Two French football fans chose to cycle over 7,000 kilometres from Paris to Doha to cheer on their team at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, traversing deserts and suffering an "avalanche of punctures".
Gabriel Martin and Mehdi Balamissa began their journey from Stade de France on August 20 and reached Lusail Stadium, the chosen venue of the FIFA World Cup final, mid-November.
Their goal is not just adventure but cultivating interest in cycle tourism, they said on a page created to crowdfund their journey.
The two friends documented their complete journey on Instagram: the sights they saw, who they met and what they ate.
They set out with two panniers, or large containers, and tents, biking their way through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, Qatari newspaper The Peninsula reported. They rested at campsites and hotels.
On the gigantic trip, they endured several challenged: floods in Hungary and the heat in Saudi Arabia, CNN reported.
One time in Saudi Arabia, they had to travel for 15 hours to get their bikes repaired.
But they remained upbeat throughout. “In this kind of trip, you have to be really flexible," Martin told CNN. "In fact, the main part of the trip is to be flexible and to just adapt to every situation the best you can. I think we did well, actually.”
It would be hard for the world not to acknowledge what they have accomplished.
They received a rousing welcome in Qatar and were invited to meet the French team. The pair also won free tickets to France's matches and jerseys autographed by the players.
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