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Paris Dakar by
Bike By: Rob van der
Geest We leave Paris on a
sunny Sunday morning along the banks of the Seine
in search of adventure for the next ten weeks. The
condition of the cyclists increases rapidly during
the stages along historical French cities and
through green valleys. We are just in time in shape
to climb the high mountains of the Pyrenees. Here
we reach the highest point of our trip at the 2407
meter high Port d'Envilaria in the princedom
Andorra. Englishman Andy manages to avoid this
point. He turns his bike into a dark tunnel but is
kicked out by the police immediately, fortunately
for him at the other side of the mountain. A
memorable day follows. Never ending rains combined
with low temperatures and thick fog pushes all
leisure riders into a small bar in an attempt to
get the body temperature back to acceptable values.
Most of the espresso ends up on the floor as result
of the heavy shivering. Finally everybody continues
their road through a sunny and above all
fascinating Spain with its rough rockeries,
magnificent views and an abundance of culture in
Moorish cities. Two colossal
sculptures of camels near Tan Tan form the symbolic
entrance gate to the Sahara. From that moment the
distances, temperatures and our water consumption
increase day by day. Despite the emptiness of the
world and the endless straight roads the days pass
by quickly. The Sahara fascinates with its yellow
sand dunes, crossing camels, friendly Bedouins and
the sparkling starry sky. The strong wind is
alternating our best friend or worst enemy. Stages
of 160 kilometers are sometimes covered within 4
hours by the fast guys in the front, other days it
is a struggle to keep the speedometer above 20
kilometers per hour. The more relaxed leisure
riders use every scarce opportunity to get a cup of
tea or cold coke and arrive in camp sometimes just
before sunset. Since we ride close along the
Atlantics a breeze from the ocean drops the
temperature by a few degrees. However, regularly we
are surprised by a scorching wind direct from the
Sahara, like a hot hair drier straight in the
face. Our camp is always
situated at unique locations. One night we sleep at
the base of a huge sand dune as tall as a flat
building, the next day we stay on the edge of a
gigantic rocky plate slowly breaking down in the
Atlantic Ocean. Incidentally our camp is visited by
an old Mauritanian Mercedes passing by to collect a
bottle of water. Most of it is used for
consumption, however sometimes the valuable is used
for washing hands and feet as preparation for a
prayer in the direction of Mekka. The contrast is big
as we enter from the emptiness of the desert into
the noisy and crowded streets of Nouakchott, the
biggest city in the Sahara. After leaving the
capital of Mauritania the vegetation, people and
animals return along the road slowly, and so our
amusement. The Sahara has been crossed! A day through a
fresh green swamp full of meter long lizards,
bright colored birds and sprinting wild boars along
the river Senegal brings us in the country with the
same name. Several days we traverse the sloping
savannah. We are encouraged loudly by enthusiastic
waving kids and women in colorful dresses standing
in front of little huts or under centuries old
baobab trees. The last stage brings us in the
chaotic centre of metropolis Dakar, the final
destination of our trip. In Dakar Priit
Salumäe from Estonia is celebrated as the
strong winner of the first ever "Paris Dakar by
Bike". Margus Püvi from Estonia and the Dutch
climber Rob van den Heuvel are completing the
stage. But in fact everybody feels like the winner
after fulfilling 7,200 fascinating kilometers (
4,500 miles ) on a bike crossing enormous mountains
and the endless Sahara. A new bunch of
cyclists will leave from the Eiffel Towel on 9
September 2007. Are you one of them? Find all
information at www.bike-dreams.com or request it at
info@bike-dreams.com. Bike
Dreams Marktstraat
11 6041 EN
Roermond The
Netherlands Tel.
+31.(0)475.311047 Fax +31.(0) 84
2256790 info@bike-dreams.com www.bike-dreams.com |
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"The
Sahara on a bicycle, is that possible?" A group of
25 enthusiastic cyclists accepted this challenge
and left from the Eiffel Tower on 10 September 2006
to hit the road to Dakar. They completed this
incredible idea of crossing the Sahara by bike
passing sand dunes and surprised camels.
A
fast ferry drops us at the other side of the
Straits of Gibraltar on the African continent.
Within 50 minutes we are in a new world with a
different culture and between other people. In a
world where we have to share the road with goats,
sheep, donkeys and monkeys. During the stages
through the rough Atlas mountains in Morocco we
already notice that we get closer to the Sahara.
Slowly the vegetation disappears in favor of sand
and rocks. Cows are replaced by camels.