You guys may already know but I take my mum on a lot of wild trips. If you know my story, I wont bore you with the details. But single mother, tough times, but my mum always supported me. Now my life has turned around, it’s a blessing to be able to show her the world. Then, she got diagnosed with sh*tty Parkinson’s Disease. But rather than sitting back defeated, we used it as a catalyst to do more stuff. And that morphed into a few charity trips to raise money to find a cure for the disease.

• I put together a trip and my mum climbed Mount Fuji at 70 years old, along with an awesome group, where we also raised $20k for a cure.
• And then 18 months ago, we tackled the Serengeti Marathon, and my mum completed the 10km there, along side another brilliant group. Another $20k raised.

So here we are in 2023. My mum is another 2 years older, and unfortunately, the Parkinson’s has had another 2 years of effects. But we don’t let that beat us. So we put our heads together to think of our next fund raiser. Mountains are out (“if I climb as much as a bloody set of stairs again Johnny, I’ll murder you!” or something along those lines after Mount Fuji, hahaha). Running is out after the Serengeti. So that left us with boats or bikes. So bikes it is! This time a 100km cycle, across 2 days, from Petra to Wadi Rum.

Haha, the million dollar question! First of all, there are no ebikes in Jordan! They class them as scooters and require a license, so scratch that. It was the first thing my mum asked me!

Before I go on, just remember, I designed this with my 74yo mum in mind. So if she can do it, any of you guys can!

Ok, so it a normal bikes. But a good one. It’s not a ‘road bike’ (those are the skinny bikes, with skinny tyres that they use on the Tour De France), but it’s not quite a big chunky mountain bike either. Somewhere between the two. It’s comfortable, and it’s designed for exactly the kind of thing we’re doing.

PEDALS: The pedals aren’t ‘clip-in’ pedals. Just normal pedals.

SURFACE: Some paved, some off-road, some dirt. But not super challenging, don’t worry.

UPHILL/DOWNHILL: BOTH! But nothing crazy steep, and overall we start higher and finish lower. So not too bad.

CAN YOU SKIP THE CYCLE? If you fundraise the $500 or more, then yes you can sign up and skip the cycle. Also, if you get injured before the trip, or even during the trip, or if you get tired, you can sit out sections by hopping in the support vehicles. Don’t worry. The trip is a challenge, but equally we want everyone to have a good time. I know some of you follow me while I’m off running 200km ultra marathons or trying to climb Everest etc. This is not one of those trips, I promise (although admittedly it might feel like that for my mum!).

SUPPORT? We have spare parts, an mechanic, spare tyres etc. Any problems, we have you covered!

NOTE: My mum and I will be riding a tandem bike. I bought one here in Thailand, and I'm going to bring it with me in my luggage on the flight to Jordan. It may get frozen in customs, so we may end up on the normal bikes, but we hope not! Everyone else's bike is a standard, single bike. If you too would like a tandem, please message me but you'll have to bring it yourself from your home country, they aren't available in Jordan.

Long story short, the dream is $20kUSD (which is about 16k GBP for my UK folk). But I have set the target at a more humble $10,000 (8,250GBP) so it’s not so daunting for us all!

The Cause

Very simply, the goal is donate to find a cure for Parkinson’s. The specific organisation that we are partnered with is Cure Parkinsons (https://cureparkinsons.org.uk). I’ll add the link to here, and I’ll send it privately to everyone who signs up, and then we can all try our best to hit the personal $500 per person fund raising goal! Thanks folks!

Fly into Amman anytime. I will host a briefing at 6pm in a meeting room in our first hotel, then we’ll have a group dinner together and get ready for the epic trip.

We take a half day tour of ancient Amman. The Roman temple of Hercules, the ancient Amman Citadel and the famous Roman hillside Amphitheatre.

The second half of the day, we’ll hop on our private bus and drive to the Dead Sea. The LOWEST PLACE ON EARTH! Our hotel includes direct access to the Dead Sea, so watch the mud takes years of your appearance (yeah right), and enjoy floating in the salt water.

You can spend the morning in the waters of the Dead Sea again if you wish, or enjoy the only lazy morning of the trip. 

Then we head for Petra, with a few stops along the way. We’ll have dinner together near Petra, in the lovely city of Wadi Musa, ready for a big day tomorrow.

PETRA! One of the Seven Wonders of the world! Today is THE DAY. Today is a physical challenge in itself truth be told. But wow is it ever worth it. For the energetic amongst us, we’ll be at the entrance at 5.30am for the best travel hack in the world, HAVING PETRA TO YOURSELF!

For the slower folks, we’ll have a normal day, starting at a normal time. You’re free to explore Petra solo and run around to every corner and cave, or walk with our local guide and learn about the culture and history of this magical place.

Expect up to 35,000 steps on your smart watch today folks, where appropriate footwear!

Alrighty then. Here we are. Ever cycled 100km before? This is the last day of your life that you’ll be able to answer no to that question!

We’ll take our transport out of the city to avoid the steep hills (the gym buddies among us can cycle if they wish). Then we’ll start the cycle. Today will be 35-55km depending on the weather and traffic. From outside Wadi Musa to a small desert village called Abbasiya.

After the cycle, we’ll drive the last hour or so to the desert and settle in our glamping Bedouin Camp experience. Camp fire dinner, traditional Jordanian food and time to rest those weary bones.

Cycle Day Round 2! We owe the cycling Gods another 50km or so. After judging the strength of the group, we’ll either go back to where we stopped yesterday and continue the remaining 50km back towards Wadi Rum. 

Or we’ll head out in the desert and get the 50km in a much sexier way, off ride, in the desert! 

Either way, we’ll rack up the 100kms and earn those donations. Thanks everyone! 

That night we’re in the same camp, so settle back in. You’re free to enjoy the rest of the trip without the clouds of a 100km cycle hanging over you!

Today is Wadi Rum in all its glory. We’ll take the off-road SUVs and explore the desert. From Lawrence of Arabia’s home, to ancient dunes. Wadi Rum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for a reason. Get ready to have your mind blown.

Today, it’s almost like we’re a ‘normal’ tour group. Shock, horror. We have brekkie in the desert, then take our private transfer to the beach town of Aqaba, perched on the coast of the Red Sea. It’s been an escape from the heat and sand for Middle Eastern cultures since the 13th century.

We have some optional activities for you guys today, or sit in our 4* hotel, drink cocktails and lounge by the pool. If anyone can justify a break, it’s us. Aqaba is also home to a few more bars than any other Jordanian city, so maybe a night on the town to celebrate our successful cycle? Why not!

The final day. A lazy buffet breakfast, followed by optional lunch time activities. Don’t tire yourself out though because we have a sunset cruise to finish off our trip together. Seeing Jordan out in style.

That’s all folks. We can discuss via email and chat what your plans are from here. We can facilitate transfers back to Amman, the Capital, every hour (it’s a 3.5 hour drive). 

My mum and I will be doing just that around lunch time. Or you can spend some more time in Aqaba should you want. Perhaps even continue on to Egypt, Israel or beyond? We can chat about all this later.