His Majesty the King will provide T-shirts he designed for participants of the 'Bike Un Ai Rak' cycling event, the first batches of which will be distributed nationwide Dec 1-2, a senior Royal Household Bureau official said.
His Majesty oversaw every detail of the shirt's design. The front will be carry the Bike Un Ai Rak logo and the back features cartoon characters of a family cycling, said AM Pakdi Saengchooto, assistant to His Majesty's private secretary.
AM Pakdi also announced at a press conference Wednesday that the King initiated the cycling event as a way to promote exercise which is key element to healthy living. The event will also forge harmony in families and society as many families have signed up to take part in it, he added.
The royally designed T-shirts will be provincial governors on Nov 28, who will then hand them to people who have registered for the event on Dec 1 and 2 at city halls. In Bangkok, the T-shirts can be picked up at the National Stadium.
The cycling event will take place on Dec 9 across the country. The King will lead the event by riding from the Royal Plaza to Lat Pho Park in Phra Pradaeng district of Samut Prakan province and back. The round trip covers 39 kilometres.
In Bangkok, there are nine other routes for people to join. They are from Lan Khon Muang outside City Hall to Suan Rommaneenart covering 4.2 km; a 16.2-km circuit that starts and ends at the Royal Turf Club; a second 6.2-km Royal Turf Club circuit; an 11-km Sanam Luang circuit; and a 20.6-km Somdech Phra Pinklao Hospital round trip
The others are the 24.3-km Taksin Bridge circuit; a 24.3-km Wong Wian Yai loop; a 15-km Phra Pradaeng arcade circuit; and a 23-km Suphanawa Group warehouse loop.
Preparations for the event are also under way in the provinces, which are to reveal their routes soon.
Many people have registered and many more are expected to do so in coming days.
On Tuesday, the Interior Ministry announced that more than 85,000 people had registered for the "Bike Un Ai Rak" cycling event.
At least 30,000 people had registered in Bangkok.
People can register online or at city halls or district offices in Bangkok and other provinces. Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda said registering at government offices can only be done during office hours but not at weekends.
However, weekend registration will be made available closer to the event date.
He said the government expects a larger turnout than at previous events.