Cyclist to raise R1 million for welfare
2006-07-06
A LOCAL chemical engineer and producer of herbal remedies, Danie Nel (48) of Wellington, is gearing up for a bicycle tour through Europe to raise funds for people in need.
The Orient Express Bicycle Tour, a two-month cross-continental bike adventure covering 4000 kilometres from Paris to Istanbul, is the second long distance tour to have been developed by the organisers of the Tour d’Afrique, an epic 12 000 kilometre expedition across Africa.
It was in 1883 that the first Orient Express rail lines connecting Paris to Istanbul, revolutionising transport and bringing adventure and delight to tens of thousands of passengers.
Crossing the many frontiers of a still-divided Europe, the train journey of nearly 4000 kilometres was a genuine adventure and the subject of legend and fantasy.
The bicycle tour sets off from Paris’s Gare L’Est (Eastern railway station) on 30 July, from where the legendary Orient Express trains departed on their east-bound odyssey.
From there the cyclist travels through France, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and finishes two months later on 24 September in Istanbul, Turkey.
“We aim to raise R1 million through our Cyclemania Challenge - an exciting project uniting churches, welfare organisations and other role-players into one organisation, Welvisi (Welfare Vision),” says Nel.
Apart from raising money for Welvisi on the Orient Express route, Danie is most looking forward to crossing countries with different cultures, history, architecture and climates.
The tour is arranged into 42 days of cycling and 15 days of rest in cities such as Vienna, Bratislava, and Bucharest; along with lesser-known pearls such as the Bulgarian town of Veliko Tarnovo it is the perfect choice for the cyclist who wants an initiation into the world of transcontinental cycling journeys.
To read more on Welvisi, visit www.welvisi.org.za contact Nel on danien@afriplex.co.za or phone 872-4976. For more info visit www.paristoistanbul.com.
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