"New Postmen" - French cyclists conquer the Silk Road
Studios from France - Mathieu, Arif, Julie and Elias - within the framework of their project “UlanBike” (“OulanBike”) ride the silk roads of the great caravan route by bicycle. Today in Ashgabat they talked with students of the French Institute, told them about the purpose of the trip and the interest generated by their project.
Four bikers travel from Istanbul to Ulaanbaatar in the footsteps of Marco Polo, and throughout the journey they meet with followers of francophony and business circles. Their main goal is to show that “the world can be easily explored with the help of pedals” and “Europe and Asia are not too far from each other.”
The fact that French students ended up in Turkmenistan during the celebration of World Bicycle Day is a lucky coincidence. According to the guys, they were impressed by the number of bikes on the roads, and the variety of cyclists themselves:
- Oh, we saw both grown-up guys and girls in a dress, and an elderly man who was carrying this special bread - churek. Many different people. And all on bikes.
Bikers bring friendship greetings to Ulan Bator — postcards written by a member of parliament for Loire and Cher and the president of the France-Mongolia Friendship Society and others. The guys from the big officials, calling themselves “postmen of a new kind,” read out to students of French schools and centers on the whole route. And plan to bring them to the very tomb of Genghis Khan.
Moving along the roads of Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, and planning to cross the Pamir (4500 m above sea level!) to China, and from there to Mongolia, cyclists from France are determined to learn a lot about the culture of Asian countries.
As the activists themselves say, they are not interested in taking the path, "nuzzling the wheel of a bicycle" and "studying the quality of roads." And because they come to all corners where there are at least some attractions: historical, cultural, natural. And they rejoice at each new discovery.
They have hundreds of kilometers of road ahead. But while they enjoy Turkmen hospitality and study Ashgabat.
Their journey can be followed in a special blog (www.oulanbike.com), in which the guys talk about the most memorable moments of the journey, give useful tips and share photos.
