South African Muslims Pedal To Mecca

You know I'm a sucker for a great, long-distance bike expedition, and this morning Outside Online posted some info on a good one. It seems that Nathim Cairncross and Imtiyaz Ahmad Haron, two Muslims living in South Africa, decided to undertake their pilgrimage to Mecca by bike, a journey of thousands of miles that culminated a few weeks back with a dramatic arrival at the holy city located in Saudi Arabia.

You can read more about the ride in this article from Al Jazeera, which gives details about what the two men faced along the way. Nathim and Imtiyaz crossed through 12 countries and spent nine months on the road before reaching their destination three weeks before for the annual Hajj, which began on November 14th.

The two riders had a website called Cape 2 Mecca Cycle blog but it doesn't contain a whole lot of info about the trip. There is a map that shows their route, some photo galleries, and links to other articles about the ride, but not much else.

This must have been an amazing experience for these two young men. What a great way to make their pilgrimage to Mecca, which is required of all able-bodied Muslims to complete in their lifetime. Definitely a true test of their commitment, but also an amazing adventure too.