Friday 14 January 2011

COMING SOON: MORE ADVENTURES ON A BIKE

I have plans for some great cycle rides in 2011. In June, there is a new ride for me. I will be cycling the Atlantic Coast of France starting at Santander in Spain to Roscoff in Brittany. It will be a distance of over 600 miles. My rides are chosen not just to be adventures but to watch out for wildlife.

In 2005, I had one of the best cycle rides of my life when I was in a group of 16 who cycled across the Khangai Mountains of Mongolia. We cycled among the nomads camping in the wild for our overnight stops. There were no roads and no towns.

The nomads lived in gers and followed the yaks high up into the mountains. A ger is a tent, the same as a Russian yurt. When we passed a cluster of gers, the people came out and it was a fantastic experience as the nomads waved to us. Occasionally, they would ride with us on horseback. On one occasion, I was out on my own cycling as fast as I could on a downhill stony trail. A horseman came up from an encampment 400 metres away to join me. He galloped at full speed alongside me as I put everything I had into that downhill trail. I kept up with him until the hill ended. He joined us at our lunch stop.

In Mongolia, despite the desert, there are a fantastic number of birds. A great experience was to watch kites swoop down to the ground in our camp sites, seemingly unafraid of us.

Coming soon in 2011, there will be more cycle rides for wildlife. Please keep watching my blog