In Irkutsk, the ninth annual bike ride was held, for the first time in carnival format, and drew over 3000 participants. The 6.2 km route ran through the city center.

On August 22, the annual bike ride took place in Irkutsk. This year it was held for the ninth time and, for the first time, in the form of a carnival. More than 3,000 participants took part in it. Before the start, they were wished good luck by three-time world biathlon champion and Olympic medalist, Acting Minister of Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Policy of the Irkutsk Region Pavel Rostovtsev and Chairwoman of the Irkutsk City Duma Irina Ezhova.
Irina Ezhova said that Irkutsk is a sports city and noted that on the platform of the city parliament and the administration of the city of Irkutsk she would be the most active supporter of promoting bike culture.
“I want to wish everyone good luck and success. On the platform of the Duma and the city administration, I will be the most active supporter of the idea that a cyclist is an equal member of road traffic. In Irkutsk, there is an urgent need to make paths and parking areas for cyclists. Let us move forward together in this direction,” said the speaker.
The route of the ride ran through the central streets of the city and totaled 6.2 km. The cyclists rode from the Avtograd shopping center, then along Nizhnyaya Naberezhnaya, Surikova, Nikolaya Gavrilova, Tsesovskaya Naberezhnaya, Gagarin Boulevard, and finished the route near the Komsomoll shopping center. About 50 bike participants came in carnival costumes.
With the tricolor of the Russian Federation and with flags bearing the coat of arms of Irkutsk, the chairman of the Youth Duma of Irkutsk, Grigory Gritsenko, as well as youth deputies Elizaveta Kryukova, Arina Krushevskaya, Vladimir Burmeister, Mark Konogorsky, Anton Dutov, Elena Neudachina, and Vladislav Smetanin rode.
After the finish, the coordinators awarded the oldest participant (a 69-year-old man), the youngest, a 2-year-old cyclist who came with his family, as well as Sergei Boyarintsev from Irkutsk, whose photo of the ride on Instagram received the most votes during the event. A participant dressed as Verka Serdyuchka received a prize for the best costume.
“This year, more than 3,000 cyclists came. We expected such a large number of participants and paid special attention to safety. Along the route of the bike ride, traffic for cars was blocked by the traffic police, and we are grateful to them for their help. Of course, holding the event would have been impossible without the support of the administration of the city of Irkutsk,” noted Dmitry Salko, organizer of the “Irkutsk Bike Ride 2015.”
"We took part for the first time and as a whole family right away. The participants unofficially awarded us the title of "the largest bike family." Thank you, that’s nice. Our Alyona received the prize for the youngest registered participant. Now we will definitely take part every year. Thanks to all the organizers! Guys, you are doing a great thing!", said bike ride participant Anastasia Fedorova.