Naresh holding the Indian flag outside Hamburg's town hall, his loaded bike in front
Chennai, India to Hamburg, Germany

Freedom Seat, Chennai to Hamburg

Biking · Adventures
Distance
8,646 km27 February to 24 May 2019
Days
74Of cycling
Countries
13Two continents
Riders
180Strangers and friends on the back seat
Climb
52,000 mOf elevation
Route
Chennai to HamburgIndia to Germany
When
May 24, 2019Friday
Reading
1 min177 words

A tandem with an empty back seat, 13 countries, and 180 people who rode it with me against human trafficking.

In 2019 I rode a tandem called Kindness from Chennai to Hamburg for my foundation, Freedom Seat, against human trafficking: 8,646 km in 74 days of pedalling, through India, Oman, the UAE, Iran, Turkey and on across Europe, with the back seat empty for anyone who wanted to ride a stretch with me. 180 people did. In June, back in Hamburg, I spoke at the Rotary International Convention.

Months of planning, preparation, training and pedalling to get this far, but this wouldn’t have been possible without all your support. We did it, and I’m so proud of us.

Freedom Seat, the film (2021). Directed by Linus Herbig-Matten. Audience Award at the Ciclismo Classico Bike Travel Film Festival; selected for Kendal Mountain Festival.

What follows is the ride as I posted it from the road, from the visa interviews in Chennai to the finish in Hamburg.

In the press: NDTV, NZ Herald, Gulf News, The Hans India, Rotary News, Bikepacking.com, and the Outdoor Journal and BroomWagon podcasts.

The journal

87 days on the road, February 27 to May 24, 2019.Pick a day, or start at the beginning and read it like a book.

Before the ride

  1. ·Visas, and the waitAn immigration officer who had never seen a plan like this, and a Schengen visa in three days.

India

  1. 1The flag-off in ChennaiPeople rescued from bonded labour came to see me off.
  2. 3Hosur to Bengaluru, KarnatakaA tuk-tuk driver called Lokesh rides Kindness into Bengaluru. 380 km in three days.
  3. 4Bengaluru, KarnatakaA talk to medical students before getting back on the road.
  4. 5KarnatakaFriends, families and a sunset on the road through Karnataka.
  5. 6Heat, hills and the first flatHilly terrain, high temperatures and headwinds.

Karnataka and Maharashtra

  1. 7Into MaharashtraMy first passenger in a new state.

Maharashtra

  1. 8Pulled over in MaharashtraA curious cop, chai and vada pav, and his number in case of trouble.
  2. 10PuneAnother traditional welcome.
  3. 11Gateway of India, Mumbai1,435 km and 66 riders through Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
  4. 15Mumbai to MuscatThe Iran visa arrives, and Kindness flies to Oman.

Oman

  1. 16Muscat, OmanSafe in Oman, interviews, and a beach for a bed.
  2. 17The Gulf of Oman coastA village that fed me, and a stranger who gave me his beach shelter for the night.
  3. 18No pants, no service1,687 km, and a lesson in Omani dress etiquette.

Oman and the UAE

  1. 20Hatta: a homecoming party at the borderArabic coffee from the border officer, rain in the desert, and a tent in a thunderstorm.
  2. 21Into the UAETwo countries in a week since India.
  3. 22DubaiWaiting for the ferry across the Persian Gulf.

Iran

  1. 23Bandar Abbas, IranOff the ferry and into Iran.
  2. 24Bandar Abbas, at Iranian New YearNo SIM, no rial, and a family who took me home.
  3. 26Sirjan: “He is my boy”Pyoor’s family, and 24 hours I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
  4. 28ShahrbabakA hotel guard’s room, and a family who shared everything.
  5. 29With the shepherdsIce-cold rain, a mud hut, hot tea by the fire, and leading the sheep to water.
  6. 30A chai shop in the rainA stranger’s snacks, his phone card, and his number, in case I needed help.
  7. 33Three flats, and a foot pumpA man on a motorbike who wouldn’t let me pump my own tyres.
  8. 34Tehran and the Indian EmbassyInto Tehran soaked by thunderstorms, and a welcome like walking home.
  9. 35Out of TehranAfter the storm, the nicest day of the year.
  10. 37ZanjanThe first Iranian newborn I got to hold.
  11. 38Mianeh, IranOther cyclists on the road, and dinner on the floor with a family.
  12. 39Toward TabrizTea with a view, and the friendliest police.
  13. 41Leaving IranTo the Turkish border with a heavy heart.

Turkey

  1. 42Into TurkeyGürbulak, and the first day in a new country.
  2. 43Erol, and the gumbootsA lawyer who spent his day helping a stranger, and an old man’s boots.
  3. 44ErzurumWho turned on the AC?
  4. 45ErzincanSpring is finally here.
  5. 46Erzincan to Refahiye, over the Sakaltutan PassOne of the toughest climbs of the ride, on a tandem riding solo.25.7 mi
  6. 47Refahiye: lunch at 1, continue at 2Orhan’s earth mover, a mountain cookout, and alone but never lonely.
  7. 49Koyulhisar, a stranger’s farmhouseStranded in a storm, and taken in by a farmer for the night.
  8. 52Into Çerkeş, in the snowThe road just broke me today.
  9. 54Istanbul, from Asia to EuropeA sunset welcome, and Freedom Seat becomes intercontinental.
  10. 56Canola fieldsAs if God had unrolled a yellow carpet on earth.

Greece

  1. 57Into GreeceKastanies, a tent by the Arda, and John’s croissants for the road.

Greece and Bulgaria

  1. 58Greece to BulgariaDinner in Turkey, breakfast in Greece, lunch in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria

  1. 60Sunny BulgariaOver two-thirds of the way.

Serbia

  1. 62Into SerbiaBorder guards who gave 20 euros, and a grandma who blew a kiss.
  2. 63Niš, SerbiaBirthplace of the great Constantine.
  3. 64Rain, and a partyThe eighth country in a row where I got rained on, and new friends 30 minutes after rolling in.
  4. 65Just me, Kindness and an empty seat8 borders, 6,700 km and 140 friends and strangers.
  5. 67Belgrade to Inđija, in the windThe worst crosswinds of the ride: in the ditch twice.

Hungary and Slovakia

  1. 68HungaryWelcomed with arms, and heavens, wide open.
  2. 71Into Slovakia, with LinusLinus drove eight hours from Munich to ride along and film.

Austria and the Czech Republic

  1. 76Into the Czech RepublicA viral infection, a zero day in Vienna, and eight hours of sleep.

The Czech Republic

  1. 77Czech countrysideForests, meadows and lunch with a view.
  2. 80PragueA rainy day in Prague.

Germany

  1. 81Into Germany79 days since India, 67 of them pedalling, 7,992 km.
  2. 82A hobbit house in DahmeA tiny home built by a Hobbiton fan, and a hand-painted welcome.
  3. 84BerlinThe last capital of Freedom Seat, and the rain followed me here too.
  4. 87Hamburg74 days of pedalling, 8,646 km, and the Indian flag at the finish.

After the ride

  1. ·Copenhagen, and the bluesPost-expedition blues, a bus to Copenhagen, and the Rotary convention in Hamburg.
Start reading →

The route

PuneMumbaiMuscatDubaiBandar AbbasTehranBazarganGürbulak KöyüİstanbulKastaniesSofiaSerbiaBudapestBratislavaPragueBerlinChennaiHamburg
The route I planned. Each day of the journal puts a dot where I was.
ChennaiElevation from 0 m to 2,330 mHamburg

Further reading

Biking · Adventures · 2019Silk Road Mountain RaceBiking · Adventures · 2018Indian Pacific Wheel RaceBiking · Adventures · 2017Freedom Seat New ZealandRunning · Adventures · Food · 2015Black Forest cake in the Black Forest

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