Riding on a scooter and taking a tour in the vicinity of Sofia is for those citizens and guests of the city who enjoy spending their leisure time in interesting ways. Two young men – Ivailo Notev and Bogdan Dimitrov, who have loved scooters for a long time, say seeing the world from their perspective is very enjoyable. That is why they decided to share their emotions with the biggest number of people possible. They started organizing scooter tours. Such tours had not been offered in Sofia before and that is why the two friends decided to draw from the experience of cities like London, Paris, and Barcelona. In the Bulgarian capital city, however, with its congested traffic, driving a scooter is something pretty extreme. That is why they decided to organize the tours in the vicinity of Sofia, where there is also a lot for one to see.

"The idea emerged because there are a number of monasteries and historical places around Sofia. There are 40 active monasteries in the vicinities of the city. We plan our tours to destinations that we haven’t visited before. We get acquainted with interesting facts and then we retell them to people who come with us. The monasteries are also interesting destinations for non-believers. The tours are not associated with religion. We stop on meadows and have picnics, too.”

Among the interesting destinations is the monastery near Gorni Bogrov. There the small church of "St. George" keeps something unique - a miraculous stone that grows. According to legends, it was brought by knights crusaders in the 13th century. Besides that it enlarges its volume, the stone helps in the treatment of a variety of diseases.

How do the two friends select their routes?

"We need some interesting history about the place we are going to visit. Also, the road must be good because scooters have small tires. We also avoid highways and dirt roads. We try to select destinations that are close to Sofia and we look for good conditions for picnics and rest.”

However, riding a scooter in Sofia remains a dangerous activity and Bogdan told us more about what he thinks needs to change.

"People just need to follow the rules and not to hurry too much. In Sofia there are no traffic lights that change for more than a minute or two. I do not think anyone will be late if they did not overtake a few cars. Turn signals are also very important, as well as keeping distance. I think these simple rules will change the current situation. The only problem is that everyone wants to be first. It is dangerous for riders as car drivers often think they should overtake you. Cars often overtake in the same lane even though we should have equal rights on the road.”

We end with a call for more tolerance on the road and wish success to the two friends.

English: Alexander Markov