Cyclists’ Surprise Welcome to AJDABIYA! 🚲 Libya Bike Tour

Cyclists’ Surprise Welcome to AJDABIYA! 🚲 Libya Bike Tour

I’ve enjoyed a lovely lion in after all my early starts, but now I’m just sitting waiting on breakfast, which isn’t until 9, but be worth waiting for cuz I’ve only got 80 km, but I’m going to be cycling through the afternoon now. Supplied my own coffee. There’s no cutlery. And even though I arrived 5 minutes before, I was told it was due to start. Somebody’s been here before me, but it’s still nice to have breakfast and security aren’t you here until 10 anyway. Bye-bye. Thank you. It’s 10. There’s no sign of security, but the hotel have let me go. In contrast to the stuff in a hotel in search, you got jumpy if I so much just went downstairs cuz they thought I was going to go outside without authorization. That might be for me. I like that there’s no more pressuring me to extend the lift. I think they’ve seen that I’m capable of doing what I said I was going to do and now they’re graciously letting me do it. Woo! T20 to Benghazi. Hello. I’ve gained a car. Tina. Okay. No filming. [Music] Just having a chat now. Salam allayikum chaps. How you doing? All right. Typical sort of roadside rest area here. There’s a checkpoint on the road which I won’t show you obviously. There’s a mosque just here where I hopefully will fill up my water. couple of shops, cafe, and an unknown number of vehicles that are here to do with me. I was just making my choice and the nice shopkeeper handed me a cold red ball then said, “Welcome to Libya.” Cheers, Libya. I’m a few days into using this Ortle water sack, and I love it. It’s got these adjustable straps on both sides. So, it attaches to the pa and then even as I’m using the water through the day, I can tighten it and it still sits solidly on the back of the bike. So, I’ve stopped for about 45 minutes. I’m ready to go. There’s literally six men here, three cars, but they’re not letting me go. They want me to wait for somebody else to come and escort me. The day is getting hotter. I started late. It’s my fault, but [Music] Woo! Free Palestine. Oh, they’re from Egypt. It kept me waiting back there for a new escort to arrive, which I did get a bit sulky and entitled about, but we’re all on the way again now. Lovely new bit of roads here. According to the map, the road was single carriageway over there. So this is all entirely new. Whoever the collection of people escorting me right now are, they didn’t want me stopping at that checkpoint back there. But luckily, a soldier came over with some water. He wanted a chat, so I managed to get a little break in the shade. Hello. I didn’t understand it at the time, but this was fellow cyclist Salah and who’d come to welcome me to Ashdabia. I did question where I was being led at this point, but they brought me to a brilliantly located hotel. made it to I’m a bit sunburned maybe. Um I’ve got a lovely view of the square behind the fly screen. Please. Golden hour. Time for photos. Shukrion. [Applause] Shukran. Wow. Got a medal for being I don’t know cycling tourist in Libya. What fun. Oh I’m about to get interviewed. Just done some TV interviews about how I’ve enjoyed my time in Libya and was it safe and secure? War Information Division.

Days 154-155. 77km (89766kms 8yrs)

I’ve been doing such big days lately that an 80km day felt easy enough to leave until after the hotel’s free 9am breakfast (which turned out not to be with waiting for 😆). No sign of escort, I set out at the agreed 10am, within 20minutes a police car coming the other way found me and began to drive along side. At some point the typical unmarked un-plated car showed up too, so I was doubly escorted now.

At the checkpoint midway I enjoyed a fairly lengthy break and was ready to proceed but a gathering of 5 young men (not in uniform, across 3 cars) prevented me from leaving. Apparently we were waiting for an escort to arrive from Ajdabiya. It was my choice to start late but everything had run so smoothly until now I hadn’t foreseen this sort of delay. An hour later, a little grumpy (and a tad entitled) I set off again into the afternoon’s heat and increasing sidewind.

Nearing Ajdabiya someone started driving and stopping to film me repeatedly. 5 different men across 2 or 3 cars led me to a hotel wonderfully situated overlooking the town’s plaza. Only now did I learn two of these men were not police (nobody is in uniform here) but were local cyclists come to greet me! Not only did they find this great hotel but I think they’re paying for it too; Libyans never cease to amaze me!

In the evening I took the rare opportunity to sit in the plaza while the light faded and the call the prayer raring out, enjoying a rare bit of freedom and solitude in Libya.

The following day the local cycle group came to meet me for an evening ride and a surprise TV interview. Of particular interest were questions around how I safe I felt in Libya.

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