cycling in cairo

c y c l i n g   i n   t h e   j u n g l e 

the pyramids at the gates of cairo are certainly the most famous buildings of cairo. but there is another thing cairo got especially famous for: the traffic! more than 3 million cars roam the notoriously blocked roads, traffic-signs are an opinion, lane markers a proposal. to cross the street could well ammount to a hazardous adventure. the only time a car really comes to a full stop is when there is absolutely no way to squeeze past whoever is in front of you. 7.500 people die every year on the roads of cairo. is it possible to ride a bike here? yap! is it wise? well …

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i still consider the bicycle a perfect kind of transportation. it is reasonable fast, quiet, healthy – i admit the latter depends on the environment as well. but imagine – the streets of cairo full of bicycles, every weekend people of all ages cycle up and down the nile. the air will be fresh, noise reduced to the necessary. bicycles are no rarity in cairo. but it is considered to be something for the children or the poor. bicycles are tools. people cycling for fun or in a sporty manner are still a curiousity.

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i met some people, who want to change all this. the cairo cyclers club. every friday morning the group meets to explore another part of the city – in the sadle. i admit – the starting time, friday morning at 7.30, is a challenge. but anytime i managed to get up, i was glad to have done so. to watch cairo waking up can be quite magic. the streets are empty, it’s almost silent. you can stand on one of the bridges over the great nile, listening to its stories.

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on their website the founders of the ccc formulate their dream:

Cairo Cycler’s have a dream where biking is not just a fashion or an economic life sentence, but a way for a better life.

it might be a long way – but it always begins with the first step, or better: the first turn of the pedals.

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let’s have a ride

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