cargo_bike_curiosità_urbancycling

TO GO WITH STORY BY FRANCOIS AUSSEILL
A Burundian cyclist who makes a living from transporting goods to Burundi’s capital Bujumbura for sale steers his heavily loaded bike downhill sometimes negotiating hairpin turns at speeds that can reach 80 km per hour on May 11, 2010 near Bujumbura. The bike transporters carry their loads for dozens of kilometers in the hope to sell their products at the markets in the city for a profit. These bikers make on a good day anywhere from 3,000-5,000 Burundian Francs which equates to more or less 2-4 USD. Close to 70 percent of the population lives under the poverty line (1.25 dollars a day), 90 percent depends on subsistence farming and only two percent have access to electricity. . The bike transporters carry their loads for dozens of kilometers in the hope to sell their products at the markets in the city for a profit on May 20, 2010. These bikers make on a good day anywhere from 3,000-5,000 Burundian Francs which equates to more or less 2-4 USD. Close to 70 percent of the population lives under the poverty line (1.25 dollars a day), 90 percent depends on subsistence farming and only two percent have access to electricity. Burundi has postponed local elections planned for May 20 until May 24, the second postponement in 24 hours, the electoral commission said. AFP PHOTO / ROBERTO SCHMIDT