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Abraham Path


 

There has been a fair bit of buzz growing about one of our newer Dream Tours, The Abraham Path.  A Brazilian member of our Dream Tours society, who based the Tour on the Abraham Path Initiative, http://www.abrahampath.org/about.php created it, and you can see it here…  

http://www.tourdafrique.com/dreamtours/show/106

This is one of the worlds great cultural travel opportunities, and we can’t think of any better way to experience it than by bicycle. 

The route follows the prophet Abraham’s most likely path through Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Israel.  The Dream Tour page shows Iraq as the beginning point of the Tour, but this would be only possible in a situation much improved on the ground there from what it is today.  The goal of the Tour is not religious or political, but to encourage cultural exchange in the region, and to share the joy of cycling.

Our intention is to work with local guides in each region the Path crosses through, to stay whenever possible in homestays (community run accommodations), to keep the cycling distances between 50km to 70km, and include a few walking treks along the route. 

As it is still a Dream Tour at this point, the dates and final prices are not set, however we would like this Tour to run during the winter months, most likely in 2011.  If this experience interests you, then this is the time to start spreading the word in the cycling community.  Let’s get the wheels turning and make this Dream Tour a reality.


Posted May 25, 2010 by Miles MacDonald
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Are you a Dreamer?




When you arrive at your office building, in the eco-friendly space your employer has provided for your bicycle, in the deep depths of the underground parking dungeon, do you pause before locking it up?  Do you hesitate; begin to question the rationale of leaving your bicycle alone while you ride the elevator up to your big important keyboard on the 17th floor?  Ever pondered the consequences of putting the lock back in your bag, pulling your bike out of the concrete darkness, and surfacing somewhere far away.  Where people sit all day by roads half-covered in sand, drinking tea, telling stories.  Where you ride your bike all day long, with the only worry being which road to follow?

Well, even if none of this applies to you, we think you may still qualify to be a dreamer.  That’s why Dream Tours is catching on.  Join the crowds who are creating their own Dream Tours on our website.  Browse through the current Tours to see if there is one that a similar dreamer has already created and count yourself in…

Check out the How to Section of the Dream Tours website page, located here...

http://www.tourdafrique.com/dreamtours/how-it-works/

It will give you the run down on how to sign up for an account, how to start your own Dream Tour, and even how to market it so that you can get the word out and find other people who would like to ride your Dream.  

If you’re interested in the international attention Dream Tours has been garnering, check out this report from Springwise…

http://springwise.com/tourism_travel/dreamtours/

Escape the parking dungeon!  Start dreaming!

Posted April 30, 2010 by Miles MacDonald
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All Roads Lead to Rome



A couple years ago I ended up in Rome for a week.  I didn’t have any particular plans, other than seeing if someone could show me a few cycling routes to be ridden in the city.  I met up with a local cycling guide, and we headed out to ride the Appian Way, one of the oldest roads leading south out of Rome.   

Our ride started from the heart of the city, and pretty soon we were taking a multitude of turns, staying on side streets, even a couple sidewalks.  Amazingly, this traffic-congested city was flying by with ease on our bikes; we were passing palaces, ancient aqueducts, sepulchers, but as well we were riding by Romans back yard gardens, through community food markets, by parking lots of busy apartment buildings.  Then riding onto the rough cobblestones of the Appian Way.  It is impossible not to let the imagination wander, to experience a feeling of Roman History living all around.  On this ride, this tour through Rome, I realized the perfect way to experience this city is by bicycle.

The rest of the week led to more bicycle adventures, and it turns out there are endless possible cycling routes to ride and explore; all of which present Rome in a unique light. 

As well as great cycling routes, there are great cyclists, and cycling advocates in Rome.  People who are tired of the congested traffic that haunts so many of the worlds’ great cities.    How does this information pertain to TDA?  Our newest Dream Tour is titled “All Roads Lead To Rome” 

Check it out here… http://www.tourdafrique.com/dreamtours/show/103

A chance to see Rome in depth, from the seat of your bike.


Posted April 24, 2010 by Miles MacDonald
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Dream Tours

Dream Tours… There is a lot of contemporary internet jargon that goes along with it, but let's not forget the internet is only a vehicle to accelerate an age old process; the forming of a community with similar goals, dreams, and the commerce that relates to this. Many times we have been asked concerning our Epic Tours, "why could I not do this trip on my own?", and our answer is there is no reason you could not.

The beauty of long distance cycling will always be there for anyone with a passion for exploration, and an ability to problem solve along their route. What Dream Tours offers; instead of waking up on a cold morning, bits of snow coming down and facing a long day of riding by yourself, you can wake up in the same conditions, look at your Dream Tour compatriot, also preparing for the day, with a sly smirk and say "How the hell did your ugly face end up in my dream?"

You get the point. It's about comradeship, about humour, it's about coping with difficulties together, a community pushing each other onwards. There is something warm in that.

Enough proselytizing. There are currently two Dream Tours which are taking registrations. The Amber Route, which starts in mid-July 2010 (pretty soon) following the ancient Amber trade route of the Romans, and the Indian Adventure which amazingly crosses India from the North to the very South.
 
Both of these garnered their participants from the Dream Tours website, meaning that when the trips depart, their respective creators will be riding for free. There is one more Dream Tour which is building up steam, and we believe will eventually have enough participants "counted in" to reach the next level; which is TDA taking registrations and beginning to plan the Tour. That would be the North American Epic. There are many cross-Canada or cross U.S.A. Tours, but none that take in the breadth that this trip does, from Key West, Florida to Anchorage, Alaska.

A chance to cycle across a diverse and beautiful continent; enjoy the heat of the Summer, and drastically changing colours of Autumn. Many from outside North America often think of this continent as a mono-culture, this trip would be the perfect way to put that idea to rest. The perspectives and traits of the locals changes as often as the geography.

The point of all this is for people to get excited! Give your bike a tune-up this Spring, start riding, start dreaming about one of our current Dream Tours, or flip through the world map and create your own. This is your chance to not only sign up for a cycling tour, but to get involved in the structure of it; along with a community of like-minded cyclists, make a cycling event which lives up to all your aspirations.

Posted April 08, 2010 by Miles MacDonald
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Dream Tour – A Cicloviagem dos Sonhos

Muitas vezes somos questionados em relação a nossos Tours Épicos, “por que eu não poderia fazer isso por conta própria?”. Nossa resposta é sempre a mesma. “Você poderia”.

A beleza do ciclismo de longa distância está aí, para qualquer um com uma paixão em explorar e certa habilidade para tomar decisões e resolver problemas no caminho.

O Dream Tour, inglês para Viagem dos Sonhos, é um projeto de web 2.0 do Tour d'Afrique. Trata-se de um espaço em nosso webiste onde as pessoas postam o roteiro de viagem que mais gostariam de fazer de bicicleta. No momento em que houver um determinado número de interessados, abre-se as inscrições para o tour em nosso site, e se a viagem se tornar uma realidade, seu idealizador participa de graça.

No momento, temos duas destas viagens que se tornaram realidade.
A “Rota do Âmbar” começa em meados de julho de 2010 (já está quase) e segue a antiga rota de comércio dos romanos, que ligava o Mar do Norte e o Mar Báltico à Itália.
A “Aventura na Índia” acontecerá em 2011, e com início no Taj Mahal, atravessará toda a Índia de norte a sul.

E você, qual a cicloviagem dos seus sonhos?
Se deseja participar, envie um e-mail para cristiano@tourdafrique.com. Se você consegue escrever e ler em inglês, clique aqui e crie já a página da sua viagem.

Sonhe, compartilhe...Viaje de graça.

Posted April 07, 2010 by Tour d'Afrique Ltd.
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