The third Bike-Dreams Weekend is organized in the Easter Weekend of April 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the holy centre of Belgian cycling : The Tour de Flanders.
The weekend is open for ex-participants and all other interested cyclists.
The weekend is for former participants a nice opportunity to have a chat and to revive stories. The weekend gives for other cyclist the possibility to get acquainted with the Bike-Dreams organization in an informal way and to hear the experiences of ex-participants.
You can find information in the "Bike-Dreams Weekend" Letter or at the Website.
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January 18th, 2010
Charity
The
participants of "Paris-Dakar by Bike 2009" raised an amount
of € 4.291,22 for SOS
Children's Villages. They take care that all donations are used in an effective way, so that tens, as not, hundreds of children head for a better future.
Not only SOS Children's Villages was supported. There were also a few private initiatives. Mark and Maartje from The Netherlands raised a fantastic amount of € 10.902,- for Right To Play. Swedish Elisabet Otterstedt raised money for Vision Africa and Hannelore Grill ( also from Sweden ) supported Plan International.
We want to thank all persons and companies who donated an amount. Small or big, all donations are warmly welcome. "Many small streams will be a great river". The organizations are very grateful with all donations and we are very grateful to the donors for the support to these initiatives.
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November 30th, 2009
Hannelore Grill, participant of "Paris-Dakar by Bike 2009", cycled all the way from Stockholm to Senegal, to visit her 14 year adopted child Fatou in Senegal. The 59 year Hannelore, raised money for Plan International, and was one of the main guests during the Swedish television show Faddergalan ( TV4 ).
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3rd Edition of Paris-Dakar by Bike finished...
An exhausted, but happy bunch of cyclists arrived healthy and safely in Dakar!!! After 10 weeks of cycling through wind, a few rain showers, and a lot of sun the peloton was welcomed the rhythm of African drums. The thirsty throats of the cyclists were quenched by Senegalese beer during the cocktail party at the finish line on the shores of Lac Rose.
Eric Voutaz from Switzerland was physically and mentally the strongest rider and was 52 minutes ahead of his countryman David Imboden. The Swiss bank employee didn't win a yellow jersey, but he was dressed up in a traditional Mauritanian costume. The podium was completed by Dirk Franckx from Belgium.
Toos van Beijsterveldt from The Netherlands finished first in the female competition. Toos was dressed in a colourful Senegalese dress and she was flanked by Betty Otterstedt from Sweden at a second place and Maartje Knoop from the Netherlands a third place.
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Wereldfietsbeurs
Bike-Dreams is
present at the Wereldfietsbeurs.
Date : Sunday November 29th, 2009
Location : Activiteitencentrum Zjaak, Rotterdam
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Whike... What ?
Fredjan Twigt joins Paris-Dakar by Bike through the Western Sahara on his Whike for a try-out. A what???
A Whike? A wind bike...
Hopefully Fredjan - the inventor of the Whike - gets heaps of favourable winds, so he can reach speeds above 50 km per hours. Check out www.whike.com.
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Bike Motion Benelux
Bike-Dreams is present at the bicycle exhibition Bike-Motion Benelux.
Date : October 30th, 31st and November 1st, 2009
Location : Jaarbeurs Utrecht, The Netherlands
Stand : Hal 11, A048
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Paris-Dakar by Bike 2009
An international group
of 29 cyclists and crew left this morning in a sunny Paris for their 10 weeks bicycle expedition to Dakar.
The cyclists were all dressed in fire red jerseys at the photo shooting below the Eiffel Tower. Two brandnew old fire trucks were just in time ready to support the cyclists. You can read the
tourletters, have a look at the
photos
and follow the ranking
of your favorite rider.
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37.000 Australian
Dollar for OCF
The Australian participants of "La Bella Italia" and "Les Six Alpes" raised a total amount of 37.000 Australian
dollar for OCF.
We want to thank all Australian participants who spent a lot of energy to make the
OCF Charity Challenges in Italy and France a success.
OCF and Bike-Dreams are very grateful to all persons and companies who donated an amount. Small or big, all donations are warmly welcome.
We can tell that the co-operation between OCF and Bike-Dreams was a success, and we'll continue
and extend our relationship for the next couple of years to find a cure for sick and critically ill children suffering from cancer, leukaemia and other serious cancer related illnesses.
Next year is also "The Andes Trail" entitled as one of the OCF Charity Challenges. So, ride in the Andes, Italy or the Alps and support OCF.
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July 19th, 2009
"Les Six Alpes" changes into "Les Dix Alpes"
The start and finish locations are still the same. The start is at the shores of Lake
Como; the finish at the boulevard in Nice. In between not SIX, but TEN mythical cols.
Nine "hors catergory" climbs above 2.000 meters, plus the legendary climb to the ski resort of
l'Alpe d'Huez.
We make an extra loop in 2010 in Switzerland with the Simplon Pass and the difficult
Col du Grand St. Bernard.
An extra rest day is planned in Visp, Switzerland, which is the gateway to Zermatt and the Matterhorn, one of the world's most distinctive mountains.
Read all information about the renewed route on the website, or ask for the new version of
"Les
Dix Alpes" brochure
via an automatic email.
You can now register for 2010.
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July 19th, 2009
La Bella Italia 2010
The third edition of "La Bella Italia" starts
May 15th, 2010.
An extra day of cycling in Sicily and one extra rest day in the south of the "boot", make the first two tough weeks of "La Bella Italia" a bit more pleasant. The tour of 2010 lasts
35 days in total and 7 nights hotel nights are included in the route. This gives us the opportunity to bring the route
of "La Bella Italia" to perfection and it gives you the chance to enjoy a comfortable hotel
bed along the way.
You can ask for the updated version of the "La
Bella Italia" brochure
via an automatic email.
You can now register for 2010.
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Back after 50 years…
The first edition of “Les Six Alpes” was ridden under a sunny French sky. The conditions were excellent and the participants could enjoy the scenery in optima forma.
One of the participants, Maurice Gagné – 72 year and a former Canadian cycling and speed skating champion of the early sixties – returned after 50 year to the Col du Galibier. And like real champions do : he fought his way up to the 2645 meter high pass with gradients up to 10 per cent. A big chapeau !!!
Also the other participants managed to overcome the famous cols and arrived happy and healthy at the boulevard in Nice. One complaint : “It was too short”.
So, another tour through the Alps in 2010, maybe with even more Alps. "Les Dix Alpes" ???
More information within a couple of weeks. Get
an impression
of "Les Six
Alpes 2009".
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Finish of La Bella Italia 2009 at Lake Como
All participants arrived after more than 3.000
inspiring kilometers at Lake Como. It was wonderful to see how all participants overwon the Dolomites and the impressive Passo dello Stelvio in the last week. Everyone had enjoyed the tour through Italy very much and arrived happy, healthy and with a lot of sweet memories.
Another "La Bella Italia" in 2010. Dates, details and
registrations from July.
Get an impression
of "La Bella
Italia 2009".
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La Bella Italia 2009 rolling...
A group of 29 cyclists left this morning 30 kilometres from Palermo to start
their own Giro d’Italia.
The cyclists were all dressed in tricolore jerseys at the photo shooting
at the shores of the Mediterranean. The sun was already warm in the morning hours and turned out to be the biggest
enemy for the day. Everyone was running out of water, and a lot of sweat dripped on the Sicilian
country roads. More news will follow soon in the Gazetta.
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Fire Truck
We have bought a “brandnew” old fire truck to support our expeditions in a more sophisticated way. The truck has a mileage of 25.000 kilometers and it has only been cleaned in her 26 years old life in the garage of a fire station in
Bad Oldesloe ( near Hamburg ). Rob gave the German fire truck the last couple of months a complete face lift : water hoses have been removed, oxygen bottles are replaced by jerrycans, extra storage boxes have been placed on the
roof, a fridge has been installed and a lot more. And... the wailing sirens are still working ( the camels in the Sahara will know that we are coming… ). There was no time to
give the truck an extra Bike-Dreams touch, but stickers will be put definitely on the sides before we start our bicycle expedition to Dakar.
Rob and Andy drove the last week in three days from Amsterdam to Palermo the same distance as what the fire truck normally did in three years!!!
The truck is equipped with a 4x4 drive, which can bring us to… Yeah, you never know… Like little boys want to play with little fire trucks, big boys want to play with big fire trucks… The dream continues…
