London, UK — Margot Wallstrom, Vice-President of the European Commission, attended an event in England, part of a celebration to commemorate Sweden taking over the presidency of the EU.
‘Go by bike in the city, not by car,’ was her message.
A commemorative bike ride took place from the Swedish ambassador’s residence in London to Hampstead Heath. Among the European dignitaries who took part were ambassadors and their families from Sweden, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Holland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovak Republic, Spain and Malta. Also taking part were representatives from various newspapers including Cycling Weekly, The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, were invited as well.
They all rode the latest Puch electric-assisted bicycles for the half-hour ride.
On arriving at the slopes of Parliament Hill, they joined the crowds there who were enjoying composer Benny Andersson (former star of ABBA) and his band, who were taking part in Sweden on Stage, a family fun day with an environmental theme.
E-Puch CEO, Salvatore Grimaldi, the president and CEO of Grimaldi Industries in Stockholm, has gifted 27 ebikes to each of the embassies in London. “We are giving 27 of these electric-bicycles to each of the EU embassies. And of course, the ambassadors can then chose to ride them,” he told a reporter for Cycling Weekly.
Source:
Cycling Weekly
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:20 am
Hi, interesting topic – I have just bought an electric bike that I use to get to work everyday. I Just plug in at work to recharge it and then cycle home.
Absolutely love the bike, it was cheap and simple to use. I got it from http://www.elecbikeco.com they seemed good but I am sure there are many other companies out there too.
Good luck
Ahmet