‘I have seen things I never thought I’d ever see’ - Arigna man’s incredible journey continues
Fergal Guihen with his family before set off from his Arigna home in March of this year on an epic 23,000km cycle.
A young Arigna man cycling from Ireland to Australia, dubbed the Rossie-to-Aussie challenge, has, to-date, raised more than €32,000 for two local charities.
With his Irish flag clipped to his bike, Fergal Guihen set off from his Roscommon home in March of this year on an epic 23,000km cycle, and has just completed his journey through Afghanistan. The 26 year old man has been undertaking the journey both on his own and travelling with fellow cyclists.
Speaking to the Herald last week, Fergal said it has been an unbelievable experience so far, seeing things such as the Herat Citadel, which dates back to Alexander the Great.
“I left six and a half months ago and I have seen things I never thought I’d ever see,” he said from Dushanbe, Tajikistan. He explained that he has gained confidence as his journey continued.
“I didn’t know how to change a bike tyre until eight days into my trip when I was leaving Paris. I got my first flat tyre and I had to fix it on the spot,” Fergal said.
“When I got to Georgia I had the decision whether I wanted to fly to Kazakhstan and continue or else go up through Russia. The third option was to go down through Iran and Afghanistan. That never crossed my mind until I met some people who had done it. So I faced my fears and went that direction, and it was the best thing I ever did,” he said. “It was two of the longest months of my life but I will always look back on it fondly.” Before entering Afghanistan, he joined a group of cyclists. “I was after being hospitalised after being drugged and attacked in Iran,” Fergal said.
He had his wallet robbed, and ended up getting a cut on his foot, which required seven stitches.
“Luckily enough someone was driving by, stopped and brought me to the hospital with my bicycle. I don’t really remember it,” Fergal, who is a general nurse, explained.
While a very unpleasant experience, it was an aberration.
“In Iran I came across so many acts of kindness. They are the nicest people I have ever met,” he said. “Every day I would go in to buy vegetables and they would bring me out breakfast. They would refuse to let me pay for my vegetables. I was invited into people’s houses. It was incredible.” Travelling through Afghanistan was also eye opening Fergal said.
“It wasn’t anything like the news. We entered the country through a sand storm. We were so fearful, we had no idea how many people spoke Farsi, the language we kind of knew. We didn’t know how the Taliban would receive us. We didn’t even know whether we could put our tents up,” he said.
When they reached a village, they asked if there was a place to stay as the wind was too bad to erect the tents.
“We were immediately welcomed. We were greeted with handshakes and smiles by all the men and they invited us into a guesthouse to stay the night,” he said. “The hospitality was amazing, but it was blatantly obvious how few women there were visible. They were nowhere to be seen.” Fergal said that as they cycled through the country there was “Taliban check after Taliban check”, although they were friendly.
“I don’t agree at all with them but they want tourists and they were curious about us,” he said. Through the use of Google Translate, they navigated their way across the massive central Asian country without incident.
With a significant journey ahead of him, Fergal believes that it will now take a little longer to reach Australia.
“Initially I had planned to take 12 months but now it’s looking like maybe 16 or 17 months, depending on how long it takes me to cycle through South East Asia. It might be next summer before I reach Australia,” he said.
Regardless of how long his journey takes, he said he was delighted and privileged to be supporting two local charities, the Mayo Roscommon Hospice and NorthWest Stop.
“My great granny, Bea Daly from Arigna, passed away at the age of 99 peacefully in her home house in 2016. We were so fortunate to have Mayo Roscommon Hospice come out to the house, so that she could spend her final days in her own home,” he said. “Also as a nurse I see how valuable palliative care is.
To support Fergal’s fundraiser, .
