Silk Road by Bicycle

 
Tour d‚Afrique Celebrates with 5% Off Rate of 44-Day Journey
Plus Donation of a Bicycle for Healthcare Outreach in Africa
 
TORONTO, April 1, 2010 ˆ An epic journey by bicycle from Istanbul to Samarkand along the legendary Silk Route just became one of National Geographic Traveler‚s (NGT) fifth annual „Tours of a Lifetime.‰
 
The May 22 to July 4, 2010, adventure dubbed the Silk Route Cycling Expedition (http://www.tourdafrique.com/epictours/silkroute) hosted by Tour d‚Afrique is among an annual showcase listing of the world‚s 50 most extraordinary journeys. The tours appeal to travelers who are willing to move outside of luxury and certain comfort zones in order to delve into culture and personal discovery. The Tours of a Lifetime feature will be in the May/June 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler, on newsstands in mid-April.
 
„To celebrate this wonderful distinction, we‚re offering a 5 percent discount on the full route or any shorter segment of the tour plus the donation of one bicycle in our client‚s name to a healthcare worker in Africa to do medical and HIV outreach,‰ said Henry Gold, Tour d‚Afrique‚s founder and CEO (http://www.tourdafrique.com/).
 
NGT‚s mission with these awards is to bring their readers singular, authentic and intimate travel experiences delivered in the most sustainable way possible. To receive this award is one of the highest honors a tour company can receive.
 
About the Silk Road
 
The Silk Road follows in the footsteps of Alexander the Great, Marco Polo and Genghis Khan. Like them, a passage by bike across the vast Asian continent will depend on „sheer muscle and determination, a sound body and an open mind,‰ explains Gold.
 
Participants pedal from Istanbul, Turkey to Samarkand, Uzbekistan via the Caucasus republics of Georgia and Azerbaijan, as well as enigmatic Turkmenistan. The tour will run 44 days, departing Istanbul on May 22 and arriving in Samarkand on July 4. The full tour per person is 4,000 Euros. Istanbul to Tbilisi, Georgia section is 2,350 Euros; Tbilisi to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan is 1,450 Euros and Ashgabat to Samarkand is 1,200 Euros before the special discount offer.
 
About Tour d‚Afrique
 
„Part of repairing the broken world, part of repairing broken capitalism,
is creating a more Œhygienic capitalism‚ and encouraging others to act when they see
corruption, injustice and environmental degradation.‰
-Henry Gold, founder, Tour d‚Afrique
 
Tour d‚Afrique Ltd, (http://www.tourdafrique.com/) is named for its 2003 flagship cycling tour that annually traverses the African continent from Cairo to Cape Town (7,500 miles in four months). Directly and indirectly Tour d‚Afrique benefits third world countries by organizing and staging transcontinental bicycle tours and races lasting 10 days to four months, today traversing all or part of four continents and over 30 countries. Other cross-continental tours are; the Amber Route (1,864 miles/42 days, St. Petersburg to Venice); the Vuelta Sudamericana (3,730 miles/80 days, Buenos Aires to Lima); and An Indian Adventure (2,050 miles/46 days from the Taj Mahal in Agra to Kanyakumari at the southern tip of the Indian sub continent).
 
Tour d‚Afrique‚s mission is to create cycling events that appeal to amateurs and professionals alike. Participants range from ages 18 to 80 and the common thread is a spirit of high adventure and a desire for truly transformational travel experiences.
 
The company‚s new DreamTour (http://www.tourdafrique.com/dreamtours) web 2.0 concept encourages individuals to submit their own trip of a lifetime that will then be open to other riders who may want to join in. A Tour d'Afrique Foundation (http://www.tourdafrique.com/foundation) promotes giving back to the communities touched by the tours and raises consciousness about the many benefits of bicycles as a means of sustainable transportation.
 
For tour dates, prices and more information visit: http://www.tourdafrique.com/, call +1-416-364-8255 or email the team at info@tourdafrique.com.
 
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