So what is Foreign Correspondent’s 30 for 30?
Since coming to London in August 2008, and buying a 15 year old bicycle off the Gumtree website to get around town, I’ve since realised just how practical pedal power can be. Not just in the UK, but across all of Europe, bicycles are increasingly popular as a mode of transportation.
There are a number of reasons that people have been jumping on the cycling bandwagon. You only need to take one look at how flat the majority of the continent is, to realise that there is serious potential for bicycles. And then there’s all the greenies harping on about carbon emissions and climate change, and how they are doing their bit for the environment by cycling to work. Personally I think you can shove that arguement up your khyber along with religion (I wonder how many people I just offended with that sweeping disregard for two of the 21st centuries’ hottest topics!). In London, there’s also another reason why cycling has taken off on such a large scale. The Mayor of London – Boris Johnson is a keen cyclist and even cycles to work himself. Hence Transport For London (TFL) is big on the construction of new cycleways, installing a new city-wide cycle hire scheme, and generally promoting the activity. This has all worked extraordinarily well for the average cycle commuter. But then there was that fateful day on 7th July 2005 (yep, that’s right, on my bloody birthday) when terrorists decided to blow up a bus and a tube train. Well, the residents of London are a tough lot – keep calm and carry on as they say. But after the attack on the city’s public transport network, the number of cyclists on the road also exploded (pardon the pun!). Eventually London reached a ‘critical mass’ of cyclists that forced drivers to sit up and pay attention to them, and it has never been safer and more practical than it is now.
Plus it’s fun too, and you learn more about the city you’re in. I reckon I know the layout of London better than many of the locals, who can only piece it together when they’ve popping out of the Underground tube station, using a tube map. But they can never ‘connect the dots’ above ground like somebody who knows the back streets like a cyclist.
However, in saying all that, be under no illusions as to why I like my bicycle. There are two reasons. It’s cheap (the tube is not) and whilst I’m cycling every day, I can eat as much food and drink as much beer as I want to, without ending up looking like a zeppelin blimp.
Cheap. Fit. That’s the key to this trip. Getting back to ‘what is 30 for 30’? It’s essentially a cycling tour, from London to Alexandria (Egypt). Via 30 different countries as I snake across Europe visiting some of the places that I just never got around to seeing in the past two years. I’m cycling to save money on transport, and to keep me fit. By the time I get to Alexandria for the World Surf Life Saving Championships, I should be a shadow of my former self, fit as a fiddle and easily a match for those pesky beach flaggers 😉
There’s so much to see and do in Europe. I mean, despite spending the best part of 2 years living in the UK, I’ve still never even been to Paris! Or Rome, Amsterdam, Prague, the Greek Islands… the list is huge, and I can’t wait to see it all. And I’m not just visiting the cities. Again, I’ll be cycling through each country and experiencing the proper countryside and meeting real locals -the kind that don’t necessarily speak English and still think tourists are wonderful, wondering what the bloody hell you are doing in their neck of the woods, inviting you into their homes for wine or dinner or a free bed. I’ll see parts of Europe that most of the tourists don’t ever visit, because they are a bit off the beaten track (i.e. Ryanair and Easyjet haven’t yet opened up £5 flights at some regional airport, bringing in British tourists by the thousands!).
If all goes well, I’ll be celebrating my 30th Birthday in Prague, and be crossing the Israeli-Egyptian border, about 4 months from now!
Check out the proposed itinerary on my route page.
