By bike

from Poland to Switzerland

Date: 23. January 2018
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With Bike2RONAL we have set up an environmentally friendly, in-house campaign to try and persuade all employees around the world to travel to and from work without making their carbon footprint any larger. Our colleague René has seized on this campaign to combine work and pleasure.

With Bike2RONAL every mile you cycle, run or skate to and from work is counted and added to your team’s score. This even includes driving an electric car! Last fall René from the Härkingen site in Switzerland went on a three-day business trip to our plants in Poland. But his luggage contained more than just his laptop…

René, tell us about your special Bike2RONAL adventure!

When I flew to Poland for the SAP introductory course, I didn’t just have my laptop and work documents with me, but also my racing bike. It came with me in a box stowed away in the hold. After spending three days working at our plants based in Waldenburg and Jelcz, I then took some vacation. On Friday afternoon I set off on my bike from Waldenburg and crossed the border to Jicin in the Czech Republic. The next day I continued on to Prague, where I met my girlfriend off the plane. On Sunday morning we then set out together.

So where did you then head to?

We rode home from Prague in eight days. Our route took us past Pilsen (Czech Republic), Nuremberg (Germany), Memmingen and Austria, through the valley of the Linth river (Switzerland) before finally reaching home. We rode along the Danube, travelling lonely country roads particularly in Poland and the Czech Republic – and without using a GPS. We stayed in hotels or country guesthouses.

What did you find particularly memorable?

At the beginning of my trip it poured and poured! But after that we had fantastic weather right till the end. It was also quite something to travel for eleven days with just the barest minimum of luggage. However, we had to have the laptop with us at all times Every evening I of course input the miles I had biked into our Bike2RONAL tally. My team, “VELOcit(t)a”, was delighted about the extra 620 so miles!