Bicycles, Einstein and the Moon

Chronicle.

Whenever I hear someone talking about "bicycle lanes" - a "clever pun" that, in reality, reveals more of the prejudice, lack of ideas and contempt for forms of soft mobility of those who throw it into the conversation than a true sense of humor - I always remember an episode that happened to me about four or five years ago in Lisbon. 

At the time cycle path on Avenida Duque d'Ávila was fully operational, the Saldanha area had already been worked on, so that the whole area - even more so as it was practically flat - had to be rehabilitated. attracted more and more people to use bicycles. We are talking about a time when the shared bicycle system, GIRA, was not yet installed in that part of the city, but when, because there was a cycle path crossing a central axis of the city (later interconnected with the cycle paths on Avenida Fontes Pereira de Melo and Avenida da República), bicycles came naturally. 

One morning, I met up with a work colleague in Duque d'Ávila, before heading off to a meeting with a client in a nearby building. While we were making time and drinking our coffee before the meeting, I don't know how or why, the subject turned to mobility and the lack of public transport in some areas of Lisbon - my colleague lived and lives precisely in an area poorly served by public transport, Ajuda, and as a photographer he often needs to transport heavy work material, so a car is an essential tool for him. And I agreed; I am sympathetic to arguments when they are valid and to the challenges that others face.

But then my colleague dropped the bombshell: "And then they make these bike paths that nobody uses!". Well, I couldn't help myself, having already seen ten or twelve cyclists of all kinds passing by in those few minutes when we were chatting by the side of the bike path. How come he hadn't seen any bicycles using the bike lane when I, standing right next to him, had seen a handful?

And that's when I realized. We only see what we attach importance to. For many years now, the bicycle as a means of transportation has been close to my heart and, as such, wherever I go, wherever I am, any bicycle that passes me on the street is not background noise - my attention is captured by it, for just a second, enough to see if that person is a man, if they're a woman, if they're doing sport, if they're going for a walk, if they're commuting, if they're with children, if the bike is new, if it's old, in short, a whole host of fleeting things, sometimes telling stories, sometimes not, but which personally delight me.

And then there are those who don't see any bicycles. Even when they are there, when they pass by on the road, when they go along the cycle path, when they are parked on the street, when they are part of life in society. They are completely invisible, as if they didn't exist. For certain people, many of whom bear real responsibility for what cities have become, bicycles only exist in the negative: in other words, they only become visible when they cause them inconvenience. 

A nuisance called Almirante Reis

And that was the metamorphosis of the bicycle on that great avenue that crosses Lisbon from Martim Moniz to Areeiro - it went from being invisible to being a nuisance with almost no middle ground. This bike lane has been used politically as a weapon to throw since it was createdI'm not sure what the real "elephant" in the room is, in the midst of the debate often forgot that we are talking about people. And their safety.

The truth is that, for many years now, Rua da Palma and Avenida Almirante Reis have been a fundamental axis for cyclists in Lisbon. It's the street with the best pavement, the least gradients and the most direct route to a number of neighborhoods. And for many years now, cyclists have been going up and down the avenue, zigzagging between cars - those in motion and those stopped in second and third rows - dodging streetcar tracks and looking over their shoulder to see if the car behind would pass too close when overtaking. For many years now, bicycles and cars have coexisted on this avenue and yet no one seemed to notice them. They were invisible. They dreamed of the day when the plans for a cycle path would come to fruition. 

And one day they left. Suddenly, like a band-aid ripped off in cold blood, the bicycles took space from the cars. And everyone was very surprised: where did these bikes come from if there weren't any just yesterday? And, wide-eyed with disbelief, they still don't realize that they were already there: they just didn't want to see them.

You create the conditions, and they appear

When I started using the bicycle as a means of transportation in Lisbon, the city didn't have any cycle paths. Some time later, the cycle path along the river was created, which I usually used for leisure, as it had some accessibility obstacles that, in my case, were discouraging for a daily home-work route. From the discontinuity of the route to the difficulty of crossing the train tracks with the bike to get to the river, using that cycle path to get to work, although a beautiful route, was neither simple nor practical, nor quick. This is to say that when you use a bicycle as a means of transportation, you sometimes prefer the most direct route with the fewest obstacles - which means that you often don't choose to use a particular cycle path, a situation that causes tremendous confusion for many of those who are not in the habit of using a bicycle.

For this reason, living in Alcântara at the time, I always preferred to cycle along Avenida 24 de Julho to get to Baixa, dealing with the traffic as calmly as possibleand defensive driving techniques and sharp reflexes. It's always gone well, apart from one or two unnecessary and unsolicited interactions with motorists who are jealous of their primacy. But that's my experience - I'm not at all athletic, but I'm fearless enough. Fortunately, there is now a cycle path on Avenida 24 de Julho, on this side of the train line, which doesn't require anyone who wants to use a bicycle as a means of transportation to be fearless.

I'm talking about my past experience because, a few years on, I now live in another part of the city. An area served precisely by the bike path on Avenida Almirante Reis. A cycle path that, yes, is absolutely useful - because it's easily accessible from many places, because it's a linear route, because it crosses a nerve center of the city.

And if before only the fearless dared to cycle up or down this avenue (and there were many of them), it is now an absolute pleasure to see people of all ages, of all genders, with all kinds of bikes, enjoying all the safety advantages that this cycle path gives them. A cycle lane, making the environment less hostile and allowing parents to take children in pushchairs or even to cycle alongside them safely. A reserved lane that allows the elderly or less experienced cyclists to gain confidence and realize that yes, a different form of mobility is possible at their own pace. 

To those who, at this point, are again mumbling the word "bike lane", to see if the speech sticks: I'm proud to tell you that you're wrong, and I have many beautiful photos to prove it. In fact, all you have to do is walk around the area and see beyond the bubble. Oh, and of course, there are studies and counts that prove that this is the path towards a more inclusive city, but I'll leave the statistics for another time, I'm here to talk about emotions and a more human city. 

There is no alternative to the Almirante Reis cycle path

We may not agree with all the choices made in the field of mobility in Lisbon in recent years, we may agree with some things and disagree with others. Life is rarely black and white. In recent months, however, political promises have been made to reverse the Avenida Almirante Reis cycle path - "finish" was the word used, and I am hopeful that the new municipal executive will make efforts to improve it instead of giving in to populist impulses.

Because, if this is the case, not only will the error in terms of safety and quality of life in the city be colossal - with car traffic increasing more and more, rather than decreasing as it should - but also a very bad signal will be given to people who use bicycles as a means of transportation: the signal that they are not relevant, that their lives are not important. And that's quite serious.

There has also been a lot of talk about finding alternatives to the cycle path on Avenida Almirante Reis, creating a cycle path in the surrounding streets, so that the avenue can be reserved for car traffic only. Now, as I mentioned earlier, it's not because there isn't a cycle path on Almirante Reis that cyclists will stop using it. It would simply be back to the days of invisibility. They're still there, but you choose not to acknowledge their existence.

And why do so many bicycle users stick firmly to the Almirante Reis cycle path? When I use my bicycle as a means of transportation in the city, I generally behave like a car. Of course, I can take detours and choose a more pleasant route, but when my goal is to get from point A to point B every day, I choose a "spineless" route. It is this "spineless" route that the Almirante Reis cycle path provides for so many people who use bicycles and live in one of the many neighborhoods that line the avenue from Martim Moniz to Areeiro. It's a linear, unobstructed route that allows those who live in Anjos, Arroios, Graça, Penha de França, Areeiro and Alvalade to travel between home and work, or whatever their destination, safely for a large part of their journey. 

Pretending that the idea of creating an alternative, meandering cycle path through the side streets would fulfill the same function is typical of those who don't use bicycles in a realistic way on a daily basis. 

Firstly, because, in practice, people who use bicycles as a means of transportation don't want to go round and round on a cycle path, but rather have a linear, uncomplicated route. I'm always reminded of the green parks where the designer has designed beautiful winding paths, but where the people who cross the park every day have themselves paved a straight path in the middle of the terrain.

Secondly, because the Almirante Reis cycle path is, in fact, the route with the least steep gradients and which requires the least effort on the part of any cyclist, whether more or less experienced. (I've often seen children going up and down the Almirante Reis cycle path with their parents, don't tell me it's not beautiful...) 

And thirdly, let's not forget another perception of safety that is no less important. As a woman, I want to be able to cycle, at any time, day or night, on a wide cycle path, with good visibility, that crosses well-lit and busy areas. I don't want to be forced to use cycle lanes on streets that aren't very busy, where there's not a soul around at night, just because cars don't bother you on those streets. As a cyclist and a woman, I want the right to the freedom to move around the city with whatever means of transportation I want, and not be penalized in terms of safety because my chosen means is the bicycle. Let's always remember that important urban planning idea that says that a city's quality of life is measured by the number of women who cycle in it.

While we're not looking, reality happens

I'd like to end by bringing up an episode involving Einstein, which is very apropos, in which the physics genius said he believed that matter has a reality regardless of the measurements that are made. 

Einstein is, in this case, talking about particles and quantum matters that don't fit in this text, but his conclusion, by way of metaphor, fits perfectly here to illustrate how I look at the existence of more and more cyclists on Lisbon's streets and cycle paths. He said: "The moon doesn't cease to exist just because we're not looking at it." 

As I see it, the people who use bicycles every day on the Avenida Almirante Reis cycle path don't cease to exist just because, at a given moment, we're not looking at them. Or looking out for them.

Laura Alves is co-author of the book The Glorious Bicycle and the documentary project Maria Bicycle. Write according to the latest Orthographic Agreement.