Cycling in Jordan, riding the Jordan Bike Trail, venturing through the rocky tracks and the red sandy desert, enjoying the Bedouin hospitality and cuisine, camping in the rugged mountains, inhabited by shepherds and their flocks of sheep and goats... it was an idea that had been on our minds from time to time for a few years.
The time had come and one December afternoon, we arrived with our bikes at the airport in Amman, the capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
| For this route, we used Megamo Factory bikes, the perfect bike for a bikepacking trip of this kind. As they say, the ideal bike to push your limits and explore new horizons. Both bikes were equipped with bikepacking bags: a front bag, a rear bag and one on the frame, in order to have enough capacity to be autonomous and thus have the tent, sleeping bags, cooker, etc.. We also added a pair of suspension brackets to have a water reserve, when necessary, which is essential in arid countries like Jordan. Really, the Factory seems perfectly designed for bikepacking. |
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| For this route, we used Megamo Factory bikes, the perfect bike for a bikepacking trip of this kind. As they say, the ideal bike to push your limits and explore new horizons. Both bikes were equipped with bikepacking bags: a front bag, a rear bag and one on the frame, in order to have enough capacity to be autonomous and thus have the tent, sleeping bags, cooker, etc.. We also added a pair of suspension brackets to have a water reserve, when necessary, which is essential in arid countries like Jordan. Really, the Factory seems perfectly designed for bikepacking. |
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We landed in Jordan. Previously, we had arranged a meeting by mail with a member of the Warmshowers community to see if he could host us at his home, as we usually do when a cyclist traveller passes through our area. Leo offered immediately, a German who was studying for a few months in Jordan. He came to pick us up at the airport and, after just over 10 seconds of "meeting" us, Ricard said: "I know you! Could it be? We had met in a hostel in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, in 2016, when both he and we had left home cycling to China.
We landed in Jordan. Previously, we had arranged a meeting by mail with a member of the Warmshowers community to see if he could host us at his home, as we usually do when a cyclist traveller passes through our area. Leo offered immediately, a German who was studying for a few months in Jordan. He came to pick us up at the airport and, after just over 10 seconds of "meeting" us, Ricard said: "I know you! Could it be? We had met in a hostel in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, in 2016, when both he and we had left home cycling to China.
ONCE AGAIN, THE COINCIDENCES GAVE ME GOOSEBUMPS.
We had dinner together and reminisced about Kurdish roads, Chinese landscapes and food, and complicated Asian borders - what a great reunion! Our trip was certainly off to a good start.
The next day, still thinking about the coincidences of life, we set out to cycle the first kilometres. It was Friday, a public holiday in a Muslim country. It was quiet everywhere. Only the occasional bark that we heard as we passed broke the silence.
We had decided that we would follow the Jordan Bike Trail. A route devised by Matthew Harms that runs from north to south across the country. We would follow it from Madaba to Aqaba, on the shores of the Red Sea. It is a route that passes through Jordan's historical and natural wonders, through great canyons and wadis and through spectacular landscapes such as the Dead Sea, the Dana Biosphere Reserve, Petra and Wadi Rum.
THE FIRST TWO DAYS WE GOT A PRETTY GOOD SENSE OF WHAT CYCLING IN JORDAN WAS ALL ABOUT.
Steep gradients, rocky terrain, dogs that made us get off our bikes on more than one occasion, Bedouin tents, inhospitable landscapes and a wide range of realities that, as always, escaped our perception, which was probably more superficial.
Thus, perceiving all this kaleidoscope, we arrived at a small village where we were supposed, or rather we supposed, that we could buy four groceries and bread. Everything was closed, but we saw a small shop open. They only sold chocolate bars, biscuits and sweets for all tastes. A boy offered to help us and went to his house to get bread. He did not accept our money at all. We were his guests in Jordan and he would never accept it. Muslim generosity was at work once again.
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The following days continued in the same vein, descending into deep wadis to climb back up steep slopes, negotiating ravines and enjoying the road. Perhaps the descent to Wadi Mujib and the subsequent climb back up was one of the most spectacular, but it also required us to do some pushing the bike. |
| The following days continued in the same vein, descending into deep wadis to climb back up steep slopes, negotiating ravines and enjoying the road. Perhaps the descent to Wadi Mujib and the subsequent climb back up was one of the most spectacular, but it also required us to do some pushing the bike. |
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