We are not cyclists and we don’t own any lycra.
The idea of cycling any further than a few miles down the road is a relatively new one, sparked only by stumbling across a copy of Mark Beaumont’s ‘The Man Who Cycled The World’ in a branch of WHSmiths one sweltering summer afternoon while living and working in Qatar a little over four years ago.
After reading this new purchase cover to cover while melting by the swimming pool in Doha and a call with Deborah back in Scotland to explain that I have found another category of ‘adventurous stuff’ to add to our bucket list, the plan to follow in Mark’s tyre tracks was born, although at slightly slower pace and with much less lycra.
With only a couple of months remaining on my contract in Qatar, our planning went into overdrive in preparation for my return from the Middle East and our first cycle expedition. Not having much of a clue about expedition cycling we opted for a shopping list taken directly out of Mark Beaumont’s book, with the logic that if he could cycle around the world with this kit, then surely it would do us just fine too. Two Koga Randonneurs, eight Ortlieb panniers, an MSR lightweight tent, two Garmin Edge computers and a heap of other assorted gear later we, were finally kitted up for ready for the adventure to begin… only for me to be offered a two-year contract working in Saudia Arabia and living in Dubai.
While turning down the contract and returning to Scotland was a real consideration, when Deborah was offered the Chief Instructor’s job at the Dubai Off-Shore Sailing Club there was real no decision to make and our adventures on two wheels was put on hold.