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disABILITY RIDE

Name: disABILITY RIDE
Start: 2024-05-20T00:00:00+02:00
End: 2024-05-25T23:59:59+02:00

May 20 - May 25

disAbility Ride Live (GPS tracking)

Three cyclists with special needs will ride 500 km through 4 countries in 5 days to show that travel and adventures are possible for people with special needs and to donate a bicycle for people with disabilities to the Varaždin Therme & Hospital.

disAbility Ride 2024. is the first edition of this Bike Passion project. With a wide portfolio of cycling projects in the region and abroad, the Bike Passion team of Varga Vanja and Dami Zupi decided to create another project that is special in its nature and purpose.

disAbility Ride aims to show that adventure and travel are possible for people with special needs. With this project, they also want to map accommodation, restaurants and shops suitable for people with disabilities.

In addition to these main goals, disAbility Ride raises awareness and gives visibility to the topic of travel for people with disabilities.

The protagonists are Anej Doplihar, Slovenian paralympian and Slaven Škrobot, Croatian cyclist, travel writer and adventurer, and Andrej Rotar, Slovenian competitive recreational paracyclist. Their stories, interests, lives and motivations are very different, but what is the same is the spark to live and the focus to see the future, not the past.

“My journey, or second life, as I like to call it, began in 2009 when I accidentally jumped into the sea, fell on a friend, broke my neck and remained immobile, and ended up in a wheelchair with the diagnosis “tetraplegic”. After almost a year of rehabilitation and leaving the hospital, I thought I would never get used to a normal life in my hometown, Zagreb. After a few short trips, it was my first time and I didn’t know what to expect and how mine would go body to react. And that’s where it all started, I traveled half of Europe and cycled from Istria to Istanbul and spent the spring of 2024 in South America, and things are going further, more extreme, more exotic and crazier!” says Slaven.

Andrej Rotar has a slightly different story. “In April 2018, I fell ill with meningococcemia and sepsis. The consequence of the disease is the amputation of both legs and several fingers on the left hand. After recovery, I underwent long-term rehabilitation at URI Soča in Ljubljana. It was there that I encountered hand cycling for the first time. In August 2020, I made the first kilometers with the help of electric assistance. Progress was very fast. In the winter, I switched the rides to the trainer. I changed the manual bike of category H3, which is recumbent, to category H5 sitting because with my category of disability according to the UCI regulations, I can only compete in category H5. I like long drives and alpine passes.

I am married and the father of two children. I was employed for four hours at the Carthago company, and retired on disability for four hours. In addition to cycling, I like to walk our dog Runo with my family and grow tomatoes, peppers, herbs and flowers in containers.”

These three cyclists with special needs will connect Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia in the company of the Bike Passion team and other cyclists who are welcome to join the ride and support the action.

In 5 days, they will connect 5 partner locations that are equipped to accommodate people with disabilities, and which at the same time supported the disAbility Ride project by providing accommodation and food for the team.

The disAbility Ride will start from The Radkersburger Hof with the Maria Theresia clinic on 5/20. at 10 a.m., and the first day will end in the Varaždin spa. The second day ends in Pustara Višnjica. the third day in Bizovački toplice, the fourth in Iločki podrumi, and will end at Touristic village Ribarsko ostrvo, Novi Sad

The crown of the project will be two bicycles for people with special needs that will be purchased for the Special Hospital for Medical Rehabilitation in Varaždinska Toplice by the sponsors of the project – the retail chains of the Fortenova Group: Mercator Slovenia, Konzum Hrvatska, and Idea and Roda – brands of Mercator Serbia, as well as the sponsor UBS – Urban Bike Solutions from Beli Manastir, who also supported the implementation of the project.

The bikes will aim to help someone in the rehabilitation period to discover a new life, a new passion in cycling as our protagonists did.

Support this initiative too! Join one of the stages, ride with Anej, Slaven and Andrej on one or more stages.

When, how?

The disAbility Ride starts every day at 10am from a partner location (click below on the name of the location for the exact location).

Live GPS tracking will be available here – so you can see where they are every second to jump in, ride along or just say hi (GPS tracking provided by stoperica.live).

Detailed routes are also available on the Strava Events app – routes by day (they can still change! Check them before the event)

[Day 1] 20.5.

Radkersburger Hof s klinikom Maria Theresia > Varaždinske Toplice [GPX file DAY 1]

[Day 2] 21.5.

Varaždin Therme & Hospital > Pustara Višnjica [GPX file DAY 2]

[Day 3] 22.5.

Pustara Višnjica > Bizovačke toplice [GPX file DAY 3]

[Day 4] 23.5.

Bizovačke toplice Therme > Iločki podrumi [GPX file DAY 4]

[Day 5] 24.5.

Iločki podrumi – Tourist resort Ribarsko ostrvo [GPX file DAY 5]

If you have any questions or suggestions, contact the Bike Passion team!