MOSCOW, January 8. /TASS/. The first winter bicycle parade in 2017 will take place in Moscow on Sunday, despite biting frost, an official with the city transport department told TASS.
About 5000 people will take part in the event, the official said.
"This is the second time when we hold a bicycle parade in winter to support the development of cycling infrastructure and road safety. This will be the first public event in the new season. It will be attended by guests from St. Petersburg, Tula, Petrozavodsk, Novosibirsk and other cities of Russia and CIS countries," the official said.
The event, which is held in conditions when temperature is 25 degree Celsius below zero, is not a sport race: residents and visitors of all ages and of any physical training are welcome to take part in it.
The city administration will ensure free transportation of bicycles in public transport for the convenience of participants residing in remote areas of the city or in the suburbs.
Participants are to gather on the3rd Frunzenskaya Street in the south-west of the city at 10:00 Moscow time. The parade starts 11:00. The route runs along the embankments of the Moscow River to the Kremlin and back.
"The participants of the event will ride the central streets of the city to show that winter is not an obstacle for the development of cycling culture, but it requires creation of a safe infrastructure, as well as better street cleaning," the representative of the department said.
The average speed of cyclists during the parade will not exceed 14-15 km/hour.
In 2016, the Russian capital held four bicycle parades. In January of 2016, the first winter bicycle parade took place. More than 3,000 people took part in it despite cold weather.