Statements from the 2022 winners

Dear participants in CITY CYCLING,

This year, the municipality of Eschelbronn once again participated in CITY CYCLING with great enthusiasm. Following a record result last year, Eschelbronn’s cyclists once again achieved remarkable feats:

219 cyclists covered a total of almost 75,000 kilometres by bike. This earned us first place in the rural district for the most kilometres per inhabitant.

The team spirit and the sense of community were indescribable.

Something tangible has happened in a small Kraichgau community. The topics of cycling, climate protection, community and competition have brought together people, who rarely have anything to do with each other otherwise. In times of an individualistic society, this is a pleasant turn of events.

Our local parliamentarians were particularly active again this year. With an average of 454 kilometres each, they took first place in Germany in the category of “Most active local parliament”.

I’m particularly pleased with this ranking and congratulate our local council most warmly on this achievement. Next year’s aim will be to continue leading by example and to defend our first place.

CITY CYCLING has now established itself here, which is most pleasing. The campaign not only appeals to commuters, but also to leisure cyclists who leave their car at home and instead complete journeys by bike. Time and again, it becomes clear that cycling together is not only fun but also good for you, the environment and the climate. Because fewer cars means more bicycles – and that also helps to reduce the traffic on our roads.

I wish us all many wonderful, accident-free cycling kilometres and look forward to next year’s CITY CYCLING.

Photo: Peter Himsel

CITY CYCLING Schechen was unstoppable: sensational success for all participants

It all began with a big cycling launch event and ended with an outstanding achievement: our first participation in CITY CYCLING attracted a great many enthusiastic cyclists for 21 days in the finest of weather between 11 June and 31 July. A total of 25 teams comprising 189 cyclists covered a distance of 43,645 kilometres and thus cycled more than once around the world. They saved seven tonnes of CO₂ in the process – this is how much carbon dioxide would have been emitted had they chosen to travel this distance by car rather than by bike. Beside the fun of cycling and the contribution to climate protection, the CITY CYCLING campaign, which we called “Gmoaradln” locally, also meant a bit of a competition. On 14 August, Mayor Stefan Adam acknowledged the best cyclists from Schechen during Hochstätt village festival.

“The enthusiasm for our ‘Gmoaradln’ has been impressive: What started as an idea for getting involved and somewhat slow registrations initially turned into great cycling fun. This shows us just how enthusiastic the citizens of Schechen are about cycling. I myself took advantage of the campaign to complete a great many journeys by bike instead of by car. Climate-neutral mobility on foot, by bike or using public transport is a key building block in climate protection,” says Mayor Stefan Adam.

Special mention must be made of our local council, which was fully on board for “Gmoaradln”.

We received some wonderful photos from participants for our “Gmoaradln 2022” photo competition – thank you very much for these!

A warm congratulations to all cyclists and our heartfelt thanks for participating in Gmoaradln 2022. A great time was had by all!

Photo:  Municipality of Schechen

CITY CYCLING has been a tradition in the town of Gunzenhausen for more than ten years now. There are many good reasons for switching from using your car to using your bike. Cycling is fun and keeps you healthy; it also protects the environment. Those who cycle outdoors experience nature far more intensively, in addition to opportunities to slow down and moments of personal happiness during tours off the beaten track.

Combatting climate change is the most important task of our time and a social obligation to protect future generations. Saving fossil fuels protects the environment and contributes to the health of our planet. This makes CITY CYCLING all the more important. A bike can be used to go shopping or to cycle to work or school.

This year, our town took first place among the municipalities with up to 49,999 inhabitants in the category of “Most active local parliament”. This great result also reflects the great efforts made by the town council to promote cycling in Gunzenhausen. Local parliamentarians set a great example, got on their bikes and encouraged their fellow citizens to do the same.

I wish Climate Alliance and CITY CYCLING many more successes in the future. We live in difficult times, but nothing is more important than preserving our living space for our children and their children. Each of us can make a small contribution to this.

Photo: BRAUN, Gunzenhausen

CITY CYCLING is a fixture in our events calendar and members of the market town council of course participated again in this year with great commitment and enthusiasm alongside cyclists from among the general population. This year, we were once again able to achieve second place in our population group for the category of “Most active local parliament”. I’m delighted with this result and proud that so many members of the market town council took to their bikes and that we were able to defend our placing in the previous year. It shows that not only the population in general, but also we, the political body, care deeply about cycling and its positive effects, and that we’re eager to serve as role models.

Photo: Markt Bruckmühl

CITY CYCLING was a real success here in 2022: 188 citizens of Blaustein, including several members of the municipal council, cycled 48,628 kilometres in 16 teams. This meant that we saved more than 7.5 tonnes of CO₂ and are the newcomer town with the most active local parliament in this year.

We’re delighted with this victory, which at the same time did not come as a complete surprise to us: Many town councillors not only travel to meetings by bike, but also use sustainable mobility on a daily basis by completing almost all journeys by bike.

By participating in competitions such as CITY CYCLING, Blaustein actively contributes to achieving the global goals for sustainable development to which the town with almost 17,000 inhabitants located on the outskirts of Ulm has committed as part of the model resolution on the 2030 Agenda. Not only the members of the local and municipal councils cycle though, but also many employees of the town administration. They have a total of four pedelecs at their disposal for business trips, ranging from simple city bikes to large cargo bikes.

The title of best newcomer in the category of “Most active local parliament” among the municipalities with 10,000 to 49,999 inhabitants motivates us to be even more ambitious in the coming year and to also aim for victory among the established CITY CYCLING participants. With this, we strive to set an example to preserve the beautiful nature in the little Lautertal valley in which Blaustein is located.

Photo: Stadt Blaustein

I am extremely pleased that we in Rheine not only took first place in this year’s CITY CYCLING campaign in the category of “Most active municipality”, but that the ladies and gentlemen of our town council also earned themselves this title, too. First and foremost, I would like to thank the citizens of Rheine, who achieved this outstanding result together, for their outstanding commitment – also on behalf of the local councillors.

The result shows that Rheine is a cycling town and that we are working on all levels to create good framework conditions, comfortable and safe cycle paths and a dense cycle tourism network that allows us to complete as many journeys as possible within our town by bike. As a new member of the AGFS association for pedestrian and bicycle-friendly cities, townships and districts, we in Rheine are also working hard to achieve our municipal policy objectives of sustainable, ecologically sensible and compatible mobility for the people of our town in order to create a municipality that offers a high quality of life and mobility.

I would like to thank all of the helpers, the CITY CYCLING team and our organising team here in Rheine and to now share the secret to our success with you: “Cycling is fun!”

I wish the inspiring, eventful, exciting and last but not least fun CITY CYCLING campaign many more successful years and am already looking forward to the campaign in the coming year.

Photo: Stadt Rheine

The high participation by citizens but also council representatives shows that the bicycle is increasingly being used as a climate-friendly means of transport in everyday life. Particularly for us municipalities, a high modal share for cycling is a particularly effective way of practising climate protection on the municipal level.

Photo: Town of Kleve

Cycling is not only healthy and good for the climate – it’s also really fun! And it’s especially fun when you cycle together. We noticed this here in Lippstadt when we took part in CITY CYCLING for the first time! The people of Lippstadt formed countless teams – with work colleagues, family, friends and neighbours. Together they discovered new routes, pumped up tyres, exchanged tips and counted kilometres. Members of the parliamentary groups also joined in. As mayor, I am of course particularly pleased that this effort paid off: We’re not only the best newcomer in the category of “Most active municipality” but also in the category of “Most active local parliament”. That’s a great result for Lippstadt! My thanks therefore go to all those who cycled so diligently. Together with all of you, I’m already looking forward to CITY CYCLING in 2023.

Photo: Karin Lux

All roads lead ... to the city centre – at least they do here in Augsburg. This is because the star-shaped expansion of our cycling network is now almost complete, with the exception of just a few gaps. This can clearly be seen on our digital bike map, which also points out public air pumps, tube machines, bike shops, hire stations and drinking fountains, and also shows what kind of bike path it is. In the past ten years, we’ve put more money into expanding the cycling network than ever before. And this year, our cycling issue reporting app was launched.

While improved infrastructure and communication are very important building blocks, a successful mobility transition also needs role models. Hence I’m all the more pleased that we not only achieved our best overall result ever in CITY CYCLING 2022, but also that Augsburg city council cycled its way to first place in the category of “Most active local parliament”. This shows that politicians don’t merely pretend, but also lead by example. And it also shows that we’re all pursuing the same goal across party lines – towards a liveable and sustainable future for Augsburg. We’re on a good common path. For this and for every kilometre cycled, I’d like to thank our city councillors as well as all of this year’s almost 5,000 participants. Thank you for the 947,356 kilometres cycled during CITY CYCLING in 2022!

Photo: Martin Augsburger/ City of Augsburg

Cycling has always been popular in Freiburg. A cycling network covering more than 400 kilometres and an enthusiastic cycling population have made the bicycle the most popular means of transport: More than one third of journeys within the city are completed by bike – we wish to increase this total even further, though, in order to advance the mobility transition. We’re currently developing a climate mobility plan comprising further ambitious measures to reduce emissions in the transport sector.

The fact that our local parliament is once again being acknowledged for its achievements during CITY CYCLING after claiming first place as the “Most active local parliament” in 2021 shows just how great the consensus for promoting cycling is on the decisive local level. I’m very pleased about this as we’ve overcome major challenges relating to the mobility transition, climate protection and sustainability. For this, I would like to thank our committed local councillors and all other participants in CITY CYCLING.

Photo: City of Freiburg / Fionn Große

CITY CYCLING is a wonderful initiative that motivates many people to cycle and often enables amazingly positive results. Hence I’m all the more pleased with our third place in the category of “Most active local parliament”. This result underlines the popularity of the bicycle as a sustainable means of transport among many of my colleagues in the Fürth city council. Together we covered almost 9,000 climate-friendly kilometres and – together with more than 1,000 citizens – were able to avoid 47 tonnes of CO₂ in Fürth compared to a car journey of the corresponding length.

It’s particularly important to promote cycling in the city of Fürth, hence our cloverleaf city has been taking part in CITY CYCLING since 2017 with a steadily growing number of participants. Since the beginning of the year, Fürth has been certified as bicycle-friendly by the AGFK working group of bicycle-friendly municipalities. And we continue to work on this. By 2035, the share of cycling in the total traffic is to be doubled.

Many thanks to Climate Alliance and to all active and future cyclists in Fürth who help to make CITY CYCLING such a success in our city!

Photo: City of Fürth

Floods, droughts and storms – the numerous consequences of the climate crisis are becoming increasingly tangible. This makes it all the more important that we make our everyday lives more sustainable – and mobility is an important component in this. Bikes provide us with a healthy and climate-friendly mode of transport. Through the participation of the Alb-Donau District in the international CITY CYCLING campaign, we wish like to further increase the focus on the bicycle as a mode of transport.

For people to enjoy using bicycles, there needs to be good and safe cycling infrastructure – so that every ride is like a little holiday. We are continuously expanding this in the Alb-Donau district; we renewed the signposting for the entire network of cycle paths in 2020, for example. How great the political awareness is also among the members of our district council and the 55 local councils can be seen in the award for best newcomer in the category of “Most active local parliament” among the municipalities with 100,000 to 499,999 inhabitants. Our local politicians don’t just talk, they also cycle! It’s also impressive how many people got involved in the first CITY CYCLING campaign in the Alb-Donau district as a whole: more than 1,200 cyclists collected over 337,500 kilometres. I would like to congratulate all participants on these outstanding results!

Photo: Katharina Werner

Here in Munich, we set ourselves the goal of two million kilometres during CITY CYCLING in 2022. With 2,346,570 kilometres cycled, we even managed to exceed this goal. I warmly congratulate all of the teams on this impressive result!

I am of course even more delighted with the renewed success of the city of Munich in the category of “Most active local parliament” – as a clear indication that many of my esteemed colleagues regularly use their bicycle as their preferred means of urban transport in their daily lives.

With our clear commitment to implementation of the mobility transition, the quality of our cycling infrastructure is improving every year. Hence it is a good sign when this infrastructure is used by a growing number of Munich’s residents on a daily basis – as was the case during the three CITY CYCLING weeks.

We’ve set ourselves a clear goal for 2023: We wish to increase the number of participants even further and to cycle all the way to the top again in our 16th year of participation.

A warm thanks to all active and future cyclists in Munich, who contribute to our CITY CYCLING success story. Let’s pursue our successful course together!

Foto: Michael Nagy / City of Munich Presseamt

Cycling in the Rhine-Neckar district is not only fun and healthy, it’s also good for our climate.

Which is why the Rhine-Neckar District has been participating in the CITY CYCLING campaign together with its district municipalities since 2018.

We were already overwhelmed by our residents’ great and positive response in previous years. Almost 10,000 cyclists took part in CITY CYCLING in 2022 and collected a total of over 2.1 million cycling kilometres for our district during the three-week campaign period.

The fact that all 54 municipalities in the Rhine-Neckar district participated in this year’s campaign makes us particularly proud. The high level of participation illustrates the importance of cycling in the district. Together with the municipalities and towns, we are thus sending an important signal to raise awareness for cycling and particularly for climate protection in the district.

This year, we were able to place second in our population group in the category of “Most active local parliament”. I’m particularly pleased that, in addition to the district’s citizens, many members of the municipal and district councils also collected so many kilometres and demonstrated the importance of cycling in their communities as well as in the district through their active participation. I warmly congratulate you all on this achievement.

Participating in CITY CYCLING allowed us to make a joint active contribution to climate protection as well as to promote cycling in the district in order to motivate as many people as possible to switch to cycling. Next year, we aim to once again lead by example and to hopefully collect a great many accident-free kilometres.

Photo: Rhine-Neckar District

Dear participants in the CITY CYCLING campaign,

This year, the municipality of Altshausen once again participated in the CITY CYCLING campaign with great enthusiasm.

After two successful years, we wanted to motivate even more people to cycle this year; the desire to achieve a good result this year was of course also very strong. No one could have imagined that the municipality of Altshausen would win the category of most active municipality with the most kilometres cycled among the municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants in 2020 and that this success would be repeated in 2021.

Altshausen is a sports-loving community located at the heart of Upper Swabia. All year round, you can encounter friendly cyclists everywhere you go, who explore our beautiful scenery by bike. They also wanted to cycle for a good climate in 2022, achieve a good result and were looking forward to the three-week local CITY CYCLING campaign long before it began.

Clubs, companies, institutions, schools, families and many individual athletes joined together in 60 teams, with almost 1,000 cyclists taking to the roads and covering an impressive 322,224 kilometres.

The triple was thus achieved and the municipality of Altshausen once again came out on top in the category among the municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants. As mayor, I am proud of all of the participants, who contributed to this fantastic result.

I gladly support our local organiser Michael Epp, who once again managed to motivate the local inhabitants with his commitment and new ideas.

CITY CYCLING showed again in this year how great the interest in this campaign is and how cycling together is fun and at the same time allows people to do something good, whether for the environment or for their health.

I look forward to CITY CYCLING in the coming year, wish all cyclists safe and accident-free travel and hope to see everyone again during CITY CYCLING 2023.

Photo: Patrick Bauser

Oettingen cycles a remarkable 132,837.7 kilometres during CITY CYCLING

The citizens of Oettingen i.Bay. took part in Climate Alliance’s CITY CYCLING campaign for what was the second time in 2022. In total, our 412 cyclists covered an incredible 132,837.7 km in 27 teams, avoiding 20,457 kg of CO₂ compared to car journeys.

Third place in the ranking of municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants is a resounding success for Oettingen. Because this naturally draws additional attention to the bicycle as a means of transport in both our city and our region. Cycling keeps you fit and healthy, is good for the climate and is also a lot of fun! There probably isn’t a more sustainable form of mobility.

The campaign additionally has another very positive effect in our town: The town council and mayor announced beforehand that one tree would be planted in the city for every 10,000 kilometres cycled, which means that 13 new trees will now find a place in our beautiful residential town of Oettingen. A huge thanks to the Donau-Ries District Office for taking care of the overall organisation in our district as well as to all of the diligent cyclists and team captains. Indeed, some team captains were able to motivate their colleagues and friends so much about the idea of CITY CYCLING that they organised and carried out some very extensive cycling tours together. It’s just wonderful to see how there’s such great team spirit in our town. With so much enthusiasm for cycling, we look to the future with confidence and are already looking forward to another CITY CYCLING campaign together in 2023.

Photo: Christine Stark

We, the town of Bonndorf in the Black Forest (district of Waldshut) in Baden-Württemberg, took part in the international CITY CYCLING campaign for the first time in this year. The three campaign weeks from 18 June until 8 July are now behind us and we were very overwhelmed by the many diligent cyclists who cycled for our Bonndorf.

430 active cyclists took to Bonndorf’s roads in 48 teams during the campaign period. A remarkable 93,197 kilometres were cycled and 14 tonnes of CO₂ were avoided.

We were very impressed when we learned that we had earned ourselves the title of best newcomer among the municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants in the category of “Most active municipality”. This result is something to be proud of! We’d like to THANK each and every participant who took part with enthusiasm and motivated others to join in, too.

CITY CYCLING not only stands for the shared fun of cycling. Cycling is also good for our health and stands for sustainable and climate-friendly mobility.

We’re already looking forward to another successful CITY CYCLING campaign in 2023!

Photo: Pascal Jost

First place in CITY CYCLING – this success makes me doubly happy. On the one hand, there is of course the sporting aspect, the competition, the battle for points and placings. As in the past few years, many of our town’s citizens really got involved in 2022 and are now of course thrilled that we were able to defend our title.

There’s an even more important component though: As an industrial and also hilly little town in a rural area, Tuttlingen is not exactly predestined to be a cycling town. However, the successes in CITY CYCLING show us that this does not have to be an obstacle. Rather, it lends momentum to our transport policy: just this year, we were able to inaugurate an important cycle route and Tuttlingen’s first bicycle street, and the municipal council has already decided on the next one. Here you can see that campaigns like CITY CYCLING can positively encourage such developments and perhaps even convince the odd sceptic.

Photo: City of Tuttlingen

Cycling has always played a major role here in Leer (East Frisia). Its importance continues to grow noticeably, too, especially with regard to the mobility transition. More and more citizens of our town are using their bicycles every day – be it to travel to work or to go shopping. Of course, cycling is also a great option for tourists to explore our beautiful city with its many advantages during a leisurely cycle ride.

It is no surprise that us inhabitants of Leer rise to a challenge like CITY CYCLING every year with great enthusiasm. On the one hand, we’re committed to climate protection in this way and, on the other hand, we engage in sporting activities and boost our team spirit when we cycle together.

The ambition to reach the podium with the town of Leer in the national ranking for municipalities with up to 50,000 inhabitants was also tangible this year in late summer. The result: After the three competition weeks, our more than 2,700 participants had once again managed an excellent second place. We even came out on top in the ranking for our federal state of Lower Saxony!

This makes us very proud – as does the fact that with 472,808 kilometres, we’ve ensured that almost 73 tonnes of CO₂ emissions have been avoided. My thanks go to all of the cyclists and especially to the team of organisers.

And as the saying goes: After CITY CYCLING is before CITY CYCLING. We’ve already set ourselves several goals for 2023. And after placing second two times in a row in the national ranking, we are of course eager to make it all the way to the top again.

Photo: City of Leer

We people of Borken and our bicycles are inseparable. From balance bikes to e-bikes – every generation is on the move on their “Fietse”. Hence it was only natural that we took part in Climate Alliance’s CITY CYCLING campaign for the sixth time in this year. A total of 2,165 cyclists in 83 teams covered 400,047 kilometres, avoiding 62,000 kg of CO₂ compared to car journeys.

I’m extremely pleased that we were able to achieve third place in the national ranking with this result – it’s simply great! All participants can be proud: Only together were we able to achieve this great result and at the same time made an important contribution to climate protection.

I’m particularly pleased that so many schools from the town of Borken got involved. Getting children and young people excited about sustainable mobility is a major concern for us as the town of Borken. True to the motto of “Fietse first”, the cycling infrastructure in our district town offers excellent conditions for completing as many journeys as possible by bike – whether on our designated cycle paths, the many themed cycle routes such as the 100 Castles Route and the Hohe Mark RadRoute or simply the daily journey to work or school.

I wish all cyclists a lot of fun on their Fietse in the future and always a safe journey. And who knows, maybe we’ll manage to cycle even more kilometres during CITY CYCLING 2023.

Phooto: Town of Borken

Cycling plays a key role in our mobility transition and climate protection endeavours. Which is why it’s absolutely great that Soest got involved in the CITY CYCLING campaign. Being the most successful newcomer city is a powerful statement. It shows just how good Soest is and just how much the people of Soest are already cycling.

Photo: City of Soest

My confidence last year was not unjustified. I’m very pleased that the district of Steinfurt once again achieved first place in the category of “Most active municipality” in 2022 – for the third time since we first participated in the campaign in 2018. Fourth place in the national ranking is equally pleasing, with around 2.7 million kilometres cycled. Beside the metropolis of Berlin, the Hanover region and the Hanseatic city of Hamburg, the only municipalities ahead of us are those with significantly more inhabitants. This result in CITY CYCLING also demonstrates the added value of our inter-municipal climate protection network. A district-wide campaign together with all 24 cities and municipalities doesn’t exist everywhere – I’m particularly proud of this.

Our success in the CITY CYCLING campaign also confirms the implementation of our district-wide cycling concept. This provides for more fast, safe and comfortable cycle path connections between the 24 towns and municipalities in the district of Steinfurt. With the district’s first bicycle route known as the “Triangel” (literally “triangle”), we’ve already launched a concrete project that optimally implements the objectives of a sustainable mobility turnaround, which has also attracted a great deal of attention outside of the district. This bicycle route comfortably connects six municipalities in the district of Steinfurt by means of a very well-developed cycle path. Giving citizens the opportunity to make everyday journeys to work, school and vocational training centres, to the shops and in their leisure time in a climate-friendly way by bike – and perhaps also providing an incentive for newcomers to take part in CITY CYCLING in the future.

My heartfelt thanks go to the 13,620 cyclists who contributed to this great overall result and avoided a total of 412,465 kg of CO₂ by using their bikes.

Photo: Dorothea Böing

I am very pleased that we, the district of Borken, were once again able to achieve second place in the category of “Most active municipality” among the municipalities with 100,000 to 499,999 inhabitants in this year. Westmünsterland has once again impressively demonstrated that it rightly counts among the most bicycle-friendly regions in Germany.

Our district affords excellent infrastructure, with a cycle path network that now covers around 1,250 kilometres. Our citizens greatly appreciate this. As part of this year’s CITY CYCLING campaign, they also once again proved that it is possible to actively integrate cycling into everyday life and to leave the car at home as much as possible. We all contribute to environmental protection in this way and do something for our own health, too.

The district of Borken has participated in the CITY CYCLING campaign with many towns and municipalities belonging to the district since 2017. We’ve managed to increase our “mileage” every single year. In 2022, the district’s 17 municipalities were all involved for the first time and, not least because of this, we were once again able to break our own record from the previous year. This year, a total of 13,047 cyclists cycled an incredible 2,631,001 kilometres in 871 teams.

My heartfelt thanks go to all of the cyclists from the district of Borken for their participation. I would also like to sincerely thank the CITY CYCLING team for implementation of the nationwide campaign, which was once again excellent, and would like to add that I’m already very much looking forward to CITY CYCLING 2023!

Photo: District of Borken

I’m very pleased about the participation of a grand total of 8,512 cyclists in CITY CYCLING in 2022. 2,316,258 kilometres were recorded in the district of Ravensburg as a consequence and, as in the previous two years, we were able to cycle our way to the top in the national ranking.

My heartfelt thanks go to the cyclists and all of the businesses, schools, clubs, etc. that formed cycling teams as well as to the 26 participating municipalities in the district for their commitment. I find it particularly pleasing that even small municipalities are successfully participating in the competition and that we’ve been able to motivate more municipalities in the district to take part every year since our initial participation back in 2018. The municipality of Altshausen has even succeeded in placing first in the category of “Most active municipality with the most kilometres covered” among the municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants for what is the third time. The performance of certain individuals during the three weeks was also astonishing: Several cyclists in Ravensburg District each cycled more than 3,000 kilometres, for example.

Whether 3,000 or just three – for climate protection and your own health, every kilometre cycled counts! CITY CYCLING contributes to the fun of daily cycling and increases the motivation to use a bike instead of a car more often, even after the campaign period. As a district, we want to support this and are already looking forward to CITY CYCLING in the coming year!

Photo: Ravensburg District

CITY CYCLING 2022 was the ideal opportunity to “rediscover” our beautiful district of Tübingen. Whether through our beautiful orchards, along the River Neckar or through the Rammert hills or Schönbuch forests – our beautiful cultural landscape is an experience in your free time or perhaps even on your way to work on your bike or e-bike.

I’m delighted that the rural district of Tübingen and several district communities were able to join in the CITY CYCLING campaign in 2022.

This year, a total of seven towns and municipalities cycled with the rural district for a better climate – and people could do something for their own health, too.

Of course, everyone whose municipality was not officially involved this year was also able to take part and to register and cycle for the rural district.

I was particularly pleased to welcome so many people involved in cycling to the CITY CYCLING kick-off event that was held on Sunday, 15 May 2022.

Together with the cities of Tübingen and Rottenburg, Tübingen Regional Council and the municipality of Dußlingen, we closed the B28 between Tübingen-Weilheim and Rottenburg-Kiebingen to motor vehicles between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. During this time, the new B28 – as a premium cycle route, so to speak – was open to cyclists, inline skaters, bobby cars and other such vehicles. In addition, there was an attractive, varied side programme that was very well received.

I hope that we’re able to motivate a great many people to participate in CITY CYCLING in the coming year and perhaps even break the one million kilometres mark during the three campaign weeks.

Photo: Tübingen District

Berlin broke records in CITY CYCLING this year – with more than 19,500 participants and over 4.3 million kilometres cycled. The campaign sends a clear message in this way: Bicycles are the mode of transport for our city. More and more journeys in our city can already be made in a relaxed and comfortable way by bike today. We work every day to ensure that this increases even further.

As patron, I would like to thank everyone who pedalled for more climate protection and environmental protection. I’m sure that many Berliners will continue to pedal after the 2022 CITY CYCLING campaign ends. Because cycling is healthy, environmentally-friendly and kind on our climate.

Photo: SenUMVK / Roland Horn

This year, many residents of the 21 towns and municipalities in the Hannover Region once again took part in CITY CYCLING with great enthusiasm. This was reflected in the new records – not only in the number of kilometres cycled, but also – and this I am particularly pleased about – in the number of participants. 23,556 people in 1,034 teams from all possible areas of society competed against but also with each other and showed the potential that cycling holds for the urgently needed mobility transition. It was particularly nice that we were able to offer events again this year and to cycle and discuss together more.

Many thanks to Climate Alliance, the local coordinators and supporters, and of course all of the cyclists. We look forward to next year!

Photo: Hannover Region

I’m extremely pleased with the great achievement and more than 2.7 million kilometres travelled by Hamburg’s cyclists! This means that we’ve not only set a new CITY CYCLING kilometre record for Hamburg, but also secured ourselves a place on the winner’s podium in the “Most active municipalities” category. My thanks go to all of the participants who pedalled hard for this great success. CITY CYCLING shows that climate protection can be fun and healthy. Every kilometre travelled by bike instead of by car is a win. It’s not just about having fun though: as a city, we want to achieve our climate goals, and the mobility transition with a growing share of cycling is an important building block in this.

Photo: F. Besser

CITY CYCLING was once again a great success in our municipality in 2022! By cycling together and forming 16 teams, enough kilometres were covered in total to travel twice around the world! This was a great joint effort, achieved by the entire community during the three weeks of the local CITY CYCLING campaign. It is of course also fitting for the bioenergy village that the local council was able to cycle to success again this year in the category of “Most active local parliament” and to set a good example to others. The municipality of Ebenweiler will also take the excellent results of all teams during CITY CYCLING 2022 as an opportunity to further the construction of cycle paths in our region!

Photo: Tobias Brändle

CITY CYCLING has become an integral part of the summer in Isny im Allgäu. We generally cycle a lot here and use our bikes for work, shopping and many daily journeys. CITY CYCLING additionally awakens sporting ambitions in a great many people. Even the kindergarten children are involved. And it is precisely the children and young people, who encourage their parents to also join in. With 707 active cyclists, we cycled a total of 168,088 kilometres. I’m delighted that our town councillors placed third among the municipalities with between 10,000 and 49,999 inhabitants in the category of “Most active local parliament”. This does not come as a surprise, though, as our council takes the issue of climate protection very seriously.

What’s more, Isny is strongly geared towards cycle tourism, whereby both locals and visitors can access to a far-reaching network of cycle paths and suitable cycling routes. The town of Isny is gradually expanding its cycle path concept. As part of our climate mission statement, this offers the town many benefits. It takes far less space to park a bike than it does to park a car, for example.

Photo: City of Isny / Rau