I clearly shouldn't have underestimated Michigan's climate. I haven't been to Bergen, but I've been in Minneapolis in winter (it was -20 °C). I wouldn't have cycled there due to the bad infrastructure, not due to the weather.
Anyway, aside from those two cities the main reason people don't cycle has been shown time and time again to be lack of infrastructure, not the weather. Just look at other places with the same climate as The Netherlands, or Bergen. Clearly the common factor isn't the weather.
It's also a much bigger factor than people imagine. I've lived in Iceland which often has these sort of glassy ice conditions an -5 °C, and I'd much prefer it to otherwise equivalent weather at 20 °C somewhere else.
The cold allows you to push harder without being sweaty, and I've found that in mixed terrain cycling on ice with studded tires is a lot safer than on no ice. It's a lot easier to slip on loose gravel than it is to slip on ice when your tires have a dozen nails sticking into the ice.
That was 12 years ago, maybe it changed a lot. I just remember a city that fit the typical sprawling metropolis model with everything far apart and cars everywhere that the US is known for. None of it looked very bike friendly compared to similar cities in Europe.
Edit: The parent pointed out that Minneapolis was one of the top cycling cities in the US with around 4-5% of trips made by bike (compared to Europe's 2% average, 10% for Austria & Germany, and >20% for the Netherlands and Denmark). Then deleted the comment for some reason.
Yes, the Twin Cities have improved for bikers in the last twelve years. The metropolitan area here is one of the most sprawling in the United States, so many people rely on personal automobiles for all of their transportation, but there has been a major effort since you were last here to improve bicycle trails.
Anyway, aside from those two cities the main reason people don't cycle has been shown time and time again to be lack of infrastructure, not the weather. Just look at other places with the same climate as The Netherlands, or Bergen. Clearly the common factor isn't the weather.
It's also a much bigger factor than people imagine. I've lived in Iceland which often has these sort of glassy ice conditions an -5 °C, and I'd much prefer it to otherwise equivalent weather at 20 °C somewhere else.
The cold allows you to push harder without being sweaty, and I've found that in mixed terrain cycling on ice with studded tires is a lot safer than on no ice. It's a lot easier to slip on loose gravel than it is to slip on ice when your tires have a dozen nails sticking into the ice.