The EUROVELO project consists of connecting all European regions through 17 cycling routes that make up a network of itineraries of more than 90,000km , about half of which are already developed .
These routes share characteristics in each of the regions . The purpose is that the practice of tourism can be done through bike trips with low or medium difficulty in most of the route and , above all , with a coverage of services and infrastructure facilities favorable to cycling .
For the region of Campo de Gibraltar for the route of the Eurovelo 8 , the Medeterranean Route , as it has been called . This has one end in Cyprus and the other in the city of Cadiz . But , undoubtedly , the scenery of our environment is considered a target destination for many European cycle tourists for several reasons such as the end in the Rock of Gibraltar or , also , to cross the Strait of Gibraltar and continue the route through the African continent .
This privileged enclave in the south of Europe gives us the opportunity to offer a geographical attraction , and of course cultural or natural , which should be accompanied by a good provision of services and infrastructure suitable for cycling .
The municipalities , far from configuring a joint
strategy to accommodate this tourist demand , it seems that they have initiated a struggle to reconfigure the routes devised from a European vision , and itineraries are proposed that cater more to the interest of attracting those European funds for the provision than to the continuity and coherence of the route itself .
Not identifying Gibraltar as a final destination is incomprehensible . And especially at this time coinciding with this event where Gibraltar presents a very strong commitment to promote mobility by bicycle with a plan to connect its entire territory with bike lanes . This , connected to the infrastructure that is already being developed in the region , allows to move from Gibraltar itself to the heart of the region reaching La Almoraima and Los Alcornocales in half a day cycling .
From this forum and taking advantage of the inertia that gives us an event like Green Week Gibraltar , we raise the possibility of starting the reverse path to the proposed understanding that if Eurovelo is not oriented towards Gibraltar that we are those who work in this area that we orient our efforts to bring it , either with infrastructure , services , or communication , since the cultural and natural attraction is evident .
OTWO 48 / JULY 2023 87