On 24 July, the “NowWeBike” European cross-border cycling tour will kick-off in Muğla, Turkey. A team of four volunteer recreational cyclists (3 men and 1 woman) will cross the borders of 12 countries, using eight different EuroVelo routes over 2,700 km, finishing in Brussels on 9 September after 47 days of cycling. The main objective of the NowWeBike tour is to raise awareness about Europe’s “Inactivity Time Bomb”, based on an ISCA study published in June showing that 1 in 4 adults across Europe is currently physically inactive, as well as 4 out of 5 adolescents.

The countries the NowWeBike European cross-border tour will travel through after the start in Turkey are Bulgaria, Greece, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany and Belgium. If you would like to support the team and/or organise a side event please write to [email protected]

NowWeBike is not just about one team travelling from A to B. Their route to Brussels will be an interactive one, offering the public, the press and organisations a variety of ways to be part of the event. From “come and try” activities including BikeYoga, to active sightseeing tours and cultural visits, to press conferences, and city-to-city pro-am (professionals riding alongside amateurs) events, NowWeBike will feature side events designed to appeal to an array of tastes, abilities and professional interests.

“Cycling is an easy and popular way to stay healthy, as nowadays many of us are not physically active enough,” ISCA President Mogens Kirkeby says.

“With the NowWeBike cross-border tour we would like to encourage more citizens to participate in recreational sport and to be active. And we would like to bring the excitement of moving to more Europeans, as we believe that exercise works like a medicine, and it is free and available for everyone.”

The NowWeBike European cross-border tour is new to the NowWeMOVE campaign calendar this year. You can join the event by visiting the Facebook event page and find out more at the website here

“NowWeBike” is part of the NowWeMOVE campaign, supporting the European Week of Sport - #BeActive, #NowWeBike, #NowWeMove. Learn more at: www.nowwemove.com