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Event Registration - Datri Datri has organized a cycling event on the occasion of World Marrow Donor day on September 3r...

Datri has organized a cycling event on the occasion of World Marrow Donor day on September 3rd, 2017 at 5:00 AM at Ticel Bio park Mahabalipuram , Taramani

#charity cycle #Cycling #Chennai cycling events #cycling groups Chennai #World Marrow Donor Day

Datri has organized a cycling event on the occasion of World Marrow Donor day on September 3rd, 2017 at 5:00 AM at Ticel Bio park Mahabalipuram , Taramani. Categories are 25 Km, 50 Km & 100 Km. Datri is inviting all cycling groups in Chennai to make it a mega Chennai cycling event under the category of charity cycling. Register now and contribute towards giving life to someone in need of stem cells and marrow. Datri is a stem cell donor registry aiming to get registrations for stem cell donation

#World Marrow Donor Day #cycling #charity cycle #Chennai cycling events #cycling groups Chennai

Datri- Event Registration

#Cycling #World Marrow Donor Day #cycling groups Chennai #charity cycle

#Cycling #charity cycle #Chennai cycling events #cycling groups Chennai #world marrow donor day

The Head of Events at the British Heart Foundation has got in touch urging people from the South West to sign up to their flagship fundraiser, which is Europe’s oldest charity bike ride.

#British Heart Foundation #charity cycle #London to Brighton

I was sad to leave Cappadocia

It was a little tourist haven, with good (vegetarian) food, coffee and plenty of English speakers. Plus of course, I didn’t have to spend any time on a bicycle. It was nice to be back in the backpacking/ tourist world, if only for a short time. It was time to start cycling the Silk Road in Eastern Turkey. We were on a tight schedule to get to Erzurum to sort out our Iranian visas, which meant a lot of kilometers in a very hot climate (35-40 degrees) and over several very high mountain passes, with no rest days.

Looking back now, the cycle to Erzurum was pretty uneventful.

We woke up at 5am each morning, cycled until midday, rested for a few hours under some shade, then continued cycling from 5pm until about 8pm, or until we found a nice, decent gas station, with a garden out the back to set up camp. We did this for 9 days straight. Over 750km cycled, including 4 mountain passes. The most eventful thing that happened was sleeping in a mosque in a small village called Surhan. All the village locals invited us for dinner, and after dinner we slept in the study room of the mosque.

By the time we got to Erzurum we were pretty knackered and very much over cycling. We had planned to stay in Erzurum a few days with a couchsurfer, Saadet. I am very glad we did. It was one of the best couchsurfing experiences I’ve had. We rested, got to eat some yummy home-cooked, Turkish food and recover. One thing I love about couchsurfing – seeing how locals live and learning about the culture. I learnt so much from Saadet! She was very open to talking about religion and politics, which can sometimes be ‘touchy’ subjects.

I was even sadder to leave Erzurum than Cappadocia – but Iran was calling, and we still had another 350km before reaching the Iranian border.

Cycling in Kurdistan

Leaving Erzurum and entering the Kurdish part of Turkey was almost like entering a new country. The roads got worse, the villages seemed poorer and the kids were little shits. Overall, there was just a negative vibe in the air. I noticed a lot of younger people staring at us with disapproving eyes. Some even gave us the finger or yelled out, “fuck you”, while others started chanting “money, money, money” before, after or whilst throwing rocks at us. Obviously, not all Kurdish people were dicks, there were still some really nice, friendly people in Kurdistan. Strangely, I found that usually the older the person, the friendlier they were.

The second day cycling in the Kurdish region was probably one of the worst cycle days to date. The route from Horasan to Eleskirt, unknown to us, had the highest mountain pass (2200m) of the trip so far. If we were cycling this in daylight on an autumn day, then maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad, however we started the ascent in the late evening. This was my fault, as I didn’t feel comfortable wild camping in the valley (which was our original plan), and I underestimated the steepness of the mountain. So we made the ascent at the end of an already, very long cycle day, in the pitch black of night, with crappy torches that weren’t working and on a shit road, with a narrow hard shoulder.

I got a bad vibe in the area and could hear whispers coming from the valley.

It was clear that there were people hanging around in the valley, even though there were no towns nearby. We eventually made it to the top of the pass, surprised to find the mountain pass sign, and even more surprised to be approached by a Turkish truck driver whom had parked at the top of the pass. He had been waiting for us to arrive at the top. He clearly was not happy, and started yelling out “Problem. Problem.” followed by some Turkish words I didn’t understand. Luckily, Michael speaks some Turkish, so we managed to make some sense of it all.

He told us, that the area between Erzurum and Dogubayazit was extremely dangerous. The PKK extremist Kurdish, terrorist group operated in the area. He then went on to tell us that he had once been held up at gunpoint in the area. Basically, he scared the shit out of us. After what seemed like a very long 10 minutes, he said he would follow us down the mountain pass, in his truck, to a military checkpoint, about 3km away, where he said we could camp. It was the shittest downhill cycle ever. I couldn’t even make out a meter in front of me. That on top of it being a extremely shitty road, full of pot holes and gravel.

Eventually we made it to the military base.

Words were exchanged between our truck driver the military soldiers. We were then escorted into the base, where we had tea and chocolates. The military told us that the area was not that bad anymore. That only the traffic is a dangerous. This was followed by being told we could camp at a gas station another 3 km down the hill. Our truck driver escort had already left by this stage, so we had to make the final descent by ourselves. Unfortunately the road didn’t improve. I have never been so happy to see a gas station. The owners were lovely, they gave us tea and let us set up camp. They seemed like genuinely nice (Kurdish) people.

I’m not sure whether the area really had PKK activity or not, but I am certain the truck driver believed we were in danger. It definitely put us on edge for the next few cycle days.

Dodging flying hubcaps

It wasn’t until we reached Agri the following day that we experienced, the infamous, ‘rock-throwing’ children (just what you want while cycling in the summer heat). So not only did we have shepherd’s dogs to worry about, we now had ‘rock-throwing’ children, aged as young as 3 years to about 15 years. The worse incident was about 10km outside of Agri. A child decided to launch a hubcap at us from the back of a moving truck. It narrowly missed our heads. By this stage I was over Kurdistan, and looking very forward to getting to Iran, where I heard the people were lovely.

Ramadan Byram

For the past 4 weeks we had been cycling in Turkey during Ramadan, an Islamic religious event, where muslims fast during the day. Obviously it made it a little awkward to get food or drink, or to eat and drink in public during the day. The day we arrived in Dogubayazit was the first day of Ramadan Byram, a festive holiday following the end of Ramadan. It seemed a bit like Halloween, only kids roam the streets during the day and night, looking for lollies and sweets.

As it turned out, it was possibly the worse day of the year to cycle into a city in Kurdistan. I have never in my life thought I would have to escape mobs of kids, screaming “money, money, money,” throwing the occasional rock, or attempting to slap one of us across the face. It was not a fun experience! We quickly found a cheap hotel (Hotel Isfahan), where the staff were extremely fr

iendly, and no kids were allowed. We then got stuck in Dogubayazit for the next 4 days, as we needed to withdraw dollars and euros from the bank for Iran (as you can’t use ATM’s in Iran), and the banks were closed for holidays. I could think of better places to be trapped.

A run for the border

After 4 days, we finally got money and were able to make our way to the border, only 35km away. We thought by this stage we would be in the clear of the rock throwing kids. Until, I by chance read about teenagers attempting to attack cyclists crossing from Dogubayzit to the Iranian border. Not with just rocks, but with chains. The fun times keep coming. We thought it would be safest to head off early in the morning, before anyone would be awake, to avoid bumping into these teenagers. In hindsight this was stupid and it would have been safer to wait until midday when all the roads get busier.

The biggest concern for us was that we were carrying so much money. All the money to last us in Iran. I’m not sure whether the locals in this area would know that or not – I hope they don’t. We were lucky, and didn’t have any problems. Though, it could have been a different story. As we were cycling through one town, at about 7am, there was no traffic on the road, at all. I have actually never seen the roads so quiet. I spotted some teenager shepherds just off the road; as they spotted us, they got up and walked on to the road.

There were 3 of them, and they all walked with long metal polls.

There was something about them that was very suspicious. One boy walked to the other side of the road. This meant we would have to cycle through the middle of them. I started cycling further out into the road, as there was no chance I was going to let that happen. Other than that, there was nothing that we could do except cycle fast, don’t stop, and hope they don’t try anything. We cycled around them, they eyed us, and hesitated. We said “hello”, continued cycling, and luckily nothing happened. I was relieved to finally reach the border. Crossing the border into Iran was no problem, and within 30 minutes we were through passport control and customs, and safely in Iran. I could not have been happier!!

Note for cyclists heading the same route:

*** There is a town about 10-15km from the border called Asagi Tavia, if you are planning on cycling through this town please take care. Though the teenagers didn’t try it with us, they did act very strange, and were holding big metal polls. I’m sure it’s not long before they actually try something on with cyclists, particularly if you are by yourself. I’ve also heard other reports of cyclists getting attacked in this area. ***

Donkeys

Surhan Mosque where we spent the night

Cycling the mountain pass just before sunset

Arriving at the Iranian border

One of the mountain passes we cycled

Cappadocia

Cycling uphill for 4km – fun times!

Made it 4000km from France to Eastern Turkey

Cycling the Silk Road in Eastern Turkey stats:

Money found on the road: Michael – 108 lira ($53) vs. Me – nothing

Kilometers cycled in Turkey: 2300km

Total km: 4400km

Time spent in Turkey: 6 weeks

Total days: 104 days

Punctures: Michael – we’ve lost count, but at least 23 vs. Me – 2

Accommodation: x4 nights Couchsurfing, x1 night mosque, x4 nights hotel, x1 pension/ guesthouse, wild camping (mostly at gas stations)

Cycling the Silk Road in Eastern Turkey I was sad to leave Cappadocia It was a little tourist haven, with good (vegetarian) food, coffee and plenty of English speakers.

We were excited to be cycling Albania – we entered the country from Montenegro, near Lake Shkoder in the North of the country. Enjoying the sunshine, we were taking the day at a relatively slow pace. Just taking in the scenery, stopping for coffee and snack breaks, and enjoying the day and the good weather. Then we decided it was a good night for an all-nighter. This is something we have both wanted to attempt at some point (though I probably shouldn’t let my Dad know this, as he will likely freak out).

Attempting to do our first all-nighter

All nighter, all the way to Tirana (a total of 160km). Luckily the reality of this crazy idea hit home at about 100km, when we realized it was a stupid idea and we were too young to die. The road into Tirana was horrible and the drivers were crazy. Dusk was already upon us, and we began to feel a bit desperate. I read that wild camping at a gas station with the permission of the owner was the “done thing” in almost every country. So we asked at a station, they said “no” and pointed us in the direction of a campsite.

The campsite was only 5km away so we decided to head for it. 10km later, after pushing our bikes along a dirty beach, we arrived at the campsite. Just as the sun disappeared over the horizon. It turned out the campsite was still closed for the season. After about 10 minutes of hanging around, trying to decide what to do (I didn’t want to sleep at the campsite as there were a bunch of drunk guys hanging around). A guy appeared who was looking after the campsite while it was closed. He took us to a restaurant, introduced us to the owner, and before we knew it we had our own (rather smelly and old) hut. This is where we ended up spending the night – for free! This was just our introduction to the great Albanian hospitality.

[ctt template=”8″ link=”6yaXe” via=”yes” ]The friendliest people in the Balkans! #cyclingalbania @CycleTrekkers @CycleTrekkers[/ctt]

The following day we said our goodbyes and hit the road again.

It was a long day cycling in hot sunny weather (a rarity of the trip so far). We decided to head off the main highway, which turned out to make the trip into Tirana significantly longer. The locals were so inquisitive. We got plenty of waves, a few high-fives, we even got given free bottles of water at a gas station we stopped at to shelter from the sun. I think most other (sensible) cycle tourists took the more direct route to Tirana and stuck to the main road. This meant many of the locals we met hadn’t seen cycle tourists before.

I was also told by an Irish expat that local Albanians believe that only poor people cycle, so seeing foreigners traveling on bicycles is a very strange thing for them. The only negative run in we had, was with a teenage boy who tried to stop me cycling by throwing a bamboo stick in my path. I moved it out the way. He then hit Michael on the head with the stick. The boy then started throwing rocks at us. I guess there are douchbags in every country; luckily he is the minority.

It was at this point the road turned to shit

Some sections of the road we had to get off the bike and push them through knee high muddy puddles. We were happy when we finally made our way back to the main highway. Once on the highway we followed it the rest of the way to Tirana.

We were warned about the road into Tirana, and the warnings were true. The cycle was not fun. We had to battle with pot holes, gravel, mud, rocks, dirt, road kill, cargo trucks, loads of traffic, no hard shoulder and plenty of pollution. It was hard to believe this was the main road into the capital. The condition of some of the roads in the villages we cycled through were in much better condition. Eventually we did make it to Tirana, where we decided to set up camp in the garden of a hostel for a few nights.

Tirana has a bike bazaar (basically just a street with cheap bike shops on), which we wanted to check out. So we decided to hang around the city for a few days to fix up and clean the bikes.

3 nights rest and feeling fully recovered.

We were ready to take on the next challenge, the Albanian Alps. Stupidly we headed off at the hottest part of the day (yes, the sun was out again), and we started climbing straight away. Our aim was to hit Elbasan, which we surprisingly did, and even cycled through. About 10km outside Elbasan we asked a gas station whether we could camp out the back, and surprise, surprise, he said yes. Happy Days!!! Great view, free campsite and he sold beer on tap – score!

The next day we continued the climb up the Alps. Blue-sky day, no cloud cover, no breeze, just sun. We spent most of the day climbing over the Albanian Alps, it was a tiring day, but we eventually made it to Lake Ohrid (on the Albanian side), just as the weather changed. We then cycled down hill towards in the Macedonian border in the wind, rain and a thunderstorm.

Conquering the Albanian Alps, we made it to Macedonia. Soaked, tired and sun burnt! What is with this crazy weather?!? So, instead of camping, we decided to find a cheap hostel on the Macedonian side of the lake, have a shower and warm up.

Albania sign

Cycling with locals

Sunset in Albania

Cycling Albania

One of the crap roads we cycled on

Beautiful sunset in Albania

A few cycling Albania stats

Accommodation: 1 night staying in a hut out the back of a restaurant, 3 nights camping at a hostel, 1 night wild camping out the back of a garage

Kilometers cycled in Albania: 314km

Total kilometers: 1750km (or there-a-bouts)

Days in Albania: 7 days (5 nights)

Total days cycling: 35 days

Average spendings per day: 12 Euros

Crash tally: 1* (Michael) – 1** (Kelly)

I left Michael for 30 minutes, and he crashed into a car – ok, the car pulled out on him, but luckily he was ok… Tirana drivers – CRAZY!!!

** My tyre got stuck in a tramline and I went flying off my bike (this was in Italy)

Puncture tally: 4 (Michael) – 0 (Kelly)

Cycling Albania: Great people, shit roads and killer mountains We were excited to be cycling Albania - we entered the country from Montenegro, near Lake Shkoder in the North of the country.

#albania #beautiful #budget #camping #charity cycle #cycle touring #cycling #cycling albania #friendly people #Tirana #wateraid #WaterAid Australia #wildcamping

A Message from the Dineens and the Dockerys......

Hi all.

As many of you know, last December we lost our brother / son / fiancé, John, after his courageous battle with a brain tumour.

John spent his final months under the care of the doctors and nurses of Marymount hospice outside Cork city. It's difficult to find the words to describe the remarkable work done by these people in this facility. The support they showed not only to my brother in his final days & hours, but to my entire family, will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Marymount relies heavily on donations, and John’s wonderful friends are holding a charity cycle to raise much deserved funds for this worthy cause.

John had many passions in life, one of these being cycling, and another one was having the craic with his friends, so I can't think of a better event to celebrate his life and help Marymount in the process. Please donate whatever you can, big or small! And feel free to share this post, or send the link to whoever you'd like.

Thank you! Dineens and Dockerys x

John’s friends are cycling the Ring of Beara in Kerry, Ireland on the 28 May. They are raising money for Marymount Hospice in Cork, in memory of our friend John Dineen

http://ringofbearacyclekenmare.com/

To DONATE, go HERE.

#michelle dockery #downton abbey #in memory of john #marymount hospice cork #charity cycle