The Early Bird Gets the Sweet Roll

Totally out of focus, but this was the scene this morning.
It's amazing how much bike traffic goes by Batthyány tér at rush hour.

So this morning, as part of my ongoing effort to instill the values of sustainable, community-friendly transport in my son, I suggested during breakfast that we stop by the cyclists' tent for a kakaós csiga (sweet roll). Lance normally sulks through breakfast and has to be prodded and kicked and threatened to get out the door on time. But at the mention of the words kakaós csiga, he sat up like a bolt, devoured his muesli, and got on his shoes and coat faster than he's done in recent memory.

I don't know how many new cyclists the bicikli reggeli (bike breakfast) brought out of the woodwork today. But the promise of sweet rolls had a magical effect on Lance. He was so enthused to get out the door that you could have mistaken him for a morning person.

Lance tucking into csiga number one.

When we got down to Batthyány tér, one of several sites for this morning's breakfast in Budapest, a cheerful volunteer from the Hungarian Cyclists Club flagged us down and asked us to stop for breakfast  (not that we were about to pass them by). She presented us with a very attractive pyramid of sweet rolls, each with a heavy dusting of white powdered sugar. We each took one, along with boxes of orange juice. Before Lance had taken two bites of his, he asked if he could also have mine -- to save for after school. Yes, he's a bit of a pig. But it was fine with me, seeing as I'm a diabetic.

The bike breakfast is a promotion for the fall Bike to Work contest (Bringázz a Munkaba). The contest started on September 22 and goes until October 26. Even though it's half over, you can still register and take part. In fact, if you do it before Monday, you can still ride the required eight times to be eligible for prize drawings.

The contest is a little more low key than usual, as it no longer has financial backing from the EU. The Cyclists Club is carrying on with a smaller budget and appealing to private sponsors to make it come off. Lance can testify that the bike breakfast was up to the usual high standards. So far, so good.

Breakfast of Champions

During the Hungary Bike-to-Work campaign (Bringázz a munkaba), there are always a couple of occasions when the organisers have a bikers' breakfast promotion. They set up stands along major bike routes all over the country and treat passers-by to free sweet rolls and juice.

They had one on Tuesday morning and I wanted to take my boy Lance down to get a sweet roll. We went down to the station closest to our flat, collected our goodies, and I snapped this picture of Lance with his new bike and our breakfast in the background. Can you believe that in the five-second interval between us setting down the food and me framing the shot, a frickin' pigeon jumps up on the railing and attempts a snatch and run on Lance's kifli?!

From all appearances, the breakfast "action" seems to be a case if preaching to the converted. At least at the station we visited, along the Buda quay by Batthyány tér, there was a regular stream of cyclists going by. And this was regular traffic -- not people lured by free food. The girls doling out the sweet rolls did their best to flag everyone down, but the majority were rushing off to work and couldn't be bothered. From this spectacle, it was abundantly clear that Budapest is already a real cycling city.

The breakfasts are, however, a great photo op and press availability. A significant part of the breakfast crowd at Batthyány tér were photographers and reporters looking for a little "colour" for their media. The shot above shows Hungarian Cyclists' Club President János Laszló doing what he always does: trying to edify the masses about the value of cycling as urban transport. Sometimes it seems that guy is everywhere.

Mind the Rules while Biking to Work

Two major cycling campaigns got underway today: first, the spring Bike to Work contest, which pits companies against one another to see whose employees can log more kilometres in a months' time commuting by bike. The second is the National Police's long-promised crackdown on scofflaw cyclists. This will reportedly last three weeks and entail random police checks for reflectors and working lamps, as well as breathiliser tests for those suspected of drunk cycling.

A conspiracy theorist might wonder if the police didn't intentionally schedule their dragnet to coincide with Bike to Work, just because the pickings would be easier.

However, according to the kerekagy.hu blog, the enforcement campaign has the support of Hungary's main transport cycling NGO, the Hungarian Cyclists Club (MK). At a public announcement of the crackdown last week, the police's spokesman was joined by MK President János László, who noted that the measure was not against cyclists or cycling, but rather about safe riding.

During this announcement, nationwide statistics were cited about cycling injuries and cycling deaths in 2010. However, they weren't put into any context so I wasn't sure if I should be alarmed, relieved or indifferent. One statistic that was interesting, however, was that cycling numbers in Budapest have doubled during the last four years, while death and injuries to cyclists haven't grown at all. This mirrors experience in cities the world over: practically anywhere where levels of urban cycling have grown, traffic injuries involving cyclists have either held steady or gone down. It's become a universal maxim that the more cyclists there are on the road, the safer it is for individual cyclists.

It follows that if authorities have only our safety mind, they would do better by taking measures to promote cycling. Not that I'm against following road rules and riding responsibly. These are clearly important to cycling safety. What's missing is a comprehensive approach that balances enforcement with campaigns to promote cycling as a healthy and enjoyable mode of urban travel; the development of safe, separate infrastructure for city cycling; more stringent penalties and better enforcement of speeding violations by motorists, etc., etc.

The "etc., etc." can be found in a study published in 2005 on safety conditions for "vulnerable road users" in European countries whose safety records are below the EU average (Hungary's among them). The study suggests that enforcement and better cycling behaviour is needed, but so are several other measures, including those directed at motorists.

Transport of London has put out a Cycle Safety Action Plan that takes an even more sympathetic approach toward cyclists. It recommends nine specific actions, just one one of them concerning enforcement. The other measures involve changes to mindsets and the urban environment to better accommodate and encourage cycling.

Like Budapest, London is at an early stage of cycling development. But the city government there is taking better strides to ensure it flourishes.

Butts Awaken from Winter Slumber

The spring Bike to Work campaign is already started. Despite at least one reminder from a co-worker who forwarded me the above video, I missed opening day, just as I was caught off guard by the switch to Daylight Savings Time.

The campaign (held every spring and fall) began on Monday. If you're not signed up, you've actually only lost one day to log mileage (kilometer-age??). Contest rules allow you to log distances retroactively up to two days. Also, the campaign lasts til April 30, so you have plenty of time to catch the leaders.

The rules are pretty straight-forward: You register on-line with a team of up to four co-workers. Companies with more interest than that can register multiple teams. Once you're signed up, you just check off the days you commute by bike on the on-line cycling diary. Each individual team member logs his or her own commutes and the system automatically computes the cumulative distance for both you as an individual and your team as a whole. The website updates team standings daily to let you know how you're doing compared to other teams.

At the end, top teams get nice gifts such as bicycles, although with several thousand participants each year, getting the top spot requires serious dedication and/or a substantial outlay in anabolic steroids. Those of us whose performance can't even be artificially enhanced will have to settle for consolation prizes such as reflectors, bike seat covers and T-Mobile bandanas. Of course, the real point is not to win stuff but to have fun and get your butt out of its winter hibernation. I'll be rallying my troops tomorrow.

Riding in a Wintry Wonderland

Bicycle Ice and Texting
Originally uploaded by [Zakka / Mikael]
If you don't normally ride your bike during winter, this is a good week to try it. Taking a cue from their brothers-on-bikes in Copenhagen -- where cyclists, as a matter of course, write SMSes while riding one-handed on frozen ponds without helmets -- the Hungarian Cyclists Club is telling Hungarians to buck up and get on their bikes. Fair-weather cycling is for pussies.

The Bike to Work in Winter campaign runs all this week, with each day having a different theme and corresponding special event.

Since it's run by the government in partership with the Hungarian Cyclists Club, the campaign includes programmes throughout the country. But Budapest will be the center of activity, so if you're living in the capital, there will be plenty to take part in.

The campaign officially kicked off on Sunday with various organised recreational rides around the countryside. Then starting tomorrow, the workweek programme begins according to the following schedule of themes and events:













This is just to provide non-Hungarian speakers an idea of what's on offer. For more specific detail on places and times, check the Bike to Work homepage.

By contrast to the spring and fall Bike to Work campaigns, this winter programme DOES NOT involve a contest to see who can rack up the most kilometres. Neither does it require registration. It's a short but sweet programme to persuade people that transport cycling can be an all-weather activity. Just put on your hat and gloves, and before you get far you'll be warmer, and definitely more invigorated, than your car-commuting colleagues.

Bike to Work Launch Postponed

Despite driving rain, I popped down to Batthyányi tér for the launch breakfast of the Bike to Work campaign. A small group of organisers was huddled under a tent emblazoned with the "Bringazz a Munkaba" logo, and doling out "bio" cinnamon rolls and apples to anyone rolling by on the korzó bike path -- which wasn't very many people. Because of the low turnout, the organisers are holding another launch breakfast on Wednesday morning. It'll be at the same place, but this time starting a half hour earlier -- from 7:30-10 a.m. See www.kamba.hu.