Category Archives: Biking movement

Ciclosferia

It seems quite odd the fact that there has not been celebrated an offline exhibition on urban biking in Spain so far. It is not so strange the fact that the chosen city to host it is Valencia because of the promotion of this urban movement as it comes to the development of cyclist infrastructures and local laws among others in the last years. The jointed effort of Ciclosfera and the Valencia council, as well as bike stores, brands and workshops, will make it possible. As a result, the Ciclosferia will take place in Valencia, Spain, from 13^th to 15^th of May 2022.

The shed number 2 in the Valencian La Marina has more than 4,500 squared meters. All this surface will be covered by bike brand stands and everybody will be able to test dozens of bicycles from e-bikes and traditional bicycles to hybrid ones and cargobikes. Besides, circuits, activities for children, raffles, food trucks and concerts guarantee amazing days for bike users next to the Mediterranean see. I almost forget it: It is totally free. A perfect scenario to discover the present and future mobility. A feast in order to spend the day, eat and pedal, enjoy confidently that everything, mobility, health, entertainment and efficiency, goes through bikes.

World Bicycle day

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The World Bicycle day was on 19^th of April from 1985 to 2018. In April 2018, the United Nations changed the day to 3^rd of June thanks to the support of 57 countries. Leszek Sibilski directed the international campaign and associations such as the World Cycling Alliance and the European Cyclist Federation which encouraged it. But why did the World Bicycle day was initially declared on 19^th April?

Albert Hofmann, the Swiss chemical, was the origin of it. He was the first person who synthesized, ingested and experimented the effects of LSD in 1943. At first, he ingested it in a casual way. Next, he carried out an aware LSD ingestion three days after. As a result, he experienced a more powerful trip than the easy return journey home by bike. He simply went crazy!

Going a step further, bicycles have improved the gender equality. For instance, it allowed women to travel by themselves without the need of any man. According to the suffragette Elizabeth Cady Staton, bicycle is a tool that motivates women to gain strength and assume an increasing role in society. Moreover, the suffragette Susan B. Anthony believed bikes as the most important to emancipate women in the world. However, it is not now just plain sailing.

When women started pedaling, it was said that bikes produced a rare illness called ”bicycle face”. The stupid diagnosis was invented by several doctors in a mixture of ignorance and machismo at that time. Indeed, they feared pedaling would cause women fertility lost, female tuberculosis or even an increment in women libido (this was dangerous in single women, what a nonsense).

Fortunately, these ideas disappeared and we enjoy biking no matter your gender nowadays.

Conbici

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Conbici (https://conbici.org, in Spanish) is the Spanish coordinator in defense of bicycles. It gathers 65 Spanish associations and groups, and promotes the use of bikes in a day-to-day basis, no matter how the biker genre or age is. Moreover, Conbici works in order to promote positive legislation to protect everybody, including bikers and pedestrians, who are the weakest actors in streets. Local groups focus on their cities as it comes to urban biking and it has work groups in legislation, mobility, training, health and cycle tourism.

Conbici was born in 1990 and has contributed to the bike movement. It organizes the Iberian Congress “Bicycle and city” together with Portugal since 1996 and promotes the Cycle tourism and urban bikers meetings in Spain or Portugal every two years. Furthermore, it is a member of the Technician Scientific Committee in the European Mobility Week, participates in the Higher Traffic and Circulation Council, work group 44, representing the bikers collective, sits on the European Cyclists’ Federation, became a founder member of the National Bicycle Table and writes and spreads national and international summaries about politics examples which foster bike use as well as sustainability. In addition, Conbici promotes the intermodality of bike plus public transport. What is more, in the Conbici webpage you can read recommendations about how to move on bikes at both, cities and cycle tourism.

One of the key points Conbici has is the wide profile of collaborators. Indeed, it counts with professional people in fields such as urban planning, infrastructures, economy, tourism, legislation, health, education, you name it. This fact makes it possible that Conbici contributes with ideas on a variety of subjects, just like this blog.

As it comes to internal affairs, the General Assembly of Conbici meets to decide the necessary decisions on the addressed issues by consensus twice a year. The General Coordination Council and the Permanent Office are in charge of management.

European Cyclists’ Federation

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European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) was born in 1983 with one target: To promote cycling as a sustainable and healthy means of transportation and recreation. They believe their roots are in Europe, but the challenge is worldwide since bicycle is the solution to many world woes. It is partially, financially supported by the LIFE Programme of the European Union.

This European federation determined the following goals:

Raise the status of cycling
Encourage consideration of cyclists’ needs
Support member groups
Undertake scientist research
Enhance information and advice regarding bikes and more
Promote the exchange of information and expertise
Provide information and expertise

They work in several domains such as new technologies, economy, policy, tourism, EU cycling strategy, global policies, health, environment, parking, road safety, urban mobility or EuroVelo. Moreover, they participate in European projects to promote biking.

Scientific research is offered by free to whoever need it. Scientists for Cycling is composed by a global network of academics and individuals actively engaged in applied research, teaching and dissemination from all disciplines interested in cycling or cycling-related topics.

Although there are not all European countries members, some of their members are not European, though is does not matter because bicycle is worldwide.

How does it place in the European bike movement? Imagine a bike group or bike association in Valencia, Spain. Then, there is the Spanish association (federation) Conbici with the Valencian bike group under it. And finally, ECF acts as an umbrella with Conbici and much more bicycle groups to improve bike movement.

Rosario Pino

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Rosario Pino (1870-1933) was a bike pioneer in Spain at the end of the 19^th century. She worked as actress and first appeared in a painting in the magazine El deporte velocipédico (The Velocipede Sport, a velocipede was a type of 19^th-bicycle) in February 1896. At that time, bicycles were expensive devices that only high-class people, mainly men, could afford it.

Her image represented a terrible blow to the macho and patriarchal mentality since they claimed against women in trousers on infernal machines. The very same magazine published where Rosario appeared also showed a journal article in which the French doctor Lèon Petit explained a positive view of women riding bikes. For instance, he denied the absurd legends of relating women infertility, hirsutism and lack of sexual desire to bicycle. To the contrary, he approved women on bikes in order for them to enjoy a healthy life which in turn will contribute to bring more babies to the world.

The provocative picture of Rosario Pino boosted the Spanish women to use bicycles and is considered part of the fight for female civil rights. In fact, Susan B. Anthony, the American Suffragist Association president, affirmed “I think [the bicycle] has done more to emancipate women than any one thing in the world. I rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a bike. It gives her a feeling of self-reliance and independence the moment she takes her seat; and away she goes, the picture of untrammelled womanhood”. Bicycles are symbols of equality because if men could make bike rides, women also could. For example, Marthe Hesse ascended the mythic Tourmalet mountain, France, without setting foot on the ground in 1902. Moreover, there were female bike competitions in Buffalo, Paris, Aix-les-Bains (France), Manchester (England) or Glasgow (Scotland). Female racers used the bloomers trousers, by Amelia Bloomer. In Spain, the first female bike race took place in 1935. The Ventas Cyclist Club organized the 22 kilometers race and Angelita Torres won it.
However, Rosario Pino rode in a relaxing way to go to wherever she wanted without the help of a man. She rode to the end of her days.

From the financial assistance to the bike movement in order to promote biking

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When we were in the worst state of pandemic, some governments gave financial assistance to citizens to buy environmentally friendly ways of transport, mainly bicycles. Bikes allow private, mostly individual displacements while maintaining safety distance with other actors in the road, two good points in favor of fighting against Covid19 as we know. Another area covered by this money was the transformation of a conventional bike into an electric one. This point has sense specially in hilly or too extensive zones. And data showed a boom in the use of bikes in the next months.

A different impact of such an action could have been an increment in the cost of bikes. Since people have more money to spend, bicycles could cost more. This is an immoral approach because the financial assistance did not cover all the petitioners, thus many could have been expelled from the interesting assistance. I do not even like to think about what could have happened if a piece of news explained that the bike shop X or the bike manufacturer Y had increased the cost of bikes in these days. Surely, the branch would have need to invest substantially more money than the extra gained income as a result of the bike movement which only wants to populate roads with bicycles. Regarding its influence, the bike movement has made possible happier people, taking care of the planet or, indirectly, looking after bikers health. Concrete events like the Critical Mass, the European Mobility Week or the Iberian Congress, just to name but a few, have contributed to promote the bike use.

More and more people ride their bike every year. Thank you!

Pregnant women and bicycles

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Using a bike is a good habit that more and more women practice every day. This positive and objective issue can become controversial as it comes to pregnant women. Although I am not the best person to talk about it since I am a man, I have read about it. Women opinions on this subject are as valuable as scarce, or at least not so widely known as they should be.

Bikeactivist women opt for continuing pedaling while pregnant in most cases. It is only rejected when their doctors or midwifes discourage them because of high risk pregnancy. In this case, mother love puts on top the baby health. On the other hand, brave women do not mind prejudices from antiquated people and decide to live their lives as they want. Some argue that a pregnant women who is riding can suffer a drop, similarly as when she walks on the street or drives a car. Hopefully, time will make forget this bogus argument.

A pregnant woman can tire more than a non-pregnant woman specially in the last stage of pregnancy while riding a bike due to the extra weight she burdens. It is not rocket science. But what many women and almost every man do not know is that pedaling when pregnant is a good way to practice moderate exercise as well as protecting both, mum and baby health, for most women.

Some pregnant women face opposition to those who criticize them for using bikes. Just fuck them. Women are free to do whatever they want.

Finally, here you have five tips in case you want to ride a bike while pregnant:

Talk to your gynecologist
Use an appropriate bicycle
Prioritize your security (and your baby’s)
Listen to your body
Plan your route

3rd June

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UN declared 3^rd June as the World Bicycle Day in April 2018. As they said, International days are occasions to educate the general public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. International days are proposed by member states to the UN General Assembly. This Assembly determines by consensus whether to adopt the resolution establishing the particular day, 3^rd June in this case.

Leszek Sibilski leaded a campaign to promote a resolution of the UN for the International Bicycle Day. It went ahead thanks to the support of 57 countries. Finally, it was adopted by a consensus of 193 member states. The International Bicycle Day logo was designed by Isaac Feld and professor John F. Swanson defined the one’s animation.

Why do we celebrate it? The bicycle is simple, affordable, reliable, clean, environmentally sustainable of transportation, and improves your health. UN acknowledged bike as the uniqueness, longevity and versatility which has been in use for two centuries. Indeed, they encourages member states to:

pay special attention to the bike cross-cutting development strategies and to include the bicycle in international, regional, national and subnational development policies and programmes
improve road safety and integrate it into sustainable mobility and transport infrastructure planning and design, in particular through policies and measures to actively protect and promote pedestrian safety and cycling mobility, with a view to broader health outcomes, particularly the prevention of injuries and non-communicable diseases
emphasize and advance the use of the bicycle as a means of fostering sustainable development, strengthening education, including physical education, for children and young people, promoting health, preventing disease, promoting tolerance, mutual understanding and respect and facilitating social inclusion and a culture of peace

adopt best practices and means to promote the bicycle among all members of society, and in this regard welcomes initiatives to organize bicycle rides at the national and local levels as a means of strengthening physical and mental health and well-being and developing a culture of cycling in society

The XVI Iberian Congress

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The XVI Iberian Congress: “Beyond mobility” on bikes and cities took place in Cascais, Portugal, from May 2^nd to 4^th,2019. This annual event started back in 1996 thanks to the support of ConBici (Spanish Coordinator in pursuit of Bicycles) and FPCUB (Portuguese Federation of Cycle Tourism and Bicycle users). The Covid-19 made it impossible in 2020, and there is the prevision of continuing with it in Barcelos (Portugal) and Barcelona (Spain) in 2021 at the time I write this post.

Audiences enjoyed speeches about a variety of subjects such as improving communities to strengthen the bike movement, better accessibility, how bikes enhance economy, EuroVelo (the European bike line net to cross from one country to another without stopping pedaling), environment and health, raising cycle tourism or Velocity 2021. Moreover, participants uplifted their mood in the bike ride and local cuisine in the 3-days congress.

It concluded in:

The need of norms and laws in the bike building process to ensure security
The debate proposed bikes as part of economic accessibility and a boom of local economy in comparison of the car counterparts
The challenge of bikes in Africa, with special attention to the lack of bicycle infrastructures and the stigma of relating this way of transport with poverty
Transporting senior citizens in bikes, fro instance cargo bikes, helps benefiting local communities
Promoting bike use in schools makes societies less dependent of car and petrol
Such change is importantly improved when favorable laws and figures of reference, mainly parents, contribute
The congress also pointed out the need of technician training to create well prepared persons who design bike infrastructures
Another spot was the lack of reliable studies regarding the economic impact of bike on society and the hope of the BooST “Boosting Starter Cycling Cities” project will solve part of it
Moving from car cities to decarbonized cities
Promoting open data acquisition in regards of sustainable mobility
Intermodality

Rueda Film Festival

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The Rueda Film Festival was born in 2015, though their creators had pondered it for years. It started in Barcelona and several other cities have seen it such as Valencia. It is inspired by bikes, cinema, culture and environment. Hence, they invite you to think over energy, the collective power of people, participation and culture joy, always having in mind bicycles.

The Rueda Film Festival program is divided into sessions that last around 85 minutes and show a feature film or several shorts ones. You can see all the films by free thanks to the support of sponsors, strategic partners and collaborators. All of this is was created by a diverse group of people from different fields with a common denominator: Pedaling bikes contributes to solve major problems we face today.

As it name indicates (rueda in Spanish means wheel), it not only shows international films related to bicycles, but also organizes concerts, exhibitions and bike acrobats events. And what if I am interested in hosting the Rueda Film Festival in my city. As explained here, send the organizers an email so that they give you advices, the conditions as well as the package with everything you need to plan and promote your event. Just take advantage of their expertise.