 |
| Balancing a bike. |
Some scenes from yesterday's event on Plaza Bolivar, called '
My Style is the Bike' (
Mi Estilo es Bici), sponsored by the city government and intended to promote cycling.
Let's hope that the city's efforts go beyond p.r. Jaime Ortiz (photo at the bottom), a Bogotá architect who worked for many years as a city official, during which time he helped start La Ciclovia in the 1970s, was cynical about the event - and nearly all of Bogotá's pro-cycling efforts.
For example, Ortiz argues that the city has designed Ciclorutas for the use of university students - relatively few of whom actually ride bikes - while ignoring the city's many delivery bicycles.
"I think this process needs a bit of reality," Ortiz said. "There's too much image."
 |
| Costumed cyclists. |
 |
| Guardians of Bogotá's Ciclorutas. |
 |
| 'My style is the bike.' |
 |
| Classic urban bicycles. |
And a few scenes of the (sometimes) reality on Bogotá's streets and sidewalks.
 |
| A cyclist gets a blast of smoke from TransMilenio. |
 |
| Cyclists weave their way thru jammed traffic in central Bogotá. |
 |
| Bicyclists make their way between parked cars near the Parque Nacional in Bogotá. |
 |
| Bicyclists on public bikes on Ave. Septima. Why doesn't the city expand the program beyond this single avenue to make it more useful? |
 |
| Architect Jaime Ortiz, who, as a city official, helped start La Ciclovia in the 1970s. |
By Mike Ceaser, of
Bogotá Bike Tours
