Though a rainy weekend it was a time of cycling action. On Saturday there was the big demonstration of cyclists asking for our rights (I am a cyclist myself) something taken for granted in most European countries. As we all see Athens is a city where car drivers rule. They are dangerous, the cars make noise, occupy space and of course pollute. The thing is that most movements are not longer than 3 kms so bikes could be used.
The last years we see a rise of cyclists in Athens but the Mayor and the Ministry of Transporation do not take us seriously. One of our reactions are the big cycling demonsration with participation of over 2.000 cyclists every time. So far we have achieved to let us in the green line of metro. So on Saturday we also asked to be free to enter at every metro line and we also asked for cycle ways. There has been a study where and how to make cycle ways but the Mayor neglects to apply it. So we took paint and made them on our own.
On Sunday there was the cycling tour or Athens organised by the Mayor. It is nothing more than a communication tric. The motto of the tour was "We make space for bicycles, the environmental friendly vehicle" and so on but 3 days back Mr. Kaklamanis said that is dangerous to make cycle ways in Athens. So most of us participated on Saturday and snobbed the official event on Sunday. Instead, personally I took a long and extreme ride on Ymittos, the paradise of the athenian mountain biker.
Hope that some time we have more cycle ways and better attitude towards cyclists so that you can also bring your bike
