The Bogota Ciclovia
As my readers know by now, I am in Bogota to visit the Ciclovia. I rented a bicycle from Bogota Bike Tours and rode many miles yesterday on Bogota’s many closed off streets. Supposedly there are now nearly 100 miles of closed streets in Bogota. The ciclovia occurs every Sunday and every holiday (of which there are many) and is open to all people for bike riding, walking, or skating. There are also points along the route with dance and yoga classes. Street vendors line the route selling food and drinks.
I’m actually still a bit speechless over it, so I am just going to post some photos for now. Riding in this event made me all the more convinced that we need a ciclovia in Tucson. I have often said that sometimes it seems as if the bicycle is the answer to every problem we have in America — pollution, global warming, lack of community, poor health, badly designed cities, our increasing national tendency to stay inside, our nose-diving public discourse, and our ever-escalating fear and hatred of one another. Ciclovia is a direct assault on all of those problems, a storming of the gates of car culture.
It gets people, all kinds of people, outside on Sunday to mingle and play.
Although at first glance the bicycle seems to be the focus, the real point is the public promenade, a safe place to be with others and go for a walk, a skate, or a ride.
The ciclovia is very heavily used by kids and people who want a safe place to get some exercise with their families.
It’s even a safe place for our very youngest bike riders:
And even if you only have one bike between you, you can still enjoy a nice bike ride with your sweetie:
Here in Bogota most people are riding pretty junky bikes. But they have bike-repair stands everywhere along the route. I don’t think you would ever have to walk more than a few minutes to reach one. These fellows replaced both washers on my front axle when my wheel threatened to come off. They were very proud of Bogota’s ciclovia and pleased to hear I had visited their city just to see it.
It was also refreshing to see that many of the bike repair stands were operated by young women. I was usually too self-conscious to photo these, but here you can see the young woman finishing up a tire repair:
I think my favorite part of the whole ciclovia though was the free dance classes. These went on all day long and were attended by hundreds of smiling people of all ages and economic class.
They were led by people on a stage in front. This woman was so good at what she does, and the music was so inviting, it even got me out there!
I think this is one of the most brilliant things about ciclovia — it has something for everyone. It is about getting your fat ass outside and moving around once a week, and hanging out with your neighbors. They even have free yoga!
And of course, if you want to attend the yoga or dance classes, or if you want to stop and get a bite to eat in the market, you’ll want to take advantage of the valet bike parking . . . .
Because the routes go all over town, you sometimes need to consult a map or ask one of the numerous ciclovia folks where you are.
Or you can just ride with the flow.
As I write this there are two Americans loudly challenging each other to a push-up contest outside my room, and boasting about their prowess. Ciclovia is a different approach. I wish we had one in Tucson.
–Erik Ryberg
November 9th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
As always, the question is how? We know what we want, be it better laws, more bike lanes or a Ciclovia, but how do we get the city to do it?
November 9th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Michael, I think we have some good laws….maybe the question should be “how do we get them enforced?”
November 9th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Ok – not even remotely related, but still funny.
I was at the dollar store on 22nd & Wilmot over the weekend, and saw a box of Chinese headband style LED lights – a 5 blue-white LED array, switchable between steady and flashing, powered by AAAs (not those expensive watch batteries) for only $1 each. Thinking of all the bike ninjas that I am once again dodging nightly now that the sun sets before my commute home, I grab a few to keep on the bike and hand out as needed in my own little “light-up-a-ninja” program. After all, even if they turn out to be really crappy weak little lights they are still better than nothing for visibility at just a buck each – maybe buck-and-a-quarter loaded with cheap Costco bulk-pack batteries. When I get home I load up the batteries and try it out. Wow! That’s bright! I can clearly see the illuminated spot eight feet away on a white wall in the middle of the day, and the flash mode looks to be about twice a second. “These are great – maybe I should go back when these are gone and buy the whole box!” I think as I hook them over the kitchen doorknob so I won’t forget them on my way out in the morning.
So at two AM I wake up all dry and thirsty, and the water bottle next to the bed is empty so I get up and take it into the kitchen to refill it from the cold gallon bottle in the fridge. Rather than turn on the fluorescent kitchen light and burn out my night-acclimated retinas, I remember the LEDs, grab one, turn it on, slip it on my head, and commence to refill the little bottle from the big bottle. About midway through the pour – after the light had been on for about 40 seconds longer than the 10 second test I gave it that afternoon – the light flickered and dimmed; “hey, what’s that smel- HOLY CRAP! IT’S ON FIRE!” as I drop the little water bottle, snatch the LED off my head and throw it in the sink. I get the kitchen light on just in time to see the melting plastic “reflector” that supports the row of LEDs sink in on itself at the base of a column of black smoke before I dump a couple of glugs from the gallon bottle still in my hand over it to put it out.
“Hmmm” thinks I, “these just became *way* more fun to hand out to bike ninjas!”
November 9th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Hi Scott,
Boy does the lawyer in me ever smell a lawsuit there. I advise you to take them all back to the store and not give them to anyone!
Erik
November 9th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
P.S. But it’s a great story and I like the image of you standing there in in the middle of the night in your pjs with your hair on fire trying to figure out what is going wrong.
E
November 10th, 2009 at 8:03 am
Even though I like how the little headlight made a pun of my “light up a ninja” program idea, I suppose that it would be at least a little inimical to the goal of getting people to use lights. Still a fun thought though – maybe I could just leave them hanging on the handlebars while the bike is locked up on campus.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Hey Scott and Erik,
In an attempt to reduce the number of ninjas the Jennifer with the city just sent me this. Just hope it can make the front page like the stop sign sting from a while back.
I wanted to invite you all to assist in the ‘Light the Night’ Bright Light Distribution Campaign. The City of Tucson Department of Transportation (TDOT), BAC Education and Outreach subcommittee, and Ward 6 will be installing bike lights and educating bicyclists about the laws that require bikes to have lights at night and provide information on safe riding during both daylight and nighttime hours.
We need more volunteers for this event. I will need help before the event getting the lights ready. The lights have a little piece of paper inside of them on top of the battery. The paper needs to be removed on the 227 lights. Also, more volunteers are needed to install lights. If you are interested in volunteering to install the lights, please wear reflective materials.
Bicycle lights will be installed on November 19, 2009, from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. (or until all the lights are installed) at 3rd Street and Treat Avenue in the southeast corner.
Bicycles will be equipped with a safety set of front and rear lights by teams of volunteers. Lights will only be installed on bicycles without lights; lights will not be given to individuals.
Please let me know if you can help out. It is greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Jennifer Donofrio
November 10th, 2009 at 10:01 am
@localmusicfan Touché!
Speaking of lights, I just got this: http://www.geomangear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_41&products_id=138&zenid=gegiu7pj37bm7gdlg3u4jjbnv5
It is amazingly bright for 80$ It is much brighter than my buddy’s $200 Dinotte light and last twice as long.
November 10th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Got an email for Ms. Donofrio?
Thanks!
November 10th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
Hi All,
If you are interested in volunteering at the Light the Night event please send me an email at Jennifer.Donofrio@tucsonaz.gov. We would like volunteers to arrive around 4:30 p.m. to be ready to install lights by 5 p.m.
Thank you,
Jen
November 10th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Very cool! I’m there unless a meeting I’m supposed to attend that hasn’t been scheduled yet gets in the way.
BTW, the lights you’re handing out aren’t imported from China, are they?
November 11th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
I guess the closest thing to a Ciclovia we have is the path around Reid Park. Sad.
November 12th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
“# P.S. Says:
November 11th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
I guess the closest thing to a Ciclovia we have is the path around Reid Park. Sad.”
Not so fast, there, P.S.
“Sad” may mean “disappointing,” but that in turn may mean opportunity and optimism. Are we not optimists when we get on our bikes?
Why not think of Reid Park as a hub and figure out safe cost-effective ways to connect it to other bikeways (connecting to Aviation being the cheap, easy, and obvious starting point). The population density and socioeconomic stuff makes it a no-brainer to work out from that to rational and safe east-west to UA and downtown…
Build more hubs and connect them.
Your transportation planner Red Star sees opportunity and work to do, not sadness.
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:41 pm
[...] of my readers know how excited I am about this. I even visited Bogota, Colombia last year to participate in and learn about their Ciclovia, which to this day is the largest and [...]
March 4th, 2010 at 11:54 am
[...] The event gained more traction when TucsonBikeLawyer.com blogger, Erik Ryberg, went to Bogota and experienced ciclovia for himself. [...]