Western Daily Press
April 22, 2006 Saturday

We’ve been nuked!

All they want to do is cycle to China – but yesterday an intrepid
West adventurer and his two pals became the latest casualties in the
ongoing nuclear row between the US and Iran.

Presidents George Bush and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won’t have heard of
Chris Taylor from Little Somerford, Wiltshire. But the 21-year-old is
certainly cursing them.

For Mr Taylor and his two friends George Wallis and Dave Wilson have
been barred from entering Iran, after cycling all the way to the
border and waiting two weeks for their visa applications to be dealt
with.

And now the trio – who are cycling about 10,000 miles to China to
raise money for Oxford’s Children’s Hospital and Medicins Sans
Frontiers – have had to redraw their plans considerably.

Instead of cycling straight on through Iran, into central Asia and on
to Beijing, they have had to turn left and head north around the
Islamic Republic.

And their woes don’t end there – for the border between Turkey and
Armenia is closed.

That means the cyclists will have to go that little bit further to
Georgia, skirt round Armenia and head instead for Baku, the capital
of neighbouring Azerbaijan, on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Then
the three will have to catch a ferry across the world’s biggest
inland sea, to continue their journey from the other side.

The ferry crossing actually means that – despite the delays – the
trio will have to cycle 500 kilometres less, thanks to President
Ahmadinejad.

The trio found themselves stuck in the eastern Turkish city of
Erzurum while waiting to cross the nearby Iranian border.

“Our visa agency strung this saga out for four days, ” explained Mr
Taylor. “After resolving to camp in a phone box until we had an
answer, we finally received the bad news: unless we wanted to be
accompanied by a guide, the Alien Affairs Bureau stated that we could
not travel to Iran.”

He added: “We are obviously disappointed at not being able to
experience Iran, as our planned route would have taken us through
some of the major, historic Silk Road towns.

“Iran is also widely regarded as a very hospitable country, although
judging by our experience so far, I am sure both Georgia and
Azerbaijan will be equally friendly towards us.”

As the Western Daily Press reported last month, the three have had a
series of adventures on their travels through the Balkans and Turkey.
When the trio cycled through eastern Turkey they became instant media
stars, with camera crews and reporters following their every move.

The trio are now setting off for Georgia, and hope to arrive in
Beijing in August. For more information on their adventures, log on
to