Ukraine continues to fight for survival. In TOUR 09/2024 we reported on a cycling marathon in Lviv (Lviv). This city in western Ukraine is exactly where a charity cycle race is to take place in July 2025. The idea for the initiative came from Sebastian Herrmann, journalist at SZ and author. His fellow campaigners all come from the cycling scene - from media managers and marketing agency owners to communications experts. The idea of the Bikeconvoy: to finance ten used ambulances through donations and transport them to Ukraine in 2025 accompanied by a bike ride. The ambulance transport is coordinated by Bamberg:UA, a non-profit organisation founded in 2017 by Ukrainian students at the University of Bamberg. The non-profit organisation has brought more than 100 vehicles to Ukraine since 2022, including 33 ambulances. 18 of these were financed with the help of bands; the initiative came from Rüdiger Linhof, bassist of Sportfreunde Stiller. Herrmann has also been involved in this endeavour.
Used ambulances
A used ambulance costs between 12,000 and 20,000 euros, depending on the year of manufacture and drive system. The vehicles are purchased together with the partner organisation Bamberg:UA. The vehicles and the medical equipment they contain are freshly TÜV-inspected. The vehicles are equipped with an evacuation stretcher, defibrillator, Infusomat, VAC pump and oxygen device. The ambulances are handed over by Bamberg:UA to the emergency services on site in Lviv in the west of Ukraine and then deployed in the east and south of Ukraine. On average, the deployment of one ambulance per day saves the lives of five injured people. Every ambulance makes a crucial difference. The ambulances are to be financed via a crowdfunding campaign.
Road bike tour to the Ukraine
According to the plan, the delivery of the vehicles will be accompanied by a solidarity bike ride. The plan is to set off from Munich on 5 July 2025 with bikes and ambulances. The distance to the Polish-Ukrainian border near Przemysl is around 1,270 kilometres and almost 7,000 metres in altitude. The tour will be offered in two versions: on the one hand as an official brevet with a time limit, i.e. as a long-distance ride according to the regulations of the Audax Club Parisien, and on the other hand as a convoy version without a time limit, in which the route will probably be divided into six stages. Both versions of the tour will take place in randonneur or bikepacking mode. This means that food, accommodation and the return journey must be organised by the participants themselves. Whether the participants will be able to ride across the border into Ukraine to Lviv at the end depends on the situation in summer 2025.
Link to Bikeconvoy
Info about Bamberg:UA
Kristian Bauer
Editor
