Two wheels. Endless reasons.

The United Nations has marked 3 June as World Bicycle Day since 2018. It is a simple celebration of something most of us learned as children — that riding a bike is one of the best things you can do for yourself, and for the people around you.

The world’s favourite vehicle

The bicycle is, quietly, one of the most remarkable objects ever made. There are around 130 million new bikes manufactured every year — roughly four every second, every hour of every day. More bikes are produced annually than cars, by a factor of two. Around two billion are in use worldwide right now.

These are not niche numbers. The bicycle is the most widely used vehicle on earth, and demand keeps growing. The global cycling industry was valued at over $75 billion in 2026 and is projected to keep expanding. Electric bikes are accelerating that further — making cycling accessible to more people, across more terrain, at more stages of life than ever before.

What is striking about all of this is that it covers every kind of rider imaginable — commuters, racers, children on balance bikes, retirees on e-bikes, and everyone in between. The bicycle is not one thing. It is many things, depending on who is riding and where.

More than one kind of ride

Most people, when they think of cycling, picture road bikes — the lean, fast machines seen in the Tour de France or on weekend morning rides along country roads. Road cycling is indeed the largest slice of the market. But it is a long way from being the whole story.

Cycling has branched into a rich and diverse family of disciplines, each with its own culture, community, and infrastructure needs. Understanding this variety matters — because the right facility for one kind of rider is not the right facility for another.

These disciplines share two wheels and a pedal — or in the case of pump tracks, sometimes no pedalling at all — but they represent very different ways of being in the world on a bike. A child who learns to ride a pump track may grow into a trail rider or a BMX racer. A commuter who starts cycling to work may discover gravel riding on weekends. The entry points are everywhere. The common thread is the habit of riding.

Good for the body. Good for the mind.

Across all of these disciplines, the health case for cycling is consistent and strong. It builds cardiovascular fitness, strengthens muscles, and improves balance and coordination — without being hard on the joints. It works for four-year-olds learning to ride, for teenagers pushing their limits, and for adults who want to stay active without it feeling like effort. Few forms of movement are as inclusive, or as easy to keep doing for a lifetime.

There is also something cycling does that gym sessions and scheduled exercise rarely achieve: it makes people want to come back. The combination of movement, fresh air, skill progression, and simple enjoyment is quietly powerful. People who ride regularly tend to keep riding — and that consistency is what actually changes health outcomes over time.

Safer riders start somewhere

Riders who develop their skills on dedicated infrastructure — pump tracks, bike trails, skills parks — become noticeably more confident and safer in real-world conditions. Balance, spatial awareness, and bike handling are built through repetition in forgiving environments, long before anyone encounters traffic or tricky terrain. Towns that have invested in quality bike infrastructure see more people riding — and those riders are better for it.

Places that make it easy

The difference between a community where people ride and one where they do not often comes down to a single question: is there somewhere good to go? A well-placed pump track, a flowing trail through a park, a skills area where beginners feel welcome — these are the things that tip the balance from intention to habit.

This is what we have seen across more than 350 projects in 18 countries. When the right space exists in the right place, it fills up on its own. Children arrive on balance bikes. Parents stay and ride. Teenagers find a reason to be outside. Older riders discover they have not lost the habit — just the opportunity.

Who are we?

Since building the first asphalt pump track in Central Europe — a 900 m² facility in Ljubljana that is still in daily use a decade on — Alliance ASE has designed and built pump tracks, bike trails, urban skills parks, and skateparks for communities across Europe and beyond. The work is straightforward: build the right space in the right place, and people will move.

Thinking about a project?

Get in touch — we are happy to talk through what is possible.