Tens of thousands register for nationwide bike rallies
More than 80,000 people registered for the “Bike Un Ai Rak 2018” (“Warmth of love”) bicycle rallies on Monday, the opening day for accepting entries, Interior Minister General Anupong Paojinda said on Tuesday.
About 55,000 entered for rallies upcountry and some 30,000 applied for the rally in Bangkok, Anupong said, urging more people to join the events. Entries are accepted at city halls or district offices during office hours on weekdays or online around the clock at www.bikeunairak2018.com.
The rallies will be flagged off simultaneously nationwide at 3pm on December 9 with the main event – a 39km ride from the Royal Plaza in Bangkok to Lat Pho Park in Samut Prakan and back – slated to be led by His Majesty the King.
The rallies are being held to usher in the “Un Ai Rak Klai Kwam Nao Sainam Haeng Rattanakosin” (feeling the warmth of love amid the cold at the Rattanakosin River) fair to be held from December 9 to January 19 at the Royal Plaza and the adjacent Sanam Sua Pa. They are also aimed at promoting public awareness about the importance of exercise, the love and unity of family and society, plus road safety.
In Phitsanulok province, an 81-year-old man, Chamlong Puktom, led his elderly friends aged between 70 and 80 on a 10km bicycle ride from their homes in the Ban Krang area to Phitsanulok City Hall on Tuesday morning to register for the “Un Ai Rak” ride in this central province. “We love exercise, especially riding bicycles, so when we heard about the ‘Bike Un Ai Rak 2018’, we decided to come right away and register ourselves,” he said.
As of 9am on Tuesday, 2,661 people had entered for the rallies at Phitsanulok City Hall.