Every morning, most residents of Split and the surrounding area go through the same ordeal. Sitting in the car, waiting in endless traffic jams, driving from one traffic light to the next. And when you finally get close to your destination, a new discipline begins finding a parking spot.
One lap around the neighborhood. Then another. “Maybe there’s something behind the building.” There isn’t. Another lap. And so, you keep going “round and round” until the coffee you planned to enjoy in peace has already become another source of frustration, and on top of that, you’re late for work.
Wouldn’t it be nice to avoid all of that and know that there will always be a spot waiting for your vehicle? Of course it would.
So, you don’t have to think too hard about how much better a bicycle can be for everyday life. What if the bicycle became our first choice, and the car only Plan B or C?
Because realistically, you can take care of a large part of your everyday errands around Split by bike. Work, coffee, the post office, the shops, university, a meeting, the beach, meeting up with friends… You can do it all on two wheels.
In thirty minutes, you can get a lot more done than you might think. And there are no traffic jams, no searching for parking, and no driving around the neighborhood hoping that a spot will happen to become available.
The only problem is getting started. Find out why September 20 is the perfect opportunity to start this new habit.
A simpler everyday life
Compared to a car, a bicycle is a simple, affordable, reliable and environmentally friendly means of transportation. Cycling helps reduce air pollution, noise and traffic congestion, while also improving physical and mental health.
You get your body moving, clear your head and do something good for the city you live in.
A bicycle doesn’t have to be something we only pull out of the garage on Sunday afternoons. It doesn’t have to be reserved for sporty types, professionals or people who can easily cycle fifty kilometers. A bicycle can simply be an everyday means of transport.
For going to work. For university. For buying bread. For getting coffee. For visiting a friend. For short journeys, we often spend more time looking for parking than we would spend cycling.
And that is precisely its greatest value: you don’t have to be a professional athlete to start riding a bike.
I take care of my health, I protect the environment
Every time you to cycle instead of driving for a short journey, there is one fewer car on the road.
And it’s not just about making everyday life more pleasant. In recent years, we have become increasingly aware of the consequences of the climate crisis. From extreme heat to storms, floods and other severe weather events. Burning fossil fuels is one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to the warming of our planet.
And in Split, sometimes you really don’t have to be an air-quality expert to feel just how many cars we have on our streets. All you have to do is open a window.
Change doesn’t always have to begin with big decisions. It can start with getting on your bike tomorrow.
And perhaps the simplest thing is the one we most often forget: cycling is movement. Instead of spending half an hour sitting in a car, we can spend that half hour being active. Instead of having to find another half hour for a workout after work, we’ve already got some exercise on the way home.
We don’t all have to become athletes. It’s enough to simply move a little more.
Maybe the first time you cycle to work, you’ll arrive a little sweaty. Maybe you’ll realize you need a better route. Maybe you’ll discover that you enjoy cycling much more than sitting in traffic. And maybe, along the way, you’ll see someone else on a bike and think that at least there are more of us cycling around Split.
Get your life moving on two wheels
This brings us to an important question: how do we get more people in Split on bikes? Because it isn’t always easy to start on your own.
It’s easier when you know there’s a group. When you have someone to ride with on your first trip, exchange routes with, talk about bikes with or simply grab a coffee with after the ride.
When you see other people using bicycles every day, you realize that it’s not some extreme sport or a special philosophy of life, but simply a normal way of getting around the city.
One special opportunity to meet more cycling enthusiasts or people who are just starting out is our 15th Split Bike Tour. And here you can read about how we enjoyed last year’s event.
Join us on September 20 at the starting point on Žnjan at 4:00 p.m. This year, for the first time, we are also closing the roads to traffic. Safety comes first, and together we will ride bikes to Đardin, where we’ll spend time together and show just how many of us there are.
Maybe you’ll meet someone who has been cycling for years. Maybe you’ll meet someone who has been thinking about getting started for a long time but is afraid to take the first step. And maybe something new will come out of that meeting.
A small cycling community in Split. An initiative. A group of people who can arrange rides together, help someone who is just starting out, show them a good route or simply lead by example and show that cycling around Split is both possible and something people want to do.
Of course, it’s not enough to simply tell people, “Get on a bike.” If we want cycling to truly become part of everyday life in Split, we also need a city that is ready for it.
We need safer cycling paths, better-connected routes and traffic solutions where cyclists are not simply guests on the road. We need a city where a parent can let their child cycle to school without constantly worrying about traffic, but also where an adult can decide, without giving it much thought, that today they’re going to cycle to work.
That’s why it’s important for there to be more of us. Because the more of us there are on bicycles, the harder it becomes to ignore the need for a city that works for us, too.
Imagine for a moment that one hundred, five hundred or a thousand of us gathered on Žnjan.
A thousand people on bicycles are hard to miss.
Not only because we’ll create a great atmosphere, but because we’ll show that there are many people in Split who want a different way of getting around the city.
That’s why the Bike Tour can be more than just a Sunday ride. It can show how many of us there are. And it can be the beginning of a conversation about what kind of Split we want.
Follow our website and social media, because we’ll soon be sharing more detailed information about this year’s Split Bike Tour!
