The Vistula Cycling Route (VCR) in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region shows natural attractions of the areas located in the eastern part of the Thorn-Eberswald Glacial Valley and in the southern part of the Lower Vistula River Valley. They constitute a significant continental ecological corridor that joins the Baltic Sea with the Carpathian Mountains. It is worth mentioning that the riverbed runs through a vast valley of a mostly agricultural character, and its borders are marked by the steep slopes cut by the deep ravines. Many animal species migrate through the wide strip along the river. Therefore, this area has become a part of the Natura 2000 European special protection area network.
The VCR is the longest cycling route in the region. It was delineated as a part of the nationwide VCR project. The Kujawsko-Pomorskie was the third region in Poland to mark it out. (earlier it was done by the Silesian and Małopolska regions). The course of the route takes into account the investment plans of over 30 local governments (the construction of cycling routes).
The route, which presents the tourists attractions of the Vistula River Valley and the adjacent areas, was designed both for the cyclists residing in Kujawsko-Pomorskie, and for the visitors wishing to explore the landscapes and historical monuments of Central Poland. The biggest cities of the region and the most important tourist attractions are located along the banks of the Vistula River.
The network of bicycle routes in the region was marked out at different times, and a spatial chaos caused by a disordered network made it difficult to create the tourist products. However, since the route runs near the railway stations, it is ideal both for long rides with bicycle bags, and for short outings out of town. The length of the right-bank part of the trial is 212km, and of the left-bank trial – 238 km. Our goal is to make the VCR the most important axis of cycling tourism (in Poland?), joining the already existing numerous bicycle paths.
As a result, a privileged network of bicycle shapers combined in a coherent system will be created in the region.
The essence of the practice is to connect cycling and public transport and to promote cycling as a sustainable mode of transport and sustainable tourism, which might be a real opportunity for the real areas to break out of their situation.
The route is relatively easy in technical terms, and it should not cause any difficulty for any cyclist. Nevertheless, on some sections of the route we are planning to implement the construction of paved bicycle routes. This applies to 30% of the total route's length.
The most important beneficiaries of the project are local governments. In total these are 30 municipalities, cities and towns where bicycle traffic will be concentrated in. It is a big success!
The route was marked out in 2014. In the same year, at the occasion of the opening of the route, bicycle rallies were organised in the four largest cities of the region, located along the route. The events gathered 5,363 participants.
Due to the implementation of the ECO-CICLE project, the audit of the Vistula Cycling Route was carried out in order to indicate the actions necessary to improve the quality of the route along the entire length.
Marking out the Vistula Cycling Route and its audit was the start of the activities related to marking out the cycle roads Eurovelo 2 - Capitals Route and EuroVelo 9 - Baltic-Adriatic in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region.
More information about this Good Practice can be found on this page.
