ORobjective of this new venture dthe Paola Gianottitalk about European progress in cycling. The trip will end in Paris on February 16th on the occasion of National Energy Saving Day.
By bike for 2700 km, Paola Gianotti from Helsinki to Paris for air quality
A total of more 2,700 km in 18 stages. The new sustainability venture that Gianotti will undertake with Cycling No Borders will end in Paris on February 16th. On the occasion of the national day of energy saving and sustainable lifestyles Gianotti will therefore participate in the campaign “M’illumino di meno”, organized by RAI Radio 2 Caterpillar.
This new venture will also be an opportunity for Paola to do many other things. As in 2022, when you met the activist Greta Thunberg, this time you too will exchange opinions with personalities and associations that care for the planet. And like in 2023 you in Mato Grosso when you documented deforestation, this time you too will address a crucial issue. And that is the pollution problems of our continent. In fact, she will be equipped with a device created specifically for her by a team of engineers (ex Olivetti) from the Aethia company, which it will measure the air quality along the entire route, from Helsinki to Paris, in fact.
It is an example of what is called “citizen science”: a scientific activity conducted by a normal citizen in collaboration with scientists, which will allow pollution to be concretely measured. And also of verify the effects of active policies in terms of cycling on the reduction of emissions.
What are Europe and Italy doing for sustainable mobility?
Most of the cities and capitals crossed were chosen for the attention they place towards sustainable mobility. Documenting what other European countries are doing in terms of cycling and sustainable mobility is also an opportunity for the Italian athlete to reopen the debate on what his – and our – country is doing.
A theme on which «I have been fighting since my return to Italy after traveling around the world by bike», says Gianotti. When he achieved the Guinness record as the fastest athlete to circumnavigate the earth on two wheels. And when, hit by a young driver who was distracted by his phone, she understood firsthand the risks she was running.
Together with Maurizio Fondriest and Marco Cavorso, who lost his fourteen-year-old cyclist son in a road accident, Gianotti founded the association “I Respect the Cyclist”. Together they fight for increase protection for cyclists. And, for example, since 2016, ask for the approval of the «»law of one and a half meters” which to date has not yet seen the light.” That is, the obligation for a motorist who overtakes a cyclist to keep at least one and a half meters away. It is law in many European countries and even in Brazil.
Cycling safely to work is possible
«Documenting the work of other EU countries such as the Baltic Republics, Poland, Germany and Belgium could serve as an inspiration. The infrastructure networks dedicated to green mobility in these nations make thethe obvious choice of the bicycle as a means of transportation, despite the low temperatures. People can cycle safely and go to work or school without polluting”, she explains, confident of offering “further evidence of what can be done, if there is the will to do it”.
Paola Gianotti’s journey from Helsinki to Warsaw
Obligatory departure from Helsinki, a city at the forefront of soft and electric mobility. To then pedal along the EuroVelo 10, or ‘Ansa circuit’, and reach Tallinnin Estonia, Green Capital of Europe 2023. E Line, which is progressively reducing car parking in favor of cycle paths (has joined the European Commission’s “Green City Agreement” initiative). The Tour of the Baltic will end in Vilnius, in Lithuania, another virtuous city in terms of soft mobility, which in the last 6 years has seen a 260% increase in the city’s cycle network, from 40 to 144km. The journey will continue along the EuroVelo 11, the “Eastern European road”, and will reach Warsaw, from where it will take the EuroVelo 2 towards Germany.
And from Berlin, a European smart city to Paris for I light up less
Known as “the road of the Capitals”, this cycle path connects Europe from west to east and will lead the Piedmontese athlete up to Berlin. The German capital, defined by some as a European “smart city”, has for years been trying to make its streets safe for cyclists and to lower emissions, lengthening cycle routes and decreasing the maximum speed allowed for cars. Passing through Brussels and the European Parliament, will then travel about a hundred kilometers on the EuroVelo 5, the Via Romea Francigena. And then, on the “pilgrims’ road”, up to Pariswhere he will arrive on February 16th to participate in “M’illumino di meno” – the event organized every year from Caterpillar and Rai Radio2 to celebrate the National Day of Energy Saving and Sustainable Lifestyles.
Paola’s undertaking is in collaboration with the Rai Radio 2 program and can be followed daily on the radio.
The bicycle (electric or not) is the vehicle of the future
Reducing pollution and improving transport alternatives is no longer just an objective of cities that have always been at the forefront in protecting the planet. Just consider the surge in the diffusion of e-bikes in the United Stateswhere travel is traditionally by car. Sales of electric bicycles have increased impressivelyby 269 percent between 2019 and 2022 in the United States, with a market size estimated at approximately €2 billion in 2023. Numbers that exceed those of electric cars, the purchase of which already enjoys significant state tax credits.
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