Our tour of Germany included a visit to the Paralympics head office in Bonn, then to Munich for the ISPO Brand New competition, and then on to Inzell.

Bonn: the meeting with the IPC was great – if you have any negative perceptions about FIFA, IOC, etc then forget them entirely for the IPC. I have nothing but respect for the the work they do and the way they do it and it would be a privilege to work with them in the future.

Munich: we dropped Icebyk Purple off for a few days so the judges for the ISPO could get stuck in to the tricky (easy…) task of picking a winner. I’ll report back when I know more.

Inzell: the Max Aicher Arena is a beautiful venue in a beautiful location. Not surprisingly our reception was ‘sceptical’..  We left it up to the Icebyks to do the talking. And the reaction was everything we could have hoped for. We stayed at the Kia Speed Skating Acadamy, were grateful to be sponsored by a German internet company, hooked up with Mailis Bikes & Coffee, and of course most of the staff at the Arena had a go on the Icebyks. Inzell is close to the boarder with Austria, and to quote a famous Austrian: ‘I’ll be back’.

It is a bit of a cliche, but the pattern is familiar. People don’t cycle on ice. The ISU deals with skaters. The UCI deals with cyclist. The icebyk is just not what people expect. But the funny thing is, once you have seen it, tried it and raced it, you wonder why it seemed so different to start with.

Let’s see how we’ll get on in Germany 28-31 October in Munich and Inzell. Feel free to come along to the Max Aicher Arena at 12.oo on 30th if you want to see/experience the Icebyk for yourself. And see how you react!

We kicked off the new season today with a busy Open Day at Thialf. Full on racing from the word ‘go’, as well as introducing Icetrack Cycling to a few deaf guys, non-skaters and even someone who couldn’t ride a bike (pretty rare in Holland!).

And the first bookings are coming in for Company Outings. We have worked out (over the last few years) that the Icebyks really are “Easy to Move, Challenging to Master”, and above all, fun! The aim now is to convert this into a sustainable business so the sport can grow. Still early days but there are signs of progress. Pioneering a new sport is no minor undertaking, especially without the backing of Red Bull. You can be part of and help this new activity! Please fill in the contact form at www.mv-moves.nl

Thanks!

This season MV-Moves will be offering Icetrack Cycling to their customers! MV-Moves have built up a great reputation for offering a wide variety of physical activities for all sorts of local groups, from schools to businesses; from parties to serious racing.

Martin Veenhuizen is the MV in MV-Moves. Together with his team and with the support of De Bonte Wever, the next step on the Icebyk journey is about to be taken. Initially the activities will be offered in Assen (NL) but of course if the business model works it will be rolled out to other cities with ice facilities. Anyone interested in booking an activity should mail: info@mv-moves.nl

Only a month to go until the ice ovals open for the winter in the Netherlands, and some (but by no means all!) of the Icebyk plans are in place for the new season. The first 3 seasons were really all about the technical challenge of getting a bike round a 400m ice oval and last season we concentrated on standardising the Icebyk and introducing Icetrack Cycling  to a wider audience. You can even find Icetrack Cycling on Wikipedia now! This season we are going to explore the commercial opportunities.

So instead of talking about skate sharpening techniques, suspention geometry and aerodynamics, I have had a number of interesting meetings with marketing and commercial organisations. Until the contracts hve been finalised, I won’t publish them here but the aim is to offer Icetrack on a regular basis to businesses and youth groups. More info to follow..

I am preparing to enter the ISPO Brand New competition. Last year we had a great time with the Icebyks at the Science Museum in London. It would be fantastic to get them on display in Munich – wish us luck!

And looking further ahead? The vision is to turn the 400m ice ovals into a sort of human powered NASCAR on ice with 20 Icebyks racing against each other. This season we will be looking to put into place the funding, organisation and marketing operation needed to make these icetrack events reality.