Yerevan Bicycle Action (December 2009)

I participated in this ride in Yerevan on December 6 to promote cycling as an ecological, safe, and fun method of transportation. The organizers behind the event (Tom Allen, an English guy living in Yerevan; and Bicycle+, a local NGO) filmed the event then sent it to Copenhagen to be screened on the sidelines of the much-publicized UN Climate Change Conference.

As an avid cyclist, I very much support the idea of cycling as a safe and empowering form of transport. Though folks interviewed in the video say it's not safe to cycle in Yerevan, I think that if more people would, then drivers would become more familiar with cyclists on the road, thus, making it safer for all.

I bike just about every day (from home to work and back again), though lately I've been walking or taking public transport as, I admit, the snow and cold can be a bit of a deterrent. Plus, I need to take my bike into the shop to get my gears looked at (the chain keeps jumping). But I can't wait till I'm back on the saddle and feeling the (albeit, cold) wind on my face again...

Ride Planet Earth Messages - Yerevan, Armenia from Tom Allen on Vimeo.

On the 6th of December 2009, Yerevan joined cities around the globe in a bicycle action to call for a fair and effective agreement to be made at the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen, starting the following day.