A cyclist with a sense of adventure, last year Yasser took his bike for a swim, I mean spin in the Red Sea.
Earlier today, our newest superstar blogger called for a cycling revolution. Inji discusses critical mass biking events, a monthly activity that occurs throughout the world and is sometimes referred to as political-protest rides, and how activist cyclists can contribute to a better future.
The turmoil in the Middle East is so relentless, it is hard to remember a time before, a time when life – albeit less democratic – didn’t seem quite so heavy. A time when biking was just biking, a way to ditch the car and catch a quick thrill.
One Egyptian cycling enthusiast takes us back to that time, offering a lighthearted reminder that there is more than one way to go for a spin.
Last year Yasser and his friends traveled to Dahab with a few of his friends to celebrate Sinai Liberation day. While such a trip might usually consist of “hanging out” with friends and diving, that extended weekend included taking along a prop.
Yasser decided to take along his old road bike “Nie’ma” to determine whether he could ride it underwater.
As the images show, Yasser donned his normal diving equipment, along with his fancy biking shoes, and took an underwater spin. There’s no discussion about the consequence to the bike being exposed to the Red Sea’s saltwater.
It is also difficult to say whether Yasser managed to avoid riding over the coral reefs, for which Sinai is so well known, but we have to think such a devoted cyclist would be mindful of such important details.
More on biking in the Middle East:
Israeli Designer Yinnon Lehrer Encourages Urban Biking
An Insider’s Experience: Exploring Beirut By Bike
Care To Ride A Silhouette Horsey In An Ecotard?
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
Nice to hear from you Yasser! Glad to hear the bike survived… where’s the next biking adventure? 😉
Hi Tafline,
Nice article.. and nice green website!
I wanna say the bike was fine after a wash with fresh water and as for the beautiful red sea coral reefs, we sure avoided damaging any.. we picked some sandy seabed as you can see in the pictures.
Cheers
You should offer underwater cycling tours. Turn left past the octopus, wide around the shark and right around the coral reef.