It’s Like Riding a Bicycle (2023)

The ‘It’s Like Riding a Bicycle’ project (‘Kaikki pyörät pyörimään’ in Finnish) promoted cycling in many ways in Espoo. We offered cycling courses for adults who did not learn to ride a bicycle as a child. The project also aimed to extend the life of bicycles in the spirit of the circular economy. We wanted to support companies that provide bicycle maintenance and repair services. Within the project, we offered our support in the form of service purchases based on a tendering process. Through discussions with the companies, we determined what kind of service purchases would best promote bicycle maintenance activities. The project team cooperated with the city sectors, residents, organisations and partner companies.

Cycling plays a key role in the promotion of environmental, economic, cultural and social sustainability.

The ‘It’s Like Riding a Bicycle’ project supported the Sustainable Espoo programme’s goal of increasing the share of sustainable means of transport. Transport generates 35 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in Espoo, and reducing emissions is essential for achieving Espoo’s carbon neutrality goal by 2030.

Through collaboration with residents and companies, the project promoted cycling by enabling residents to make sustainable choices in their daily lives in line with the city’s strategy, the Espoo Story.

The project received funding through the Sustainable Cities Climate Impact Challenge organised by the European Union’s communities EIT Digital and EIT Climate-KIC. The implementation of the project was funded by the international logistics company FedEx.

Objectives

The aim of the project was to promote cycling and support bicycle maintenance companies in Espoo. We offered cycling courses for adults who did not learn to ride a bicycle as a child. We will also supported the participants’ opportunities to continue cycling after the courses. We cooperated with bicycle maintenance companies in Espoo and support their activities. Cooperation with companies promoted cycling in Espoo through good bicycle maintenance services.

Measures

The ‘It’s Like Riding a Bicycle’ project promoted cycling by offering cycling courses for adults and by cooperating with bicycle maintenance companies.

We are organised basic cycling skills training in various places in Espoo during the summer and autumns. The courses were aimed for adults who haven't learned to ride a bicycle as children. The courses were organised in collaboration with Helsinki Region Cyclists (Hepo). We also collaborated with different NGO's.

For more information about the cycling courses and registration:
Free cycling courses for adults in Espoo from spring to autumn 2023 - come along, no bike required!

Cycling courses for adults will organised again this year.

We collaborated with companies to promote the use and awareness of bicycle maintenance services. During the spring, we organised an event for bicycle maintenance business owners, inviting them to discuss partnership opportunities for promoting bicycle maintenance businesses. We also informed them about the competitive bidding process related to the project. We held a bidding process for bicycle maintenance companies, seeking solutions to promote the bicycle maintenance industry and services in Espoo. Our goal is to also promote residents' interest in repairing and maintaining their bicycles.

In cooperation with Yeply, we set up a popular bicycle maintenance point during the Rantaraitti Day, where residents could bring their bikes for minor repairs. We also collaborated with Yeply in service procurement, where they provide service vouchers for seasonal bicycle maintenance to participants of our cycling courses. The seasonal maintenance gift cards encouraged course participants to continue cycling and take care of their bikes even after the course.

Together with RD Physics company, we organised bicycle maintenance training sessions in various locations throughout Espoo, teaching residents how to maintain their own bikes.

With Skyanu, we provided low-threshold bicycle maintenance training on basic aspects of bike maintenance. The training demonstrated the impact of individual actions on the bike's performance and durability. These training sessions werw organised in collaboration with clubs or organisations.

At the popular bicycle maintenance point, bikes were fixed and put in good condition during Rantaraitti Day.

Schedule

The project started on 15 March 2023 and ended on 31 October 2023.

It’s Like Riding a Bicycle (2023)

Mari Päätalo

Veli-Pekka Korhonen

Minna Salaspuro

It’s Like Riding a Bicycle (2023)

Objectives

Measures

Cycling courses

Support for bicycle maintenance businesses in Espoo

Schedule

Contact details

Mari Päätalo

Veli-Pekka Korhonen

Minna Salaspuro