Brandenburg's city cycling: 1,005 cyclists cover over 83,000 kilometers!

Brandenburg's city cycling: 1,005 cyclists cover over 83,000 kilometers!

City cycling is in full swing in Brandenburg an der Havel! This year's campaign, organized by the General German Bicycle Club (ADFC), started on Sunday, September 7th, and the first numbers are promising: over 1,189 users have already registered in 137 teams, and 1,005 cyclists have already covered more than 83,000 kilometers together - the equivalent of traveling around the world twice. The city is committed, as Mayor Steffen Scheller calls on all citizens to actively participate. The aim is to exceed last year's marks of 1,046 active cyclists and 194,000 kilometers covered.

The friendly competition runs until September 27, 2025 and is not only held between the cyclists in your own city, but also against the Danish sister city of Ballerup. So far, 295 active cyclists in 45 teams have already cycled 28,579 kilometers, and the competitive spirit is noticeable! Anyone who would like to take part in Brandenburg can simply register via the Stadtradel website or the CITY CYCLING app. Registrations are possible at any time until the end of the campaign. Attractive prizes await the most hard-working cyclists, such as vouchers from the Brandenburg bike shop “Radsport Bert” and a bike promotion package for the elementary school team with the most kilometers.

Joint efforts for sustainability

A special initiative related to city cycling is school cycling, a competition in a school context that takes place at the same time as city cycling. An attempt is made to motivate students to adopt sustainable mobility. The target groups are not only the students themselves, but also parents and teachers who can act as role models. The municipalities that take part in city cycling have the opportunity to actively promote school cycling, which is intended to raise awareness of cycling among children and young people.

This offer also makes the potential of cycling in the region visible, which is particularly important given Germany's current efforts to become an attractive cycling country. The Federal Government's National Cycling Plan outlines the vision for 2030, which aims for a high volume of traffic in favor of bicycles. This development is supported by current studies and data that show a positive impact of increased cycling on the climate, cities and health.

Key to a cycling country

Scientists from Fraunhofer ISI have found that many existing traffic forecasts underestimate cycling traffic because they do not sufficiently take crucial soft factors such as the perception of safety in traffic or the quality of cycle paths into account. The new approach to assessing potential could help to better understand the general conditions and further promote the use of bicycles. A comprehensive model for a bicycle country in Germany is supported by three central building blocks: the bicycle infrastructure, public transport and the bicycle-friendliness of the municipalities.

In these competitions, Brandenburg an der Havel shows how community spirit and a little competitive pressure not only make cycling more attractive, but can also help to realize the vision of a more sustainable and livable living space. So, dear cyclists, get on your saddles, get ready, go!