Saudi cyclist pedals his way to Moscow
Al Yahya said the most daunting challenge was biking in Georgia’s dangerous mountains
ASaudi biker has arrived in Moscow after riding more than 5,000km across several countries, Saudi Elekhbariya TV reported.
Fahd Al Yahya took 75 days to cover the 5,145 kilometres distance from the Saudi capital Riyadh to the Russian capital, just in time for the football World Cup in which Saudi Arabia is participating.
Al Yahya said he faced the most daunting challenges in Georgia due to the language barrier and the inability to communicate easily and to the mountainous nature of the country.
“You need strength, stamina and a lot of resilience as you pedal your way across demanding natural elements,” he said.
Al Yahya pedalled through Turkey, Georgia and Russia, but there were no details how he reached Turkey.
He said that he had been warmly welcomed in all the countries he visited. The Russian reception and media attention were well beyond his expectations, especially that his ride was seen as among the activities on the sideline of the quadrennial tournament to be held from June 14 — July 15.
“I have carried with me the flag of Saudi Arabia which was graciously given to me by the Governor of Riyadh, Prince Faisal Bin Badr, in order to present it to the head of the Saudi football delegation as a message of hope and support,” Al Yahya, 38, said.
“Arriving in Moscow is a historic moment and a dream come true. I am so happy that I could fulfil my promise of presenting the Saudi flag to the football delegation.”
Saudi Arabia will take on hosts Russia in the opener of the monthlong tournament on June 14.
‘C ycling far?” asks a woman in the bakery as a group of us queues for coffee and sausage rolls, as well as an all-important receipt to prove we passed through Tewkesbury.
“Er ... London to Wales,” replies a cyclist behind me. A pause. “And back.” It must be hard not to look smug — he’s probably been dying for someone to ask him that all day.
Some 130 of us are doing just that. We’ve been over the Chilterns and through picturepostcard Cotswold villages. Soon we’ll labour up the 24 per cent ramp of Yat Rock, whizz down the Wye valley to Chepstow, nip into Wales and cross back into England over the old Severn bridge. Then it’s up past the Somerset monument, across the North Wessex Downs, over the Chilterns again and we’re done. At 407km, the London-Wales-London ride does have a truly epic feel.
This is my first taste of audax: a noncompetitive form of longdistance cycling that traces its history to the 1890s, not long after the invention of the modern bicycle. I was expecting old men on steel-framed bikes with calves cast from iron and glasses held together with gaffer tape, cake and clipboards in dusty village halls, and checkpoints on bleak petrol station forecourts. Only part of that was true.
A few years ago I wouldn’t have been far wrong. The London-Wales-London ride had been running for decades under the name of Severn Across, and until recent years the average turnout was around 35 riders.
But ultra-distance cycling has surged in popularity. Just as runners who have tackled a few regular marathons might think “what now?” and have a go at an ultra-marathon, increasing numbers of cyclists are looking for something more than a 160km sportive. This appears to be down partly to self-supported races like the Transcontinental across Europe and the 6,800km TransAmerica, partly to the profile of riders like the late Mike Hall and partlyto that familiar human urge to try for a little bit more.
Race rebranded
Last year, organiser Liam FitzPatrick rebranded the Severn Across ride as London-Wales-London. This year the event sold out in under eight hours. FitzPatrick opened a waiting list but closed it once he had another 75 names. The flow of emails from disappointed riders continued right up to the big day.
So what I got when I arrived at Chalfont St Peter community centre at 6am on a bright May Saturday morning was a lot of fit cyclists, some expensively cut Lycra and merino, a clutch of carbon bikes ... and the odd crusty old-timer.
The growth of ultra-distance cycling can be seen in the participation numbers for that event: 29 starters in 1989, 1,500 last year.
FitzPatrick had warned me before the event that the mental challenge could be tougher than the physical. “What makes it difficult isn’t so much the speed, it’s that you’ve got time to think,” he said.
His advice for finishing successfully was to pay extra attention to staying hydrated (easy to forget on long events) and not to spend too long riding alone, especially at night.
I teamed up with fellow rider Alex Kew when we found ourselves at the same pace.
London-Wales-London is not a race (technically it’s a randonne). Riders are free to complete the 407km at whatever speed they want so long as they average 15-30km/h. That made the earliest allowable finish 10.30pm; the latest was 9am the next day.
London-Wales-London (or Chalfont-Chepstow-Chalfont, as one wag had it) certainly lives up to its epic new name. It’s a welcoming way to explore.
And it’s an antidote to overblown sportives. Rolling in after 407km, we got our brevet cards stamped and tucked into warming bowls of homemade daal. There were no spectators lining the finish chute, no bag of freebies, no medals — but it was all the better for it.
London-Wales-London is not a race (technically it’s a randonne). Riders are free to complete the 407km at whatever speed ...so long as they average 15-30km/h.