"A 'Kidical Mass' has a main focus on children and young people. However, it is inspired by another broader movement, which is the Critical Mass, which is an older movement that involves a group bike ride, with the aim of giving visibility to those who use bicycles, showing the bicycle as an alternative, and claiming rights for those who want to travel in this way", explains Vera Diogo, one of the organizers, to Lusa.

According to the also president of the association MUBi - Association for Urban Mobility by Bicycle, "children are also residents of the cities and do not have the minimum possibilities to enjoy the city in the way they deserve and need".

"They do not have safety conditions, they do not have enough green spaces, they do not have the possibility of traveling by bicycle or on foot without accompaniment because we have the speeds that we have on our streets and we do not have enough infrastructure, even to walk, and even less to ride a bicycle", she describes.

Vera Diogo emphasizes that children "are already people today", and although they are "continuously being prepared for the future, they already have needs and rights", one of which is to circulate on public roads.

"Taking into account the phase of life in which they are, a very important phase of development, the fact that they do not have a minimum of physical activity has great consequences", so "physical activity and even contact with the external environment, with the natural elements, makes a lot of difference in terms of development and emotional stability of the children", she says.

The main demands, similar to those of adults who try to ride a bicycle in Porto, "involve having safe infrastructure, safe routes to schools, reducing speeds in localities to 30 kilometers per hour", basically "measures that allow protecting and promoting forms of more active travel, particularly in these age groups and in the contexts around schools".

On Saturday, at 3 pm, the cycling trains will leave from Porto (Praça da República) and Matosinhos (Escola Fernando Pinto de Oliveira), and end at Parque da Cidade, where there will be "a picnic, a get-together, some games for the children".

For those starting in Porto, the route will be made through Avenida da Boavista, whose works to receive the 'metrobus' are criticized by bicycle users and considered anachronistic.

"It is a setback in every way, because not only will the bike path that was planned to be on the entire avenue not be completed, but a section of the existing one will be cut, and a new means of transport will be put in place that (...) will not remove any space from cars", Vera Diogo tells Lusa.

At issue is the fact that in the eastern part of Avenida da Boavista there is no bike path and there are still two lanes for cars in each direction - in addition to the 'metrobus' channel - making the environment for motorists "more inviting to speed".

"What is being done, at this stage of the game, in 2024... it does not cross anyone's mind that a city is doing this, going backwards instead of moving forward in conditions for active mobility. It makes no sense at all", contests Vera Diogo, admitting that "the fact that the Children's Critical Mass passes there is symbolic".

The person in charge recalls that in that area "there are quite a few educational communities that could benefit a lot from the bike path, not to mention all the trips to the beach, which is an important connection between Porto and Matosinhos".

"It is really a 'shot in the foot'. It is not understood how these decisions are made", she points out.

Read Also: Wednesday is the day to arrive at school on the bicycle train (Portuguese version)