St. Mary's to Sayyedah Zaynab
London to Syria 2010 Trip Report 1
Here are the pictures from our ride from London to Syria in aid of SOS Children's charity, which took place in the summer of 2010. As the shrine of Sayyedah Zaynab in Damascus was the endpoint of our challenge, we decided to start from a St. Mary Magdalene's church and in doing so create an event that brought both Christians and Muslims together. The St. Mary Magdalene's church in Wandsworth Common, London was more than willing to help and provide offer their church as a starting point for our journey. Many regular church visitors came to see us off, as well as the local MP, an Islamic scholar and staff from the Syrian embassy in London.
We crossed the channel by the Eurotunnel, and rode across much of north eastern France on the first day and stopped in Reims. On the second day, we crossed into Germany and hoped to arrive in Salzburg, Austria by the evening. Unfortunately the Enfield struggled on the motorways, and so we had to use the A-roads, which was a bit more time consuming, but rewarded us with some precious moments in the countryside. We ended up a day later in Austria than we had planned, and hoped that we would not loose more time which we had hoped to spend in Syria.
We arrived in Hungary just after weeks of continous rainfall, and the country was suddenly struck by a heatwave that swept across south eastern Europe. Traffic conditions were still tame and the roads good, and the food, an important element of culture very tasty, with generous portions being served wherever we went. Our Scottoiler chain lubrication systems still had colder climate oil in them, which meant that in the summer heat oil was pouring out rapidly and spreading onto our boots.
Riding in Romania was tough due to the risks that the local car drivers took. The country is also repairing all its roads, and so we faced up to 30 km long roadworks. Bulgarian driving was very tame in comparison, but the roads had many potholes and ruts. The picture shows the team maintaining the Enfield to ensure it reaches Syria
Our map was incorrect and instead of a road there was a river, but a ferry enebled us to cross into Bulgaria. A day later we arrived in Turkey, where we purchased insurance at the border for around £30 as far as I can remember. It was good to have, as we nearly were hit a couple of times at the Bosborus Bridge by car drivers rushing to get to Asia.
