“Bicycles seemed important to us at a time when we are collectively obliged to take measures to promote ecological transition, to offer a sustainable mobility solution that is accessible to everyone,” explains Maryline Robalo.
Bicycles have always represented a tool for women's empowerment and continue to do so. At cyclAvenir, we receive women referred by social and solidarity actors, who, for gender-related reasons, have not been able to learn to ride a bike or have been forced to stop once they reached puberty.
The association offers a support program called “En selle le vélo pour toutes”, a 7-month initiative. “The right to mobility is a means of exercising other rights, and if we want to guide people towards training and professional integration, we must provide them with the means to move around,” insists Maryline Robalo.
We start from scratch, learning to ride a bike, finding balance, knowing how to brake, and equipping properly. We then move on to advanced training, with real-world riding, learning the rules of the road, street navigation, and practical aspects. After 16 sessions, all women are capable of riding a bike alone. Finally, the discovery cycle allows them to participate in a series of guided tours of Paris and its region, promoting inclusion. Bicycles sourced from reuse at solidarity prices are offered to them.
“The actions of our association reconnect with moments that our grandparents used to experience, family bike rides on Sundays, with friends, or with loved ones, which our generations and even those of our parents have completely abandoned in favor of the car,” says the director. “Today, for various reasons, we are returning to it.”
