What started out two-and-a-half years ago out as a weekly rendezvous among a handful of friends on Friday nights for a relaxing bicycle outing around Athens gradually attracted an increasing number of friends and, in recent months, after one of the excursionists had the idea of posting the outings on Facebook, the bicyclers have snowballed to more than 4,000 and the number continues to grow.The idea began in February 2008 when the five friends decided to combine exercise with recreation, and got together, took out their beloved bicycles, and embarked on a series of "different" tours of Athens.
Soon, the five bikers became 10, by summer they became 100, and the following summer (2009), they had reached 600.
But after one of the original five friends had the idea of posting the excursions on Facebook, the number snowballed to more than 4,000 and the outings also grew in destinations, covering an increasingly greater area and exceeding the strict borders of Athens proper.
The outings, dubbed as "Freeday" on Facebook, have turned into a weekly social event, with people of different ages and backgrounds from all parts of the greater Athens area meeting and making new friends and sharing their love of bicycling and their desire to escape from the daily monotony and discover a different face of the city they live in.
The bikers start gathering at the designated spot, a different one each time, at 9:30 p.m. on Friday, and set off for their weekly adventure at 10:00. The outing usually lasts a few hours, but some of the more avid excursionists continue throughout the night, taking in the sunrise at a different location each time.
30.06.2010
