World Motorcyclist Day (20/06)

The tradition of celebrating World Motorcyclist Day appeared on July 22, 1992, when in several countries enthusiasts, leaving their cars in garages, went to work on motorcycles and scooters. Initially, the day was called — Ride to Work Day, which can be translated from English as «To work on a motorcycle», and only later gradually turned into Motorcyclist Day.

In the mid-1990s, according to the results of a voluntary census, more than 5 thousand people took part in the action.

In 1997, the official website of World Motorcyclist Day (ridetowork.org) opened, which serves as the main platform where motor vehicle enthusiasts communicate, exchange opinions and experience in operating «steel horses» and, of course, prepare for the annual event.

Until 2000, actions were organized informally: to do this, it was enough to indicate the date on a special website and come to an agreement there with like-minded people. Later, the non-profit organization Ride To Work Inc. appeared, which provides legal and technical support to motorcyclists in the United States and Europe. There are representative offices of this organization in Russia, Canada, Mexico, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Israel, and the Philippines.

Interestingly, until 2008, the third Wednesday in July was considered the date of the Day, but since 2008, Motorcyclist Day was moved to the third Monday in June. The date change was made in order to select the climatic conditions most favorable for motorcyclists around the world. Favorable climatic conditions, in turn, allow the largest number of motorcyclists to take part in the event. And from 2024, it was decided to celebrate the holiday on the second Tuesday of June.

Today, bikers all over the world celebrate their holiday (Photo: Pavel L Photo and Video, licensed by Shutterstock.com)

As the main goal of the action, its organizers cite the need to declare the rights of motorcyclists without infringing on the rights of other road users. Bikers are quite successful in this. They are supported, for example, by the fact that motorcycles reduce the risk of traffic jams, do not require much parking space and consume little fuel, and this has a positive effect on the environment.

Let us recall that the first motorcycle was patented by the German inventor Gottlieb Daimler in 1885, and the forerunner of the «motor horse» was a bicycle. But motorcycles did not go into mass production then. Instead, firms sold engines that were proposed to be mounted on bicycles. The first factory motorcycle for sale was produced by Hildebrand & Wolfmüller at the end of the 19th century. It also became the first motorcycle that was brought to Russia. Even then they believed that this was a real way to rid cities of thousands of horse-drawn carts that took up a lot of space, and animals had to be cleaned up.

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