cyclingtosyria

HI, I'm Ken,
I'm organizing a cycling 'relay' from Brussels to Syria-- a fundraiser for syrian refugees-- to take place next summer. The idea is for cyclists to do some 2 or 3 hundred kilometers at a stretch, then 'pass the baton' to another cyclist or group of cyclists, all the way to Antakya or Gaziantep, in Turkey, near the Syrian border. The route would basically be Brussels, Cologne, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Budapest, Belgrade, along the danube towards the Black Sea, down to edirne, Turkey, then Istanbul etc. If anyone would like to join for a leg of the journey, or more, including the whole journey, let me know!

Cyclesafe

We'll let you do the last leg in full Kevlar.

Oops! I thought that you were actually going into Syria. My bad for not reading carefully enough. How about Kevlar tires?

cyclingtosyria

Well, you just stay safe and stay home there, Hoss!

Juan Foote

Although not exactly the sentiment you were looking for the previous poster does bring up a valid point. Are you making any manner of arrangement for security and safety to the riders as they cross into the more troubled regions?
This may not even be a concern to people who live or regularly travel there, so my concerns may be misguided.

cyclingtosyria

Which troubled regions are you referring to? Serbia? Bulgaria? Turkey?
I had no trouble in these regions while walking through them last winter. Except perhaps overwhelming hospitality.
Anyway, looking for robust, intrepid, compassionate cyclists.

fietsbob

Hope Ken spreads the recruitment to more places* than here for this project, wish you Luck .

*CTC - UK , ACA - US ..

Ekdog

You walked through all of those countries? That sounds like a fascinating journey. Can I read more about it somewhere?

Medic Zero

My thoughts exactly! The only problems I would anticipate on your entire route would maybe be dogs in some places. I imagine the Danube has an old canal tow path along most of it for cycles? Nice and flat, and pretty. Wish I could afford to fly over for some or all of it!

jeffpoulin

It sounds like a nice trip, but why do you say "cycling to Syria" in both the title and your username if you're not actually going to Syria?

cyclingtosyria

You're right, dogs were a problem at times in Serbia and Bulgaria. I had a 'walking stick' that was really a stick I used to keep dogs at bay. But I had a dog with me, and attacks were usually directed at her. Much of the route will be along Eurovelo 6, down the Danube, chosen because it's nice and flat and pretty.

cyclingtosyria

I cycled from a village near Vicenza, in NE Italy, to Milan, then north through the Alps to Antwerp, then Germany, with the intention of continuing on into Syria. When I was at the Syrian border last March, NGO workers told me there was a border crossing south of Gaziantep that was under control of the rebels, and wide open. My intention was to cycle to that point and into Syria for a day or two. But now I've been informed that crossing has been closed by the Turkish army.
I'm in Germany now, and I've put my trip on hold because I hadn't been able to raise any money for victims of the war in Syria. I'm hoping now to spend the winter organizing a trip more likely to generate publicity for fundraising, and to get more people to participate. The trip is still 'to Syria'-- if we get to the Syrian border, we've gotten to Syria, I reckon. But if there are Syrian cyclists on the last leg, and they want to cycle into syria, and are able to, then into Syria it will be.