Congratulations to Elizabeth Harkness, Thomas Bill, Diego Carmona, Omar Sharif, Patrick Skene, Olga Zolotova, Khalid Alkhatib for setting a new WUCA (and Guinness) World Record for the Epic Point-to-Point route of Dead Sea to Red Sea in the 8x team, Mixed, 18-49 age group, standard bike categories.
Below are rider’s narratives of their experience.
Elizabeth Harkness Rider Narrative
Dead Sea to Red Sea – fastest crossing by bicycle
27 April 2024
Start Location: Museum at the Lowest Point on Earth
Start time- 7.02am
I wanted to do this record as no one has ever set a record before by cycling from the Dead sea to the Red sea. I have one prior record that I really enjoyed doing – cycling across Oman.
For this ride, I rode my Giant Defy, – a road bike with Shimano 105 groupset and tubeless tires. I had with my my power metre and my garmin computer. This is what I usually use to ride with and didn’t use any additional equipment. For food, I ate sugar snacks such as waffles and haribo and and salty crisps. I had water to drink with some added electrolytes. About haflway into the ride, a team mate gave me a caffeine shot. I felt that this made a huge difference, although it did make me feel slightly nauseous!
The hardest part for me was the first 100km. Psychologically, it was difficult, because of the distance still to travel, but also because our garmins were not picking up the GPS signals properly, we were unable to tell how far we had come. Along with that, the road had a contiuous gentle incline and the surface was not good, so it made it feel a little more difficult. THe best part was the last 70 km. We had a good tail wind and the road surface was very smooth and flat, which made the riding far more enjoyable.
The most unusual thing to happen was that our Garmins could not pick up the GPS signal. Due to the ongoing conflict in the region, the satellites had been scrambled, so our distance, speed and location was not being tracked properly.
The conditions were okay- it was quite cool in the morning but got very hot after midday.
Finish point – The Oryx Hotel, Aqaba
Finish time – 4.31pm
Omar’s Ride Report
- Jordan- Dead to red
- Omar Al Sharif
- 27/4/2024- 7.02am
- Start point is the museum at the lowest point in the world – Dead Sea.
- Cloudy during the morning and then became sunny and hot
- I did the record to support the team who wanted to, the opportunity to ride in Jordan and of course to have another Guinness record to inspire my kids that they can achieve whatever they put their mind to
- My trustee steed- Factor Ostro Vam Road bike
- I drank electrolytes and consumed around 80g of carbs/hr through gels and nuts
- The first half was the best for me. Good hills, cooler weather and great views. The second was hot and flat through the desert.
- I had issues with my cleats so I was struggling clipping in whenever we stopped. Was very frustrating. Also, trying to keep it together as these long team events can trigger emotions as people get tired. Thankfully the team held together and did a great job of finishing as one.
- For at least the first 50km we had no connection to GPS or network as they were blocked. We think it’s related to the ISrael/palestine issue. Also, an army vehicle with a massive gun showing up when we stopped at one point. No issues of course.
- We finished at the Oryx hotel in Aqaba
- Finish time 4.31pm
Rider Narrative – Patrick Skene
Record Attempt: Dead Sea to Red Sea fastest crossing by bike
Name: Patrick Skene
Start Date & Time: 27.04.2024 (7.02pm)
Start Location: Museum at the Lowest Point on Earth
Conditions were overcast to begin with for the first few hours before the sun broke through and the heat started to increase. We were fortunate to have a tail wind towards the second half of the ride which although it helped the legs, it made it feel all the hotter. I wanted to do a record to test myself and the training I had done. I used a Cannondale Synapse. I ate mostly energy gels alongside some caramel stroopwaffels and drank a mix of both electrolytes and carbohydrates. The best part was the scenery and the toughest part was contending with the heat.
Finish Location: Oryx Hotel, Aqaba (4.30pm)
Dead Sea to Red Sea fasting crossing by bicycle attempt By Diego Carmona Start Location: Museum at the Lowest Point on Earth The conditions were cloudy in the morning and not too warm for this time of the year, as the day went on the conditions were hotter, which made the challenge more difficult. The reason I was interested in attempting this record is because I wanted to test out my endurance but also to ride from two iconic locations. The equipment used was very standard, a Lapierre DRS 7 bike, a bike computer with power meter pedals, a helmet and clip-on cycling shoes. In terms of nutrition, I consumed approximately 60 grams of carbs per hour (Karbolyn powder dissolved in water), half a liter of coca cola full sugar, crisps and nuts of salts and electrolytes and approximately 7 litres of fluids. The best part was seeing a camel along the road and the end! There was one unusual event, we stopped alongside the road for a break near the Israel border on the Jordanian side and we were very quickly joined by a military vehicle asking what we were doing there and telling us that we couldn’t stop for very long and that we should move it along! Start time 7.02am local time End time 4.31pm local time.
Name: Olga Zolotova Start date and time: 27 May 2024, 7:02 am local time Start location: Museum on Dead Sea Conditions: in the morning the weather was cloudy with and it lasted first 70-80km; it gradually cleared and sun came out at approximately 80-90km; the wind was headwind for the first 100km or so; the second half of the way was sunny with tailwind. Reasons for record attempt: I did Dead to Red cycling several times in two days and loved the route, but always wanted to challenge myself and do it all in one day! Equipment used: Liv road bicycle, cycling shoes, helmet, gloves, jersey, cycling water bottles, Garmin computer; nothing special, just a regular cycling gear Food and drinks: Bananas, cheese croissant, mentos candies, GU gels, water, electrolytes Best part: probably taking a shower after the ride! The second half of the ride was super sunny, I can’t remember when was the last time I sweated so much! The hardest part: at one point (I think approximately 70 km, I cannot remember exactly) I did not feel well and started feeling nauseated. It never happened to me in the past (ever!), so we had to stop for a break. I was really worrying that I won’t be able to continue, but I drunk a bottle of electrolytes in one shot, ate some bananas, and felt much better! After a 5-10 min break we continued. Unusual incidents: I guess several! First of all, at the start point our Garmin computers did not work: the speed, distance, gradient and location were not appearing correctly, while time, power and cadence worked. We were told that it was because we were close to the Israel border abduction due to the war situation, the satellites are not working properly in that area… we totally did not expect that! Another thing is when I was going downhill close to the free zone crossing my back tire blew up! That was quite scary, as I was going at 63 km/hr, but I managed to slow down and stop. Finish location: Oryx Hotel Aqaba, 4:30 pm local time Garmin link: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/15101870114Check out my road cycling activity on Garmin Connect. #beatyesterday
Rider’s Narrative Summary – Tom Bill
- Record attempt, e.g. Hawaii E-W
- Dead Sea to Red Sea, fastest crossing by bicycle
- Name of rider(s)
- Thomas Bill, Patrick Skene, Omar Al-Sharif, Elizabeth Harkness, Diego Carmona, Khalid Al • Start date and exact start time to the nearest minute
- 27 April 2024, 07:02
- Exact start location described so that someone else could find the same spot
- Museum at the lowest place on Earth, 3G22+5WF, Gawr as-Safi, Jordan
- What were conditions like?
- Dry and hot, slightly cloudy in the morning
- Why did you want to do a record?
- For a sense of achievement, a new adventure/challenge and to get another World Record • What equipment did you use? Anything special?
- My bicyle, Specialised Allez Elite
- What did you eat & drink?
- Nuts, dried fruit, water, electrolyte powder, sweets, crisps, bananas
- What was the best part?
- Finally finishing the challenge
- What was the hardest part?
- The heat during the middle part of the day.
- Did anything particularly unusual happen?
- Yes the GPS wasn’t working at the start, presumably due to the Isreal / Gaza war. It was saying we were in Cairo, Egypt. I first noticed this on my phone at the start as I wanted to put a pin on Google Maps. We started our Garmins/GPS trackers anyway, my Garmin watch seemed to track most of the route fortunately but overall it was a bit disappointing not to have it properly tracked and made us concerned about the World Record attempt so we made sure we took lots of photos and videos as evidence.
- Exact finish location described so that someone else could find the same spot
- Oryx hotel Aqaba, AL SHARIF SHAKIR BIN ZAYD STREET, Aqaba, Jordan
- Exact finish time
- 16:30
Khalid narrative summary
Record attempt: Dead sea to red sea
Riders name: Khalid Al Khatib
start time: 7:02 am
Museum at the lowest point on earth
conditions: cloudy and sunny, warm to hot
equipment: Canyon Ultimate bike
Food and drink: PF90 gels, crisps, cliff bars, cola, water, electrolytes
Best part: Riding into Aqaba city
Hardest part: after a long day, temperature increased to over 40c. Body was dehydrated
Unusual: I had GI issues making the ride uncomfortable at times
Finish location: Oryx hotel Aqaba.
Finish time: 4:30 pm