Day 3 of the cycling along EuroVelo 9 from Vienna to Ljubljana where the Velo-city conference will happen next week represented the last day of cycling in Austria and crossing the border to Slovenia. In stage 3, the riders from the SABRINA project, Danube Cycle Plans project, EuroVelo coordinators, other partners and supporters rode 58 km. 

Before the start of the bike ride, we had a press conference in Bad Radkersburg. The mayor Karl Lautner is a big supporter of cycling and a cyclist himself. He has done some long-distance cycling and is also a regular user of the EuroVelo routes therefore, he was proud to say that Bad Radkersburg municipality was the first one in Styria with a Fahhradstrasse or a cycling road that was introduced to the traffic law. The area offers great opportunities for cycling for families as well as more demanding cyclists. Since their goal is to be a cycling-friendly municipality, they are paying a lot of attention to improvements of the cycling infrastructure, knowing this is the key to attracting more cycling tourists as well as encouraging local people to cycle more often. 

The Vice-Mayor of Bad Radkersburg Franz Trebitch who is also the bicycle coordinator of the town talked about the cycling plans. Besides cycling tourism, they are focused on promoting everyday cycling. One of the town’s cycling projects focuses on the roundabouts and their safety for cyclists. The next plan they want to implement is to install bike racks and bike boxes for bike parking next to the train stations and in this way encourage more people to combine cycling with public transportation. 

Heidi Schmitt from Radlobby presented the goals of the projects SABRINA and Danube Cycle Plans, together with the economic benefits of building up the long-distance cycling routes like Euro Velo. The Bad Radkersburg municipality representatives pledged to do everything possible to improve the cycling infrastructure in the municipality and make it safer and attractive for cyclists of all ages and abilities. The press conference was concluded with the mayor’s signature of the support for the goals of pan-European Master Plan for Cycling Promotion. 

Styrian bike coordinator Bernhard Krause also joined our gathering. Styria offers many amazing possibilities for cycling, not only for cycling tourists but also for everyday commuters. There are many great examples of cycling infrastructure, however, there is still room for improvement, and it is great to see all the efforts and passion the Styrian municipalities are showing in this respect. 

After the press conference cyclists hit the road and followed Murradweg. Cycling along the Mur River took us all the way to the Slovenian border. With some rain on the way, parts of the route were quite challenging and muddy. The next stop was at the border with Slovenia, in the tourism coordination center of the town Šentilj. The cyclists were greeted by Petra Pucko, director of municipal administration of Šentilj, who spoke about the municipality's primary focus being on the importance of developing cycling infrastructure, primarily for daily cycling commuters, and on the education of kids on how to become regular cyclists. She presented the signed document from the mayor of Šentilj, Edvard Čagran, and also signed the letter of support for the goals of the pan-European Master Plan for Cycling Promotion herself. Katarina Sladoljev from the Slovenian Ministry of Infrastructure presented the activities and goals of the Danube Cycle Plans and SABRINA projects and thanked Šentilj representatives for their interest in EuroVelo routes, cycling infrastructure safety and promotion of cycling. The news from our visit to Šentilj are available on local TV channel NetTV (in Slovenian). 

From Šentilj to Maribor, our group was joined by Slovenian EuroVelo coordinator and president of Slovenian cycling network Bojan Žižek. Together we visited the mobility center in Slovenia, located in Maribor and coordinated by the Maribor cycling network. Their goals, presented by president Žiga Ozvaldič, are to promote cycling and sustainable mobility. A very interesting project is also the so-called Bike Kitchen, where they teach locals how to repair their bikes themselves or recommend trips for daily commuting. 

Follow our cycling journey from Vienna To Ljubljana on social media (Twitter, Facebook) and visit the SABRINA project booth next week at the Velo-city conference in Ljubljana. 

                    
Photos: Jan Hajšen