Dubai: Planning to cover 7,000 miles (11,000km) from the UAE to the UK, 27-year-old British expat Mike Callis set off from Dubai on Thursday with nothing but a backpack, a compass and his bicycle.
Callis, who is not a professional cyclist, decided to head out on a five-month cycling expedition he calls the ‘Mike Ride,’ which will raise money for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), an aid organisation that delivers emergency medical care to people who otherwise wouldn’t have access to it.
With no fixed route in mind, the risk-taker aims to cycle through 12 countries, take three ferry rides and end his journey in his hometown of Skidby in east Yorkshire in England.
“Once you’ve set your self the challenge of going all that way, it’s about adapting and being able to do that challenge... I don’t know if I really like camping and I don’t know if I really like cycling but I know I will get to the end,” Callis told Gulf News .
He plans to ride from the UAE through Oman, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Albania, Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Netherlands and the UK. He will also take ferries from Sharjah to Bandar Abbas in Iran, Durres, Albania to Bari in Italy and from the Netherlands to the UK.
In preparation for his adventure, Callis has been training for the last two months by cycling the average daily distance of the ride three times a week. “The way I think of it is that as I get going I’ll get fitter and I’ll be able to ride further,” Callis said.
Planning to set up camp whenever he needs a break, Callis said he is excited at the prospect of experiencing so many cities and meeting different people along the way. “I feel like when you’re contained in a little box in a car you perceive the world very differently and you see and notice a lot less of the sites and smells... but with walking and cycling you really do feel the world as you move through it,” he said.
The explorer has packed a tent, a sleeping bag, a few t-shirts and an iPad that he will use to read books. “I’ll also take a piece of paper so I can write a journal, and collect trinkets from people I’ve met and will meet along the way.”
While the trip was set up as a personal challenge, Callis said he is eager to raise as much money as possible from his trip for the MSF’s vaccinations for children’s programme. He highlighted that many people take medical care for granted and are not aware of the value of having easy access to a doctor and medical supplies.
“Things like riding a bike a really long way is a bit rock and roll and is a bit of a challenge that people take notice of, but in a way what’s more amazing is to day in and day out put yourself in a difficult position so that other people’s lives are a little bit better.” he said. “That’s what these doctors do.”
Although he is looking forward to visiting Istanbul, Iran, a Tour de France stage and the Swiss Alps, Callis said he prefers not to have a day-to-day plan of his trip. “If you plan stuff in too much detail, you take away the spirit of what I am trying to do — I’m just trying to go on a wander, I don’t want to kill the magic of it,” he said.
Callis estimates that his journey will take around five months.
