A lover of all things fast, Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov is now heavily involved in promoting bicycles ahead of a national cycling race scheduled for September 1.
Earlier this month, Berdymukhamedov kicked off a summertime cycling drive in the hot desert nation by appearing on national television and winning a cycling race.
Berdymukhamedov tends to win when he competes. Last year he won his country’s first car race after entering at the last minute. The BBC reported that “the apparently choreographed display seemed designed to enhance the president's image as a man of action.” In April, the president won an $11-million purse in a horse race just seconds before taking a nasty spill.
But today Turkmen live in what Berdymukhamedov has dubbed “The Era of Supreme Happiness of the Stable State.” So nothing can thwart a bit of sporting fun.
On August 24, Berdymukhamedov inspected thoroughfares in his capital, Ashgabat, and took part in a ride with a group of professional cyclists, Turkmenistan's state-run TDH news agency reported.
“In the era of might and happiness, state policy priorities include developing a movement for physical training and healthy living, as well as high-achievement sports, creating all the necessary conditions for improving the nation's health, and shaping a generation that is physically healthy and spiritually perfect,” TDH quoted Berdymukhamedov as saying.
The Chronicles of Turkmenistan, a website run by exiled opposition members, says that government agencies have forced employees to purchase bicycles and take part in the September 1 race. That is reportedly pushing up the price of bicycles in the capital during a month when temperatures often climb above 99 degrees Fahrenheit, normally tempering such cycle mania.
Risks of heatstroke aside, the cycling campaign is in tune with Berdymukhamedov's policy of promoting sport and a healthy lifestyle. In April he ordered forced calisthenics for basically everyone as part of his Week of Health and Happiness.
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