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 ofLivorno 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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Source - A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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