+ A
A -
Tribune News Network
Doha
Adventurers Abdulla al Hammadi and Pierre Daniel concluded their cycling ride across Qatar on Friday by reaching Aspire Zone after a 511-km trip that took them exactly three days and three hours to finish.
The duo visited schools around Qatar to raise awareness of road safety and promote active lifestyle.
The duo started their journey on Tuesday from Katara to reach Al Dhakira at the end of day one. They followed the trip with visits to Al Shamal and Dukhan on the following two days before heading to Salwa, then reaching Mesaieed in the late hours of Thursday.
On Friday morning in Mesaieed, they met with riders from Qatar Cyclists who accompanied them during the final leg of the journey to Aspire Zone.
Hammadi and Daniel focused on primary students as they visited eight schools including Ahmad Mansour School in West Bay and Lyc`e Voltaire in Al Waab, a day before launching their challenge.
During their trip, they visited Al Khor Independent School for Boys, Al Shamal Independent School for Boys, Al Shamal Independent School for Girls, Dukhan Independent School for Boys, Dukhan Independent School for Girls and Dukhan English School.
During their journey they interacted with more than 700 children. They are planning to visit more schools next week.
"We are really happy about what we achieved during this 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, as we faced strong head wind. But, we have reached our target while doing our best to raise awareness of these future generations towards issues like road safety and health benefits of physical activity," Hammadi said.
The 60-year-old Qatari has to his credit several achievements in adventure and endurance sports, including a 4,300-km cycling trip from the north of Japan to the south in 2017, which took him 27 days to complete.
"You can exercise at any age. You just need to start; it is always the hardest step. Even if you don't do any kind of sport, it is not impossible to change. All you need to do is to make exercising an important part of your daily routine and you will reap the results sooner or later," Hammadi noted.
Even though Daniel recorded an unprecedented feat earlier this year, when he made a 477-km solo trip around Qatar on foot, he says cycling around Qatar was a very special achievement for him.
"My run around Qatar was about going for the impossible and showing everyone they can achieve anything they want to as human beings. However, this time I did it for the community, and I am happy that me and Abdulla achieved our goal," Daniel said.
"Each visit to every school really touched me. The great welcoming from the students with flowers, poetry and songs. That curious look in their eyes wanting to know everything about the bicycles. Their effort to show the friendship between France and Qatar through simple and beautiful art work. It meant a lot for me. It was an incredible journey. I am happy I gave something back to the beautiful community of Qatar, with whom me and my family have lived for 10 years," he added.
