Cycling in Lebanon

"Jeff Williams" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Howdy.

There's an outside chance that I'll spend the first few months of the new
year in Lebanon. Does anyone have experience with buying/riding bikes
over there? If I do wind up there, I'll be in the Chouf (sp?) Mountains
area, about 50 KM east of Beirut.

I'd rather bike than drive. I'm assuming a wide range of gears would be
useful (I'm used to flat lands - anything more than 1% grade is insanely
steep to me). I'm assuming that transporting a bike from North America to
Lebanon would be more expensive than buying one over there, but what do I
know?

Jeff

PS: if you prefer to email, I can reliably be reached at pegguru at gmail
dot com.

One question:: are you nuts? Hello?????????????? You are going to ride
your bike around in a country like Lebanon?

Maybe I am just chicken, or sane but wouldn't you be a dead American just
waiting to happen?

Fill me in on what I don't know. Is Lebanon actually safe?

Next I will be reading about the great tours in and around Bagdad.

Jeff Williams said:

I'd rather bike than drive. I'm assuming a wide range of gears would be
useful (I'm used to flat lands - anything more than 1% grade is insanely
steep to me).

Hard to take this post seriously. I imagine that there are very few
areas that you could go to where it would not be "insanely steep." What
is your tolerance for insanely windy?

Tue, 22 Nov 2005 16:40:04 GMT, <ERHgf.7257$%Z5.15@trndny07>,

Thomas Wentworth said:

Fill me in on what I don't know. Is Lebanon actually safe?

Dangers posed by landmines and unexploded ordnance throughout south
Lebanon are significant . . .

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_2123.html
--
zk

Thomas Wentworth said:

"Jeff Williams" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Howdy.

There's an outside chance that I'll spend the first few months of the new
year in Lebanon. Does anyone have experience with buying/riding bikes
over there? If I do wind up there, I'll be in the Chouf (sp?) Mountains
area, about 50 KM east of Beirut.

I'd rather bike than drive. I'm assuming a wide range of gears would be
useful (I'm used to flat lands - anything more than 1% grade is insanely
steep to me). I'm assuming that transporting a bike from North America to
Lebanon would be more expensive than buying one over there, but what do I
know?

Jeff

PS: if you prefer to email, I can reliably be reached at pegguru at gmail
dot com.

One question:: are you nuts? Hello?????????????? You are going to ride
your bike around in a country like Lebanon?

Maybe I am just chicken, or sane but wouldn't you be a dead American just
waiting to happen?

Probably not a dead American. Check his address.

Quoted message said:

Fill me in on what I don't know. Is Lebanon actually safe?

Well the Canadian Gov't travel warnings seem to think it is not wildly
dangerous but suggest staying away from a few locales. This puts it in
the same category as the USA 🙂

John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

Jeff Williams said:

Howdy.

There's an outside chance that I'll spend the first few months of the
new year in Lebanon. Does anyone have experience with buying/riding
bikes over there? If I do wind up there, I'll be in the Chouf (sp?)
Mountains area, about 50 KM east of Beirut.

I'd rather bike than drive. I'm assuming a wide range of gears would be
useful (I'm used to flat lands - anything more than 1% grade is insanely
steep to me). I'm assuming that transporting a bike from North America
to Lebanon would be more expensive than buying one over there, but what
do I know?

Jeff

PS: if you prefer to email, I can reliably be reached at pegguru at
gmail dot com.

Check with the airlines. I have shipped my bike from Montreal to Paris
for free with Air Transat but that was a while ago. I would expect that
it would be quite a bit cheaper to take the bike with you than buy one
there, at least a good one.

Also I don't know if Lebanon has a cycling culture or not. If not, you
might have a problem getting a decent bike, particularly if based
outside of Beirut.

I have never been in Lebanon but I don't remember seeing many (any?)
high quality bikes in Saudia or when I was holidaying in Egypt. I
managed to pick up a bit of a beater in Saudi but it was about Canadian
Tire level quality. The other alternative was a single speed roadster
from India or China with rod and lever brakes.

I have seen a few pictures of the Chouf mountains. Low gears look like
a good idea.
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

22 Nov 2005 14:44:53 -0800,
<[email hidden]>,
"[email hidden]" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Well the Canadian Gov't travel warnings seem to think it is not wildly
dangerous but suggest staying away from a few locales. This puts it in
the same category as the USA 🙂

For cyclists, with or without a maple leaf, it's the same all over:

"Drivers in Lebanon often maneuver aggressively and pay little regard
to traffic lights and stops signs." . . .

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_948.html
--
zk

I'd definitely bring a lightweight bike. In this case, the lighter the
better. Antitank mines wouldn't be a problem either way, but some of
the more sensitive mines just might get tripped by a heavier bike. May
want to consider pulling a trailer with your gear to better distribute
the weight for the same reason. 3 wheels at 80 pounds per is a lot
better on the mines than 2 wheels at 125 per.

Googling on
kevlar bike shorts
brought up the following link
http://oakley.ca/o/o1555d

Please let us know when you get back safely and take pictures.

Zoot Katz said:

22 Nov 2005 14:44:53 -0800,
<[email hidden]>,
"[email hidden]" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Well the Canadian Gov't travel warnings seem to think it is not wildly
dangerous but suggest staying away from a few locales. This puts it in
the same category as the USA 🙂

For cyclists, with or without a maple leaf, it's the same all over:

"Drivers in Lebanon often maneuver aggressively and pay little regard
to traffic lights and stops signs." . . .

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_948.html

Add "and seem inexorably attached to their cellular phones" and you
have pretty much every major US city....

As to the bombs and unexploded ordnance: it sounds like a Surly
Pugsley with Large Marge rims and Endomorph tires ... at least ;-)
--
Live simply so that others may simply live

Jeff Williams said:

Howdy.

There's an outside chance that I'll spend the first few months of the
new year in Lebanon. Does anyone have experience with buying/riding
bikes over there? If I do wind up there, I'll be in the Chouf (sp?)
Mountains area, about 50 KM east of Beirut.

I'd rather bike than drive. I'm assuming a wide range of gears would be
useful (I'm used to flat lands - anything more than 1% grade is insanely
steep to me). I'm assuming that transporting a bike from North America
to Lebanon would be more expensive than buying one over there, but what
do I know?

Jeff

PS: if you prefer to email, I can reliably be reached at pegguru at
gmail dot com.

http://www.destinationlebanon.com/cycling.asp

DrLith, "like Google Answers, only free"

"Zoot Katz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Tue, 22 Nov 2005 16:40:04 GMT, <ERHgf.7257$%Z5.15@trndny07>,

Thomas Wentworth said:

Fill me in on what I don't know. Is Lebanon actually safe?

Dangers posed by landmines and unexploded ordnance throughout south
Lebanon are significant . . .

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_2123.html
--
zk

====

Well, that's it then. Lebanon in 06! What a novel idea. Beautiful
Lebanon. The Paris of the Middle East.

Be sure to use Armadillo tires.

Steve McDonald

gds said:

Jeff Williams said:

I'd rather bike than drive. I'm assuming a wide range of gears would be
useful (I'm used to flat lands - anything more than 1% grade is insanely
steep to me).

Hard to take this post seriously. I imagine that there are very few
areas that you could go to where it would not be "insanely steep." What
is your tolerance for insanely windy?

One small bit of humour makes the entire post a joke? Sigh.

Winnipeg is the template for billiard tables worldwide (the Manitoba
Marathon had a total change in elevation of 28 feet the year I ran it).
28 feet over 26 miles is not much of a grade.

Winnipeg is insanely windy - I don't like it, but I'm used to it.

Jeff

Thomas Wentworth said:

"Jeff Williams" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Howdy.

There's an outside chance that I'll spend the first few months of the new
year in Lebanon. Does anyone have experience with buying/riding bikes
over there? If I do wind up there, I'll be in the Chouf (sp?) Mountains
area, about 50 KM east of Beirut.

I'd rather bike than drive. I'm assuming a wide range of gears would be
useful (I'm used to flat lands - anything more than 1% grade is insanely
steep to me). I'm assuming that transporting a bike from North America to
Lebanon would be more expensive than buying one over there, but what do I
know?

Jeff

PS: if you prefer to email, I can reliably be reached at pegguru at gmail
dot com.

One question:: are you nuts? Hello?????????????? You are going to ride
your bike around in a country like Lebanon?

Maybe I am just chicken, or sane but wouldn't you be a dead American just
waiting to happen?

Fill me in on what I don't know. Is Lebanon actually safe?

Next I will be reading about the great tours in and around Bagdad.

I'm not a psychiatrist, so I cannot comment on my sanity.

Assuming I wind up in Lebanon, as noted a long-shot, I don't intend to
ride all over the place. I'm looking for opportunities for simple
commuting - cheaper than a car, faster than foot.

Based on my research, there are places to avoid but much of the country
is reasonable to visit. Landmines do pose a threat. If you avoid the
marked areas and go only where the locals go, the threat is very small.

I'm a Canadian, so I don't expect to ever be a dead American waiting to
happen.

I ride on Winnipeg streets, which are not especially safe given the
quality of Winnipeg drivers and the state of the streets.

Jeff

I just checked CNN and they had an article
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/11/23/mideast.glider/index.html
Bullets fly over hang glider incursion
Israeli troops covers man's dash back across Palestinian border

Wednesday, November 23, 2005; Posted: 5:11 p.m. EST (22:11 GMT)
(CNN) -- An Israeli civilian crashed his hang glider just inside
Lebanon on Wednesday, sparking a clash between Hezbollah and Israeli
forces, Israeli and U.N. officials said.

Israel Defense Forces said the hang glider landed inside Lebanon, a few
dozen meters from the border, and Israeli troops in the area opened a
border gate, calling on the man to cross. Israeli troops did not cross
the border, the officials said.

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the shooting continued
after the man reached the safety of the Manara outpost.

I think it's a good idea that you are not intending to ride all over
the place. Looks like getting slightly lost can have its consequences.
Please be careful and let us know how it goes.

Jeff Williams said:

Thomas Wentworth said:

"Jeff Williams" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Howdy.

There's an outside chance that I'll spend the first few months of the new
year in Lebanon. Does anyone have experience with buying/riding bikes
over there? If I do wind up there, I'll be in the Chouf (sp?) Mountains
area, about 50 KM east of Beirut.

I'd rather bike than drive. I'm assuming a wide range of gears would be
useful (I'm used to flat lands - anything more than 1% grade is insanely
steep to me). I'm assuming that transporting a bike from North America to
Lebanon would be more expensive than buying one over there, but what do I
know?

Jeff

PS: if you prefer to email, I can reliably be reached at pegguru at gmail
dot com.

One question:: are you nuts? Hello?????????????? You are going to ride
your bike around in a country like Lebanon?

Maybe I am just chicken, or sane but wouldn't you be a dead American just
waiting to happen?

Fill me in on what I don't know. Is Lebanon actually safe?

Next I will be reading about the great tours in and around Bagdad.

I'm not a psychiatrist, so I cannot comment on my sanity.

Assuming I wind up in Lebanon, as noted a long-shot, I don't intend to
ride all over the place. I'm looking for opportunities for simple
commuting - cheaper than a car, faster than foot.

Sounds extremely sensible to me. I figure that it roughly extends your
area of " easy access" from about 20 sq miles to over 300 sq miles
based on half an hour's travel time (ie Pi R squared ). It makes not
only commuting better but getting around in general.

Quoted message said:

Based on my research, there are places to avoid but much of the country
is reasonable to visit. Landmines do pose a threat. If you avoid the
marked areas and go only where the locals go, the threat is very small.

I'm a Canadian, so I don't expect to ever be a dead American waiting to
happen.

I ride on Winnipeg streets, which are not especially safe given the
quality of Winnipeg drivers and the state of the streets.

Jeff

Aha, I thought so! Who else but a Winnipeger would cringe at anything
over a 1% grade.
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

autonut843 said:

I just checked CNN and they had an article
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/11/23/mideast.glider/index.html
Bullets fly over hang glider incursion
Israeli troops covers man's dash back across Palestinian border

Wednesday, November 23, 2005; Posted: 5:11 p.m. EST (22:11 GMT)
(CNN) -- An Israeli civilian crashed his hang glider just inside
Lebanon on Wednesday, sparking a clash between Hezbollah and Israeli
forces, Israeli and U.N. officials said.

Israel Defense Forces said the hang glider landed inside Lebanon, a few
dozen meters from the border, and Israeli troops in the area opened a
border gate, calling on the man to cross. Israeli troops did not cross
the border, the officials said.

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the shooting continued
after the man reached the safety of the Manara outpost.

Except for that fact that the idiot on the hang glider did the
equivalent of flying over the Korean DMZ or maybe hang gliding into
Guantanamo. And he would have been about half the country away from
where Jeff is thinking of going.
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

Jeff Williams said:

gds said:

Jeff Williams said:

I'd rather bike than drive. I'm assuming a wide range of gears would be
useful (I'm used to flat lands - anything more than 1% grade is insanely
steep to me).

Hard to take this post seriously. I imagine that there are very few
areas that you could go to where it would not be "insanely steep." What
is your tolerance for insanely windy?

One small bit of humour makes the entire post a joke? Sigh.

Irony is more of a Commonwealth than US concept

Quoted message said:

Winnipeg is the template for billiard tables worldwide (the Manitoba
Marathon had a total change in elevation of 28 feet the year I ran it).
28 feet over 26 miles is not much of a grade.

Winnipeg is insanely windy - I don't like it, but I'm used to it.

Jeff

"Jeff Williams" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm a Canadian, so I don't expect to ever be a dead American waiting to
happen.

See how far that line gets you in the Bekaa Valley.

or if you need some reading material on the flight over
http://www.skoool.ie/skoool/examcentre_sc.asp?id=339

matabala said:

"Jeff Williams" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm a Canadian, so I don't expect to ever be a dead American waiting to
happen.

See how far that line gets you in the Bekaa Valley.

or if you need some reading material on the flight over
http://www.skoool.ie/skoool/examcentre_sc.asp?id=339

There are certainly parts of Lebanon to avoid, the Bekaa Valley being
one of them. Then again, there are parts of <insert your favourite city
name here> that are to be avoided.

<humour>
As a Canadian, I'm a dead Canadian waiting to happen. Unless, of
course, I get to be 140 years old. Having watched the obits in the
local paper for years, I note that I never see 140 year olds listed in
the obits, so I conclude that if you are 140 years old, you are likely
to live for ever.
</humour>