Due to the gentle undulations of the relief and the preservation of the environment, the Bjelovar-Bilogora County has ideal conditions for cycle tourism and is one of the Croatian counties with a well-developed network of marked cycling routes that cover all parts of the county.
Development of cycle tourism in Bjelovar-Bilogora County
It is one of the riches of the Bjelovar-Bilogora County, which can boast of more than 400 kilometers of cycle tourism paths and routes of county and international importance, and in order for cycle tourism in our area to develop further and for lovers of this type of tourism to have the best possible conditions, Bjelovar-Bilogora County constantly invests in and implements numerous activities.
Thus, the Bjelovar-Bilogora County has invested about HRK 1.5 million in the three phases of the development of the cycle tourism project so far, securing funds from the Ministry of Tourism and its own funds.
It should be noted that so far, as part of the three phases, information boards have been created and installed on the county bicycle route, solar poles have been installed for bicycle repair, and a mobile application for bicycle paths and routes in Bjelovar-Bilogora County has been developed.
A traffic study was prepared for the relocation of the county route to roads with less traffic intensity and new bicycle signs were installed, a traffic study was prepared for the revitalization of the old Bjelovar - Garešnica railway line with branches for Grubišno Polje and Banova Jaruga, a new bicycle map of Bjelovar-Bilogora County was made, a traffic study for a new bicycle route in the area of Kapela Municipality was prepared and bicycle signs were installed.
Also, 7 bicycle rest areas with a covered gazebo, a table and two benches, an information board and a bicycle rack are equipped on the routes Bjelovar - Prgomelje, Daruvar, Grubišno Polje - Grbavac, Veliki Grđevac, Berek - Oštri Zid and Kapela, and it was made and standard for bike&bed accommodation facilities.
The Bjelovar-Bilogor county has thus made a huge progress and is firmly marked on the cycling maps of Croatia. However, investments in the development of cycle tourism in our area do not stop there, but continue with the activities planned for this year.
Namely, the Bjelovar-Bilogora County is applying for the 4th phase of the cycle tourism development project in the area of the Bjelovar-Bilogora County to the Public Call of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports for the allocation of funds for the Cycle Tourism Development Program on the continent in 2021.
The program worth HRK 402 thousand would include the following activities :
- Preparation of traffic studies for the routing and marking of cycling routes: "Kapelska-Plavnička route" which would connect the town of Bjelovar and the municipality of Kapela along the Bjelovacka stream in a length of 6.4 km
- "Zrinska route" which would connect the municipality of Kapela with the municipality of Zrinski Topolovac in a length of 38.4 km
- "Spring route Daruvar-Sirač" which would connect the city of Daruvar and the municipality of Sirač with a route length of 41.2 km
- Creation of 159 bicycle signs to mark the specified routes
- creation of a conceptual construction project for the construction of a cycle tourism route in the corridor of the former Bjelovar-Garešnica railway with branches for Banova Jaruga and Grubišno Polje for obtaining a location permit
The 76.3 km-long track built and arranged in this way would be linked to tourism and hospitality in the future, and the said route will be one of the backbones of the development of tourism in our county.
This is another step forward in the development of the Bjelovar-Bilogora County as an attractive cycle tourism destination, which improves the quality of the tourist offer on the continent.
"From 2017, when we were in the beginnings and beginnings of the development of cyclotourism to today, we can be proud of everything that has been done. It was recognized that cyclotourism is a fast-growing branch of tourism in general. In 2020, regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic, the projects proposed by us, from the profession, were realized with our own county funds. One of the projects is a publicity film that we made to present our county. Within the framework of all our projects, the revitalization project of the old Bjelovar-Garešnica railway with branches for Grubišno Polje and Banova Jaruga was also included. This is a project that we have been developing for the fourth year in order to bring it to the basics so that today and tomorrow this project could be developed as the only one of its kind, unique in continental Croatia", said the coordinator for the development of cycle tourism in the Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Hrvoje Supančić.
"I thank everyone who participated in the great effort, effort and vision when it comes to investing in the development of cycle tourism, the employees of the County, the Tourist Board, the Regional Development Agency, but also the cyclists themselves who actively participated in the creation of what we consider to be crucial, and that is cycling infrastructure. In the last four years, for three years we had the full support of the Ministry of Tourism, and last year, due to the corona virus, the competition was canceled, so the County provided financing for everything that we will show today. I can say that a lot was done in those 4 years. We currently have 7 trails that are completely mapped, that's over 400 km on county roads, but also on links between municipalities and cities. We also have what is very important for tourism, it is a mobile application that allows all cyclists to use their mobile phone to guide them through the route they want to take through the county. By signing this application, we will expand all that we have done with three more bicycle routes that will connect parts of our county. We did not give up the main attraction as far as cycling is concerned, which is the use of the now defunct railway line between Bjelovar and Garešnica. We requested and received the consent of Croatian Railways for the conceptual solution and the possibility of creating the main project. With this, we will make a huge step forward. We are also ready to issue the first bike&bed labels, i.e. the possibility to come by bike to our OPGs, catering establishments, hotels and that they are ready to receive cyclists, to sleep with them and to continue with their cycling route", said the county mayor. Damir Bajs.