot of Small, Nice European Cars, nearly no SUVs, and a ton of cabs (fun fact: no uber or lyft). finnish drivers for the most part don't seem distracted. they obey all traffic laws, but are not "no YOU go" friendly about anything.

throughout the city, you'll find accessible ramps, clear signage, and designated lanes for pedestrians and bikes. while not an amsterdam or copenhagen-level cycle city, helsinki definitely has put money and effort into their roadways for non-vehicles, and the result is a lot of people ride bikes. the city is mostly flat, highly maintained, and rarely will it take more than 30 minutes to get from point A to B. in other words, it's a great city to explore on two wheels. since i've been thinking about all this stuff for months, i thought i'd document my observations on cycleways, rules, functionality, and bike culture...with words and pictures.

the photo above photo, taken around Töölönlahti, nicely represents the infrastructure of trails and park systems. lanes are well-marked (you'll see that pedestrians are on a gravel trail closer to the water, and there's two lanes for cycles and opportunity to exit at intersections via crosswalk signals). this bikeway is one of my favorites, looping around the opera house near the olympic stadium.

things stay pretty nicely marked as veer away from the park and run along the roadway--this was taken a few miles north, heading further away from the water towards nowhere in particular. bike lanes are a different color than pedestrian lanes. it's a refreshing use of sidewalks (which all have accessible ramps at every intersection), giving people a physical divider from cars on the road.

it took me a while to find it, but there's a pedestrian/cyclist "freeway" (complete with bike counter) that basically cuts through the city and circumvents streets with cars. it's called Baana, a Finnish slang word for (rail)way that originates from a mix of Swedish (bana) and German (Bahn). it looks like this:

in helsinki things change from time to time, and not always with signage or clear lanes like you see above to tell you what to do. i'm no stranger to sharing the road, and, fair: even portland gets confusing sometime with regards to bike infrastructure. it's okay not to know what you're supposed to do as long as you stay safe and alert...although here, breaking even an invisible rule will absolutely get you yelled at by fellow cyclists.

personally, one point of confusion for my brain is about sharing space in the crosswalks with pedestrians. as pictured above--and with Perfectly Placed Humans--you can tell that the bikes cross next to crosswalks but not through the striped lanes. coming from the US where by and large these striped lanes are for everything except cars, i sometimes forget where to be. i'm getting better about it, but my brain still has to manually remember which side of the path to be on.

i find that the traffic flow changes often and without warning here, and i don't always see signage or lane designation to clue me in. the pedestrian and bike lanes invert (meaning bikes aren't "always on the right," for example) for no particular reason. it can be dangerous to make a mistake, because in general the finns bike very fast, walk very slow, and lack self-awareness of their surroundings. often, if i find myself on an unfamiliar street with lots of traffic and tram tracks, i'm inclined to take the sidewalk or hop off my bike until i figure out where to be.

real life example: bulevardi, a major avenue in helsinki with lots of shops, cafes, apartments, etc.

because of construction further up, they've rerouted cycle traffic from the right to the left side. bikes are supposed to cross the street for one block to go northbound in the right-side barrier-protected lane, then switch back quickly. i take this road all the time (in part because it beautifully curves around the harbor near our apartment, in part because it gets you everywhere). not surprisingly, it's actually a pain in the ass to switch sides of the street--lawfully--for an obstruction for one block. there are lights at every street, trams that come every 5 minutes, and just a lot to look out for. other options are kind of a disaster: walking your bike, taking the cobblestone lane with train tracks, possibly offending a finn.

the pedestrian crosswalks mean people sometimes stand in the bike lanes waiting for the lights to change, which is just another thing to look out for. good news, though: your chances of getting right hooked or doored are very, very low--truly one less thing to think about in this list of cycling anxieties.

this is a pretty typical "bike lane" on an a commercial avenue with parking, trams, and street traffic. as you can see from the above, it's pretty clear where you're supposed to be thanks to the sign and lane paint: behind this finnish lady, in the strange space curbside, slightly elevated and away from the street. while sidewalks here are usually pretty generous, they are sometimes retrofitted to old city blocks where things get weird. my first weeks biking here these lanes kinda freaked me out (there's the occasional trash cans, trees, the occasional bike parking or other obstacle...). now, i love them, and believe most cities could "install" these bikeways throughout their urban core with very little effort.

the above street shows a less common bike lane in helsinki (one painted on the lane), but still totally functional and well-marked. this is the backside of senate square, one of the oldest parts of the city. notice to the right that the sidewalks have a flat (limestone or granite?) large tiles, as well as no lip or curb at any intersection. (you can't tell but there IS a curb separating the bike lane from the sidewalk path). i see a lot of folks in wheelchairs here, and i've definitely noticed that even though the city itself is old, most if not all intersections have accessibility in mind (ramps, signals, signage). people do actually stop for you in crosswalks and it is remarkable.

here's a good place to talk a bit about the finns, and their love of rules.

often described as reserved, non-emotional, and quiet, i was very surprised about a couple of things i observed in the streets of helsinki:

1. how often i hear honking from cars (by which i mean all of the time)

2. clear respect for whomever has the right of way

for a while, i couldn't figure out what these two truths were about, but the longer i've spent here, the more that i've concluded both are a byproduct of being a culture defined by their rule-following tendencies.

a finnish driver will honk at you when they think or know you have broken a rule. it's frustrating and can even be triggering (as a cyclist, i am most often being honked at as a symptom of road rage). in helsinki, there is rarely traffic of any kind here. the finns aren't known to be emotional or communicative folks in general, so i really was shocked to hear so much honking daily. as i started to figure it out, i noticed it wasn't so much of the hey-the-light-changed-you're-distracted-slash-unsafe variety. i hear honking the most at pedestrians who are crossing an intersection before their signal changes (from cars that are too far away to be even remotely a danger).

this leads me to my third point:

3. the finns HATE jaywalking. this one is so ridiculous but something i encounter daily. at a typical intersection with pedestrian crossings, you will watch nearly everyone wait until the light changes even if there are no cars/trams in sight. sometimes a few folks (like myself) will cross sooner, but the large majority of people at that same intersection will wait ADDITIONALLY FOR MINUTES to cross lawfully. it's an impressive stubbornness and respect for the rules that i find...completely annoying. those of us who go before the signal changes will be honked at, and someone i met here has a story about being yelled at (in finnish) by a fellow pedestrian for crossing too soon. super cool, finland.

bike-related infrastructure bonus points:

bikeshare city bikes! the bikeshare in helsinki has saved my ass at least twice, when the metro stopped running and getting 2 miles meant multiple transfers on buses or trams. helsinki has a fleet of 1400 bikes with generator lights, an easy to use pincode, and stations literally everywhere. these bikes account for 80% of the cycle traffic i observe around town. they're also incredibly cheap: 25 euros for the entire season for membership, with rides under 30 minutes for free, and a euro/hour thereafter. only downside is they apparently will be pulling the "yellow bikes" from stations at the end of october for winter.

most/all meal delivery is by bike! this is one of 3 delivery companies i've seen so far. while it's not so rare in europe (i have seen electric scooters elsewhere), it still makes me pleased, and is a plan B when i get desperate for cash.

for readers/bike folks who are also history nerds: a peek at helsinki's bike scene in 1937.

before we know it, the yellow bikes will go away and winter will arrive. i've heard mixed things about what this city is like in winter months, and seeing as i don't see a lot of bikes equipped for snow and ice yet, i'm curious how many riders there will be. i guess i'll to wait and see how brutal the weather is; bring on the icebreaker.

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postscript: i'd be remiss to not touch on bike "culture" here on this rumination on bicycles. as i mentioned one sad evening on twitter, i'm coming to terms with the fact "people riding bikes" here (as is true in other parts in europe, as well) is not synonymous with "we have something in common." biking here is not a radical act. there's no kooky bike shop or punk/DIY co-op like i've seen in cities with this many cyclists. that's because there is zero bike "culture" here in helsinki: no bicycle "scene," no transportation advocates, no youth outreach, and the biggest bummer: no bike fun. yesterday, i discovered that our apartment's storage room (that holds 50+ bikes) doesn't even keep a community bike pump (let alone tools, stand, etc.) because everyone has their own. this is a thing that feels Very Finnish but is actually a bummer. riding a bike in helsinki is a practical choice and a personal act, but nothing to get excited about. which, now that i think about it, is also quite finnish. regardless, i've been biking around helsinki because it makes me happy, and that's just how it has to be.

on your left,
rhienna