Around the World on Bikes
Iranian cyclists pedal message of world peace

Two Iranian students took a message of international peace and friendship to the United Nations in mid August as part of an around-the-world goodwill bicycle trip.

"Our message is peace and friendship for all nations of the world," said Hassan Alizadeh, 31, who studies English at Tehran's Azad University.

Alizadeh is from Ardebil in northwestern Iran. His friend Amir Ahmadi is the same age and comes from Tehran, where he is studying electrical engineering at the same University.

Two years into their marathon trip, the two have cycled 23,000 km across Asia, Canada and the United States and plan to next pedal through South America, Africa and Europe before returning home to Iran.

While Tehran and Washington may rarely see eye to eye, the cyclists said they were greatly enjoying their U.S. visit.

"We have seen nothing but friendship from Americans, from policemen to men on the street," Alizadeh told reporters, his bicycle at his side. "This part of our trip will be a very good memory for us."

The two said they travel at least 60 km a day, each carrying about 45 kg of gear on their bikes.

While they have faced some danger during their long voyage, in the form of snakes, crazy drivers, bandits and even an angry monkey, they talk mainly about the generosity of those they have met since leaving Iran in September 2000.

Private individuals, businesses and even whole communities have pitched in to put them up for the night, feed them and raise money to help cover their expenses.

"There has been a network of goodwill everywhere we have gone," said Ahmadi. A Web site has been set up at http://www.pedal4peace.com to help people track their progress or donate money.

On September 11 of 2001, the two found themselves in San Diego when word came of the deadly hijack attacks on the United States. "We were as saddened by the events of September 11 as Americans," said Ahmadi.

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Khorsheed.com - Sep 2002