Mayor welcomes amazing cyclists
Crawley played host to an amazing group of cyclists, some of whom had disabilities, as they neared the end of their 14,000km trek from Beijing to London via Paris.
Having been welcomed by the Mayor of Crawley, Cllr Keith Blake, and treated to a hot meal, they spent the night at K2 Crawley before cycling off to London – the end of their epic journey - on the eve of the opening of the Paralympic Games.
The group of around 80 cyclists left Beijing on April 1 and over five months crossed 13 Asian and European countries: China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Germany, France and finally, England.
The aim of this exceptional undertaking was to underline the intrinsic values of cycle touring: friendship, solidarity, development of tourism and culture, exchanges between peoples, the Olympic spirit and the development of sport for everyone.
A second group of disabled and able-bodied cyclists, en-route from Pont-Audemer in France to London, also arrived in Crawley last week and were greeted by the Mayor before resting overnight in a local hotel. The cyclists were part of a 360km cycling project – Sur la Route des Jeux – created to coincide with the 2012 Paralympic Games, whose intention was to show that great challenges can be achieved despite having a disability. Keen to mix people, they decided to have nine disabled cyclists and nine buddies. They have also offered children the opportunity to take part in physical workshops where they can experience some of the games played at the Paralympics (e.g. wheelchair basketball).
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Weather for Crawley
Thursday 23 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 4 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: North west
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