More and more people are taking up cycling as a sport but few use their bikes every day as their usual form of transport. Suvi Hannele Kauranen, the councillor responsible for the Foreign Residents’ Department in Fuengirola, is one of these few exceptions and forms part of the silent revolution to recover space stolen by the motor car. She has been riding a bike since she was five years old but it wasn’t until eight years ago that she decided to actively promote the use of the bicycle as a means of transport in Fuengirola.
Since she was elected councillor in the last municipal elections, this 50-year-old Finnish woman has been cycling to work at the Town Hall every day. “It’s a way of life; the people of Finland are known for their respect for their surroundings and the environment. The children can all ride a bike and swim before they start school”.
In Fuengirola Suvi has met with mixed reactions. She has been told on several occasions that a councillor should use a car because riding a bike is for “paupers”. It’s a mentality problem, she maintains. “I always say that I am so rich that I can allow myself the luxury of travelling by bicycle. I feel privileged”. In more developed countries the bicycle is the preferred means of transport in towns because “it respects people and the environment; it doesn’t produce greenhouse or other polluting gases; it doesn’t make a noise, its use is healthy, both physically and mentally, and it’s easy to park”.
Kauranen uses her bike to go to work, on outings and even to go shopping. “I have had a driving licence for 32 years and I love driving but I don’t get my car out to go just a few kilometres. It’s the most expensive way to travel.” Suvi takes just six minutes to get from her house in Los Boliches to work (with no cycle lane), while by car it takes at least 15. “In my country urban planning rotates around the use of the bicycle as a means of transport. Here, we don’t have those facilities, especially in Fuengirola, given its size”.
All four members of Suvi’s family travel by bike. “When my children were small I took them everywhere on the back on my bike on special child seats. In fact the first time I met someone who didn’t know how to ride a bike was when I came to Fuengirola”, says the councillor who has lived in the town for 15 years.
Now there is a small community of people who do use bicycles to get around Fuengirola. “We always smile when our paths cross. We all know each other”, she adds.
