Cyclists ruled the roads Sunday afternoon in the downtown area to spread the word about winter bike safety in the city.

Dozens of braver folks, including some councillors, gathered at City Hall to take part in the 4th annual Family Winter Cycling Parade that had cyclists ride a 4-km route in bitter -14 degree weather.

"We want to show that winter cycling is not as crazy an idea as it sounds," said Hans Moor, president of Citizen for Safe Cycling.

"But we want to draw everyone's attention to the conditions of the roads for cyclists."

If road conditions were improved along bike paths, Moor believes that more people would choose to cycle during the winter.

And councillors Catherine McKenney and Jeff Leiper who were both there to support the event agree.

"It's really important to show that folks are cycling in this city and they're cycling more and more," said McKenney.

"We need to make sure that we have the right infrastructure for cycling year-round. We need to have more winter maintenance for both cyclists and pedestrians."

And Leiper, who bikes into work daily, feels that more should be done to get more people biking all year round.

"Winter cycling is a critical part of sustainability for our city," said Leiper.

"We don't have anywhere near enough infrastructure to encourage a real critical mass of people to cycle."

According to the city's 2013 cycling plan, it was proposed that 40 km of bike paths in concentrated core areas be maintained during the winter months.

But implementing the winter cycling network continues to be a tough task.

@danielledube13