Criticona 2019

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Criticona is the annual Critical Mass in Spain. This huge event moves from city to city thanks to the democratic choice made by the participants in the previous year. It is coordinated by cyclists to riders. Urban cycling is motivated through different activities which are adapted to the organizing place. The organization offers free accommodation and cheap food to make it easy for visitors. Hence, the key target constitutes forming a gigantic Critical Mass since it is the country Critical Mass from the cities Critical Masses.

This year the Criticona will take place in Madrid. A fantastic group of bikers has been working on it for months. The programming can be consulted in the organization official blog (in Spanish). Basically, it starts on 25th April and ends on 28th April. The events per day are specified:

– 25th: Non-mixed riding (riding only for women) + The monthly Madrid Critical Mass

– 26th: Cyclist women experiences discussion + Bike-tapas

– 27th: Meloncleta + Picnic + Event to claim for intermodality + Interplanetary Critical Mass + Party

– 28th: Non-mixed riding (riding only for women) + Historic riding + Picnic

It is highly advisable that you fill the official form if you come from a place other than Madrid.

You can not miss it!

The Bike Equity Network

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As in many countries, the USA has a lot of groups which enjoy the bicycle. Among them, there is the Bike League. Its main aim is to “make bicycling safe and comfortable for people of all ages in all communities” with special stress on youth, women and people of color who are underrepresented in many bike efforts and local transportation decisions. And they are right! In too many cases politicians do not take into account the more vulnerable people. If laws are focused on healthy, white, middle age men, they leave other people unprotected. Moreover, the sum of youth, women and people of color (plus senior citizens) makes the majority of USA population. To fulfill this target, they count with an Equity Advisory Council since 2013.

The more people ride bikes, the better the life for everyone. They also establish to strength communities and make them safer and better connected. Cars do not fit in this concepts melting pot and people are in the center. As they affirm, they see bike advocacy as a civic engagement opportunity, and all ways of experiencing biking and streets matter.

History says the League was founded as the League of America Wheelmen back in 1880. Wheelmen were challenged by rutted roads of gravel and dirt and faced antagonism from horsemen, wagon drivers and pedestrians at that time.

They count with key programs such as Bicycle friendly America, Smart cycling, Promoting bicycling or Making biking better throughout which they develop most of its activities.

Titiribici

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Titiribici is the artistic name of Pablo Olias, a Sevillian adventurer who rode 22,000 km in South America. He enjoyed marvelous landscapes and possibly suffered from extreme climate conditions from warm areas to snow, from mountains to salt lakes. Take into account the countries he visited: Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chili, Argentina and Uruguay. Up until now, this amazing travel constitutes a great achievement, but in reality it is even greater. Not only did he rode his bike in those countries, he also did it by stretching a trailer inside which he kept his puppets. He represented a show in every village he arrived. This fact made him popular among the people and above all the children. Thousands had fun with the stories and also organized a workshop so that children could manufacture puppets, sets, scripts and developed several ideas to create stories, to set free the imagination.

He started playing with puppets 25 years ago and still preserves the pixide of this period. He has a webpage (http://www.titiribici.com) on which you can have an idea of this magic travel on a bike. Do not miss his impressive video (https://youtu.be/R0IxSo1oZXM). From this experience, he always brings his puppets with him as they can be called his close friends.

Ciclocostura

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Ciclostura is the Spanish name of the art of making accessories from parts of bikes. Have you ever dream about a belt made of a tyre and a sprocket, or a backpack which most of its parts come from tyres? It sounds crazy and yet is possible. Each and every part of a bicycle can be recycled. In this case, the world of fashion is enriched with the variety of accessories and styles which are offered by Kaiowa. This Valencian company takes advantage of those bike objects which are rejected as the bicycle gets old. Tyres, inner tubes, bearings, sprockets, chains, trouser clips, you name it, are given a second life in order to allow more people benefit from bike. Usually, bikers have an ecological thinking and try to cooperate shoulder to shoulder with actions to reduce waste, noise and pollution, and improve quality of life.