930 Kilometers by Bike for Toshe: Six Macedonians Ride from Nova Gradiska to Krushevo for the Ninth Time

Six cyclists from Kavadarci and Skopje have arrived at Gumenje in Krushevo, the final resting place of Toshe Proeski, after covering 930 kilometers from Nova Gradiska in Croatia. This year they rode the "From the Heart for Toshe" tour for the ninth time.

The route is no accident. Toshe, the Macedonian pop star beloved across the former Yugoslavia, was killed in a car crash near Nova Gradiska in October 2007. So every year the tour starts where his life ended and finishes where he is buried.

They set off on September 19 and rode about 150 kilometers every day. Paying their respects at Gumenje were Dragan Jovanov, Vladimir Kanzurov, Oliver Stojanovski, Gorance Bogoevski, Aleksandar Garacha and Goran Stojanov. Fellow cyclists from Croatia and Serbia joined them for parts of the route. They also visited Toshe's memorial house.

"We're proud that we had Toshe, the man with the angelic voice and a big heart who spread love and kindness wherever he went. The sadness over his far too early departure from this world remains," said Dragan Jovanov, who started the tour. Kanzurov described the moment of arrival: "When we reach Gumenje, we realize the goal has been achieved. The heart beats much harder."

In a region where politics easily finds reasons to divide people, this year riders from Macedonia, Croatia and Serbia pedaled together for a singer everyone loved. Toshe crossed borders while he was alive. It looks like he still does.

Nine years running, six people have decided that remembering shouldn't be just a social media post on the anniversary. It should be 930 kilometers.