Cycle projects promote benefits for environment and health

Thursday, 11 June 2009 07:13

In the past few months, a number of cycling projects have sprung up all over Europe and elsewhere. A commonality between these projects is their shared focus on the environmental benefits of cycling, an issue which several of the project initiators emphasize.

“COP15 Cycling Tour: From Kyoto to Copenhagen” is a large-scale project organized by the Danish embassy in Japan. As its name suggests, it has been initiated in order to promote the December 2009 UN climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, where it is hoped that governments from around the world will “Seal the Deal” on a replacement for the Kyoto protocol. The tour has so far consisted of nine stages going from the north to the south of Japan, with thousands of people having already actively participated. Its final stage will consist of a 13 kilometer tour around Copenhagen on June 14^th, which is open to all who are interested. Danish Minister for Climate and Energy Connie Hedegaard is among the confirmed participants.

A smaller project aimed at cycling for the environment is “The Bicycle Effect”, a project started by Swedes Gustav Lorenz and Elin Bandmann, who aim to raise awareness about how cycling benefits both the environment and the individual’s health. On 16 April this year, the couple left Stockholm, Sweden, en route for Lisbon, Portugal, on what they have dubbed the “Bike-Friendly Tour 2009.” According to them, the tour is a manifestation to make European cities more bike-friendly. At the time of writing, Lorenz and Bandmann had reached Lugo in the north of Spain, well on the way to their Lisbon target, which they hope to reach in mid-June.

Another Swedish cycling project puts a spin on this idea: Its initiators promise to cycle 5 meters per person joining its Facebook group (search for “5 meter per medlem”). On 15 July, the initiating duo will set out as far as its membership takes it, even promising to media sources that if this means cycling to China (and back!), then to China they are off! 280.000 members joining the Facebook group will take the two as far as Moscow, while 432.800 will take them to see the Pope in Rome. While the Facebook group currently stands at 172.000 members, not quite enough to reach China, it is rapidly growing.

This increased interest in cycling and its benefits for the environment can also be seen in such places as Brussels, Belgium, where the recent Velo-city 2009 conference aimed at promoting a more cycling-friendly infrastructure at both a local and European level and calling for European cities to invest in cycling as a sustainable and viable means of urban transportation was held. It is also highlighted by such websites as www.ibikecph.dk, a local forum where cycling enthusiasts pool their experiences, opinions, and initiatives in a common cycling-guide to their city in an effort to help make it an even better place to ride ones bicycle.

The Bicycle Effect
http://www.cykeleffekten.se/?lang=en

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/

COP15 Cycling Tour
http://www.cop15.jp/Default.aspx?ID=25

Velo-city 2009
http://www.velo-city2009.com/

www.ibikecph.dk
http://www.ibikecph.dk/