The ‘commune’ (council) of my home town of Cesena in Emilia-Romagna is doing its bit to make it as bicycle friendly as possible. A revamped bike sharing service (“mi muovo in bici”) has recently been announced and significant improvements have been made to the cycle lanes.
These changes should encourage more people to repeat a Orwellian style mantra – two wheels good, four wheels bad.
Cycling is a healthier, cheaper and, often, quicker way of getting around and, since Cesena is not as hectic as large cities, it should also be a perfectly safe travel option. The photo above is a sobering reminder that this is not always the case.
It shows a kind of ghost bike someone has padlocked to a road sign – with a caption which says bluntly: “Here a cyclist was run over”. The name of the victim is not given so it stands as a poignant memorial to an unknown rider.
Those who cycle as a sport or to keep fit tend to wear all the right gear including helmets. Others who use bikes as a means of getting from A to B are more lax when it comes to making sure they get to their destinations in one piece.
Hardly anyone wears helmets, shoppers hang bags from handlebars and very few have adequate lighting or bother to wear clothing that makes them easy to see at night or when visibility is poor.
Other hazardous practices are listening to music on mp3 players and talking on mobile phones even when riding on busy roads. Also, if it’s raining,it’s a common sight to see people holding umbrellas in one hand while steering with the other.
The local council’s pro-cycling initiatives are to be welcomed but I can’t help reflecting that paying for more courses on road safety would also be money well spent.
