A-Infos (en) Italy, FAI, Umanita Nova #19-26 - Radfahren gegen den Krieg (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

In the author's firm opinion, few things make cycling in good company 
more enjoyable than doing so along the coast in summer. The program for 
the Interplanetary Critical Mass (CM) 2026, known as "CieMmona," which 
took place in Livorno on the last weekend of May, spanned three intense 
days. The original proposal came from the "Scintilla" bike workshop. The 
preview ride on Friday the 30th, held almost entirely within the city, 
attracted cyclists from near and far through a city that is almost 
entirely flat and therefore ideal for cycling.

The following day, participants arrived from afar, as evidenced by the 
CM flags from Brescia, Palermo, and, if we weren't mistaken, Nice. Among 
other things, they also waved pirate flags (with a skull and 
crossbones), anti-fascist flags, and Palestinian flags. The initiative 
got off to a predictably slow start, but fortunately, a light sea breeze 
made the early summer heat in Livorno considerably more bearable. After 
the obligatory laps on the track to gain momentum, the hundreds of 
participants rode through the city's outskirts, heading for Camp Darby, 
the enormous US military base—and not just in terms of area—located 
roughly halfway between Livorno and Pisa. The central theme of this 
demonstration was resistance to the ongoing arms buildup.

The decision to leave the city and concentrate the protest in a 
virtually deserted location was unusual, as such protests typically take 
place in densely populated areas. After the numerous motorcycles had 
slowed traffic to the A12 tollbooth, they reached the military base. 
There were so many that they spilled over onto the adjacent Strada 
Statale Aurelia, which remained blocked for several hours.


These motorcycles were so numerous that they spilled over onto the 
adjacent Strada Statale Aurelia, which remained blocked for several 
hours. As always, the event was characterized by music, including 
bagpipes, heartfelt joy, hugs, and a relaxed atmosphere that encouraged 
the participants stuck in their cars to address their own mental health 
issues.

The ride on Sunday the 31st, a fitting conclusion to the three-day 
event, was held in support of the "Orti Urbani" (Urban Gardens) project. 
This project has been fighting against development in an area of 
​​Livorno for many years, pursuing entirely opposing goals.

Bicycles and protests have long been closely linked to anarchist action. 
This connection dates back to at least 1965, when the youth movement 
"Provo" called on the city of Amsterdam to purchase thousands of 
bicycles and make them available to residents free of charge to 
counteract car traffic and promote more environmentally friendly urban 
mobility. In response to the authorities' refusal, the "Provo" group 
distributed about fifty unlocked, white-painted bicycles throughout the 
Dutch city. They were all confiscated because it was forbidden to leave 
unlocked bicycles on the street. After the bicycles were returned, they 
were placed back on the street and secured with combination locks 
written on the frames.

Many years later, in 1992, the first so-called "Combined Contest" (CM) 
took place in San Francisco. It was conceived as a gathering of cyclists 
who wanted to protest not only against traffic regulations in their 
cities but also against the lifestyle imposed by the capitalist system. 
After this first "organized coincidence," similar events spontaneously 
spread to many countries. In Italy, the first CM took place on September 
25, 1999, in Pisa and was organized by a dozen anarchists. Since then, 
the CM has spread to cities large and small and continues to this day 
with varying degrees of success.

At least two things characterize these initiatives and distinguish them 
from other bicycle demonstrations: First, they are self-organized, and 
second, they always have a political focus. A Community Movement (CM), 
while primarily a clear protest against local and national measures 
governing public, private, and urban transportation, always addresses 
other important issues as well. The so-called "CieMmona" is a kind of 
alliance of all the various Community Movements at the local level and 
takes place in a different city each time.

This newspaper felt compelled to publish an article about the 
initiative, especially since "Umanità Nova" was the first—and not 
coincidentally the only—to publish a short report on the first CM 
(Community Movement) organized in Italy at the end of the last century.

From "Umanità Nova," No. 30, October 3, 1999

Pisa: Cycling banned?

What happens when, on a quiet September afternoon, a small group of 
cyclists rides together through the streets of Pisa's city center, 
streets that are usually congested and filled with exhaust fumes?

Many drivers complain, as if it were the cyclists' fault that they are 
forced to endure slow and pointless journeys every day; some pedestrians 
side with the cyclists, some traffic police react with exaggerated 
concern; and if there are also some drivers among the drivers trying to 
maintain order, the situation can become absurd.

In fact, after about an hour, the bike ride was abruptly interrupted by 
a maneuver from traffic police and other law enforcement officers 
reminiscent of the worst American movies. Around twenty cyclists had to 
undergo the procedure of identification and threats of charges for 
"obstructing traffic"—almost as if the officers were penalizing all the 
drivers blocking the road during a traffic jam.

Just one day after the much-lauded, demagogic, and overblown "car-free 
city" (which the city of Pisa enthusiastically embraced), everything is 
back to normal, and a simple bike ride has turned into a dangerous, 
subversive demonstration. This reveals the true monstrosity of the city 
administration's transportation policy toward environmentally friendly 
modes of transport: a lack of bike lanes and racks, the regular 
confiscation of bicycles belonging to commuters and students parked at 
the train station, and now even an attempt to intimidate a group of 
cyclists accused of obstructing traffic.

What can one say? Echoing a slogan, the stopped cyclists declared: "We 
are not obstructing traffic, we ARE traffic."

Caotico Info (Pisa)

https://umanitanova.org/in-bici-contro-la-guerra/
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