Bike for Europe fever hits Romania ahead of tour

01/08/2018

Romania as a whole has been so excited for Bike for Europe that they arranged an extensive pre-tour programme that has already meant events have been held! The first events inside the country took place in June, and there will be further events running right until the end of the tour in September. Therefore, while the South Team itself will only spend a short-time in Romania, skirting through the far Western edge of the country, the republic will be as involved in the event as anyone else.

Almost a month before the team arrives across the border a landmark event will take place from the banks of the Danube to the foothills of the Carpathians! SkirtBike will get underway on August the 12th, across numerous cities around the country the event aims to celebrate the independence and empowerment that cycling can provide to all women, and therefore encourage those who don’t already cycle to get in the saddle. Last year in 11 cities over 2000 women and men in skirts and kilts cycled across their municipalities, making it a truly national event. This is just one of the many bike related events that are linked to Bike for Europe taking place around the nation.

The tour itself will head to Romania after leaving Zrenjanin in Northern Serbia on the 11th of September, the South Team will cross over into Romania later in the day, arriving in Timișoara, the third largest city in the country. While in the capital of Timiș County, the Bike for Europe riders will partake in a regional Mountain Bike race that promises to be fun and adrenaline filled!

While the North Eastern city of Suceava is way off the Bike for Europe route the municipality will be heavily involved in the schedule. They will have several Mountain Bike events taking place around the city, and there will also be an innovative Bike Fashion event that will take place. This event aims not only to promote cycling to both current cyclists and those yet to get in the saddle, but to show that cycling is an affordable, sustainable, healthy and fun way to commute to and from work. Additionally the event will show that business style apparel, suits, skirts and shirts, can be functional for cycling as well as just smart looking!

And though we cannot physically move the city of Suceava to the Bike for Europe route, a little bit of the city will be coming to the South Team. That is because a team of Romanian cyclists will be setting off from the Bukovina region towards Timișoara in order to welcome the team to their country and a thriving Velo-City. Not only will they be there to signal the arrival of the tour, but also to send them on their way to Hungary.

The amazing, four month long timetable of events that is taking place in Romania could not have happened without the help of ISCA partners, Ajspt Suceava, who are a non-profit organization affiliated with the Romanian Sport for All Federation for over 15 years. They have over 300 members and volunteers across numerous fields, with the main, overarching aims of promoting the benefits of sport and physical education, tolerance and fair-play, healthy lifestyle. However, they also feel that inclusion is important, and as such try to ensure that their events are open to all, irregardless of social condition, and are passionate about developing activities and programmes for disadvantaged groups across society. The protection of nature and ecology is also important to Ajspt Suceava. With this profile it is no wonder that they have done such a good job getting Romania all behind Bike for Europe!

Learn more about Ajspt Suceava here:
http://www.sport4allsuceava.ro/
https://www.facebook.com/ajspt.suceava