CITY CYCLING in Rodgau: Record-breaking participation and the push for cycling in local politics

Cyclists on a bike path in nature. (Photo: Pixabay)

CITY CYCLING took place in Rodgau for the fifth time. Journeys and kilometers can still be added up to July 1st. Teams only count for two or more people, the others are then assigned to the open team.

For more than a few years, the Rodgau branch of the General German Bicycle Club (ADFC) and other players had to drill through thick boards to get the town of Rodgau to take part in the campaign. “However, the goal was not primarily to win the challenge cup, but to get people on their bikes, to bring cycling more into the focus of local politics and finally to get them on their bikes more,” says Stefan Janke, chairman and spokesman for transport policy at the ADFC Rodgau .

New record

In 2019 everything happened very quickly and it was immediately a great success. Many people took part with great euphoria and since then it has also gotten better and better with active participation (also from local politics), number of teams, kilometers cycled, etc. Since last year, the first schools have also been involved and the Carl Orff School was able to do so This time, as a primary school, a lot of people who also actively cycle (208 with currently 29,567 total kilometers) won, so that the ADFC team with 49 cycling people and currently 26,109 total kilometers was relegated to third place. Cycling fans are the undisputed top performers with 96 people cycling and currently a total of 33,637 kilometres. Currently, 19 out of 45 people from the city parliament are also taking part. With 784 people cycling and almost 186,000 kilometers cycled, a new record should have been set. Not only for Rodgau, but also among all cities in the Offenbach district. A nice result for the 5th anniversary, which the city used with a nice celebration to kick off CITY CYCLING. Very different from other towns in the area.

For the first time, the number of trips was also recorded during the campaign. Short distances in particular can be easily covered by bicycle. “It’s still a pity that most of the big sports clubs in Rodgau aren’t participating yet,” Janke continued. All clubs should aim to ensure that people do not always come or are taken to the club premises by car, unless there is no other way for health reasons. And just such a campaign could motivate a few people to change trains for three weeks or even offer joint journeys to the training sessions by bike. Anyone who has a connection to Rodgau could take part in the campaign, and people who were transported, such as children or the elderly, also count fully in the evaluation. “And children in particular are very easy to inspire,” says Janke. “You can see it very clearly at the Carl Orff School how well things are going, because everyone motivates each other in the classes and in the families – the other schools could certainly do that too.” When will the secondary schools in particular start in Rodgau with? When will it be obvious to everyone here that CITY CYCLING is on?

Get people on their bikes easily

The aim of CITY CYCLING is to get people on their bikes in a low-threshold way and to achieve more cycled trips and kilometers through slight competitive pressure between the participating cities, the teams, but also within a team (possible from 2 people). Since participation counts after the first kilometer, it is informal, no record distances have to be conquered and you can cycle very relaxed. However: once you get a taste for it and see how committed friends and acquaintances are to taking part, you are often inspired to expand your radius of action accordingly. A good incentive to use the CITY CYCLING APP for recording the routes and trips was that there was an automatic AWARD when goals were achieved: for the kilometers cycled (for 25, 50, 100 and 250 km), for the number of trips (for 5,10, 25 and 50 trips) and for the ongoing series (for 3, 5, 7, 14 and 21 days). The routes recorded via the app are then evaluated and made available to the city of Rodgau for traffic planning.

Anyone who is employed and has now acquired a taste for cycling to work (or in combination with the S-Bahn) can take part in the “Bike to Work” campaign until August 31st. The bike must be taken on at least 20 working days.

(Text: PM ADFC Rodgau)

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