Read on if you want to hear about the video game I'm planning based on riding a bike in Bologna.
As our Italian host-daughter, Annalisa, put it, Bologna was made for getting around by bike! Bologna is mostly flat and the distances are not far. Add to that the bike racks tucked (sometimes, partially) under the porticoes and there's a lot of reasons to ride here. Here's a picture of me riding back from the pool last week (in a quiet spot where a selfie was safe).
Riding a bike in Bologna is no doubt very different from riding a bike in Copenhagen, or Amsterdam, or Paris, or Rome, or Palermo, but I'd like to propose a video game in which urban bike riding comes with levels for each of these cities and you have to quickly figure out what the cultural rules of the road are for everything you encounter, and then you have to try not to get smooshed nor run over any pedestrians. Which cities would you add? Pictured- the parcheggio di bici da noi (the bike rack in front of our apartment)
Here's what I have discovered about Bologna rules of the road and a list of the characters in the game:
- Busses and trucks follow all the rules but also can sometimes take up every inch of the road they are on- be very careful around these!
- Cars here also follow the rules, and they are used to sharing the road with bikes and pedestrians and (almost) always yield to bikes and people in crosswalks. I suggest making eye contact as you enter a bike crossing, and when in doubt on the road on your bike, take up space like a car.
- Vespas and motor cycles are opportunistic and will pass cars and busses and trucks in made up lanes between traffic to get to the front of the line, but they stop for all red lights.
- Delivery drivers on ebikes do whatever they want. They don't stop for red lights. They can go as fast as Vespas, they sometimes drive on sidewalks and in aree pedonali (walking traffic only).
- Other bikes and battery powered stand up scooters go everywhere anytime- they turn left on red lights, sneaking wherever they fit. Occasioanlly people use hand signals to let you know what they are going to do. Some people even ride under the portici, where you are supposed to get off and move your bike by hand with pedestrians. This group is the most distracted, smoking, talking on phones, or looking at smartphone screens are the most common simultaneous activities.
- Pedestrians have the right of way, and are supposed to cross streets at white striped cross walks, but they do whatever they want. They can be the most dangerous for cyclists as they come out of nowhere.
A wrinkle for the Bologna level of this proposed game is pavement. There are several kinds which each offer unique challenges. Here are the 5 most common types, 3 come with photos. Grazie, Annalisa! who taught me what these are called:
- Ciolttoli- This pavement is basically stones held together with dirt, slippery in rain, bumpy, and don't try walking on it in thin-soled shoes! Piazza Santo Stefano and via del Pratello are both paved this way.
- San Peitrini- This pavement is made up of very square-cut stone that is arranged in a pattern that shows slight arcs. When I come across construction I can see the benefit of it, it seems easy to pull up and replace, the pattern is forgiving. This is my favorite kind to ride on, it's pretty smooth, not too slipery in the rain. You can find it all over town
- Pavimento Italiano Normale- These are big rectangular pavers. You can see them all over town and in larger streets that don't have asphalt (and for the ones that do, this is probably underneath!). These are easy enough to ride on, unless one is loose or sticking up, in which case you have to be careful. I have a picture here of one of the main streets in town Strada Maggiore that I take to get to school everyday, pictured here on the weekend when they close some streets to motor traffic.
- Asfalto- This is not pictured, it's on many major streets, especially the further you get from the centro storico.
- Marmo- Sometimes this is straight up marble, other times it is pieces of marble set in other flooring material. Often found under the portici. If you're biking on this, stop and move your bike by hand. It's incredibly slippery when wet and gets that way everytime it rains here, despite being covered. It feels like a miracle that people aren't killing themselves daily slipping on it. When I'm not worried about seeing someone fall, I'm enchanted by its beauty. I will include lots of pictures of this in an upcoming post.
