Athens to Beijing - update on the update
This is an extension of yestersday’s update and a continuation of the story posted in March.
After examining the webpages and information relating to the Chinese-Greek team more closely It looks as if I may have got the composition of the team wrong. The team originally consisted of eight Chinese members, two of whom have not appeared in the photographs taken in Athens, Mo Hanyi and Yang Jie, so I am assuming they are out of the event. This leaves the six Chinese names listed in the last posting but there is now something of a question mark over the Greek riders. The last post cited one unnamed Greek youth but this may not be correct. We will have to wait further to know more of other riders. The picture above is of the original eight riders.
According to the postings on this forum Chinese riders first made contact with a few Greek riders who happened to be reading this website in late January 2008. At that time they planned to depart from Athens on the 29th February but other things got in the way. Following this thread of questions and answers between strangers, several thousand kilometres apart, it is possible to see how shaky everything was. Even the original route planning was done in ignorance of local road rules and laws, but has since been corrected for the Greek roads, at least. Apparently the group sought sponsorship and support from various bodies but got nothing, even the Olympic committee they approached [was this BOCOG itself?] showed no interest as it was absorbed with other activities on its doorstep. As one of the Greek posters pointed out this venture could not be more in keeping with the Olympic spirit. In the end the group decided to do everything for themselves and went around their friends and relations and bought, begged and borrowed everything. One of the problems in the early stage was convincing anyone, government officials, embassy staff, etc that they were serious and that they really needed the visas they were applying for. If ever a tour was going to succeed by dint of determination and persistence this one is.
A few more pictures of the group in Athens.
Click to the Athens to Beijing 2008 page for links to further postings.
Filed under: 2008, Athens, Beijing, China, Greece, athens to beijing, cycles, cyclist, riding | Tagged: celebration, Huazhong University, team, no support, entrepreneurial, intrepid, determination, persistence, tour
