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August 6th,
2010
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Start
of The Andes Trail in Quito
The second edition of "The Andes Trail" started this afternoon at the base of the equator monument just north of Quito. The Ecuadorians call it : “Mitad-del-Mundo”, the Middle of the World.
The first 26 kilometers from the hotel in the center of Quito to the Mitad-del-Mundo went smoothly despite lots of traffic.
We were warmly welcomed at the Mitad-del-Mundo monument. After the photo session, the director of the Mitad-del-Mundo monument said a few nice
words to the cyclists before he blew up a bicycle tire. It was the sign for a group of brave cyclists to start pedalling 11.000 kilometers along, through and over the longest mountain range in the world. Destination : Ushuaia in Argentina, “Fin-del-Mundo”, The End-of-the-World.
More stories are published soon and you can also follow the blogs of the individual participants.
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July 18th,
2010
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50.000 Australian
Dollar for OCF
The Australian participants of "La Bella Italia" and "Les Dix Alpes" raised a total amount of
50.000 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.
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July 2nd,
2010
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Finish
at the boulevard in Nice
The second edition of “Les Dix Alpes” was ridden under a sunny
Italian, Swiss and French sky. The conditions were excellent and the participants
enjoyed the scenery in optima forma.
At the end of the day we saw a lot of tired, but fulfilled, faces. The
comment "it was hard" was soon replaced by "it was
fantastic!!" Almost everyone managed to overcome all famous cols and
all participants arrived happy and healthy at the Promenade de Anglais
in Nice.
The
renewed route which included the Simplon Pass, the Grand St. Bernard,
l'Alpe d'Huez and the stunning Gorges du Cians turned out to be an
awesome route.
Next
year a new "Les Dix Alpes". Registration is open. The
first riders already signed up.
Get
an impression
of "Les Dix
Alpes 2010".
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June 18th,
2010
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Finish
of La
Bella Italia 2010 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
- with snow on top - 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 2011. Registration is open.
Get
an impression
of "La Bella
Italia 2010".
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| May
25th,
2010 |
Registration
for La Bella Italia 2011 is open. The
fourth edition of "La Bella Italia" starts Saturday May 14th in Palermo and finishes
Friday June 17th in Como.
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| May
15th,
2010 |
La
Bella Italia 2010 rolling...
A
group of 30 cyclists left this morning 30 kilometres south Palermo to
start their own Giro d’Italia.
The weather conditions were not ideal for a pleasant start. The Sicilian
weather gods were angry. ANGRY in capitals. Heavy showers, strong wind and
hail tortured the riders in the first part of the day. Fortunately the
showers got less, but the wind got stronger, stronger.
It
was a tough first day, but the atmosphere at the dinner table was
excellent. That's a good sign for the rest of the tour.
More
news will follow soon in the Gazetta. |
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April 23rd,
2010
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"The
Andes Trail 2010" fully booked
We
have reached the limits of our unique bicycle expedition in
South-America.
A
mix of participants coming from Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, France,
Germany, UK, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, Peru, United States and
The Netherlands will experience the most beautiful, but also most
challenging, roads between Quito and Ushuaia.
The
date of a next "Andes Trail" is published at the end of the
year. There
will be probably no Andes Trail in 2011.
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April 17th,
2010
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"The
Timbuktu Tour 2011"
Timbuktu. Everyone has heard about it. But where is it? Does Timbuktu exist or is it only a place in everyone’s imagination?
Take your own camel made of steel, aluminium or carbon, and let the adventure begin…
Read
everything on the website
and download the brochure.
"The Timbuktu Tour” is a cycling expedition to a mysterious place where you have never been before, over roads where you have never been before and in conditions where you have never been before.
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April 15th,
2010
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"Les
Dix Alpes 2010" fully booked
We
have reached the limits for the bicycle challenge through the Italian,
Swiss and French Alps.
A
bunch of 40 people is collecting in Como to cycle in 12 days to Nice.
Registration
for Les Dix Alpes 2011 is open. Next
year the expedition starts Monday June 20th in Como and finishes Friday July 1st in Nice.
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April 11th,
2010
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"Paris-Dakar
by Bike 2011" cancelled
Bike-Dreams
has decided to cancel "Paris-Dakar by Bike 2011" in an early stage due to the negative travel advice for Mauritania.
Two incidents have occurred at the end of 2009, which was for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs enough reason to change the travel advice in a negative way. Some areas of
Mauritania, including the route of "Paris-Dakar by Bike", have a negative travel advice.
We don't expect that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will change this advice in a positive way on the short term.
We have considered to organize a shorter route ( with finish in Morocco ), but what is an expedition called "Paris-Dakar by Bike" without Dakar?
We are very sorry to say, but we want to inform all potential participants correctly and in an early stage. This gives you and Bike-Dreams the time and space to make other plans.
The fact that we don't organize "Paris-Dakar by Bike" in 2011, does not mean that Bike-dreams is not going to Africa next year.
A new tour is organized, called "The Timbuktu Tour".
More information will
follow soon...
We sincerely hope that we can organize "Paris-Dakar by Bike" in the future, which is also supported by a positive travel advice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Unfortunately we do not know which year yet. 2012, 2013,...?
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April 5th,
2010
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Bike-Dreams
Weekend 2010
The ex-participants, new participants and crew members can look back on a successful weekend.
The cyclists had a great time and could smell the fantastic atmosphere
during the "Tour de Flanders 2010"; the holy centre of the
Belgian cycling.
The
cobble stones of the Oude Kwaremont, Koppenberg and Muur van
Geraardsbergen were waiting on Saturday. The next day, Easter Sunday,
a short loop around the Kluisberg was programmed and a few hours later
Lance Armstrong, Tom Boonen and especially Fabian Cancellara were
flying by over the same hills.
Next
year a new weekend...
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January
18th, 2010
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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
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Faddergalan
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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November 14th,
2009
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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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November 11th,
2009
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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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October 22nd,
2009
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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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