We don’t want to lie to you: promoting the use of bicycles in Italy right now puts us in a difficult position. How can we, in good conscience, encourage people to replace their cars with bikes for daily commutes, to use them to take their children to school, or to enjoy a relaxing vacation, when what we see on the roads every day feels like a war report?
Accidents are too frequent, and unfortunately, sometimes fatal. This isn’t just an Italian problem—only days after the death of 19-year-old athlete Sara Piffer, another British athlete, Aidan Worden, just a year younger than Sara, suffered the same fate while training with his team. But knowing this doesn’t make us feel any better.
Young people like Sara and Aidan are more exposed simply because they spend more time on the road compared to those who use bicycles for leisure or practical purposes. But the lack of infrastructure—and even more seriously, the lack of a cycling culture—affects everyone.
It affects those who choose the bike, those who would like to but don’t feel safe, and even those who haven’t considered it simply because they don’t see cyclists on the streets. And without role models, we know that the kind of healthy emulation that leads to change simply doesn’t happen.
Of course, we take comfort in the fact that there are also examples showing that rapid, positive change is possible when rules and habits are decisively addressed—such as the “Bologna Città 30” initiative. But if such initiatives remain isolated, challenged, and opposed—even when the numbers clearly support them—then they don’t make the real difference we need.
After all, we live in a time when facts and figures seem to matter little in the face of deeply ingrained beliefs held by those who refuse to see the need for change and who can’t imagine alternatives to the world they are accustomed to.
Sometimes, we feel a bit like Don Quixote, charging at windmills on his old steed. No more funding for bike lanes. Budgets that could build a world-class cycling network, rivaling the Netherlands, are instead spent on pointless projects no one asked for. Regulatory changes that penalize “weak” road users while always and only protecting cars.
So why should we still believe that investing in bicycles is worthwhile?
The answer is simple: because we ride bikes. And we know firsthand what it means to cycle. We understand how much of a difference it can make in people’s lives—in terms of health, well-being, savings, social harmony, environmental protection, and community building. And above all, in terms of something no financial report ever takes into account: happiness.
And since we firmly believe that the purpose of a company should not be solely to make a profit (though, of course, profit is necessary for survival and for paying employees), but rather to add value to the social and cultural fabric of a community, we choose to continue believing in two wheels.
That’s why our commitment in this direction not only continues but grows even stronger, as we develop new projects that are close to our hearts.
Behind the scenes, Clorofilla is making significant investments to enhance its mission of providing solutions for a more bike-friendly world. Our team has just welcomed a young designer with valuable experience in the field, to accelerate the development of the ideas we never run out of—and which we hope to surprise you with in the coming months.
What we envision may be a utopia, just like the name we’ve given this magazine. But we believe the world needs, now more than ever, to look toward distant and perhaps unreachable horizons—because they inspire us to keep our heads up and continue moving in the right direction.
