Mehmed Hrustić (79) bought his first bicycle in 1957 and since then he has been crossing the distance of 80 kilometers riding a bike every day. He won numerous medals and acknowledgements and crossed thousands of kilometers on a bicycle. Hrustić is currently the oldest registered cyclist in B&H.
During the fifties, the steelworks in Zenica distributed bicycles to its employees due to easier transport to their work places, since there were almost no other means of transportation.
“My father’s uncle got a bicycle from the company he worked in. Thereby, at the time when not a lot of people has a bicycle, I got an opportunity to ride it sometimes. That ‘sometimes’ was quite enough to create an unbreakable bond between me and cycling which lasts to this day”, Mehmed recalled.
“I started riding a bike while there was still macadam in Zenica. Now there are roundabouts, and I am still on the bicycle. In all these years I never suffered any injuries nor any serious illness, although I used to ride a bike to Vlašić in the heaviest rain. I think that cycling, besides health, also preserved my nerves, because while riding a man forgets of all troubles and problems that follow him through life”, Hrustić said.
In his career, Mehmed won numerous medals and acknowledgements, and thanks to cycling he managed to visit almost all BH cities.
“I am the oldest participant of almost all races, I made a lot of friendships and visited all BH cities through my engagement in this sport. Medals and acknowledgements I have won so far are a great motive for me to not give up yet. I recently rode a race in Goražde in the length of over 35 kilometers and I won the third place, which is exactly what pushes me to still compete”, Mehmed said.
Mehmed Hrustić still preserves the parts of his first bike, and besides road races this 72-year-old man is also engaged in mountain biking.
(Source: klix.ba)
