GLOBAL
In 1861 the French carriage-maker Ernest Michaux made history, creating the prototype of what might well be the best balanced mode of transportation; the modern bicycle -with two wheels of the same size- will celebrate its 150th birthday in two years. Why not throw the party of the century, a massive, global bicycle marathon, filling the streets? Nothing new with mass-cycling manifestations, in London there was recently a naked bicycle parade, putting big smiles on the Londoners’ faces. But in 2011 we could, no make that should, put together an Earth Hour-style tsunami of bike riders. A relay race with the planet for stadium, combining Tour du France, Giro d’Italia, Sverige Runt and any other cross country bicycle competition you care to mention. Take this as a challenge and get your bike kitted up and ready for action by June 2011.
In the face of fossil fuel scarcity and high prices of petrol combined with CO2-emission reduction targets and the health implications of lessening smog, the trend in may parts of the world is to accommodate bicycles. Think massbicyclism and you will picture Beijing. And you would be right. China was the bicycle mecca par excellence. A large part of personal transportation -not to mention deliveries and other ‘business trips’- is pedaled through the Chinese capital. But China is changing. Quoting Worldwatch Institute, the New Internationalist magazine reports that in the country ‘over 200,000 hectares of prime farmland disappear under new roads each year.’ Further, the article mentions that in the 1980′s, the authorities in Jakarta discarded 20,000 bicycle rickshaws into Jakarta Bay to rid the city of backward technology. Think massbicyclism again and this time imagine the city of Bogotá, Colombia. The city boasts the most extensive series of bike paths in the world in a network with 300 kilometres (180miles) of dedicated lanes. The South-American country is not primarily connected to environmental initiatives and that is of course not the whole truth behind the campaign the started during Mayor Enrique Peñalosa’s 3-year reign from 1997-2000. Today, between 300,000 to 400,000 bicycle trips are made each day in Bogotá.
The cost effective, non-polluting and nimble way of getting from point A to point B in a rush hour crazed metropolis might be the most compelling argument. Add to that the health benefits, for both the biker and the city as a whole and you have a very simple answer to many problems faced by our evermore urbanised world. Recently, for the first time in human, more than half of the world’s population lived in cities. By 2050, it will be 70% according to the UN. A quick glance at the reality of getting to work in Mexico City where 3-4 hour car trips are considered normal will tell us all we need to know about what we do not want. In short, switching to biking is a slam-dunk move for your private economy, your health and the future of the planet. Coming from the other direction, going from no vehicle to a bicycle will open up possibilities in many poor parts of the world. Traffic congestion and pollution should not be allowed to dictate the conditions of the urban landscape any longer.
For good news the spread of bikes category, check out the Bamboo Bike Project website here.
