“LET’s walk the talk, let’s padyak the dakdak.”
An estimated 14,000 cyclists took over several main roads of Metro Manila last Sunday in the annual 15th Tour of the Fireflies which aimed to promote the bicycle as a “tool for clean air."
This year’s theme of ‘Let’s Just Ride Together’ is a “call to action,” according to Karen Silva-Crisostomo, president of the Firefly Brigade, the tour's organizer.
In an interview with Spin.ph, Silva-Crisostomo said the Firefly Brigade has been raising awareness for the past 15 years and that theirs is a timely message considering recent calamities that have affected the Philippines, notably Typhoon Yolanda.
“I believe that everything is connected … Using your cars is really adding to heat and to climate change if more people use their cars. We’re going back to the roots of making things simple.”
“If you think about it before, we didn’t have these problems so I believe using the bicycle will help make the air cooler and cleaner and we won’t be having diverse changes in climate,” she added.
For many of the participants, “something” means riding a bike and urging others to join in for several positive reasons - that its good for the environment by lessening carbon emissions, enjoying the camaraderie of a close-knit community and a relatively inexpensive way of keeping fit.
Many of the cyclists shared the pro-environment sentiment, displaying tarp signs with messages such as “Sa Pamamalengke, Eco Bag ang Gagamitin ko” to promote their advocacy.
A number also looked at the gathering as an opportunity to share a message by wearing costumes to promote nationalism (a cyclist in a Jose Rizal-inspired attire), one’s heritage (a young man in Igorot g-string and headdress) or dietary preference (a lady cyclist opted to cover her outfit with vegetables, including her helmet).
For the seventh year, the Tiendesitas shopping complex, one of the few malls in Metro Manila that has a pro-cycling policy, served as the start/finish line for the tour.
For this year’s edition, the cyclists took a 37-kilometer long route that took them to the cities of Pasig, Quezon City, Marikina, San Juan, Makati, Taguig and Mandaluyong.
Race organizers said they make it a point to use a different route around Metro Manila every year to maximize their visibility.
“We want them to really see and say, ‘Wow! Ganyan pala kadami ang mga siklista sa Metro Manila!’ We also want the local government units to see wthat they should be doing for the cyclists,” Silva-Crisostomo explained.
For this year, riders were also asked to help the victims of Typhoon Yolanda. Some brought canned goods while others chipped in extra cash to Red Cross volunteers.
The Firefly Brigade is moving towards road sharing and is asking local government units to support its initiative. Pasig City has started to have car-less days in certain parts of the Ortigas Business District on weekends.
“People keep complaining about traffic, pollution but they don’t realize they are actually part of the problem. And if Manila is really small, they can start riding their bicycles more often and bike to work or to their school. That’s where it all starts. Let’s just ride and do this together,” said Silva- Crisostomo.
The group is also pushing for more people to bike-commute on a daily basis.
Silva-Crisostomo says biking is a normal part of her lifestyle.
“There are times I go bi-modal. I use the car when it’s not traffic and I’ll park and then I’ll bike to my different meetings.”
When people would point out the conveniences of biking in Metro Manila, the educator has a ready answer.
“When they say ‘Isn’t that kind of hot?’ I tell them: ‘Think about it - I’m surrounded by cars. If you’re surrounded by people on bicycles you won’t be that hot.”
Asked about fears that biking means exposure to pollution, she explained: “People don’t realize it but you and I are breathing in the same kind of air but you’re breathing it longer because you’re sitting in your car stuck in traffic for two hours, it took me 10 minutes to get to work. And you get to stay fit, very fit.”
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