Thousands cycle Rio's Copacabana beach

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Thousands cycle Rio's Copacabana beach

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Thousands of cyclists gathered in Rios Copacabana beach to take part in the 'World Bike Tour'.

02 April,2012 04:43 am

Some 6,000 people picked up their bikes on Sunday (April 1) morning in Rio de Janeiro and headed to the citys fabled Copacabana beach to take part in the World Bike Tour.The event, which takes place in various cities around the world, was started in 2006 in Portugal with the aim of promoting the use of bicycles as an alternative means of transport.We want to promote physical exercise because its good for ones health and also this way we can also promote a means of transport which causes the least amount of pollution on a global level, explained Diamantino Nunes, an organiser of the Rio World Bike Tour.The bike tour through Rio, which was 11 kilometres (7 miles) long, was also attended by Rio de Janeiros Environment Secretary Carlos Minc.We need to humanise this city by respecting the cyclist and also by reducing pollution in the city in which we live, he told reporters before the tour started.Some cyclists took part in costumes they hoped would send an environmental message to spectators of the World Bike Tour.The bicycle does not pollute and mother nature is good for the heart. This is the form in which I felt relaxed and to declare my love for mother nature, said Jose Gerardo Da Silva, a Rio resident who took part in a costume which featured leaves, plants, birds and the Brazilian flag.