‘Don’t trash it till you try it’: Cycling through Edmonton’s cold snap

Edmonton is just wrapping up from a major cold snap that led to numerous issues around the city.

Emergency teams in the city saw hundreds of 211 calls for vulnerable people, the SPCA recorded a record number of animal in distress calls, and at one point in the week, an LRT line near Southgate Centre cracked from the cold.

But through it all, Zane Zaleschuk was on his bike.

The Edmontonian cycles to work downtown almost year-round, rain or shine, through hot and cold.

“It’s difficult getting used to at first,” said Zaleschuk. “Really, it’s just getting used to it over the summer months and then I thought, ‘I’m not going to want to drive to work every day after this.'”

Zaleschuck said that he has a background in skiing and alpine sports, so he already had winter gear and a spirit for the cold. He layers wool and fleece to keep warm and uses an insulated snowboarding helmet.

He said he thinks it’s faster to get to work on his bike because he doesn’t generally deal with heavy commuter traffic.

View image in full screen

“The biggest challenges would be just kind of riding for the conditions and adapting because they can change day to day,” he said.

“So just slowing down, not trying to make sudden movements.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "So just slowing down, not trying to make sudden movements."

Zaleschuck has been riding to work almost exclusively on his bike for about two years. He said that this past Wednesday, when it reached -37 C, was one of the coldest days he’s been out.

He uses a regular mountain bike to get around on his three-kilometre commute, mainly using city bike lanes.

View image in full screen

And he wasn’t alone out there. According to the city, between Jan. 9 and Jan. 15, about 120 bikes per day used bike lanes.

“I try and rope people into it all the time,” he said. “And when they say, ‘You’re crazy. I don’t want to do that.’ I say, ‘Just try it. Don’t trash it till you try it.'”

Edmonton is finally set to warm up over the next few days.

While the extreme cold warning remained in place Saturday with a low of -27 C and a wind chill of -38 in the evening, Sunday is set to see a balmy high of -15 C. By Monday, the city will be treated to a high of -2 C.