The nocturnal ride, co-organized this Friday evening, May 27, by the Toulouse associations 2 feet 2 wheels and Vélorution, takes the form of a meditation.

At the request of the mother of the young 19-year-old cyclist, mowed down by a car on August 29, 2019 on boulevard Netwiller in Toulouse and who had succumbed to her injuries a few days after the accident, this tour of the city by bike will be soberly placed under the sign of a “tribute to Lulu”.

A trial, June 2

More than fifty cyclists are expected by the organizers and the start of the peloton will be given at 8 p.m., place Saint-Sernin. But “a first departure in critical mass will take place at 7 p.m., Place du Capitole with a rally at 6:30 p.m. for people wishing to ride longer and appropriate the streets of the city center by bike, rollerblade, skateboard, while running…”, propose the associations. The ride will have a high point: the deposit of a “white bike” at the site of the accident.

The young woman was not a member of 2 feet 2 wheels, but the organizers of the ride responded to her mother, a week before the trial of the motorist, indicted for manslaughter with aggravating circumstances: alcohol, narcotics and excessive speed.
The motorist must indeed compare, on June 2, before the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Toulouse.

More than fifty cyclists expected

Lucie’s mother, who did not wish to speak in these columns, “wanted us to make a mark before the trial, that’s why she contacted us”, explains the vice-president of 2 feet 2 wheels Sébastien Bosvieux.

The organizers, who expect nearly fifty cyclists for the ride, also want to take advantage of the trial to remind motorists how vulnerable the bike is. “It seems important to us that this trial be publicized, that of road violence that we see every day,” they explain. Justice must harshly punish these acts which are not mere accidents”.

“The street must be quiet”

However, in Toulouse, which has more than 500,000 inhabitants, the coexistence of different modes of transport does not flow naturally. Especially between cyclists and pedestrians where the tension is palpable. “The street must be a quiet place where you can walk or cycle in safety and serenity, militant 2 feet 2 wheels and Vélorution. This requires good cohabitation between all and also a more equitable sharing of public space between users, which implies its redistribution in favor of active modes”.

“It’s true that on rue d’Alsace-Lorraine or on the banks of the Garonne, cyclists are not a priority, we often repeat this to our members”, confides Sébastien Bosvieux.