Traveling by bicycle .. An arduous adventure that attracts more Egyptian youth

Hassan Masri-Cairo

The hobby of bicycling for hundreds of miles, some may consider a path of madness, but it is now attracting many young people in Egypt.

Mohamed Nofal is an Egyptian young man who, although he was only 25 years old, decided to go through the experience, travel and travel in a non-traditional way, especially the bicycle.

Nofal tells Al Jazeera Net that he started the experiment with domestic flights in many governorates and cities such as Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada and Fayoum, where he was traveling hundreds of kilometers by bike, in "pleasure is unparalleled pleasure."

The young Egyptian explains that traveling by bicycle is an ideal means of exercise and access to fitness and good health, as well as a means to see nature and explore the new close-up, away from the usual means known during travel by road or air.

He has been marketing his trips through photos and videos, which could be the start of his dream of documentary production.

Nawfal works to spread the culture of bicycle trips, saying that the main challenges facing the new amateurs is fear of the difficulties of the trip, adding, "Here comes my role in facilitating the beginnings for beginners."

He stresses the need to make sure at the beginning of the fitness and the eligibility of the young man to bike long distances, before proceeding on the journey, as well as to ensure the needs of the trip such as spare parts of the bike and first aid and supplies of food and drink, as well as knowledge of the itinerary and detailed map.

The big dream

"I finally traveled about 1,300 kilometers from Cairo to the far south in Shalateen by bicycle, and then I returned to Assiut before taking a car to Cairo," recalls Ahmed Mamdouh, an Egyptian youngster who recounts his last bike trip.

Mamdouh, who is studying at the Faculty of Engineering, has a dream of touring all of Egypt by bicycle, which made him make his first trips on the Red Sea road to the city of Shalatin and then to Upper Egypt to Assiut, which required him 35 days, including camping and driving before returning to Cairo.

Mamdouh said during a video on Facebook that the trip was punctuated by camping in many places, pointing out that the best places he liked all the way are Qalaan and Hamran Marsa Alam, and is one of the most beautiful beaches of the Red Sea.

He pointed out that it needed to arrange from the beginning, in terms of supplies and choose the right route, as well as the type of bike, where he chose a mountain bike designed for off-road, and was equipped with a large water container.

He pointed out that one of the most difficult situations he suffered, when he was injured in his knee on an unpaved road, which required him to stay in Hurghada camp for three days, which led him to stress the need to choose the appropriate routes before traveling.

As for the equipment and supplies he carried, he explained that it included camping equipment and tools for the maintenance of the bike, stressing that the adventure was enjoyable despite all odds, especially as it achieved part of his great dream of touring all of Egypt by bike.