1200 kilometers, five countries, two best friends and two weird bicycles – Szoki and Andris will bring a cargo bike home from Copenhagen to Hungary while raising funds for the Arló Franciscan Mission.
This trip aims to raise awareness to the fact that cycling is more than a healthy hobby, it can also be an everyday solution for the poor. In Hungary, people living in extreme poverty often find it difficult to travel from their homes to cities where they can find work. Cars are expensive, getting a drivers license is also difficult, and public transport is often inefficient in rural areas and especially segregates affected by poverty. For these people, a bicycle is an opportunity to go to work or school – much the same here in Europe as in Africa or South America.
Arló is a village of about 3500 people in northeastern Hungary. Most of the population are romani, and unemployment in the region is particularly high since the closure of local heavy industry companies – therefore many live in extreme poverty. Opportunities for employment in the village are sparse, the locals often live on temporary jobs or have to find work in cities. Arló is connected by bike lanes to Ózd, the nearest town, and a connection to the city of Eger is also under construction. However, local people living in poverty need bikes and bike maintenance skills to make use of these connections.
The Sisters of Saint Francis are already active in the promotion of cycling in Arló by organizing bike excursions for the local youth. The former generation bikes of Bubi, the Budapest Public Biking Programme have been donated through them to Arló, offering a chance to locals, but most of these are in a bad condition. The funds donated through this project will be used to purchase additional bicycles and to set up a local workshop for bike repairs and maintenance.
During the trip, Szoki and Andris will take a cargo bike from Copenhagen through Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to Budapest – and symbolically connect Danish cycling culture to Hungary. In Hungary, one of the most important obstacles of cycle transport is that people don’t feel safe in car traffic – a problem that can be improved a lot through raising awareness and changing behaviour. The trip will be completed with a cargo bike and a folding bike, illustrating the diversity of cycling and the wide range of opportunities and solutions. Cargo bikes allow transporting children and goods which are typically moved by car, while folding bikes are a way to connect cycling and public transport.
During the trip, a live online map and the project blog will allow following the two bikes, while they ride towards Hungary and connect donations in person and online.
Andris
I work as a science communication expert for a geoinformation company. I have four children, 3 sons (8, 10 and 14 years old) and a daughter (15). I started cycling as a child by Lake Balaton, I started bike tours in high school, and now we do bike trips nearly every year with my family. First, my children travelled in a trailer, then in a bike seat, now they all ride their own bikes. We don’t own a car since three years, which to me means even more cycling, which is also important as part of an environmentally friendly lifestyle. I think cycling is a true win-win solution for all: it makes us happier, healthier, brings us faster to our destination while reducing our environmental impact. I love to ride together with a lot of people in the city, but also to ride alone in the forest.
For the trip, I will ride a decade-old Riese und Müller Birdy folding bike which has accompanied me on many of my travels before. I enjoy the thrill of leaving the train, unfolding the bike and exploring a new city each time. With this choice, I want to show how public transport and cycling can complement each other and prove that folding bikes can go just as far as regular bikes can.
Szoki
I work as a GIS developer in a Hungarian company, my wife, Zsuzsi will be waiting for us with our future child while we pedalling. I’ve started cycling in my childhood, I remember all of my bikes – the green Csepel Tacskó (“Dachshund”), the super cool grey-blue BMX, my first mountain bike… When I was younger we rode the bike for fun, we did unacceptable things with unacceptable bikes. During my years in secondary school I’ve started to ride farther – cycle around lake Balaton from Budapest, a trip to Sátoraljaújhely in one day and so on. These kind of trips are still part of my life – last year I’ve finished a race called Hungarian Divide, and now we will take another, but still difficult journey with Andris.
In the present days I ride my bike almost every day – if not to the office and back, then to a shop or I choose a tour, but occasionaly I go out to an enduro track to improve my technical skills. I can’t understand that how can people sit in their cars for hours a day, while I’m pedalling past them. That’s why I’m not afraid that I need to ride an unusual bike for more than 1200 kilometres – a Larry vs Harry Bullitt, I can’t wait to start the adventure!