European Velo Marathon 2012
The European Velo Marathon 2012 – the alternative Olympic Torch Relay for Road Peace is a 50-day ride from Bulgaria to London to promote cycling, sustainable travel and road safety. 

Between 2June and 28July
Duration - 50 days.
Distance - 3700 km.

Official web site: European Velo Marathon 2012    

Bulgarian Cycling Marathon - 3200km.
The “Factor Foundation” organize the second national cycling marathon of Bulgaria with a total length of 3200 km.Cycling marathon will be held between September 15 and October 17, 2012 to promote the cause: “Cycle Safe”. 
Patricians: 33 persons
Duration - 33 days.
Distance - 3200 km. 
Visit the official web page Bulgarian cycling Marathon     

Hello from Vyacheslav Stoyanov, Team Leader of  Factor Foundation.  We’re believe in the future with encourage and help in the creation of conditions and infrastructure for Cycling Safety, Cycling Tourism, Eco Tourism, Eco transport.
I don’t think there will be anything else that I do in my life as important as what I do now for Factor Foundation. We’re not just promoting bicycle as transportation, we’re working to make people social.  When we organize biking events for free, we are better people. We understand the world is bigger than us, and we become infected with tolerance and positive energy.I want to encourage you in your financial support of the projects:
 
-  Cycle Safe

-  velomood

Our work is possible because of donations from our supporters. Will you help protects Cycle Safe and Velomood by donating $5, €10, 10 leva or whatever you can afford?
When you financially give, you are not just helping an individual go on a tour; you are helping a team come together. You are sending a hope from a friendly country, city and nation.
 
If you desire to donate online, please click here.

Everyone involved is keenly interested in the future of the Cycle Safe and Velomood projects you can be assured donations have been and will continue to be used wisely. All support is very much appreciated. All monies received will only be utilized to advance our Mission Statement, and are administered at the direction of the Factor Foundation Project Board.

Thank you!
Vyacheslav Stoyanov
founder & chairman

Meeting with the Duch Cyclng Embassy
Visited on 7 November this year Dutch Cycling Embassy in Utrecht, Netherlands. At the meeting with Tom Gotefroij has been discussed how to promote cycling as a means of transport and ways to improve cycling infrastructure in Eastern Europe.

Meeting with the ECF, Brussels
Visited on 15th of  November theEuropean Cyclng Federation in Brussels, Belgium. At the meeting with Martti Tulenheimo has been discussed future ECF projects  in Bulgaria.

Meeting with GRACQ 
in Charleroi , Belgium.
www.gracq.org 

FL7 bike route from Eindhoven to Amsterdam. Country of tulips and bicycles known to all. Just so thanks to the organizations which built the best infrastructure for cycling to make recommendations on how it could be effectively and quickly built similar in Bulgaria. Invited me to a meeting to discuss details and possible partnership. I found the borrowed money and considering each step I started to cook for my short trip.
To stay in Amsterdam means necessary. I found a cheap hostel for about 14 Euro around downtown. It helped me to search a website for hostel bookings www.hostelworld.com
From Sofia to Eindhoven (Netherlands) flew in an airplane. Pre-book a ticket cheapest possible company - WizzAir. Ticket out 59 Euro plus 20 Euro storage (up to 35 kg). For years I have no other transportation than a bicycle and decided to take the wheel, so I paid extra for luggage.
The flight was very early, at 6 o'clock in the morning. I got on my bike at night and got to the airport from where the rules of airline had to disassemble the wheel and wrap it in plastic. Registration and carriage wheel was easy. Perched in Eindhoven (Netherlands) at 8 am. Quick assembly of the wheel and went on his way to Amsterdam. I checked in Google MAP distance and seemed very - 120 km. But no map for Bike is difficult in this country. In the center of Eindhoven find tourist information center (VVV) where I saw an incredible amount of cards Bike. Wish one for 17 euro which is a direct route connecting LF7 Eindhoven to Amsterdam. The incredible amount of bike lanes are difficult to orient you. For me it was an absolute shock. It took me about an hour until I found LF7 route. Infrastructure is impressive bike lanes and signs indicating the route. Bike paths between settlements usually pass directly through the fields and small villages. I can not tell you how beautiful. The weather is warm and sunny and literally drove down shirt. He was lucky to catch the good weather especially in this season. The Dutch are friendly and helpful people. Not inflated as they know the stories of familiar.Movement of cycle paths is very similar to events such as "Sunday morning on Wheels" and "Sofia Velorazhodka night out" an incredible amount of people, but the cycle paths were at least 4 meters wide on both sides. The area is covered by a network of canals and rivers crossing causing problems in orientation.Helped only markings and inscriptions of the LF 7. Several times I had to catch the ferry to cross a river which is not expensive, only 1 Euro. I passed 120 km, but still far from Amsterdam. Do not believe how Google calculates the MAP. From his experience on a tour of the Mediterranean where I estimated to be 23,000 km and 32,000 km was already do not trust him. Darkness fell very quickly and driving in the dark quite difficult for me. Several times backward and had to go back to 10 kilometers. Headlamp battery died very quickly and most times I drove quite blind. In Utrecht, the capital of cycling, you share honestly, never in my life have I seen so many cyclists in one place. Moving on the cycle paths cyclists reminds me of bees and the movement of blood in the veins. This was in shock. Incredibly difficult to move if the cyclist does not know where it goes, and one-stop means velokatastrofa:) I had traveled as' fly without a head "at least 20 minutes until I realized where I was going on. After tens of hundreds of questions and update the map at last came to Amsterdam in total darkness, near 10 pm. Also difficult to find the host in question. Locked from the outside wheel of bicycle parking at least 500 wheels and checked into the hostel.Tomorrow I will if I can find it where I fastened it.:) From 120 km calculated by Ayhoven to Amsterdam, became 198 km. :)

From November 2 till December 3, 2011 as a cyclist and researcher will visit the land of the bicycle transportation valley - Netherlands, beer's land - Belgium and land of the love - France .
Bottom line of researching will be:
• Researching of the standardisation in the construction of cycling infrastructure, construction and road markings. Meetings with the Dutch Cycling Embassy, associations and clubs.
• Researching of the European cycling tourist network – “EuroVelo”and existing paths for biking and bicycling. Meeting with the Euro Velo association.
• Researching of the road's marking for existing, newly constructed roads and bike paths.

Route: Eindhoven - Amsterdam - Brussels - Paris

Planned to meet many great people on my way, will make many friendships and interesting trip stories. :)
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