Birmingham to Istanbul – 2000 miles and 10 different countries. The bikes must be at least 20 years old and cost under £50. A month long tour sampling the various varieties of refreshment on offer along the way. May/June 2013, thoughts?
I hope all is well, speak soon,
Ed
And so the idea was born. The rudiments of which dreamt up whilst revising for finals exams at university as an attempt to escape the monotony of 19th Century French literature. The trip seemed simple; take four weeks and try to visit a few places still on the “To see” list in a green and environmentally friendly way, whilst working off a few pounds in the process!
Ben replied:
Crazy but I like it.. Count me in I reckon who all’s behind this plan?
Yes let’s have a Skype and a catch up soon, was going to ask if you’re going to be in Brussels again anytime soon? I’ve moved back there!
So, the plan evolved. Ben was keen to include the EuroVelo network into the plan and, having moved to Brussels, the idea was that the city would become our starting point. More discussion followed and the plan to ride on £50 bike became less and less attractive as the gravity of the challenge was realised.
We then discussed an aim. What did we hope to achieve by cycling 2000 miles in a month, ending up at the tip of Europe? This is when FuriousGreenIdeas was born. We wanted our journey to have an environmental aspect and the EuroVelo network, as a seriously decent idea, seemed like an obvious choice. We wanted to champion the work they have done and aid in the publicity and development of the network. Usage is key to development and we feel the more people know and use the routes, the more funding will become available to improve what is already an impressive European-wide facility.
And this is where we find ourselves today. We have a route (albeit 2000 miles longer than initially anticipated), we have an aim and we have five months in which to build a network of contacts throughout Europe who can help us publicise the EuroVelo network to the maximum number of potential cyclists as possible.
Keep checking FuriousGreenIdeas for further updates and feel free to get in touch!
Ben and Ed
Furious Green Ideas 