The Road Ahead: Pakistan to China

Let’s start with the basics. I’ll be flying out from London Heathrow at 0840 on 26th October to Islamabad in Pakistan, with TJ, a friend from uni. We will then get as close as possible to the border with China – the Khunjerab Pass, at 4,693m – to restart the ride. TJ and I will then cycle back to Islamabad. The next 6,000 miles will take me through the north of India, from Delhi to Kolkata along the Grand Trunk Road, through Bangladesh and Myanmar, and then I plan to cross into China and cycle north to Beijing. I expect this will take me around another twelve months on the road!

I am a little apprehensive. I have never been to any of these countries, and whilst I’m sure I will meet hundreds, if not thousands, of lovely people, these countries hold very different cultures and an intensity that I have not yet experienced. What this will be like whilst cycling a pink and blue tandem I don’t know – but I will ride the wave to the full, wherever it takes me. 

Of course, there are significant challenges ahead. Not least the coming winter and the sheer physical challenge of cycling 6,000 miles on a 70kg tandem. But the pandemic has still not released its grip on the world – or vice versa. Obtaining a visa for India is not proving straightforward, and I am very lucky to have Tom on the Bristol2Beijing team help me with this. 

And there’s China. Oh China. Who knows what will happen there? China’s border is very closed right now, and I doubt that will change in the next couple of months. My attitude regarding this is very firmly: I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. The situation will keep on changing and trying to predict what I will need to do in six months time to get in is a futile exercise. So I won’t; instead I’ll focus on making the most of Pakistan and India.

That said, cycling through China is really important to me. Not so much to get to Beijing; as I’ve said before, this ride is not actually about getting to Beijing, but the events and happenings and coincidences that occur along the way. But I very much want to see and experience this country, which will powerfully influence the course of the 21st century for myself, rather than only through media outlets that focus on geopolitics and particularly negative aspects. From my time in the Middle East, I know there is often a huge gulf between media headlines (the Middle East is a warzone) and what you experience on the ground (having watermelon with someone’s family in a village and hearing why that place is so special to them). I want to develop a better understanding of China, and this will be impossible without going there. 

Planning with the Bristol2Beijing team back in Bristol in September!

It was wonderful to meet the Bristol2Beijing team in person in September and to discuss together what we want to work towards on this next leg to Beijing. The most important thing is to have fun! And after that we want to have a positive impact on as many people as possible – those with cancer, those without, in ways small and big – and so we want to reach as many people in person: both face to face and online. 

Therefore we’ve been working incredibly hard to reach out to different schools, universities, cycling clubs, hospitals and NGOs, to set up events in Pakistan, India and beyond. Although this was an important part of the ride before, it’s now something we will prioritise more strongly so we can connect with as many people as possible. (And we need your help! If you have a few spare hours a week to help us achieve this, please send us a message!)

I’m hoping this next leg Bristol2Beijing, despite the difficulties of the pandemic, will touch more people, involve more people, and be a stepping stone into building a worldwide community of people living positively and proactively in the face of challenges – whether or not that is cancer. It’s going to be exhilarating and exhausting, insightful and introspective, uplifting and, at times, underwhelming. It’ll be a rich variety of experiences and I hope a lot of good will come of it. 

But, right now, a few days from the start, I’m also apprehensive. I’ve got used to being in the UK. Flying out to Pakistan excites me but I know there are many challenges ahead: getting the enormous bike box to Heathrow, getting an airline to accept it and then transporting it up to the highest pass in the world; hitting the right balance between organising events on the ride and keeping it flexible and open to unexpected opportunities; trying to do as much as possible, whilst also having fun. 

It’s going to be tough, rewarding, exhausting and exciting all rolled into one.

Time to pack. 

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Please do support me and the expedition: either through donating to our charities; or contributing to the ride expenses; or, best of all, using a few hours of your week to make Bristol2Beijing the most impactful thing possible – send us an email at bristol2beijing@gmail.com to find out how.