Fancy Women Bike Ride brings dozens of women together again in Lisbon for the right to the city

The most "fancy" bike ride in town has returned. There was no shortage of flowers, no shortage of speakers with music, no shortage of pretty dresses. And there was no shortage of women in the city either.

Photo by Mário Rui André/Lisbon for People

It has been held for 10 years in various parts of the world and for the last two officially in Lisbon. The idea was brought to us by Sheyla Ventura, who, even though she's not from here, says that this is the city she chose to live in. That's why doesn't give up promoting the Fancy Women Bike Ride (FWBR)This is a celebration of women and cycling that takes place during European Mobility Week. It's a fun ride with the aim of showing that there are also women cycling, seeking to create bonds between them and strengthen a community.

In Lisbon, the walk took place on Sunday. The route was the same as last year: five kilometers between Cais do Sodré and Belém, with accessibility in mind. In this second official edition (the third unofficial one), there was less participation, perhaps because 2021 was a new year and EMEL was helping to publicize it (the mobility company was carrying out research on women and cycling that year, the results of which it has not yet released).

Photographs by Mário Rui André/Lisbon for People

Sheyla organizes almost everything herself, with the fundamental support of several volunteers, this year in greater numbers. The organization has improved because of this and because of last year's experience. In this edition, there was no shortage of flowers, no shortage of speakers with music, no shortage of beautiful dresses. There was no shortage of partnerships either. The Fancy Women Bike Ride teamed up with Critical Mass of Childrenwhich will be repeated next weekend in several cities in the Lisbon metropolitan area and throughout the country; and also to the bikes of the Bamboothe start-up of Joana Saavedra and her brother.

In 2023, the Fancy Women Bike Ride will take to the streets again, also in September. The best thing is to follow the project on Twitter, Facebook e Instagram so you can keep up to date with future dates. Sheyla wants to continue promoting this walk with anyone who wants to help her organize it, and dreams of one day being able to take it to the 25 de Abril Bridge - and do something big there, like in other cities.

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Mário Rui André

Journalist and editor of Lisboa Para Pessoas, a local newspaper about Lisbon and the metropolitan area. I have 30 years living in the capital and 10 years of experience in media, having co-founded Shifter, an independent and reference magazine about technology. I studied advertising and marketing at the Escola Superior de Comunicação Social and, later, journalism and communication at the Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Coimbra. I write about Lisbon and about cities, mobility and urbanism in general. I follow a more human vision of the public space, and I am for citizenship and transparency on the part of governing bodies.