Cycling in Bulgaria's big cities has become more popular amidst people at different age. However, cycling on the country's roads is accompanied with a series of risks. Most problems are due to the fact that cycling is not among the main strategies for development of Bulgarian transport. Cyclists and drivers are not treated equally in this country. Besides, the authorities have not developed a standard aimed at placing signs along the cycle paths and the bicycle routes in Bulgaria, although several initiatives aimed at marking a 100 kilometer section of the most popular European bicycle route passing along the Danube River, have been held. Bulgaria's citizens need to cycle on safe routes. The bad state of road asphalt covering is also a problem.

The good news is that Kiril Stoyanov from the Bulgarian Association for Alternative Tourism says that railway transport in this country agrees to transport passengers with bicycles. However, the carrier does not always provide special compartments for bicycles, which causes discomfort during travel. Several days ago Bulgaria's capital Sofia hosted a conference dedicated to the problems of bicycle tourism in the Balkan countries. Representatives of Serbia, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria shared their experience and ideas about the development of the bicycle infrastructure. Kiril Stoyanov outlined Bulgaria's participation in the network of bicycle routes on the European map:

 “Bulgaria's northern, southern and western borders are lined by two of the European bicycle routes. The Danube section is nearly 600 kilometers long. The other route named “Towards the Iron Curtain” often meanders and crosses the state borders. The Bulgarian section of that route is over 1,000 kilometers long. The problem in that case is that the route crosses mountain areas and is appropriate mainly for well-trained and equipped tourists. Two detailed European maps of these routes have been published and the areas are mainly visited by foreigners. However, there aren't enough road signs in Bulgaria and the country has not yet constructed the necessary tourist infrastructure.”

Delyan Todorov is member of the Velo Ruse Society. A European route connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Black Sea named Euro Velo 6 crosses nearby the city of Ruse. The bicycle club from Ruse aims at turning that city into the main cycling center in the Bulgarian section of the Danube. Our section is very attractive for cyclists, because it crosses areas with very picturesque views, DelyanTodorov said and added:

“The Bulgarian cycling route runs along the Danube and ends in the city of Silistra. The local people use this route to ride their bicycles. The western tourists have maps of that route. However, no special infrastructure was built for the purpose and people ride on the main roads. That is why it is not safe to ride on that route. Our society's purpose is to provide topical information about road traffic and advise people to avoid given busy roads and use other roads with less intense traffic. We would like to see quick changes in Bulgaria which would be in favor of the cyclists, but our experience shows that when a new government is elected we have to promote and explain the benefits and the purpose of our society again and again.”

Bulgaria's northern neighbor experiences similar problems as well. Romanian Mircea Crisbasanu from Cycling Romania told Radio Bulgaria about their own problems in that field: 

“We focused on the development of a bicycle and eco-tourism in a wine district near the Danube and not far from our capital Bucharest. With the help of the European Voluntary Service we launched 7 bicycle routes with asphalt and off road covering. We placed signs and marked the route. Nearly 500 people tested the road in the first year and later their number increased to over 1,500 in one year only. It shows the high potential of the small settlements to develop tourism through launching little known and attractive routes.”

English version: Kostadin Atanasov