DUBAI // The violent protests across the region against the video insulting the Prophet Mohammed have forced three former British servicemen to drop plans for a fund-raising motorbike ride from the UK to Dubai.
Geoff Warren, 44, Colin Harker, 47, and Chris Brice, 40, will still depart as scheduled today. However, instead of travelling south through Europe and on to North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula for the Destination Dubai trip, they will head east on a new route.
As a result of the protests against the Innocence of Muslims, the men no longer felt safe travelling as planned through Libya and Egypt, and all Libyan visas - including the team's - were suspended indefinitely when the turmoil erupted.
Now the men plan to travel to Ukraine, Russia, Georgia and across Turkey before circling the Black Sea and returning home via Bulgaria. Funds raised through sponsorship of the 9,600-kilometre trip will go to the charity Help for Heroes, which supports British servicemen injured in recent conflicts.
"For nearly two years we've given our blood, sweat and tears to make Destination Dubai 2012 a success," said Mr Warren, the team's leader. "We're absolutely gutted that we now cannot safely undertake our original expedition.
"But we will not give up. In the past week we've had to come up with a dramatically different plan and are now packing for colder climes."
One thing that will not change is the name of the adventure. Bron Madson, a member of the back-up team that will accompany the three motorcyclists, said: "It's still Destination Dubai, we won't change the name because that's what everybody knows us by, but now it's kind of 'to Russia with love'."
csimpson@thenational.ae
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
SPECS
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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Company%20Profile
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.