Memmingen cycles hard: 134,155 km for a better climate!

Memmingen cycles hard: 134,155 km for a better climate!

In Memmingen, the CITY CYCLING campaign from July 2nd to 22nd, 2025 caused quite a stir. This initiative, which has been an integral part of the city's commitment to sustainable mobility since 2019, has mobilized an impressive 666 active cycling enthusiasts this year. Together they covered an impressive 134,155 kilometers, which is more than 3.3 times the circumference of the Earth. Mayor Jan Rothenbacher thanked the participants and congratulated the winners of this successful campaign.

Over 1.2 million people nationwide have taken part in CITY CYCLING, cycling a total of more than 237.7 million kilometers. Together they were able to avoid a remarkable 38,990 tons of CO2. In Memmingen, almost 1.5 percent of the population in 43 teams saved 22 tons of CO2. This is a strong sign of active mobility in the city.

Glory and honor for the cyclists

The coveted group prize went to the KIMM Klimainitiative Memmingen e.V., whose 24 participants cycled 6,794 kilometers together. The individual prize went to Janina Kravcov, who also took part in the campaign with the Lebenshilfe Memmingen/Unterallgäu e.V. team, covering an impressive 154 kilometers. The special award for the Vöhlin-Gymnasium, which achieved a particularly high level of achievement with 9,532 kilometers in the SCHOOL CYCLING sub-competition, can be seen as a further incentive for the younger generation. The students Jule Ruepp and Milena Blum as well as their teacher Dr. Michael Bußer accepted the prize, which is provided in the form of a cash voucher for a bicycle from World Bicycle Relief.

In Germany, 3,013 municipalities took part in CITY CYCLING, with Memmingen finishing in 541st place nationwide and 32nd in Bavarian comparison out of a total of 174 municipalities (under 50,000 inhabitants). The city's commitment is coordinated by Alexandra Hartge, head of the city marketing department, and cycling officer Urs Keil.

School cycling – supporting the next generation

In Memmingen, special attention is also paid to school cycling, which is designed as a competition in a school context. The focus here is on encouraging students to have sustainable, healthy and independent mobility. Parents and teachers are also held responsible by addressing their role model role and commuting. The special competition takes place parallel to CITY CYCLING and helps to make the potential of cycling visible locally. The schools actively search for and celebrate the “most bicycle-active schools”. An important goal that the initiative pursues is to create incentives for cycling among children and young people by rewarding schools for the kilometers traveled by students.

With CITY CYCLING, Memmingen has not only presented itself as a pioneer in active mobility, but also sent an inspiring message. This shows how important it is to support the environment - while having fun exercising at the same time.