Cycling is becoming ever more popular as a mode of transport for running errands. Slovenia’s first cycling festival takes places on Saturday 19 May 2012.

This year marks the 125th anniversary since Dr Demeter Bleiweiss, Milan Levstek, Viljem Mayer, Ernest Koželj and Rudolf Vesel set up the Slovene Cyclists’ Club – the first ever Slovenian cycling organisation, the first President of which was Dr Ivan Tavčar. This was a conscious and forward-looking response by Slovenes to the establishment, two years previously, of the first cycling club in Slovenia – Der Laibacher Byciklisticher Club.

This year sees the conclusion of the CIVITAS ELAN project, the first major European project on sustainable mobility, of which a Slovenian city has been among the leaders. With it, Ljubljana has been given a cycling co-ordinator and exceptional knowledge and experience in the field of strategic planning of cyclist-friendly traffic regimes and infrastructure as well as help to cycling as a form of sustainable mobility in cities.

This year, Ljubljana has adopted a new transport strategy, whose main goal, beside increasing service quality and the use of public transport, is to make the city once more friendly to cyclists and pedestrians so that by 2020 as a combined share with public transport they make up 2/3 of journeys made in the city and that the use of cars is reduced to 1/3 from 2/3 today.

To raise awareness of the rich and diverse history of cycling in Slovenia and to make cycling ever more popular not just as a sport and pastime but above all once more as a mode of transport in the city, as part of the ‘Cycle Slovenia’ campaign we have decided to organise the first ever ‘Cycling Festival’. We would like this to become a traditional get-together of all those for whom the bike is first and foremost a means of transport for daily errands as well as getting to know the environment around them and further beyond.

The Festival is at two locations on Saturday 19 May 2012 – in Congress Square in Ljubljana and at the Technical Museum in Bistra.

If you are interested in the programme and information about the cycling festival, please contact Mrs Vita Kontić, at +386 1 306 10 95 or by e-mail to vita.kontic@ljubljana.si.