What's Green Bikes for Peace project?
The Green Bikes for Peace project was a 30-day-long biking tour crossing 5 countries, with youth participating. The aim of the trip was to draw attention to sustainability. Thus various programs and subprojects are organized before and during the trip, in order to demonstrate different aspects of sustainability in a creative way. Our project had many partners and sponsors. The detailed route and dates of the trip. The development of the project can be followed in the diary!
A busy city in the heat, sweaty conditions, sad reality
Submitted by kobrizsa on Sat, 18/07/2009 - 19:26
We had to face unpleasant surprises at the last stop of our comparative analysis. At the abridged sightseeing tour in 40 degrees in the city centre we could see war-like infrastructure, an insensible number of cars and extraordinarily bad air quality. It was really bad to explain to an international group how and why this city, which had ideal conditions, got to this point. Of course, beyond all these bad experiences we visited the most beautiful and interesting points in the city and we saw the new infrastuctural solutions which may project a nicer future. Thank you very much for Hajti Pajti the improvised presentation about the company.
After a short chillout in the afternoon in Margitsziget we visited the long waited Millenáris Velodrome. Thank you very much for Eszter Budai, Boci and everybody, who showed their favourite place, thus making our "Cycling Budapest" programme complete.
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3 comments for "A busy city in the heat, sweaty conditions, sad reality ".
1. the summary of the velodrome workshop
Workshop at the Millenaris velodrome on the 15th of July 2009.
Eszter Budai, a Millenaris activist welcomed us and told the history of the building and Hungary’s only track – the Milli – which still exists, for 113 years long.
The Millenaris was built to host all sportevents for the millenaris ceremony, in 1896.
The building was built as a contemporary idea, but the mass liked it so much that after the ceremonies, the sport life continued here.
Many Hungarian sport events were held here: the first Hungarian football match, gymnastic, and mass-sport events, as well as bicycle races on the track. The first track was quite flat, the ’shell’ was 500 meters long and the walls were only 16° in the curves, while the straight parts were completely flat.
When in 1926 Hungary won the chance to host the next track world chamionship, by the plans of Alfred Hajos the track was rebuilt. The new track was made of concrete 415 meters long and the curves were quite steep, 38,9 °. The grandstand could have 3000 fans, while around another 11 thousand. After world war two, the civils helped wiht their bare hands to rebuild the track, and the building.
The present form hasn’t changed too much since 1954.
This centre is often called the cradle of Hungarian sport: the first Hungarian football match, atletics, boxing, motorcycle and a lot more sport events could attract thousands of people before world war two.
This is why the civil movement – which always played a very active and crucial role in the history of the track – thinks the building and the track is more than just a few stones: An organic venue, a cultural- and sporthistorical memory, which has a unique atmosphere, that can be described maybe as breathtaking.
The track and the facilities are the property of the State, the handler is a governmental institute. Some thinks they are the handler, but not the saver.
A group of civil activists works on finding new solutions and better communication with the authority people to make the track rise again.
Their plans are to create a cyclist community place, with a fresh, living attitude.
Track races, as well as other cyclist happenings, cycle shops, repair possibilities, a cyclist hostel, a cafe, open air cinema, and a lot more.
The way to get it will leads to
-an improved comunication with the handler,
-much better popularization
-build up a sort of ’velodromes of the world unite’ type of network, with living connections, discussions,
-to open an online webshop, where the profit will be returned to repairing the building, and the track.
The improvement on the official channel is to get the very most out of any situation. A better understanding of the different opinions can also help to know how and what to offer for the „Milli” that can be of an importance for the State.
Currently the venue hosts only trackcyclists, and Bike polo players. The civil group would like to use the „budapest cycle boom”(the number of cyclists almost doubling every year), to invite more and more new cyclists. It is planned with a better website, using the very well working community sites to promote the events, a basic mass can be gathered. And usually soon they also bring others.
The civils want to build up an international velodrome network and database, which could be very interesting from a touristical point of view too. Anybody could check if there is a track nearby the planned holiday for the summer. This network would be a sort of net-society, a helping, discussing, place where the members could help each other how to handle a challenging situation or to get good ideas that help improving anything in the everday life. This would also biuld up personal relationships, which are very important in a volunteer enviroment. The target is if somebody would come to Budapest, to know about the velodrome, if the person likes cycling. Spreading the word after, will attract more people year by year.
The online merch shop will help finance partly the Milli activities. Students from an art college are planned to be asked to come, have a look at it and make a complete cycle jersey collection from their own special persepctive. After choosing the best concept, a very good quality Milli supporter jersey collection will be available worldwide. We expect a brand new, fresh design, which will be succesful for worldwide deliveries. The profit will be used to maintain the track and the facilities.
Currently the group faces some challenges, but they believe the quote:
Every adversity, failure, heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit.
As the current challenging stuation might force the different smaller cyclist groups to form one bigger, this will also be the time of unity, which can only help create a better, nicer, future.
Finally we had the unbelievable chance to ride the track, which made the afternoon program unforgettable.
2. summer in the city
althought it was extremely hot in the city - which was partly why I am happy to live out of the downtown area - I feel that the BP tour was succesful. After a longer time spent on country roads we got back to my beloved city.
I feel gratitude that we could see and try the Millenaris.
I got on the track for the first time - ever!
Aftert a year or so, finally...
I suppose I could find the perfect partners/friends to celebrate my first rounds.
;o)
3. the capital of crazyness
when we arrived in budapest we had no place to stay, but tv cameras following us. the eurovelo six was not present and the cardivers were hornig and shouting at us. but aslong everybody was in quite a god mood we didnt care so much and after the surpising hostel we went to a wonderful experience on a partyboat on the danube. unfortunateliy our most beloved river was too dirty to go for a swimm, although the smog and the concrete heated the city up like hell. I was amazed by the hungarian artists. one of them worked in a studio in an former emty house which was manged as a art and party comune. but just after the vistit of the national gallery, I was very much convinced that I like the hungarian creativity. I think this city has a big potential, but probably growing too fast to have so many cars on the road. I hope in future they will manage to built up enough infrastukture for wastemangement and transport.
Looking at the danube at night was a romantic experience. Staying at the flat of an hungarian cosmopolitan was a spiritual one.