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Anyone know anything about cycling in Jordan (the country, not the Rapp)
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Anybody out there from Jordan, or cycled (road) in Jordan? I've done a bit of research for an upcoming trip, but have a few questions and was curious if my understanding aligns to reality.


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My tiny little slice of the internets: dcrainmaker.com
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Re: Anyone know anything about cycling in Jordan (the country, not the Rapp) [dcrainmaker] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
Anybody out there from Jordan, or cycled (road) in Jordan? I've done a bit of research for an upcoming trip, but have a few questions and was curious if my understanding aligns to reality.
There is very little information about cycling in Jordan since many don't do it. I thought about traveling there with a bike but saw that it is not so advisable for a single woman to do so and it is not completely safe. Most of the cycling there is done on mountain bikes with tour guides. Check on Bikeforums under touring and ask there. I am sure there are more than a handful who have traveled from Asia to Africa by bike who can better tell you. Enjoy your stay. If riding does not pan out, there is always the Dead Sea Marathon in April that seems like a good race.


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DISH is how we do it.
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Re: Anyone know anything about cycling in Jordan (the country, not the Rapp) [dcrainmaker] [ In reply to ]
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I've done running races in Jordan, including the Jordan Telecom Desert Cup ultra distance race, but have never ridden in Jordan.

I have spent plenty of time on the roads and I'll suggest that drivers and road conditions will be your primary concerns. When you get out away from the big cities there are some nice roads, good climbs even near Petra if you are headed to that area.

There are attendant security concerns so maintain situational awareness and always check in and check out. It's a beautiful country I always enjoyed.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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Re: Anyone know anything about cycling in Jordan (the country, not the Rapp) [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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I've done running races in Jordan, including the Jordan Telecom Desert Cup ultra distance race, but have never ridden in Jordan.

I have spent plenty of time on the roads and I'll suggest that drivers and road conditions will be your primary concerns. When you get out away from the big cities there are some nice roads, good climbs even near Petra if you are headed to that area.

There are attendant security concerns so maintain situational awareness and always check in and check out. It's a beautiful country I always enjoyed.


I've got a long weekend there in between work.

My thinking was just getting way the heck out - Petra or towards the Wadi area, as most of the photos I can find do seem to show some nice roads and very quiet areas to ride. I'd much prefer to do a nice long road ride, and then another day of mountain biking.


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My tiny little slice of the internets: dcrainmaker.com
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Re: Anyone know anything about cycling in Jordan (the country, not the Rapp) [dcrainmaker] [ In reply to ]
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The wadis are beautiful. I spent a couple nights sleeping out in Wadi Rum where Sir Lawrence of Arabia hid during parts of his guerilla campaign. At night you hear the haunting sounds of the "Sirens of Ulyesses", a bizarre sound created by the wind going through the rocks.

Here are some photos I shot in Wadi Rum just after 9/11:






Do be careful while you are there though.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
Last edited by: Tom Demerly: Dec 20, 10 14:13
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Re: Anyone know anything about cycling in Jordan (the country, not the Rapp) [dcrainmaker] [ In reply to ]
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I can't speak to the cycling but Petra is a must see. If you stay in Aqaba and decide to take a swim, make sure you swim east, towards Jordan, not west towards Israel. In '98 I did the later, in shorts, googles, and dogtags, and was pulled into a bass boat by 3 guys with machine guns and 4 teeth between them. I guess they were harbor police or something (no uniforms = friggin' scary), took me to their CO who had them drop me back off at the hotel. I had many beers afterwards....

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Rich Strauss
Endurance Nation Ironman 2013 and 2014 World Champion TriClub, Div I
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Re: Anyone know anything about cycling in Jordan (the country, not the Rapp) [dcrainmaker] [ In reply to ]
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I did a supported group cycling tour of Jordan a while ago with the tour company Exodus

More info here:
http://www.exodus.co.uk/holidays/mxw/overview

It was great fun, the cycling was a little on the tame side for me, but very scenic. Petra and Wadi Rum were both stunning.

What sort of questions do you have ?

The Jordanians were great, we had no problems on the roads, surfaces were variable (we were on mtb's with slicks), the main roads were good though.
We did have a local guide with us which helped - there was one security checkpoint where they looked at us a bit oddly, but were all smiles when after a chat with the guide.

A couple of points
- wear baggy shorts rather than skin tight lycra and shortsleeved jerseys rather than sleeveless
- the main towns and resorts are used to westerners, but out in the country less so - they were friendly though
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Re: Anyone know anything about cycling in Jordan (the country, not the Rapp) [dcrainmaker] [ In reply to ]
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I have never been there, but here is a link to my favorite cycling journal: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/..._id=105516&v=1Qc The writer is Keith Hallagen and his blog is called bike about. He spends a good few days writing about Jordan on about page 96 of his blog. Some of the pictures have roads that look really cool to ride on.
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Re: Anyone know anything about cycling in Jordan (the country, not the Rapp) [dcrainmaker] [ In reply to ]
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I spent some time in eastern Jordan a few years back. I would be very careful, quite a few folks that weren't too crazy about westerners. We didn't go anywhere without being armed.
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Re: Anyone know anything about cycling in Jordan (the country, not the Rapp) [dcrainmaker] [ In reply to ]
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Yes, my wife lived in Jordan for 3 months last winter doing her Phd research. She rode with a group called: Tareef Cycling Club. Here is a link: http://tareefcyclingclub.com/ They are on Facebook as well.

Also, they have a tri club that is on Facebook. I will try to track it down for you. There is a "sports city" that I believe includes a 25m pool, running track, running trails, gym, etc. Jordan is a nice place. Much more relaxed and western friendly than many realize. Tourism is very important to Jordan and the King and Queen are pretty progressive. I visited in March 2009. PM me for more info.
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Re: Anyone know anything about cycling in Jordan (the country, not the Rapp) [RWG4] [ In reply to ]
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RWG4 wrote:
Yes, my wife lived in Jordan for 3 months last winter doing her Phd research. She rode with a group called: Tareef Cycling Club. Here is a link: http://tareefcyclingclub.com/ They are on Facebook as well.

Also, they have a tri club that is on Facebook. I will try to track it down for you. There is a "sports city" that I believe includes a 25m pool, running track, running trails, gym, etc. Jordan is a nice place. Much more relaxed and western friendly than many realize. Tourism is very important to Jordan and the King and Queen are pretty progressive. I visited in March 2009. PM me for more info.

Thanks all for the links - awesome stuff.

RWG - This is perfect, exactly what I'm looking for. If you have any contacts there with that group I'd love them. I'll hit you up via PM.


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My tiny little slice of the internets: dcrainmaker.com
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Re: Anyone know anything about cycling in Jordan (the country, not the Rapp) [dcrainmaker] [ In reply to ]
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After waiting 3 days for my bike to catch up to me (and my luggage), I was able to head out today for my first ride in country (first day I would have had anyway).

Here's some random things I learned from Day 1 out by myself in the middle of nowhere:

1) There's some steep stuff here. Really steep.
2) I'm going to need new brakepads.
3) The people are the friendliest folks anywhere on earth, as far as cyclists go. Or maybe to funny looking white guys on white bikes. Either way.
4) Donkey's, Sheep, Goats, Chickens, Camels scare that crap out of you when they mosey out of a bush before you.
5) Dogs however...are another matter.
6) I learned that not all dogs run the same speed. Just when you think you've outpedaled three German Shepards (how'd they get here?!?)...uphill...a fourth Chrissie Wellington Dog comes along and outruns the rest.
7) None of which is good if the grade is 15%...uphill.
8) I wondered how I would explain to the Saris guys that their brand new $2K wheelset on loan from them to test has sets of German Shepard holes in the carbon.
9) I found the Dead Sea. I think it's still dead.
10) The military checkpoints are fun on a bike. They were mystified by bike computers (in a good way). It was like I just showed them the Internet for the first time.
11) I never expected I'd end the day with my P3C lying on top of thousands of cucumbers in the back of a pickup truck....but that's a story for later.





More to come...


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My tiny little slice of the internets: dcrainmaker.com
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Re: Anyone know anything about cycling in Jordan (the country, not the Rapp) [dcrainmaker] [ In reply to ]
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Awesome. I love Jordan. More photos please if you get a chance. Have a great trip Sir.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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Re: Anyone know anything about cycling in Jordan (the country, not the Rapp) [dcrainmaker] [ In reply to ]
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Importantly how long did it take your Garmin to pick up a signal? That's what we all want to know. Will that tidbit end up in your next mailbag?

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"Unless you have a ... GF who might put out that night and that night only ... skip it and race." - AndyPants 3-15-2007
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Re: Anyone know anything about cycling in Jordan (the country, not the Rapp) [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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I live in Dubai and have been to Jordan a couple of times on vacation and for business. Great country, lovely people (though watch out if you're buying anything from bedouins....).

Love your photos, enjoy the rest of your time
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Re: Anyone know anything about cycling in Jordan (the country, not the Rapp) [logella] [ In reply to ]
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My guess is not very long. I'm pretty sure there is good GPS coverage over the Middle East, remember GP satellites were originally military.
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