There were three rationales for the project: one was economic, the second was environmental and the last concerned health and fun.

 

As when the project was conceived Europe was struggling to emerge from a difficult economic situation (and in some states this can still be called a crisis), entrepreneurship was widely recognized as a vital component for promoting new economic growth. We saw entrepreneurialism as the process of identifying and starting a business venture, sourcing and organizing the required resources and taking both the risks and rewards associated with the venture. This partnership had an objective of developing the vital skills of entrepreneurship in all of its participants, done in a real, understandable and accessible multinational context, at the heart of which was the simple activity of cycling.

 

The second rationale was environmental. Cycling is undergoing a renaissance in many parts of Europe, and it is acknowledged as a sustainable means of transport that has a positive impact on the environment - it reduces pollution and traffic jams, the infrastructure it requires is considerably less expensive than roads, rail networks and airlines. But, because of the threat of ruthless and excessive biking through the forests, it was important to come up with ideas about how to preserve the nature while biking responsibly through the woods. As a matter of fact, instead of leaving that many wheel-tracks in the woods, biking leaves more "tracks" in the minds of the bikers and creates a feeling of responsibility for our nature, while getting connected to it. So what was Europe doing to promote cycling, to tackle the various impediments that prevent Europe’s youth from embracing this means of transport? This partnership aimed to analyze these impediments from the perspective of Europe’s youth, to highlight good practice and to report on actions that we feel Europe should follow to promote cycling.

 

Finally, we took into consideration the fact that besides being fun, cycling makes people more health-consciousness and teaches us to respect safety measures in terms of wearing safety equipment. Unfortunately, not enough people appreciate this. In the context of today’s screen generation, we believed cycling offered wonderful opportunities for improved health (reduced obesity, improved flexibility and cardiovascular capacity), for socialization done face to face instead of using modern technology and it constituted a means to discover new corners of Europe.

 

All in all, we inferred that there was the need for this strategic partnership to promote entrepreneurship, environmentalism, health and fun, all done through the vehicle of cycling.