Charles Lonsdale Ambassador to Armenia, Yerevan

Cycling in Yerevan: guest blog from the Deputy Head of Mission, Gareth Wynn Owen
Posted 22 September 2010 by Charles Lonsdale | 0 comments

When I'm living in London, everyday I join 1000s of other people and cycle to work. Some travel a few hundred yards whilst others spend over 2 hours in saddle, cycling the equivalent of Abovyan City to Yerevan and back. In Yerevan I live close to the Embassy and have no need to don my fluorescent jacket and cycle helmet and therefore I jumped at the chance to participate in the recent cycle event organised by the NGO "Bicycle+".



The idea of the event was not only to encourage a healthy life style but more importantly to highlight the environmental benefits of cycling - these benefits are substantial.

On a bicycle you:

* take up little space;
* burn no petrol;
* produce no waste;
* are exposed to less pollution than if you were sitting in a car or marshrutka.


It was therefore fantastic to see up to 100 people, men, women, young and old leave their cars at home and take to their bikes and cycle through the streets of Yerevan. I know it will take time before cycling becomes a standard form of transport in Yerevan and I see more people rollerblading down Baghramyan than cycling (funny, I never see them doing the return journey up!), but I believe that events like this will go some say to encouraging more and more people in Armenia to use two wheels instead of four. If not everyday, at least once or twice a week. With climate change impacting everyone we all need to do our bit, no matter how small it may seem.

Bicycle+ organises various cycling events and if you'd like to find out more information about what they do and their environmental campaign please go to
www.bikeplus.nor.am/?page=trips&act=show&id=17.

http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/roller/lonsdale/