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Editor:
Presscouncil City of Chemnitz
Pressrelease: 294

Family bike tour "vital and mobile 2013" starts on 9 June

Vital & mobil

The traditional "vital und mobil" family cycle tour is no longer an insider tip for cycling enthusiasts in Chemnitz. On Sunday, 9 June at 10 a.m., the starting signal will be given for the 16th edition at Neumarkt. Every year, more than 1000 men, women and children get on their bikes, and Mayor Barbara Ludwig will once again be one of the participants in the family bike tour.

T-shirts and refreshment packs will once again be distributed to participants before the start. The Chemnitzer Stadtfahrrad association will be offering hire bikes to last-minute travellers. Its members will also provide breakdown assistance, while the police and rescue service will ensure safety along the route.

The tour starts with a 9 km route from the city centre via Reichenhainer Straße and Werner-Seelenbinder-Straße directly to the Vita-Center. Here, the organisers recommend that families with children under 8 - 10 years of age take advantage of the cycling festival on the centre's parking deck, which is expected to include, among other things

  • GGG bouncy castle
  • XXL information stand (bicycle shop in the market hall)
  • Climbing game from the VITA Centre
  • Reaction game from t-wall
  • Information stands AOK, Fielmann, Klinikum-Chemnitz gGmbH, Chemnitzer Stadtfahrrad, REWE, DRK, VW Automobile, Paramount-Sport, Reha-aktiv
  • Puzzle game of the Freie Presse

After a short wait to gather, the 24-kilometre round trip begins via Stollberger Straße and Wolgograder Allee past the parish forest towards Harthau and then to Reichenhainer Straße. There the participants pass the green grounds of the municipal cemetery. From there, the bikers ride uphill to Gablenz; the route continues along Charlottenstraße and Geibelstraße to Augustusburger Straße, where it touches the Yorck area before heading back towards the city centre. Shortly before reaching the city centre, however, the peloton turns off towards the Park of the Victims of Fascism, past the Schauspielhaus theatre, across Bernsbachplatz and via Altchemnitzer Straße to Heinrich-Lorenz-Straße. Here the Stadtparkgrün is reached, time for less athletic riders to catch their breath before the route profile becomes a little more challenging again and climbs up towards Wladimir-Sagorski-Straße. The last section before the finish at the Vita Centre had already been covered by the riders at the start of the tour.

There, participants can enjoy a snack on the car park deck as part of the cycling festival and find out about the latest bike developments or take part in interesting games until around 3.00 pm.

Get there safely: The organisers ask participants of the "vital und mobil" family bike tour to follow the instructions of the police and stewards and to be considerate of unsafe participants. Participants are also asked to observe the rules of conduct issued by the organisers. Around 50 volunteers - 20 from the German Red Cross alone - have volunteered as stewards. The organisers would like to thank them, as well as all sponsors, helpers and participants. Without this broad support, it would be almost impossible to realise such an event.

In order to ensure general insurance cover for participants, the organisers ask that the following rules be followed:

  • In principle, the regulations of the StVO must be observed.
  • The requirements of the StVZO for the bicycle must be complied with.
  • The instructions of the police must be followed.
  • The instructions of the stewards (yellow waistcoats / steward stickers) must also be followed.
  • Consideration for unsafe participants is assumed.
  • Only the right-hand lane is to be used on roads.
  • Anyone who overtakes the leading police car or the stewards at the front (recognisable by a yellow high-visibility waistcoat) leaves the event and rides at their own risk.
  • The group gathers before crossing main roads and waits for instructions from the police and stewards.
  • Cycle tour participants must behave in accordance with the road traffic regulations on the approach to the start (Markt/Neumarkt).
  • At the Vita Centre (Wladimir-Sagorski-Straße), only the footpath and cycle path areas are to be used.
  • If cyclists decide not to continue during the ride, they must leave the field of participants on their own responsibility.

Contact: Questions about the cycle tour will be answered by e-mail: radverkehr@stadt-chemnitz.de and by telephone 0371/488-6681.