The fear is not riding on a bike | Vania Contreras | TEDxGuadalajara 2013

This talk is about why we should all be cyclists.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Relaxation

Freedom.

Exercise and Health.

Useful, does not pollute.

Friendship and health.

Transportation and exercise.

Gathering.

In harmony with nature.

Health and passion.

Helps to keep you healthy

Possibility of citizen participation.

Happiness and Freedom.

Share quality time with friends.

It's sort of energizing to ride a bike.

Exercise and fun.

An activity to share with the family.

I woud like you to go some years back,

right where your mom or dad
taught you how to ride a bicycle.

You may be able to remember

how they would hold
the seat on your bike,

so that you wouldn't lose balance?

Or the first time you were able to place
both feet on the pedals without falling.

How many of you had a wonderful time
learning how to ride your bike?

Or even spending time
with that family member

who taught you how to ride it?

But I believe that hardly any of us
have received some vital education.

This is, how many of you were taught
that while being on a bike,

we also had rights and obligations?

How many of you were told
to respect the traffic lights

or to respect the crosswalks?

This is due to the fact
that while being children or even adults

we tend to see the bicycle as a toy.

Then the problem lies with
the cyclists who lose their identity.

The cyclists don't know
whether they are riding a toy,

or should they behave
as a pedestrian or as a vehicle?

How can they consider the bicycle
as a means of transportation?

Thus, the identity is missing.

We are not being backed up
by infrastructure or by clear regulations.

Let us try now to remember.

How do children learn
from their environment?

They learn from their families.

Children learn based on models.

Social learning is based
on copying their environment.

Children and adults do the same.

Our own cyclists learn
from their environment.

Just like children,
cyclists learn from peers.

This is how they build up
their own knowledge:

They go on the right side of the road,

wearing helmets and safety equipment,

and even learning that sidewalks
are exclusively for pedestrians.

They come to the conclusion that being
on a bicycle is not to play around.

That's when they become
a new means of transportation,

and start sharing that knowledge
with the rest of the people in the city.

The Copenhagenize Consulting is a study

happening around the world to determine
which cities are bike-friendly.

Guadalajara may surprise you;
it's in the 12th place!

So, now you may be wondering,
how could this be

when we know that Guadalajara
does not have the vital infrastructure;

we don't even have
cycle paths in the city.

Well, most of the work that has been done,

or at least what puts us
in the 12th place,

is at the end of the day,
the citizen participation,

done throughout
all the different activities.

For instance, In Guadalajara
we have the RecreActiva weekend cycleway.

We can also find the night city cycling.

We also are able to rent bicycles
on the downtown area.

So, in the end, Guadalajara
has more than 15,000 cyclists,

throughout the whole city.

These cyclists are slowly but steadily
increasing cycling activities in the city,

and on the streets and learning
from each other how to behave

so we can cycle safely on the streets.

We have a lot of benefits
when riding a bike.

This chart shows
four dimensions to review.

We have the economical aspect.

If we compare the monthly expense
that we have with a car,

we are roughly spending about
1,727 pesos including gas for a car.

If we compare this number
with the bicycle maintenance

or the monthly expense we would spend
somewhere around 75 pesos.

A big difference.

Now, if we go to the social aspect:

when driving a car,
we ride inside our bubble.

All isolated, complaining about
all the things around us.

Complaining about traffic,
the person who is cutting us off.

However, if you are riding a bike,
we are building a social web.

Something, that we've been losing.

On the environmental aspect:

If we compare for instance,

for each liter of fuel consumed
by a car that runs about 13 Km,

this car would consume or generate
2.32 Kg of CO₂ to our environment.

Now, if we compare that with a cyclist,

for every 13 Km, he's only
generating 0.268 kg of CO₂.

If we add the number of annual deaths
due to the air pollution,

the number is higher
than for riding a a bicycle.

The number is of about 14,700 people

that die every year
due to the bad quality of air.

We haven't even discussed
all the health benefits.

As we all know, when we perform

a physical activity,
we have tons of benefits

which improve our personal health,
and the bicycle adds some more.

We also need to consider the difference
on the time to travel within the city.

Whether talking about
short or longer distances,

bicycles are way more efficient
for reducing our timing.

Last year, we had a race nation wide,

where 22 different cities participated
sharing their time distance:

pedestrians, bicycles, cars, motorcycles.

Out of these 22 cities,

11 were won by the bicycle
with an average distance

of between nine and 11 Km,

and specifically in Guadalajara
the bicycle won in an average of 9.8 Km,

where a bike took an average time
of 22 minutes during rush hour

against an automobile
that did it on 33 minutes average.

Therefore, we can clearly see
there are lots of benefits

by riding on these two wheels.

At the end of the day, as we say:

"The fear is not riding on a bike."

(Applause)