Bike Tour "Power to the cyclists!": Had you been on the old sea road on Sunday, Aug 17, you would have witnessed a sight that is not at all common in Lebanon: a long line of cyclists stretching from Beirut to Byblos; on the first Sustainable Transport bike tour.  

When we, the Sustainable Transport Committee, advertised for the tour through posters, local newspapers, and local TV stations, we did not expect so many people to be interested, as cycling is not so popular in Lebanon. To our surprise and delight, though, calls were coming like crazy! So many people wanted to participate! Unfortunately, as we had not planned for the tour to be a large one, we had to limit the number of participants to 75, so our apologies to those who were not able to participate.

The cyclists, whose ages varied from 16 to 70, left from the CycloSport parking in downtown at 10 am. Escorting them were police motorcycles to ensure road safety, a Red Cross vehicle, and minivan carrying water and extra bikes. After an hour or so, the participants stretched out along the coastal road. Except for some minor cramps and an occasional flat tire, all went as smooth as can be. Those “speedy” ones started arriving to Byblos at noon, while the “least speedy” group arrived there at 3 pm.

Although many were exhausted and some had hilarious facial tans, everyone enjoyed this experience immensely; and everyone was asked when the next tour would be. 
For those who asked and those who are interested, we plan to organize another tour in one month; only this time we plan to take a different route with less cars and nicer scenery. Also, this crazy heat wave would have hopefully receded by then.
Keep pedaling, and see you next tour!

Scientific report: during the whole year of 2002, the Sustainable Transport committee compiled data on the land transport sector in Lebanon. The output was a report on National Land Transport Strategy Options For Lebanon.

Press conference: on the 13th of November 2002, and following one year of planning for future intervention, the sustainable transport campaign was officially launched at Green Line offices. In front of related NGOs, written and visual press and Green Line members, the sustainable transport committee emphasized the importance of starting a National Land Transport Strategy for Lebanon according to the Transport Demand Management principle. Mr. Abed el Hafiz Qaissi director general of the Ministry of Transport, Dr. Berj Hatjian director general of the Ministry of Environment and Dr. Mutassem el Fadel from the American University of Beirut, in addition to Ms. Michelle Bachir from the Sustainable Transport committee were the guest speakers of the event.
- Press release (English) (Arabic)

Awareness Lecture: a major component of a National Land Transport Strategy for Lebanon is stimulating the Lebanese public to use sustainable modes of transport. Under this objective, an awareness lecture has been developed and is targeted to university and high school students.
- Awareness Lecture (English)
- Awareness Lecture (Arabic)
- List of contacted schools and universities