The two cycled for more than 500 kilometres to promote road safety and active lifestyle
Adventurers Abdulla Al Hammadi and Pierre Daniel concluded their Cycling Around Qatar ride in Aspire Zone last Friday, after a 511-km trip that took them exactly three days and three hours to finish. They visited schools around Qatar to raise awareness on road safety and promote active lifestyle.
The duo started their journey on Tuesday, 13 November, from Katara and reached Al Dhakira at the end of day one. They followed that with visits to Al Shamal and Dukhan during the next two days before heading to Salwa then Mesaieed, which they reached in the late hours of Thursday.
On Friday morning, 16 November, in Mesaieed, they met with riders from Qatar Cyclists who accompanied them during the final leg of the journey to Aspire Zone.
Al Hammadi and Daniel visited eight schools during their cycling tour and spoke to more than 700 kids. They plan to visit more schools next week. Children showed great enthusiasm during the visits, and each school was keen on providing the best welcome for the cycling duo with songs, poetry, flowers and artworks reflecting the friendship between Qatar and France.
Al Hammadi said they are really happy about what they achieved during the journey.
The enthusiasm shown by the boys and girls during our visits gave us the needed energy to go on and complete this challenge. It was not an easy one, especially during the final stages, but we have reached our target.’
The 60-year-old Qatari adventurer had recorded many achievements in the past in the field of adventure and endurance sports. That includes a 4300-km cycling trip from the north to the south of Japan in 2017, which took him 27 days to complete. Age has never been a limit for him.
You can exercise at any age. You just need to start. Even if you don’t do any kind of sport, it is not impossible to change, all you need is to make exercising an important part of your daily routine and you will reap the results sooner or later, not only in terms of health and career, but in all aspects of life.’
Cycling has been one of the fastest growing sports in Qatar, thanks to the huge efforts of Qatar Cycling Federation and Qatar Cyclists centre, through the various community events they organise.
Daniel, meanwhile, has earlier recorded an unprecedented achievement earlier this year when he made a 477-km solo trip around Qatar on foot, but Cycling Around Qatar was also a very special achievement for him.
My run around Qatar was about going for the impossible and showing everyone that they can achieve anything they want as human beings, but this time I did it for the community, and I am happy that Abdulla and I achieved our goal.’
Daniel said that each visit to every school really touched him.
It meant a lot for me and it was an incredible journey. I am happy that I gave something back to the beautiful community of Qatar, where me and my family have lived for ten years.’
Cycling Around Qatar was sponsored and supported by Katara, Aspire Zone, Qatar Cycling Federation, Qatar Cyclists, Rasen Sports, Q-Soft, MBM Transport and Silverfox Communication.