On Your Bike

Interview with Mike "the Serb" Dimkich, guitarist, runner and cyclist.

As part of an ongoing collaboration with the website www.gregarioscc.com, I have been carrying out a series of interviews with prominent people involved in the cycling community in the Valencia Region. The link with Valencia is a little slim in this case, admittedly, but I recently caught up with Mike "the Serb" Dimkich, formerly guitarist with rock group The Cult and the Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones,  currently a member of North American melodic punks Bad Religion and a seriously keen cyclist, before his band's recent gig n the capital of the Turia.

Interview with Carles Nebot, framemaker, framepainter and ultradistance cyclist.

As part of an ongoing collaboration with the website www.gregarioscc.com, I have been carrying out a series of interviews with prominent people involved in the cycling community in the Valencia Region. The article below is an English version of the original Spanish text which was published on 06/04/22, which you can read here: El arte de los cuadros de acero ligeros hechos a mano – Nortel·le by Carles Nebot.

 

As part of an ongoing collaboration with the website www.gregarioscc.com, I have been carrying out a series of interviews with prominent people involved in the cycling community in the Valencia Region. The article below is an English translation of the original Spanish text which was published on 02/03/22, which you can read here: «Sin gregarios no hubiera logrado nada como corredor» – Javier Benítez X Gregarios.

La Carrasqueta is 12 kilometre climb lying just inland from the city of Alicante

The spectacular climb takes us up to a natural balcony at @1020 m.a.s.l. overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and the city of Alicante, some 40 kilometres away.

Another climb to have featured many times in la Vuelta a España over the years, Puerto de l'Oronet is perhaps the most popular climb among cyclists living in and around the city of Valencia.

Easily reachable from the city of Valencia, the 8-km climb of l'Oronet serves as a gateway to Sierra Calderona, Sierra de Espadán and beyond.

For the 2019 edition of La Vuelta a España, the organizers of the Spanish national tour have pulled a real rabbit out of the hat in the form of the previously-unused climb of el Alto de Javalambre - or el Picón del Buitre, as it is more commonly known -, atop of which sits the spectacular Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory.

El Puerto de Barx is a popular climb among Valencian cyclists, due to its proximity both to the La Safor coast and to the mountains of the Sierra Grossa range. At around 5 kilometres in length, it's not a long climb, and it's not too hard, either, enabling cyclists to take in the magnificent views towards the coast as they tackle its numerous hairpins.

The III Volta Ciclista València Féminas - Trofeu Diputació de València will be held from June 1st to 3rd

The 3rd edition of the Volta Ciclista València Féminas - Trofeu Diputació de València for female junior, elite and under23 categories will be held between June 1st and 3rd in Valencia. Coordinated by the Valencia Cycling Federation (FCCV), with the support of the Valencia Provincial Council and the town councils and cycling clubs of the towns of Valencia, Riba-roja de Túria, Lliria and Moncada, the race will once again include the participation of the very best of Spain’s current crop of cyclists.

"Without the support of the public institutions and clubs it would be impossible to stage events of this type which, among other things, seek to promote tourism and raise awareness of our province, as well as to creation opportunities for women's sport", said the Chair of the Valencia Cycling Federation, Amadeo Olmos.

Stages

The race will start on Friday, June 1st, from Valencia’s Plaza del Ayuntamiento. From the heart of the capital, the riders will take on the 79.1 km 1st stage, which finishes in the town of Riba-roja de Túria.

The second stage will be held on Saturday June 2 in Lliria. Starting in the town’s Plaza Mayor, the riders will complete three laps of a winding circuit to cover a total of 80.5 km.

The third and final stage of the 3rd Volta Ciclista Valencia Féminas will take place on Sunday, June 3, in Moncada. The town will host an 81.5 km stage consisting of six laps of a semi-urban 13.5 km circuit, with start and finish in Calle del Negre.

Participating teams

Several teams have already confirmed their presence in the race, including Hyundai Koryo Car, Retelec Athenea Team, Frigoríficos Costa Brava, Farto CC, Glas-Smurfit Kappa and Dr Ride-Vektor.

The III Volta Ciclista València Féminas - Trofeu Diputació de València foresees a great participation since “there are no other events on the domestic calendar during the same period and all Spanish teams will be free to participate, as well as two representatives of the International Cycling Union (UCI))”, explained Olmos.
"The race was created in 2016 with humble pretensions, just as the Mens Volta a València was created in 2011. The first edition consisted of only two stages, to which we have now added an extra day of competition. La Volta a València de Féminas represents an important means of demonstrating that women also deserve a stage race at the highest level with the participation both of domestic international teams”, concluded FCCV president Amadeo Olmos.


Further information:




Valencia Cycling Federation Website

15th edition of the Iberian Congress "The Bicycle and the City" to be held between May 16 and 20, 2018 in the city of Valencia

The Iberian Congress "The Bicycle and the City", the oldest bicycle-related congress of its kind to be organised in Spain, is a joint initiative between "ConBici" and the Portuguese "Federação de Cicloturismo e Utilizadores de Bicicleta". The first edition of the congress was staged in 1996, while the latest was held in the Spanish city of Zaragoza.

The 15th edition of the Iberian Congress "The Bicycle and the City" is being organized by the collectives València en Bici-Acció Ecologista Agró and Bici es Vida and will be held between May 16 and 20, 2018 in the city of Valencia.

Events

Its aim is to present the most significant developments and experiences related to the bicycle as a method of transport in Spain and Portugal, and is to include a series of events centred on the design of bike lanes, school paths, cycle routes, regulations, inter-modality, public bikes and new types of urban bikes, among others.

In the words of the Congress' website:

"The creation of a friendly, quieter city, with more green spaces and social usage and with fewer cars, requires the involvement of the city’s residents in the transformation of the urban environment. In this sense, the 15th edition of the Iberian Congress "The Bicycle and the City" aims to become a key element of this collective reflection. That is why the axes on which the congress is based are designed in a way to facilitate a holistic approach the urban complexity in which we find ourselves on a daily basis and into which the bicycle has been inserted. We believe that understanding the dynamic relationship between citizenship, urban planning and different modes of transport is the best way to achieve this goal, hence the Congress’ talks, speeches and workshops seek to strengthen the city’s citizen/organizational/professional/political network."

Parallel activities

The 15th Iberian Congress "The Bicycle and the City" will include the celebration of the 3rd Female Cyclists Meeting and the 2nd Bicifest Valencia Festival.

Further information

For further information about the Congress, its events and activities, consult the València Ciutat Amable website: Iberian Congress "The Bicycle and the City" website

One year after its inauguration in March 2017, Valencia’s Cycle Ring Road (Anell ciclista) has registered a 20% increase in users. 

Valencia’s Transit Management Centre (Center de Gestió de Trànsit de València) recently published data reflecting the average daily usage of the municipal cycling network, which has registered an overall monthly increase in users of 2.3 percent. The most noteworthy figures reflect the 20.6% increase in use of the city’s Cycle Ring Road, in conjunction with a drop in the volume of motorized traffic over the same period.

Characterized by its uniform width of 2.5 metres and its location on the city’s roads, rather than its pavements, this key element of the city’s transport infrastructure runs in a circular route through the central points of Calle Xátiva, Plaza San Augstín, Guillem de Castro,the right bank of the Turia Gardens, Plaza de Tetuán, Puerta del Mar and Calle Colón.


The overall number of users using the Cycle Ring Road has increased by almost 4000 per day over the last year, with points such as Calle Xàtiva having registered up to 3,105 cyclists per day.

It is notable that the number of cyclists using the bridges which cross the Turia Gardens, and which serve as the main points of access to the Cycle Ring Road, fell by 1.9%, whilst bicycle traffic in the rest of the city rose by 4%.

With a 22.8% increase, Calle Cuenca in the east of the city registered the highest growth in usage of all the points that lie outside the Cycle Ring Road.

Positive news for Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana

The Valencia Region's most important men's professional cycling stage race, La Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana Gran Premi Banc Sabadell, has received a positive report from the UCI (International Cycling Union).

The event, which dates back to 1929, celebrated its 69th edition between January 31 to February 4, 2018, covering as usual much of the Valencian territory over the course of its five stages. With his overall win on GC this year, Movistar rider Alejandro Valverde now holds the record for the most victories in the event's history.

In its report, cycling's governing body praised the event for its organization; the accommodation provided for the teams; the event security; the television coverage and the large numbers of spectators present during each of the stages.

Race director, former professional cyclist Angel Casero, expressed his satisfaction with the assessment as, in his own words, “it is the result of the work carried out during a whole year. This highly-positive report will motivate us to continue working even harder and, without a doubt, it shows that we have grown a lot. I would like to congratulate the entire team that makes La Volta possible, and to thank our main sponsor Banc Sabadell, as well as the public institutions, collaborators and all the spectators who came to see the professional peloton racing on the roads of the Valencia Region”.

Step by step, the organizers of the Valencian race are growing the event and working towards their objective of consolidating a historic competition that will celebrate its 70th edition in 2019. Thanks to this constant progress, it will be easier to move the race up to a higher category. “Logically, it will mean a lot more work, but those of us who involved in the event want to see it happen”, pointed out Angel Casero.

Website: Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana

The Valencia Tourism Agency has published a guide for cycle tourism covering the whole of the Valencia Region. Written by José Manuel Almerich, the guide covers the Region's 3 provinces (Castellón, Valencia and Alicante) and provides extremely useful information about the Region, its rail trails, use of the regional train network when cycling, Valencia's network of MTB centres and information for long-distance cycling.

Containing a wealth of details about starting and finishing points, estimated journey times, distances, maps, links to detailed routes and tracks, and historical and cultural information, "Cycle Tourism Guide to the Region of Valencia" can be downloaded for free in PDF format and is available in Spanish, Valencian, French, English and German.

The guide can be downloaded via the following link: Cycle Tourism Guide to the Region of Valencia 

Registration is now open for this year's edition of Marcha Ciudad de Valencia, to be held on October 6, 2018.

The event begins in Marina Juan Carlos I in Valencia Port, before heading out to the coastal town of Culler and back. There are two routes available: 80 km or 100 km. The 100 km route takes in the climbs of “El Volcán” and “El Castillo”, with slopes of up to 19%.

Services for participants include breakfast, en route assistance, feed zones, post-event massage, lunch and lockers.

Last year's event saw more than 2500 participants take part .

For further details about registration, prices, etc., visit the event website:

Marcha Ciudad de Valencia website

What is a "rail trail", or "greenway"?

Greenways in the Valencia Region

The 1st edition of the @ruedavlc International Cycling Film Festival is scheduled to take place in Sala Off, Valencia between 19th and 22nd April.

The festival's programme is to include cycling-related events and films, with titles such as: 

Farfalla 30' + One Year on a Bike, 46'  
Cyclopedes 4'+ Slaying the Badger 78'  
Tall bike will save the word 26'+ The rider and the wolf 62'  
Hombre electrico 17' + Okhwan's Mission Impossible 68'  
Makkina 11' + Contromano 73'  
Velodrool 6' + Ovarian Psycos

The programming for the festival's children's section, known as RUEDA KIDS, is to include:

Angelinho 4'
La bici elefante 9'
Pat e Mat 8'
El sonido del piñón 2'
The world's first bicycle 5'

More information and updates about the festival can be found at the @ruedavlc Facebook page:

@ruedavlc Facebook