WELLNESS s. r. o., Patince 431, 946 39 Patince, Slovak RepublicCycling
Discover the beautiful nature surroundings by cycling.
The Danube cycling route is a transit regional route, with the length 23,2 km on the right side and 11,7 km on the left. The international route goes from Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. On our territory it goes from the border crossing Berg (Austria) on the right side of the river Danube dam through the whole Petržalka up to the Gabčíkovo dam. The second part of the route starts at the Prístavný Bridge, where it leads to the left side of the river Danube and it further goes along the dam paralelly to the flow of the Danube up to Štúrovo. The Danube cycling route is a transit regional route, with the length 23,2 km on the right side and 11,7 km on the left.
The Danube cycling route
The cycling route goes along the river Danube. The starting point: Komárno. The reaching point: Štúrovo. The route: Komárno - Patince (13 km) - Mužľa (26 km) - Štúrovo (9 km). According to its difficulty, this route is suitable for children and elderly people as well.
You can rent bicycles at the hotel reception for 40,- Sk/1,33 EUR / per an hour.
The history of the bicycle
It is difficult to say, who the first person to ride on this remarkable invention was. It is also difficult to say, how far the history of this genius double-wheeler go, because it was a device that had been expected to appear for such a long time during the human history. Today it is used by approximately 800 million people. Of course, the most important thing was a wheel, invented in Mesopotamia at the territory of today's Asia, precisely in Iraq, approximately about the year 3500 B.C. Today the life without a wheel is unimaginable. If this genius shape was not invented, there would not have been cars, trains, aeroplanes, there would not have been almost any machines, which are completely inherent for us and make our life easier every day. One of these devices is also a bicycle, an incredible means of transport, and for the people of today, it is a complete platitude. We can see bicycles wherever we go, on every corner. It is not strange thing though, because the ratio of bicycles and cars worldwide is 2:1!
The first sign of the old human desire to have a vehicle that could be powered by humans themselves, we can find on many drawings, paintings and hieroglyphs, even in some chronicles. For example, on the grave of the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen, there is a device drawn on one of the hieroglyphs, which is ridden by a rider, who is pushing himself by his legs from the ground. There are many hieroglyphs that look very much like this one. Chronicle from Memmingen, a village in German Bavaria, says that on 9th of January 1447 a vehicle ridden by a rider could be seen on the streets. Another sign is a painting painted by unknown painter, which can be found on the church window in British village Stoke Poges approximately from the year 1643 A.D. This painting represents an angel sitting on a double-wheeled vehicle. One of the major discoveries was made in the year 1966, when Italian monks restaurated the drawing of the famous painter Leonardo da Vinci approximately from the year 1490 which represents a vehicle almost identical with today’s bicycle. There were even pedals and there was also a chain-power system applied. So who created the first bicycle, or something that looked like a bicycle, when it has already appeared on so many places? This question is a matter of many arguments. So called celerifery, which could be translated as high-speed scooter, approximately about the year 1791 a Frenchman Médé de Sivrac invented a wooden bicycle, which was made of two wheels joined by a girder. It was impossible to ride on it though, and it could be powered only by pushing oneself from the ground by legs. The rider could be seated on the girder. It was a kind of a bicycle that could be found on that church window in Stoke Poges, but this time, it was actually made. Another important milestone in the bicycle development was the 12th of January 1818, when the velocipede was proprietarized, which was also called a handcar. The inventor was baron Karl von Drais from Sauerbronn. In this case, the movement was also done by pushing oneself from the ground by legs, but the radical change in comparison to the Sivrac model that was made here, was the possibility to control the front wheel by oil. The total weight of the whole bicycle was 22 kilograms, the wheels had iron frames and the diameter of the wheels was 60 centimetres. The majority of the components were made of wood, and the total length of the whole velocipede was 2,4 metres. To make the ride more comfortable, there was a saddle added to it. Riding on the Drais's invention became a hobby for the members of the higher society in France, Germany, England, and for some time even in America. As Drais was constantly trying to improve his velocipede (besides velocipede, Drais also invented for example the typing machine, periscope, boiling cattle and the stepping loop mechanism), he spend a lot of money on many unsuccessful attempts and by doing so he spend all of his money. Finally, he died in misery and poverty in the year 1851. There is a statue in Mannheim built for this “father” of the bicycle.
