After 107 days, and a distance of 10 700 kilometers, 37 cyclists stood in front of Tiananmen Square on Sunday 18 November and soaked in the achievement of being the first human-powered caravan to have ever cycled the ancient Silk Route.

"It's been a very challenging expedition," said Shanny Hill, the tour leader of the inaugural Silk Route Bicycle Expedition from Istanbul to Beijing.

"We covered a distance of 10 700km in 107 days, cycled through eight countries, which included two major deserts and over 60 000 meters of climbs, faced relentless headwinds and coped with temperatures that ranged from an asphalt-melting 40 degrees C to a water bottle-freezing -0 degrees C. We were challenged to the very core."

And yet, the cyclists who hail from 10 different countries, went on.

"The will to continue was stronger that the desire to call it a day," said Henry Gold, Company Founder and environmental activist.

"These riders are a remarkable bunch of people who, even though they were pushed to their limits, never thought of packing it in."

In the footsteps of legends

Having followed in the footsteps of Marco Polo, General Zhang Qian and Genghis Khan, through Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and China, the Silk Route has been an experience like none other.

"There will be others who will follow in our footsteps, or rather in our tyre tracks, but we have set the mold," said Gold.

"We explored ancient, fabled cities, cycled through places which hundreds of years ago were bursting with life and riches and where today only the hushed sound of the wind can be heard. We had the opportunity to admire some amazing feats of architecture and human genius, to see new cities bursting with energy and life, to face whatever new challenge was around the next corner and to experience the glory of God's creation. We have had the time of our lives."

Silk Route is the third expedition in an exciting new cycling category the company is pioneering – Trans Continental Bicycle Races and Expeditions. The company’s 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)

Raising awareness

Apart from experiencing the sheer joy, exhilaration and freedom that comes with crossing a continent by bicycle, one of the goals of the company is to raise awareness of the damage being done to the environment through society’s increasing use of motorized transportation.

"We do these epic journeys because we like the adventure, but also because we believe that the bicycle is an important tool in fighting global warming," Gold continued.

"By cycling 10 700 kilometers in 107 days, we are pointing a way towards how bicycles could be used in every modern city as a means of transportation.” Both an expedition and a race, the winners were Scott Miller (America) in the men’s race and Sandra Simon (Austria) in the women’s race.

Registration for 2008 Silk Route, Orient Express and Tour d’Afrique is now open. Register online at www.tourdafrique.com.


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