Ten Years of The Slow Cyclist
Celebrating 10 Years
In 2015, Founder Oli Broom hosted our first ever trip in Transylvania. There were six guests, a few borrowed bikes, and a lot of hope. Somehow, it worked – so well, in fact, that a decade later we’re still at it.
Beyond Transylvania, we now take guests to hidden corners across nine other countries, from Spain to South Africa. And, as long as we keep finding authentic spots that fly under the radar, there are many more Slow Cyclist trips on the horizon.
When we’re always looking forward - Where next? How can we keep improving? - sometimes we need to remind ourselves to look back. So as we hit our 10th birthday, we’re taking the chance to celebrate how far we’ve come and thank everyone who has got us here.
This year, we’ll be celebrating with a one-off anniversary trip to Transylvania with Oli, a party for Slow Cyclist guests and friends and, most importantly, a fundraising target of £100,000 for 10 deserving charities across our destinations.
We'll update this page throughout the year with news and updates as we celebrate our milestone.
Thank you for celebrating with us.
Giving Back
We're planning to raise £100,000 to split between ten fantastic charities in the regions we travel through. We'll keep this page updated with more information about our chosen causes and how we're planning to hit our fundraising target.
MAKE A DONATION
Our Charities
NATURE & WILDLIFE
The Côa Valley, Portugal
Faia Brava was founded twenty-five years ago, with the aim of conserving endangered species of fauna and flora in Portugal’s Côa Valley. The area is blessed with unusually rich biodiversity, but was threatened by landscape degradation and extinction of larger species. Faia Brava acquired land from across the region to create Portugal’s first private protected area. Faia Brava now covers a thousand hectares and is home to many species of migratory birds, roe deer, otters and even the rare wildcat. With some further regeneration, the area will be ready for the reintroduction of the Iberian lynx and wolf.
Find out more | Make a Donation
*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.
NATURE & WILDLIFE
Rwanda
The Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association strives to protect and restore the country’s threatened wildlife and wild places. Through a series of projects, the organisation raises awareness of conservation, engages local communities and educates the next generation. Projects include combatting illegal wildlife tracking, saving endangered grey crowned cranes and planting indigenous trees to improve biodiversity. Our donation will be used to strengthen the team of community rangers at Rugezi Marsh, home to 82 bird species including a quarter of Rwanda’s endangered grey crowned cranes.
Find out more | Make a Donation
*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.
EDUCATION
South Africa
Located between Knysna and George in South Africa’s Karoo, the Kula Malaika Foundation is committed to enhancing the lives of children and young people. As well as creches and youth centres – which Slow Cyclists visit on a journey through the Karoo – they run a skills training farm where they create handcrafted products and cultivate organic produce.
Find out more | Make a Donation
*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.
EDUCATION
Oxfordshire, UK
CATS delivers art, music, drama, dance and oracy experiences into state primary schools in the North Cotswolds. As arts teaching has generally declined, CATS is focused on creating arts-rich learning environments for local children. They currently work with 50 schools, impacting 8,000 children and will use our donation to work with several new schools, expanding their impact in the area.
Find out more | Make a Donation
*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.
NATURE & WILDLIFE
India
In 2004, India's tiger population was near extinction but, thanks to the work of organisations such as TOFTigers, the country now boasts more than 3,600 tigers. Run by travel professionals, sustainability experts and conservationists, the charity is passionate about not only protecting India’s tiger population, but supporting local communities and attracting responsible tourism to the national parks.
Find out more | Make a Donation
*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.
COMMUNITY
Armenia
Through a wide range of education, healthcare and social projects, COAF is making a huge difference to the lives of children and adults across 82 communities. They help those who need it the most, especially those in rural areas. Our donation will go towards COAF’s beekeeping and lavender garden initiatives, educating and empowering communities to produce natural products and generate revenue to be reinvested in development programmes.
Find out more | Make a Donation
*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.
RURAL TOURISM
Transylvania, Romania
Transylvania has some of the largest areas of biodiverse farmland in Europe, home to many species of wildflowers, butterflies, birds and mammals. For over 20 years, Fundatia ADEPT has worked hard to conserve these areas, incentivising local communities to continue with traditional nature-friendly farming. The organisation has also developed 120 kms of biking trails which we use on our journeys. Our contribution will help to maintain these trails, keeping the area accessible and benefitting local people.
Find out more | Make a Donation
*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.
If you would like to make a donation to our chosen charities, please click the link below.
*Donations will be shared equally across our Ten Year charities.
Our Story So Far...
The Slow Cyclist began taking guests to Transylvania in 2015, but really the story began much earlier.
In 2009, Founder Oli Broom set off on two wheels to Australia. His mission: to get to Brisbane in time to watch The Ashes. What followed was 412 days cycling across 23 countries. He is the original Slow Cyclist.
Oli then moved to Rwanda, setting up a charity to build Rwanda’s first dedicated cricket ground. He spent his weekend exploring the Land of a Thousand Hills by bike and it was here that he dreamed up the idea of The Slow Cyclist.
But first, he decided to start a little closer to home. In 2015, ten years ago, Oli took the first group of guests to the Saxon villages of Transylvania, each one falling in love with the area just as Oli had.
From there we began journeys in another eight countries. Each journey follows the same principles: we get to know a region inside out, work with the best guides, and take guests to all the hidden gems.
And what’s next for The Slow Cyclist? We will continue to seek out the areas that most would never discover otherwise. We will continue to give back to communities, ensuring that our impact in our destinations is positive and empowering. And most of all, we’ll continue to take guests on journeys that they will never forget.
