Šic na Bic 2006. - Tour de Grah

On July 1st, 2006, the MZM association, together with numerous volunteers, organized the very first real Novi Marof cycling tour! By 10:00 am, around 50 cyclists, from 7 years old to... several decades of age :-) had gathered in the town square. The weather, which as organizers gave us sleepless nights, turned out to be ideal for riding. Many local residents watched with curiosity as the cyclists, clad in green and yellow shirts proudly displaying the 'ŠIC NA BIC – tour de grah' logo, gathered. Before the start, Novi Marof's mayor Mr. Zdravko Maltar welcomed the participants and supported the tour alongside his deputy Vladimir Hajduk and the president of the local community 'Novi Marof', Vladimir Ferenčina. Wishing the cyclists luck for their own 'Tour to the Bean', he officially started the event by blowing a horn.

The cyclists set off under the safe guidance of Dragutin Trglačnik, who covered the route in a police car. Behind him, with the city flag on two wheels, Ivo Klopotan led the pace, followed by the entire yellow-green crew! The first mechanicals happened before Madžarevo, but the team led by Renata Vrtar – Vrta, in her silver Golf with hazard lights on, carefully picked up anyone needing physical or technical help. The first 'bunker case' was an enthusiastic Pony with loose pedals and a dropped chain, while the rider ended up in the back seat with Vrta. The group cruised slowly towards Podruta, where we stopped by the Queen of Peace church and treated the cyclists to fresh bottles of 'Studena' water. Meanwhile, Dobrica Oštrek serviced the broken bikes so we could continue as a group. We continued with the climb towards Pokojec and descended to Belski Dol.

At the turn for Ham Pokojec came the first crash... a master ended up in the roadside ditch. Nothing serious – just a bit of blood on a knee! Dr. Juraga quickly applied a spray and we continued over gravel to 'Lujčekova hiža'. Exactly at noon, Klopi tooted the finish horn! The beans smelled delicious, and hungry mouths eagerly awaited food. Irena Ivoš and her girls in yellow shirts served up divine portions, and as always, some came back for seconds – no worries, there's enough beans for everyone!

One of the most engaged Marof athletes, Siniša Vuk – Vučko, hadn't even finished lunch when Luka Mateković challenged him to a football match in a nearby meadow. The teams were assembled in seconds! The veterans dubbed themselves 'Beans with Sausages', while the juniors and seniors chose 'NK Špekule'. As many veterans complained of back, knee, or joint pains, everyone expected the Špekule to win easily, but after an hour of play the score was 5:1 for the veterans! We continued relaxing and socializing to music by the Kaniški brothers, Saša and Tomica.

With grey clouds threatening over Pokojec, we decided on an earlier return than planned. Zvjezdan Mavar – Zveki led the team down from Pokojec at 3:00 pm, with no incidents despite tricky gravel. We continued to the spring in Belski Dol for natural refreshment. Next stop was the castles of Bela, where Miljenka Ivec briefly shared stories and legends about those ancient buildings. From there, we headed to Podevčevo, where the irreplaceable Davor Pejnović – Đora joined in, unloading Vrta's Golf packed with bikes and picking up those who chose the four-wheel option. Among them was the bravest cyclist of all – seven-year-old Luka Kokorić, whose bike surely had its training wheels removed only recently!

We felt the wind in our faces on the descent from Podevčevo towards Remetinec. The people of Remetinec greeted us at their garden fences. We climbed to St. Jane's chapel and rode as a group into Marof. The locals gave us a warm welcome, and so we did a lap of honor on the southern bypass to the roundabout, along Zagrebačka street to the center, and from there to MZM, where the girls were already waiting with great sandwiches and ice-cold drinks!

Despite the planned 'after', most cyclists, tired, went home for a shower and to bed. The small group that stayed and those who joined at the finish line were entertained by the bands TNT and Chained in Agony, who played until 10:00 pm.

All in all, as organizers – we're satisfied! We worked hard and got a big job done! As a start, it turned out better than we hoped! A big thank you to everyone who helped organize in any way or simply cheered us on!