Sara Haba, a woman from tunisia made a record by becoming the first Woman to reach Mecca by bicycle. She started her travel on 4 Nov 2019 and reached Mecca on January 26,2020. Her travel has been documented by herself and became popular. She has used hashtag #cyclingtoMakkah. Her travel route included deserts of Egypt and Sudan.
Sara posted on Instagram that she was afraid to stop during her travel: she did not know if her physical capacities would follow her utmost wish. She just hoped her body would accept what she was instilled to do.She named her cycle Merzouga which means ” grace with blessing in maghrebi arabic.
She wrote ” Each day comes with new surprise, when it’s not a sand storm, it’s wind, sand tracks, nausea or even diarrhea that surprise and challenge me. But I’m still enjoying each step however it is and each encounter whenever it comes. “
She continued…
Up To the mountains
Where nights were getting froggy
I can’t believe the toughest part of the trip is behind me.
I thought that going north from Khartoum with the headwind will be the hardest part, but cycling up from Atbara to Haya was the worst. A lot of headwind as I never experienced, a lot of sand & a lot of emptiness unabling me to refill water & food. And when the loaded bicycle wasn’t killing my lower body, it was challenging my arm strength. But even though Merzoua, the magical bicycle, gave me hard time, I’m still in love with her and I’m so grateful for her amazing endurance. May we all be a Merzoua. Torza2!
In her final post, she documented,
“Nothing is impossible.
I was afraid to be stopped at any point. I didn’t know if my body will follow my will and accept all what I was imposing to it. And in Saudi Arabia, where the distance and the difficulty were really small in comparison with what I went through, I was tensed before reaching Mecca as I really didn’t know if I would be allowed to enter the city, cycling by myself. But I forgot that my bicycle is named Merzouga for a reason.
The target point was Mecca but there is still a lot to explore.
But now let me apologize to each member of my family and to my friends who couldn’t sleep when I wasn’t able to give news.
And to all the people who supported me with their messages, prayers and duas, I really thank you as you were the invisible companions I had during this journey.”
Also Read :Stoty of :Rosie Gabrielle, a solo Canadian female solo biker who accepted Islam
