The Silk Route Bicycle Race and Expedition Heads East

TravelTalkMEDIA, September 9th, 2007

September 09, 2007 - Toronto - Tour d’Afrique Ltd, creators and organizers of epic transcontinental bicycle expeditions across Africa and Europe have geared up once again to make bicycle history.

Their latest bicycle race and expedition, The Silk Route, is following the ancient silk trade road across the entire continent of Asia - from Istanbul, Turkey to Beijing, China - becoming the first modern self-powered ‘caravan’ to ever undertake such a journey.

“It’s a magic expedition” said Henry Gold, environmental activist, company founder and leader of the Silk Route expedition.  “This old route connects East and West and as most of us are from the West, we have a desire to learn about Eastern cultures and history.”
 
Following in the footsteps of Marco Polo, General Zhang Qian and Genghis Khan, 55 expedition riders from all over the world are currently cycling through Turkmenistan in an attempt to make bicycle history by peddaling eastwards through Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and China - a distance of almost 10,000 km’s.
 “Whether they race it or ride it, the participants are having an experience like none other.”  said Gold on their rest day in Turkmenbashi.  “We are celebrating sportsmanship and fellowship, crossing borders, making friends, overcoming obstacles, experiencing new ideas and cuisines – all with a view from the best seats in the house – our bicycle seats.” 

Apart from experiencing the sheer joy, exhilaration and freedom that comes with crossing a continent by bicycle, one of the main goals of the company is to raise global awareness of the damage being done to the environment through society’s increasing use of motorized transportation.  “Using bicycles would minimize this damage and go a long way to curb the global warming process.”  said Gold, who thinks it would amazing if cars were banned from streets and bicycles took over the roads.  “Everything could change if people simply made up their minds to use bicycles instead of cars.” In anyone’s book, setting out to ride across a continent and cover 10 000 kms by bicycle is a daunting prospect; something that only serious, hard core cyclists would attempt.  But Gold, who is not a serious cyclist and says he probably never will be, disagrees.  “You just do not have to be a serious cyclist.” he said.  “If an ordinary man like me can ride a bike for thousands of kilometers and cross an entire continent, anybody can do that half hour a day bike ride in the city.” Silk Route is the third expedition in an exciting new cycling category that Gold is pioneering – Trans Continental Bicycle Races and Expeditions.  His other two renowned annual events are Tour d’Afrique (12 000 km from Cairo to Cape Town) and Orient Express (4000 km from Paris to Istanbul).

The riders departed from Istanbul on 4th August 2007 and have currently clocked up around 3000 kms through Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan.  Having crossed the Caspian Sea by ferry in late August, they continued eastwards to taste the delights of  Ashgabat and Samarkand and to test their courage in the dusty furnace of the Takla Makan.   They will then cycle to the top of the world, climbing to over 3600m through the Taldyk Pass in Kyrgyzstan and camp below sea level in the stunning deserts of China’s Xinjiang province before arriving at their final destination, Beijing, on 18 November 2007.

The Silk Route features approximately 88 cycling days, averaging 111 km (69 miles) each day, broken up by 19 rest days and a day of travel across the Caspian Sea - a total of 108 days.  To follow their daily progress visit www.tourdafrique.com.

For further info and photographs contact: 
Toronto, Canada
Theresa Brown
Tel:       +1 416 364 8255
Fax:      +1 416 364 0058
e-mail:  theresa@tourdafrique.com