- Title: RUSSIA: Russian cycling fans swap wedding day limousines for bicycles
- Date: 2nd August 2007
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) BRIDE, OLGA ODINOKOVA, SAYING: "We call ourselves cycling maniacs, our life revolves around bicycles. We dated on them. We spend a lot of our time on bicycles, it is our entertainment, hobby and the main interest of our life." BRIDE'S BEST FRIEND TAKING PICTURE OF ODINOKOVA ODINOKOVA'S FOOT ON BICYCLE PEDAL (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) BRIDE, OLGA ODINOKOVA,
- Embargoed: 17th August 2007 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVA70TOVG3Q9N1WB7HPG2UGD0X7A
- Story Text: It's Olga Odinokova's big day, and her best friend's on hand to help with the final touches to her wedding dress.
But the 20-year-old from Moscow is dressed for a wedding with a difference - cycling shoes and leather gloves are the essential accessories, matching a wedding dress made for riding a bicycle.
An avid cycling fan, Odinokova and her future husband Vitaly Golubev, have decided to use their mountain bikes for their wedding day transport in Moscow.
The couple met a year ago through the internet chat rooms of a cycling fans club website, and spent their first date riding bikes in a forest.
"We call ourselves cycling maniacs, our life revolves around bicycles. We dated on them. We spend a lot of our time on bicycles, it is our entertainment, hobby and the main interest of our life," said Odinokova, soon after arriving on her bike at a Moscow registry office.
When it came to planning their wedding, Odinokova said it was immediately clear the bicycle would play a main role.
"When we started to think about marriage, our first thought was about a wedding on bicycles, and not using cars. Cars are boring and not interesting. And now you can see loving people on their beloved bikes,"
Odinokova added.
Not able to buy their wedding day outfits off the peg, Golubev spent three months making them; and the hardest part was hiding Odinokova's white cycling shorts under her shorter than normal wedding dress.
"I created our wedding outfits myself, my dress coat and the dress for Olga are designed for bicycles," said Golubev.
Calling himself and Odinokova cycling maniacs, Golubev said he hoped their children would be cycling fans too.
"I suppose we will also ride back from the maternity hospital on bicycles as well. Our children will also ride bicycles, with or without us.
Because we are a real bicycle maniacs," Golubev said, before the start of the wedding ceremony .
In a city where the car is king, Odinokova's and Golubev's decision to ditch the Moscow wedding day limousines for bicycles attracted curious looks, and certainly worried a few of their own relatives.
"At the beginning I was very nervous. I kept on thinking, oh God, how can it be this way. But when I saw them, and they were so beautiful, I felt so happy," said Odinokova's grandmother, Raisa Odinokova.
After tying the knot, a cycling posse of wedding guests greeted the newlyweds with kisses, and champagne, before a mass bike ride to Moscow's Bolotnaya Square, where the happy couple visited the area's "Marriage Tree". In a nod to tradition, Odinokova and Golubev hung a padlock on the tree, which symbolises a stable union and everlasting love. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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