Win a travel writing assignment in Istanbul

by McLean Robbins on

Think you have what it takes to be a travel writer, but don’t know how to kick-start your career? Thanks to a new contest from Rough Guides and BikeHike Adventures, you can test drive your potential new calling by going on an assignment with a Rough Guides author to Istanbul, Turkey.

Candidates will submit a 500-word travel essay based on a personal experience around one of the following themes: Responsible Travel, Journey in an Unknown Culture or My Big Adventure.

One person will be selected to travel, all-expenses paid, to Istanbul to work with Terry Richardson, author of The Rough Guide to Istanbul, as he researches a new edition of his book.

Prior to meeting and working with Richardson, the winner will enjoy total immersion into Turkish culture. BikeHike Adventures will provide the winner with their 12 day Turkish Delight tour highlighting most of Turkey’s iconic sights. The trip includes exploring Cappadocia by mountain bike, foot and horseback, visiting the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, the Grand Bazaar and Palace and sea kayaking on the Mediterranean past ancient ruins.

To enter, visit WorldNomads.com. The winner will be published on April 28, 2011, and travel will take place from June 7 to June 28, 2011.

[Flickr via cfarivar]

Discover France offers Tour de France cycling tours

by Kraig Becker on

Cycling fans who have ever wanted to experience the challenge and glory of riding in the Tour de France are in for a real treat this year. Discover France Adventures, a company that specializes in cycling and hiking tours, has announced a host of

itineraries that will put you on the same route as the professional riders, and in some instances, just hours behind those competing in the race itself.

The tours offer two levels of difficult, moderate and challenging. These options allow cyclists of all skill level to enjoy the ride at their own pace. Competitive riders will want to go for the higher level of challenge, while those out to take in the French countryside, while still getting the TdF experience, will want to take on the moderate difficulty level.

Discover France has nine unique Tour de France itineraries available, including the Alpes VIP Tour which puts cyclists on a route between Montpellier and Grenoble that features climbs up Mont Ventoux, Croix de Fer, and the legendary Alpe d’Huez. This tour is scheduled to take place from July 16-23, and will end in time to have the riders in Paris to watch the Tour winner roll down the Champs Elysees in the Yellow Jersey. Details on the moderate version of this tour can be found by clicking here and the challenging version can be found by clicking here.

Similarly , the Pyrenees VIP Tour offers more alpine climbing in a completely different mountain range. This ride also runs from July 16-23 and

features a route that wanders from Clermont Ferrand and ends in Toulouse. One of the highlights of this offering is a ride into Luz Ardiden on Bastille Day and also puts riders in Paris in time for the finish. Sign up for the moderate version of the Pyrenees Tour here and the challenging edition here.

Check out the Discover France website for a number of other Tour de France options, including some for the non-cyclists who simply wish to experience one of the premiere sporting events in the world. There are also plenty of other tours for the adventurous traveler as well, and for those who have already visited France in the past, there are some unique and non-traditional ways to experience the country in a whole new way.

As a cyclist and avid fan of the Tour de France myself, these tours are a dream come true. The thought of making the challenging climb up Alp d’Huez, perhaps the most well known mountain in the history of the race, is an amazing opportunity. Viva le Tour!

2011 Tour d’Afrique heads toward Sudan

by Kraig Becker on

The 2011 edition of the Tour d’Afrique got underway last week when more than 40 cyclists from all over the world set out from Cairo, Egypt on a four month long epic ride through Africa. The annual event has become a favorite amongst adventure travelers looking for a unique way to experience that continents cultural and natural wonders, while also challenging themselves physically along the way.

Each year, the Tour begins in Egypt and heads south, passing through ten countries along its well planned route. The riders spend 95 days in the saddle, with 23 rest days scattered across the schedule as well. Factor in 2 days of travel by ferry and you have 120 days of adventure that eventually culminates at the finish line in Cape Town, South Africa. All told, the journey covers nearly 7500 miles with the cyclists averaging roughly 77 miles per day.

Last Sunday, the riders hit the road for this year’s edition of the Tour, rolling past the Great Pyramids of Giza before heading out into the Sahara Desert for their first few days of the ride. Over the past week, their route has taken them to the shores of the Red Sea, past sprawling sand dunes, and along the fabled Nile River, all the way to Aswan. Once there, they boarded a ferry for a long ride across Lake Nasser, departing on the other side in Sudan, where they’ll continue their ride today. For updates on their progress so far and througout the entire Tour, check out the offical blog of the event.

The Tour d’Afrique has become the premiere adventure cycling tour in the world, but it is a little too late to join the 2011 edition, at least for the full ride. Cyclists can elect to take on various stages of the Tour, which offer a much shorter, and less expensive, but just as adventurous option for cycling in Africa. These segments are roughly 18 days in length and include such options as “The Gorge,” which runs from Khartoum to Addis Ababa or the “Masai Steppe,” which connects Nairobi to Mbeya. For an overview of the available stages, click here.

If you missed this year’s Tour but are interested in riding in 2012, keep an eye on the official website for announcement about the future of the race. Even though the riders just got underway, next year’s edition is already in the planning stages.

[Photo credit: Kristian Pletten]

Skier sets South Pole speed record

by Kraig Becker on

Norwegian explorer Christian Eide has set a new speed record for traveling to the South Pole on skis, smashing the previous record by more than two weeks and setting a new standard for Antarctic expeditions to follow.

Eide set out from Hercules Inlet, located along the Antarctic coast, on December 20th of last year and proceeded due south towards the Pole, a journey of more than 700 miles. Averaging 29 miles per day over some of the harshest and most extreme terrain on the planet, the skier completed the trip in just 24 days, 1 hour, and 13 minutes, battling whiteout conditions and subzero temperatures along the way.

The previous speed record was held by American Todd Carmichael, who made the same journey back in 2008. Carmichael completed his expedition in 39 days, 7 hours, and 49 minutes, which at the time seemed like a very impressive accomplishment. Eide’s new speed mark raises the bar substantially, and is likely to be a record that will remain unbroken for years to come.

To further put Eide’s accomplishment into perspective, when explorer Roald Amundsen, who was also Norwegian, became the first person to reach the South Pole back in 1911 it took him 58 days to make the journey. He also had the benefit of doing so by dogsled. Now, a century later, we have modern day explorers covering the same distance in less than half the time and under their own power no less.

We’ve come a long way in a hundred years.

[Photo credit: Christian Eide]

Endurance athlete to run across Chile’s Atacama Desert

by Kraig Becker on

Canadian endurance athlete and adventurer Ray Zahab is in Chile this week where he has just launched an epic long distance run across the Atacama Desert, a place that is renowned as the driest environment on the planet. Zahab is making the attempt as a challenge to his own abilities, but also as part of an educational outreach program with the hopes of delivering an ongoing message to students about the importance of biodiversity to the health of the planet.

All told, the run will cover approximately 750 miles, starting in the northern part of the desert and heading south. Ray hopes to complete the expedition in a little over two weeks and will average more than 43 miles per day on foot. (That’s a marathon + 17 miles each and every day for those keeping track at home!) All of his gear will be carried in a backpack, along with the 8 to 10 liters of water that will be necessary for each day. A support team will make strategic water drops along the route, so that Zahab can count on a fresh supply when needed.

Along the way, Zahab will use satellite communications technology to interact with school children in classrooms all over the world. As part of the impossible2Possible program, a non-profit organization that seeks to educate and inspire young people through adventure, he’ll reach more than 16,000 children to deliver a message about threats to the environment. The desert will make for a stark contrast to a similar expedition that he conducted last year in the Amazon Jungle.

Zahab is no stranger to these kinds of challenging adventures. He has already run across the Sahara Desert, traveled to the South Pole, and set a speed record for traveling the length of Russia’s Lake Baikal on foot, a distance of nearly 400 miles. On each of those journeys he was joined by his partner Kevin Vallely, who was to be included on this expedition as well. But just days before the start an illness in the family forced Vallely to pull out, leaving Zahab to run the desert solo.

Caught in the rain shadow of both the Andes Mountains and the Chilean Coastal Range, the Atacama Desert is considered the driest place on Earth. The region averages just 1mm (.04 inches) of rain per year, and many areas have not seen rain throughout recorded history. One study suggests that river beds in the Atacama have been dry for more than 120,000 year, which gives you an indication of what Ray will be up against over the next few weeks.

You can follow his progress at AtacamaExtreme.com where he’ll be posting daily progress reports and updates from the field.