Little bike tour across Italy

by Silvia Musso

Every year in Italy citizens lose two whole weeks of living in cars, almost always alone and never exceeding an average of 25 km per hour. In Rome there are 76 cars per 100 inhabitants against 64 in San Francisco, 57 in Los Angeles, 45 in Paris, 36 in London, 27 in Tokyo. In our country, only 3.8% of total trips are made by bicycle. In the Netherlands 27%, Denmark 18%, Germany 10%, Finland 7.4%. In short, therefore, few people use the bike, way of transportation which could be much faster and more effective, but that in Italian cities is also quite dangerous for the prohibitive urban conditions and the lack or inadequacy of cycle paths.

In consequence to these data ONG Legambiente, Città in Bici (A21Italy) and FIAB (Italian Federation Friends of Bycicle), have organised, under the patronage of the Ministry of Environment, the so called “Giretto d’Italia” (literaly “little tour of Italy”, from the name of the most famous biking race Giro d’Italia).

The simplistic must not mislead: in fact it hides an interesting and innovative initiative aimed to promote urban cycling.
This is a real championship in 27 Italian municipalities committed to promote urban cycling. The challenge will be won by the city where, in occasion of Giretto d’Italia, most people use the bike.

The race is scheduled for Tuesday, May 3 between 7.30 and 9.30. Each municipality organizes three checkpoints in three different areas of the city to track vehicles and pedestrians in transit. The cities will compete among them divided into three groups - Big Cities, Small Cities and Medium-sized cities, according to the number of inhabitants. Each group will have a winning city. The award ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 8 in Rome at the Ministry of Environment during the second edition of the National Day of Cycling.

Giretto d’Italia wants to show that in the Italian cities the bicycle can meet an important demand for urban mobility. Its ultimate goal is to present positive local experiences to hire a national dimension by demonstrating to other municipalities that a slow, different, healthier, more sustainable and safe mobility is possible.

The conduct of the initiative will be followed by the Corriere della Sera, through specific pages on www.corriere.it that will collect and publish the stories of urban journeys made by bicycle by the readers of the newspaper and the pictures documenting the cyclists’ urban adventures.
Legambiente will award two prizes: the best story of a stage town sent by readers, and another with the best photos.

Testimonial of this edition is Diego Marani, Italian writer and employee in the Council of Ministers of the European Union in Brussels, where he deals with culture and promotion of multilingualism. Marani accepted to answer our questions.

Why did you decide to accept the proposal of being the first testimonial of the Giretto d’Italia?
«Because I've always loved the bike, I grew up on it. Bikes are not only a sport instrument. In fact the sport is of secondary importance. Giretto d’Italia seems to me a good initiative that deserves attention and spread. The bicycle is not only a great event and business. It is also a tool of daily life».

Which is the value of the bicycle for you?
«It has always been a constant presence in my life. The first important gift when I was a child and then the new bike when I was older. The bicycle is a toy first and then a partner. It is an identity tool. We are used to personalize our own bikes to communicate something of ourselves. When I was a boy in my town no one could have stolen a bicycle. It was too personal, almost intimate. It would be like someone stealing your panties. My bike, the one I hold in my home town, has a name. It's called Al Biciclòn. It has got a cyclamen colour, it has the lantern inside a cage for birds, not to escape it, a bunch of colored plastic on the handlebar and a flip-flops bolted on the fender. Everyone who looks for me, does not need to call me. Just look at where my bike is».

From a cultural point of view, what does the urban cycling mean?
«The bicycle is not only an environmentally friendly way of transportation, but also a way to see different places where you live. The bike gives you time to feel the smells, the sounds of a street, its pulsating life. There are distances in a city that can be easily travelled by bike, using it as a mean of transportation and not as a sports instrument. I hate those fake athletes who run on the streets as if they are participating to a race. Those are not cyclists, but pirates of the road on two wheels. The urban cyclist, the real one, does not sweat. They slowly ride and when necessary, even pass among the pedestrians, but without scaring them. But because the use of bicycles in the city does make sense, protected slopes are necessary. We need a road system that takes account of the cyclist and a change in behavior. The cyclists themselves should never forget that their bicycle is still a vehicle and as such should be used».