Galery

6

5

4

3

2

1

Thousands of amateur cyclists gathered this Sunday at the center of Athens to participate in the annual cycling tour of the capital. The initiative is being held for a sixth consecutive year and its aim is to empower citizens to turn to a healthier lifestyle by preferring bicycles as a means of transportation instead of cars or motorcycles. 

"When the idea was born and when we decided to make the first tour of Athens, there were only about 300 cyclists who took part. Last year we had nearly six thousand cyclists and based on primary estimates between eight and ten thousand people will attend this year.” This was the comment regarding the increased interest of Athenians towards cycling in city conditions by Tassos Aleksandrakis who is a member of the organization of amateur cyclists and who spoke exclusively for the readers of GRReporter. He said that the most ambitious goal of the civil organization of cyclists is in few years Athens to become a capital without traffic emissions and congestion. 

In the area of ​​Pedio tou Areos in Athens, which was the meeting point of cyclists, you could see people of all ages, ready to take over the capital with their positive spirit and good mood. The bicycles were also very different - from old models, which look like someone has inherited them from their grandfather, to modern sports models that can cost over a thousand Euros. Not missing, of course, were the smaller riders, who with the help of their auxiliary wheels and helmets ran around their parents, heating up for the tour. The biggest impression made me the chairs with seat belts for young children that parents attached to bicycles. This way the young ones, older than one year, can feel the wind in their hair and spend time with their parents, while the adults combine sport and entertainment. 

The tour is symbolic and passes through the major thoroughfares of the capital with a stop in front of the parliament. The very idea of ​​the tour came after the Mayor of Athens decided to ban the right to have bicycles on the subway in 2005. Until 2004, when Athens hosted the Olympic Games, citizens were free to take their bicycles on the subway to avoid dangerous areas of the capital, where traffic has increased and there was danger for the cyclists. Particular difficulty for amateur cyclists has created former Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis, who was not a supporter of the idea of ​​an Athens amateur tour. Tassos Aleksandrakis explained that the current mayor George Kaminis is friendlier towards the initiative. 

"If we want to be a modern European capital we cannot put all sorts of obstacles for those who want a clean and greener city," said one of the enthusiasts who takes part in the initiative every year in the last three years. He said that the goal of such tours is to increase public interest in alternative methods of transportation that does not harm the environment. That is why he bought a bicycle. The man explained that often a person finds it difficult to get up from the couch to go to the gym after a long day at work. It is also difficult to decide to take the bicycle and go somewhere, especially if you are in a hurry. "However the idea that more people find a way to combine business with pleasure and the bicycle wins bigger and bigger place in our lives. The benefits are obvious: a healthier body, less harmful gases into the atmosphere, cleaner city.”