Cyclists Mikaela Parrack and Imran Khan cheered by kindness of strangers on their journey to Mali

Published: 19 November, 2010
by PETER GRUNER

AN Islington couple who are cycling 3,000 miles from the borough to Mali in West Africa report that they have suffered extreme heat, knee injuries, and torrential rainstorms.

But Mikaela Parrack, and Imran Khan, both 22 and students at the School of Oriental and African Studies in King’s Cross, have been heartened by the kindness of strangers. 

Their log for the journey – they are raising £1,000 for the Joliba Trust – is full of entertaining facts and figures.  

Mikaela has declared she wants to go home seven times, they have used up eight bars of soap and have devoured “a shameful” 100 cheese triangles. 

On top of that, says Imran,  they have received 35 offers to buy their bikes and more than 20 people have advised them to travel by car next time.

Amazingly, there’s only been one puncture so far, and four snakes and 18 monkeys have been spotted along the way. 

 Mikaela and Imran  decided not to travel through Mauri­tania, with its troubling security situation of recent kidnapping of Europeans.

Imran adds: “Heavy rainfall in Morocco caught us totally off guard. We were under the naive assumption that once out of France we would be far from the risk of rain. But as the heavens opened and our cycling trainers filled with half a pint of water, we had to work hard to keep each other’s spirits high.”

The kindness of strangers in Morocco and in the Sahara brought them into contact with some of the warmest people they have ever encountered. “Our troubles were always considered the problems of everyone who passed us by,” said Imran. “Take our regular refreshing ‘water and posterior rests’ at the side of the desert road. Every truck and Land Rover that passed us by slowed and shouted to us to ensure everything was OK before throwing a fresh bottle of water in our direction.”

For the complete account of the trip see their blog musiccycles.wordpress.com or to donate go to http://www.justgiving.com/musiccycles