VilaWeb - Diari escola: On Your Bike

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dissabte, 17 d'agost de 2024

> Circulating by Bicycle

> 'Cycle Cities'

> All Over Europe by Bike

dijous, 29 de setembre de 2005

For some years now, the bicycle has become more and more popular as a means of transport. This is particularly noticeable in cities, where most of the population live, at least in developed countries. Why is this? Because bike-riding has many benefits.

To start with, a bicycle takes up very little space, it's cheap and uses no fuel, which is very important in the light of the fact that non-renewable energy sources do not last long. Moreover, it is a vehicle that makes no noise and does not pollute. Both of these factors are aligned with growing public concern for the environment: the bicycle is seen as a mode of transport that contributes to what is known as sustainable mobility.

Indeed, a bicycle allows one to move around the city quickly and easily, as it can dodge traffic jams, which are pretty common in metropolitan areas.

And there is yet another very important factor to add to this: the health benefits. Physical exercise is essential for a healthy life, especially in modern societies that are becoming ever more sedentary.

+ Webs relacionades dins Nosaltres.Com: Mobilitat sostenible.

Circulating by Bicycle

+ Using a bicycle as a means of transport requires obeying traffic signs.

Using a bicycle as a means of transport requires behaving with courtesy, obeying traffic signs, being cautious... Of course, cyclists should stand up for their rights, which are not always sufficiently respected, especially in the city, but they also have a responsibility to help maintain good civic behaviour and co-existence, to circulate according to the basic traffic rules and regulations: not speeding; always using the cycle lanes whenever possible; respecting pedestrian crossings; keeping a safe distance; wearing reflectors at night, and so on.

'Cycle Cities'

+ Bicycle usage has spread considerably over the last few years.

We mentioned above that bicycle usage has spread considerably over the last few years and is no longer exclusive to countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands, let alone their respective capitals, Copenhagen and Amsterdam. For example, a manual drawn up by the European Commission outlines the progress made by the bicycle in various European cities, such as Basle (Switzerland), Cambridge (England), Bilbao (The Basque Country), Strasbourg (Alsace), Dublin (Ireland), Ferrara and Parma (Italy)...

All Over Europe by Bike

+ EuroVelo aims to develop a dozen cycle routes throughout Europe.

Growing interest in bicycle use is also reflected in projects such as EuroVelo, which aims to develop a dozen cycle routes throughout Europe, from North Cape to Cadiz and from Moscow to Dublin. In total, there are sixty thousand kilometres of cycle route, twenty thousand of which are already up and running. The EuroVelo project has been designed by the Federation of European Cyclists and aims to encourage people to make most of their journeys by bicycle instead of using motorised means of transport.

MATERIALS

Anar amb bicicleta: la solució primera per a les ciutats
Format:Web
Document de la Comissió Europea, que destaca la bicicleta com a mitjà de transport urbà alternatiu a l'automòbil. En català.
Moure's amb bici per Barcelona
Format:Web
Informació de l'ajuntament de la capital.
Amics de la Bici
Format:Web
Agrupació barcelonina d'usuaris de la bicicleta. Notícies, consells, legislació, activitats, vincles...
European Cyclists' Federation
Format:Web
Pàgina d'aquest organisme continental.
EuroVelo
Format:Web
Projecte de desenvolupament d'una dotzena d'itineraris ciclistes de llarga distància al continent europeu.

QUE HO SABIES?

The Cities for Cyclists network, founded in 1991, brings together over twenty European cities committed to promoting the use of the bicycle, including Barcelona and Stockholm, which are the two most populated ones.
Of the twelve routes that make up the EuroVelo project, the longest is the Atlantic Coast Route, between North Cape, the most northerly point of Europe, and the town of Sagres, in Southern Portugal, spanning a distance of over eight thousand kilometres.
According to the European Commission, 73% of Europeans believe that bicycles should get preferential treatment over cars.