Bicycling to the XXX Olympic Games in London
Power in the right hand,
Courage in the heart ,
Homeland in thoughts!
Dr. Franjo Bućar*
*Dr Franjo Bućar (1866-1946) was a prominent sports writer, promoter and initiator of many sports disciplines in Croatia. In 1909 Dr. Bućar was elected the first president of the Croatian Sports Federation.
THE IDEA
The idea of bicycling to the XXX Olympic Games in London came as an expected sequal to a very successful and memorable bicycle trip to the XXIX Olympic Games in Beijing undertaken by two members of Pedalinac Bicycling Club - Mladen Gaćeša and Marko Mitić.
Having in mind that this time the plan is to travel through Europe, the members of Pedalinac Bicycling Club wish to organize the trip to London for a larger group of cyclists – a group of 30 cyclists dressed in cycling sportswear marked with recognizable white and red squares and labeled with the names of all the past host cities and years. In addition, the goal is to symbolically announce to the Europeans Croatian forthcoming accession to the European Union. The intention is to do so by avoiding the shortest route and taking the one that passes through a larger number of countries: Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and finally England.
Generally, the motivation for the trip is based on the ideas that are interwoven in the ideas of Olympic games, such as fellowship and harmony, peace and tolerance, a sound mind in a healthy body, and environmental awareness, which is all actively encouraged by members of Pedalinac Cycling Club.
MARKETING POTENTIAL OF THE PROJECT
The project “Bicycling to the XXX. Olympics in London 2012” has a great potential in promoting Croatia on the verge of entering the European Union. In addition, the project could be very interesting to the city of Zagreb and its tourist board, and to all those who think it is good to be part of modern Croatia, which by its ideas does not lag behind European trends that encourage sustainable life, return to nature ,and environmental values destined to preserve our environment. Finally, the project could be very interesting to the media, who can use the material collected during the trip, as well as to potential sponsors who are willing to help the project and in return use the space on the cyclist equipment and sportswear for advertising.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The project was conceived as a journey of 30 cyclists from Zagreb to London with an appropriate escort. The escort will consist of 3 to 4 staff members responsible for servicing the equipment and handling the communication, and also for preparing morning and evening meals, usually at a camp where the expedition stays overnight.
The starting point of the trip is Zagreb from where expedition will move towards Hungary. From Budapest it follows EUROVELO route 6 (EuroVelo 6 is a bike corridor that connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Black Sea), then continues via Bratislava and Vienna, following the route all the way to Donaueschingen, Danube and Basel.
The tour then continues to the North along the Rhine to Strasbourg and across Luxembourg to Ostende at Belgium North Sea coast. The plan is to cross the Channel and arrive at Dover, continue to London and finally arrive ahead of London 2012 Olympics opening, that is, before 27 July 2012.
The route is about 2900 km long and our estimation is that it will take us approximately 30 days to accomplish the trip.
TO WHOME IT MAY CONCERN?
To all the cyclists who feel they are capable of enduring such a trip, and are able to prove it during a brief, informal interview and a short cycling trip some time prior to the main event.
The color of skin, sex, age, political, religious, national or any other type of affiliation, are entirely unimportant details.
About us
What kind of a cycling club would it be without a club mascot? That is why Pedalinac Cycling Club has its camel. As you can notice at first sight, our Club mascot, The Camel, is fully equipped for cycling, regardless of mileage, terrain configuration or weather conditions.
Pedalinac Cycling Club jersey aportswear
It has taken us some time to come up with the right design for Pedalinac jerseys. Now there are ready for production and we expect them to be ready for use very soon. The colur selected is easily noticeable on the road, which is very important for cyclists. Red and white pattern of the fabric is recognized worldwide as a Croatian national symbol, which is very important to the members of Pedalinac.
How to become a member of Pedalinac Cycling Club?
We have been receiving a lot of questions regarding membership and the procedure for joining Pedalinac Cycling Club, which makes us very happy. We wished to cut the time spent in front of the computer as much as possible in order to make more time for cycling. Therefore, the procedure for joining the Club is quite simple:
So... in order to join, the following „equipment“ is needed:
- 1.A copy of the certificate of nationality.
- 2.Residence certificate, obtained at the local Police Office.
- 3.Statement regarding your mental health is something…
you do NOT need. J
We hope that our annual membership fee is acceptable, bearing in mind the hard times we all live in. The annual fee is 120 hrk (only 10 hrk per month) payable to Pedalinac bank account No. 2484008-1104139423. Of course, do not forget to write down your name and other necessary data so that we know who our new Pedalinac Cycling Club member is.
Fill in the application form, scan it and send it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by regular (snail) mail to the following post address:
Bickilistički klub “Pedalinac”
Nova Cesta 19
10000 Zagreb, Hrvatska.
It would be also very nice to have your photo, with or without your aluminium , steel, or carbon, two- -wheel pet J . Just send it and we shall place it among other “honorable” Pedalinac club members.
That would be all.
Keep on cycling…
