Cycling Visionaries Awards - Project Details

Global Ride to Rio

The Global Ride to Rio is a campaign for the advancement of bicycle traffic. It started in a small company in Munich, Germany, and rolled all over the world. Bicycle-enthusiasts from all walks of life came together to bring the message across: Cycling is good for you and for the environment. Finally, the campaign was presented at the Earth Summit in Rio where it was met with great interest.

The message of the campaign was and is simple: Save our future – cycle! The bicycle is efficient, has a positive impact on the environment, improves public health, wellbeing, and the quality of life in cities. Democratic access to mobility and regionalization of economies are at least equally important on a global scale. In short, it is the best means to achieve a socially and environmentally sustainable future.

And … action!
All this we condensed into a Communiqué people could sign and comment upon – which supporters from more than 27 countries did – and that became the theoretical fundament we based our actions on. We then presented the Global Ride to Rio at conferences all over the world. From the ISPO in Munich to the B4E Global Summit in Berlin and the Velo-City in Vancouver – we talked at more than a dozen conferences and workshops in eight different locations world-wide in order to convince the world that the bicycle should be everyone’s transportation of choice.

Much more than just talking big
Talking, however, was not all we did. We organized bicycle events such as bike repair workshops, route introductions or bike sports trainings, all leading up to the Action Weekend just before the Earth Summit in Rio. In seven countries on three continents, bicycle events took place, for example in Munich. At an event celebrating the city’s birthday, Cornelius Claudio Kreusch and his band performed their "Bike Symphony". And their main instrument? A bicycle! Also, the mayor of Munich, Christine Strobl, publicly signed our Communiqué together with Manfred Neun, President of the European Cycling Federation. Or take Cyprus: The German National Alpine Skiing Team dedicated a cycling tour to the Global Ride to Rio campaign. In Haukipudas/Oulu, Finland, and Valencia, Spain, bike trips were organized, and in Annecy, France, a mobile bike workshop took place. And finally, mastermind Fozzy presented the Global Ride to Rio as a whole at the Earth Summit in Rio.

So what happens next?
He spoke to and with bike enthusiasts, from high-ranked UN officials and the Prince of Benin to enthusiastic cyclists in Rio, from top athletes to cyclists next door, from top musicians to the enthusiastic head banger, from national heads of departments and CEOs to employees, and everyone in between.
People were enthusiastic about this new and innovative advocacy project so there was no way Fozzy could just stop and rest on his laurels after Rio. The premises for a continued Global Ride are ideal: tried and tested alliances, a diverse yet extremely reliable and joyful group of great, competent, enthusiastic, and active people from all areas of expertise, all sorts of institutions, and all continents and a global interest for his favorite topic. Therefore: We will be cycling on but this time not just to Rio but towards a sustainable future! And hopefully, you will come and cycle together with us. Save our future: Cycle!