Wary cyclists can be forgiven sometimes for feeling as if the safest way to go around one of the least cycle-friendly cities in the world is in large numbers — hundreds of people on two wheels, preferably, with a police escort, an ambulance following just in case, and perhaps somebody pointing out the sights around you, too — in English, too, if possible.
Come July 3, a few hundred cyclists can do just that as the fourth Velonoch, or “bike night,” a cycle tour around historic Moscow, will take place around the Izmailovo district, complete with a police and medical escort.
“It’s a new look at the city,” said Sergei Nikitin, founder of Moskultprog, which organizes walks and cycle tours around the lesser-known parts of the city.
Less than a couple of months after Moskultprog’s first Rome cycle tour, it will host its first bilingual cycle tour in Moscow, on the night of July 3-4. Participants, who should register to take part, will be able to listen to experts in Russian and English.
Organizers are expecting between 500 and 700 people to turn up. An English version was introduced after complaints from foreigners who showed up to pervious events and were disappointed that there was no English commentary. For such a large amount of people to hear the experts, the talks will be transmitted over FM radio, and every participant is asked to bring along a radio.
“Velonoch is a concept that I created to cover large areas. Around the center we can walk, everything is nearby. But by bike, one can cover a great territory and gather its history,” Nikitin said.
This year’s tour will look at what organizers have dubbed “The Best of Moscow’s East Side.”
“We will conduct a real super class with Russian historians and architects to tell about the colossal Izmailovo district, combining different points of view,” Nikitin said. “It’s a real challenge because residents of big cities like Moscow know little about places where they live. They don’t love these sites because they don’t find them interesting. But, in fact, they are very interesting.”
Among the names of those whose lives have been connected with the region are Peter the Great and Josef Stalin, and another highlight is an area where the city’s first factory was built and where farmers conducted experiments with vineyards.
“The novelty of the project is in the paradigm that foreigners in Moscow are only interested in the Kremlin. We know that isn’t true. So, we will be very happy if people interested in our history show up,” Nikitin said.
The tour will begin at midnight and will cover about 22 kilometers. The pace will be slow, at about 6 kilometers an hour, and there will be a picnic at the end of the event.
For more information about Moscow Velonight 2010, see www.severo-vostorg.blogspot.com.
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