JCI Netherlands cycling pre-tour

		JCI Netherlands pre-tour per fiets (Nederlands)	18 KB
		JCI Netherlands Fahrrad-Vorreise (deutsch)	18 KB

Project plan for the pre-tour to the EUKO 2012 to Braunschweig

JCI Netherlands cycles to BRAUNSCHWEIG

Introduction

There is often a pre-tour before a European conference to visit attractive locations in the vicinity of a congress city. Because of the relatively short distance from the Netherlands, which means everyone can travel to Braunschweig within a couple of hours, we thought about combining the 2012 trip with a sportive aspect. We want to cover the journey to Braunschweig with our bicycles. In order to motivate as many people as possible to participate in the project, taking part is made easy.

Opportunities

We know from experience from the European Conference 2009 in Budapest that we can generate a lot of awareness and interest when cycling through a town with the Oranje delegation. We can therefore combine the bicycle tour with the aspects of (inter)national visibility, media interest and sponsorship opportunities, and present JCI Netherlands as sportive, sustainable and socially committed. Cycling also lends itself to the environmentally-friendly and green image the EC Braunschweig wishes to radiate.

Charity

We want to have the cycled kilometres sponsored to add another dimension to the journey. If we furthermore select a local charity as the beneficiary of the campaign in cooperation with JCI Braunschweig, and if we arrive in the city on the first day of the conference with a large orange peloton to hand over our donation, this can be a great start for a wonderful EC. We are currently thinking of a youth support or training project in which bicycles are repaired as beneficiary.

Project plan

We will set off in groups from a number of cities in the Netherlands for Braunschweig on 9 June 2012. We will cover between 80 and 110 kilometres per day. These may be split up into parts if necessary. More and more cyclists from the cities en route can join us, we are of course looking forward to cyclists from German JCI chapters. We want to inform these beforehand and include them in the planning of the program.

The tour can start in the middle of the Netherlands in Amsterdam and Utrecht, in the south in Eindhoven and Den Bosch. The first joint destination on the first day could be Doetinchem. From the north of the Netherlands, Groningen and Zwolle could serve as starting points with Harem (Ems) as the first joint destination on the first day. On the second day, Münster could be the joint meeting point.

On Monday, 11 June we will cycle on from Münster to Bielefeld in a large peloton. On Tuesday our journey will take us to Hildesheim – where less sportive cyclists can join us – via Hameln. The last leg on Wednesday, 13 June, to Braunschweig will only be 50 km and should be doable for everyone.

The different cycling groups will be supported by motor bikes, suppliers, material and broom waggons, so that the cyclists do not have to take care of their luggage and logistics. Each leg offers further cyclists the opportunity to join the field.

Itinery

• Saturday, 9 June   from six starting points to Doetinchem/NL or Haren (Ems)/D
• Sunday, 10 June   all continue together to Münster (Westf.)
• Monday, 11 June   Münster to Bielefeld
• Tuesday, 12 June   Bielefeld via Hameln to Hildesheim
• Wednesday, 13 June   Hildesheim – Braunschweig

JCIs

While cycling through Germany to Braunschweig, we will pass through many cities and regions with active JCI chapters which we would like to motivate for our cycling tour, and which we would like to invite to join us. We would like to work together closely with the local chapters for breaks and accommodation. Besides support when looking for hotels, it might be possible to organise home hospitality places. It would also be very nice to organise dinner together or going for a drink so that we can get to know each other before the European Conference.

Costs

With a close cooperation with the German JCI chapters and if everyone uses their own vehicle, it should be possible to keep the costs low for the participants. A part of the organisation costs should be covered by sponsors (food, cycling apparel), whereas the purpose of the sponsors should be the optimisation of the proceeds for the good cause.

Locally

After arriving in Braunschweig, the EC delegation management takes over the management from the cycling tour management and takes care of the accommodation of the Dutch delegation. This has to include the accommodation of a large number of bicycles. It would also be an advantage that we can use the bicycles during the conference and would not have to think about visibility in the town anymore. For the first time, it might be useful to have bicycle racks at the EC locations.

Preparation and PR

The JCI World Congress in Brussels presents the ideal opportunity to establish contact with German JCIs and to promote this ultimate JCI cycling tour. In the Netherlands, regular events are used to motivate people for the whole or parts of the tour. For the planned tour, it is not necessary to be a good or trained cyclist, the parts of the tour are doable for everyone.

Organisation

Many steps need to be taken for a successful tour. For the entire organisation we will form an organisation team consisting of eight to ten people from the different chapters and regions. Besides this, we are happy to utilise the network and the know-how of the management of JCI Netherlands and JCI Germany.

Immer gerade aus