Solar bike trip: From Hradec Králové to the Sahara Desert
Solar e-biking is a new sport that is attracting people from around the world. Two Czechs from Hradec Králové took part in Sun Trip 2024: Destination Sahara earlier this year, covering 7,000 km on solar bikes that they themselves designed.
Jiří Štrupl and Michael Polák develop cargo bikes of different sizes and length for delivering shipments by bicycle in city centers. At one point, they decided to take on the challenge of developing a solar e-bike which opened the door to an exciting hobby – travelling around the world on solar power. This year they joined the annual Sun Trip Competition together, testing their strength on their way from Hradec to the starting line in Lyon.
“In the spring we left Hradec Králové and drove to the start in Lyon, France. We went through Poděbrady, then on to Prague, Germany, Switzerland and France covering about 1,000 km before we reached Lyon. So it was a test that the bikes were working well and we could give it a go.”
The Sun Trip competitions were established in 2013 and have attracted a growing number of enthusiasts from around the world. In the course of that time over 200 solar bike adventurers have covered 960,000 kilometers and discovered 31 countries on the competition routes.
Jiří Štrupl says participants need to fulfill certain requirements and finishing the race in challenging terrain is not always easy. Even experienced riders can run into problems.
“There were about twenty of us at the start, whereas last year about forty racers signed up and half of them dropped out. You have to ride a bike that is only solar powered. And there are some other conditions, such as that the roof area –where the solar panels are - must not exceed 2.5 square meters. Our panels are placed over our heads and when you go somewhere with a lot of sun, it's nice to be in the shade. But funnily enough, when we got to the Sahara we found that we actually had less power. We thought that with more sun, we would be able to drive better, but the opposite was true. Here in Hradec, it was showing great readings, but the closer we got to the Equator the worse it got. It turned out we didn't have the right solar panels.”
The different competitions go via different routes, which require careful planning and experience with solar biking in order to predict possible problems. And although Jiří Štrupl had biked long distances on solar power around Europe, a 7,000 km trip was a new challenge. He says learning to get around on one of these bikes takes time.
“It took me about a month to get the hang of it. A friend who builds similar bikes said that after 3,500 kilometers I would feel comfortable on it. And he was right. Now, it's almost like I was born on it. You have to know your bike inside out and the bikes taking part in the competition are so varied. Each participant has a different type. And interestingly, most of the solar bikes are made in the Czech Republic. The first two racers who won this year both had Czech-Belgian made bikes.”
Organizers and future participants are already planning Sun Trip 2025: Destination Morocco!
To find out more about the solar bike competitions go to: Thesuntrip.com
