CITY CYCLING - Chemnitz gets on its bike
New record of active cyclists: CITY CYCLING 2024 is over
CITY CYCLING took place in Chemnitz from 2 to 22 September 2024. This year, more Chemnitz residents took part in the Climate Alliance's international cycling campaign than ever before. 3,152 active cyclists pedalled hard and cycled 573,416 kilometres in 220 teams. This corresponds to aCO2 avoidance of approx. 95 tonnes compared to using a car.
At the second #chemnitzdrehtamtradtour (CITY CYCLING tour), which took place at the beginning of the campaign this year, 200 cyclists came together on 2 September 2024 and set a visible sign for individual health promotion, cycling promotion and climate protection in Chemnitz. For the first time, a rally ride through Chemnitz was held at the end of CITY CYCLING and European Mobility Week on 22 September 2024, in which almost 100 Chemnitz residents took part.
"Even if not all records from 2023 were broken this year, all participants can be proud of the result. The short week with persistently bad weather slowed us down, but did not stop us from using the bicycle as a sustainable means of mobility. In view of the city's climate protection goals, it is important that the environmental network, consisting of public transport, walking and cycling, is further strengthened," said the head of the City of Chemnitz's environmental department, Ms Carina Kühnel.
The winners:inside 2024
The most active cycling club was also recognised for the first time in 2024. The winners can be found in the following table. The award ceremonies took place for the first time in 2024 in decentralised formats at the winners' homes.
| Category | Team | Kilometres |
|---|---|---|
| The most active cyclist (person with the most kilometres cycled) | Heike Janthur, | 1.241 |
| The most active cyclist (person with the most kilometres cycled) | Kilian Tasche, | 2.495 |
| The team with the most active cyclists (Team with the most kilometres cycled per person) | The speedy bees from Immenhof Euba | 1.250,9 |
| The team with the most total kilometres cycled | Johannes Kepler Grammar School | 46.039 |
| The most active daycare centre by bike | Rappelkiste daycare centre | 11.260 |
| The most bicycle-active school | Johannes Kepler Grammar School | 46.039 |
| The most active cycling club | KIRCHE Chemnitz | 16.668 |
The action
The campaign created by Climate Alliance sensitises citizens to the use of bicycles in everyday life and brings the topics of bicycle use and bicycle traffic planning more strongly into the municipal parliaments. The importance of cycling for climate protection and quality of life as well as people's own mobility behaviour is to be brought to the fore. Since the start of the campaign in 2008, the number of participating municipalities has risen from 23 at the beginning to over 2500 today.
Walking and cycling are at the heart of sustainable mobility and characterise the urbanity and vitality of the city. Almost 60% of all journeys made in Saxony's cities are less than five kilometres long, and the majority of these can be reached quickly and easily by bicycle. In addition, 80 % of German households own a bicycle. A high degree of flexibility in mobility is achieved in particular through the simple link with local public transport. This is precisely where the CITY CYCLING campaign comes in - in everyday mobility behaviour. Participants in the campaign change their perspective and experience their everyday life by bike over the three-week campaign period.
Chemnitz is to become a bicycle-friendly city - that is the declared goal of local politics.
CITY CYCLING blog
The CITY CYCLING blog publishes articles about the CITY CYCLING campaign in Chemnitz and general cycling-related topics, especially during the campaign period. From short articles to video clips, everything is included!
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That was CITY CYCLING 2023
CITY CYCLING 2023 is over. The 21-day campaign period came to an end on 21 September 2023. CITY CYCLING set new standards in Chemnitz this year: 3,222 people registered, 2,945 active cyclists contributed 638,591 kilometres. This corresponds to aCO2 saving of 103 tonnes compared to using a car. This means that all figures from previous years were exceeded. There was an increase of almost 89 per cent in the number of kilometres, andCO2 avoidance almost doubled.
The #chemnitzdrehtamradtour2023 was held for the first time on 21 September as the final tour of CITY CYCLING. Around 250 people from Chemnitz responded to the call to pedal together once again. The almost 14-kilometre bike tour led past the Karl Marx Monument and through the Zeisigwald forest, among other places. The starting signal was given at 5 pm by the Mayor for Law, Safety and Environmental Protection, Knut Kunze.
The winners of 2023
The winners in six categories were also chosen in 2023:
| Category | Team | kilometres |
|---|---|---|
| The most active cyclist (person with the most kilometres cycled) | Vivien Never, | 1.776,20 |
| The most active cyclist (person with the most kilometres cycled) | Kilian Tasche, | 2.498,00 |
| The team with the most active cyclists (Team with the most kilometres cycled per person) | IMK-ERZ | 1.246,90 |
| The team with the most total kilometres cycled | Georgius-Agricola-Gymnasium | 39.023,20 |
| The most active daycare centre by bike | Stupsnasen daycare centre (Wiesenstraße) | 6.916,90 |
| The most bicycle-active school | Georgius-Agricola-Gymnasium | 39.023,20 |
