BikingForFuture2Egypt

Thoughts:

As I have written in my blog post, I am preparing for going by bicycle to COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt this year. You may have read my site BikingForFuture about my trip to COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. If not, there is still time to do so. It was not the easiest for me – an untrained 71-y-o woman, to go by bicycle (even it is an e-bike) the around 2,500 km, but I learned a lot. The best thing, I learned, was, that I could make it – I reached my goal, but I also learned about my limits – both physically and mentally as well as the limits of an e-bike battery.

My first reaction, when I heard, that COP27 will be in Egypt, was a big disappointment, because of the situation in the Middle East and in Egypt as well. I really don’t understand, why they were choosing just Egypt of all the African countries. Maybe the government bribed.

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Planning:

There is a ferry from Spain to Morocco and from France and Italy to Tunisia. Though it would be much easier to go there by bike. On the contrary, to use one of those ferries and then go further to Egypt isn’t an option, because Libya, one of the most unsafe countries in the world, is in between. In addition to that one cannot enter Algeria from Morocco and Mali is closed. One should have to go way South before being able to enter Sudan and from there to Egypt. However it isn’t possible for me to go so far.

Last year my tour was totally unsupported – not counting an amount I have got of a girlfriend of mine, which I appreciated very much. I didn’t find any company or organization, which was willing to sponsor me. This time, it seems I am more lucky. I have got an amount of $400 of the World Explorer Grant for expenses. I paid the Airbnb room in Sharm el-Sheikh with it. It was a really good help, because for two weeks – the time, when the COP27 will be held, I cannot expect, that someone would host me. I wouldn’t have conscience for it either. The other sponsor is the German company VAUDE, which sells environmentally friendly and fair outdoor products. The first time I heard about VAUDE was on twitter by @meg_gyver and I am so grateful to her. Since then I have bought some products of the company, e.g. Aqua Back rear panniers. They are made of PVC-free tarpaulin material and 100% water tight. I was very happy with this products during my “BikingForFuture”-trip to COP26 in Glasgow, UK. Therefore I have got the idea to ask the company for sponsoring and it was very easy, because I only had to fill in a form on their homepage. Meanwhile I have got an extra battery and an extra charger for my e-bicycle and a GoPro camera as well as clothes, shoes and a handlebar bag. The marketing people of VAUDE has also taken contact with someone to record my trip, but actually they were not successful. It was a nice try, which I appreciate very much.

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I had planned to go as much as possible by land, which meant, that I first would go North, crossing the land-border to Finland at Haparanda/Tornio. From there I would have continued South. There are two options: The EuroVelo 10 (close to the Baltic Sea) or the EuroVelo 11 (throughout the Lake district). From the capital of Finland, Helsinki, I would have visited St. Petersburg, Russia and from there went to Tallinn, Estonia. Unfortunately, Putin made war in Ukraine and Russia is no longer an option for me.

Instead I planned a new route, even this time using as many EuroVelo routes as possible, e.g. EV5 + EV15 along the river Rhen and EV6 along the river Danube. Those will be easy earned km. I bought a new app, called Komoot, for planing my route. First I had difficulties to define my route and save it online. After my smartphone crashed several times, I found out, how I could manage it. Anyway, I spend hours and hours with that app.

Here is the result (I used the OruxMapsGP app to show it properly):

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I have some concerns about my trip, exactly about if the ferry isn’t going from Iskenderun, Turkey to Port Said, Egypt. Maybe I have to ride my bicycle throughout the Middle East. As my contact in Syria told me, it is quite safe now. In the Facebook group “Bicycle travelers” a cyclist had written about his trip crossing Syria and mentioned, that he didn’t have any problems with it. Nonetheless I would be happy, if there would be a ferry between the South of Greece and the North of Egypt.

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Training:

Last year I had no time for training, but this year I started after the winter. First I made a mix of a few hours or entire days. In May I made a trip to Mora, Sweden. I needed 4 days to Mora and I was staying there for three as well as I did need 4 days home again. I made it. All together were around 700 km. You can read more on my blog post “Mora next”. Anyway the trip to Egypt will be more challenging.

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For reading about my adventures, please follow the link: https://www.polarsteps.com/DorotheeHildebrandt2/7147733-cop27.