The Cop27 bike ride kicks off in Egypt

Three keen Egyptian cyclists and UAE-based German bike shop owner Wolfgang Hohmann will cycle from Cairo to Sharm El Sheikh, where the UN climate summit Cop27 will take place next month.

The goal of the six-day “Cop27 by bike” expedition that starts on Saturday is to spread awareness about environmental sustainability and build a bridge with Cop28 host UAE.

Egyptian-German organiser Yusef Ahmed, biking enthusiast Galal Zekri, retired ambassador Mohamed Elewa and Mr Hohmann ― known as Wolfi ― will cover approximately 655 kilometres on the cycling tour.

The group will set off from the German International University at the New Administrative Capital, about 35 kilometres east of central Cairo, and finish at Sharm El Sheikh’s International Convention Centre on October 27.

Cop27, which takes place from November 6 to 18, covers various climate-related topics with the main aim of implementing the Paris Agreement to limit global warming.

“Cop27 is about environmentally-friendly action,” Mr Ahmed, 47, said. The Cop27 by bike initiative has three main environmental awareness tags to promote, he added.

“Number one tag would be ‘don’t litter'. Number two is ‘be active’. Number three would be, in general, creating awareness on resource efficiency,” he says.

Day one will cover 97km from the New Administrative Capital to the city of Suez on the Red Sea. Day two will cover 109km to Ras Sedr on the eastern side of the Gulf of Suez, followed by 205km on day three, all the way to the St Catherine monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai.

The group will take a rest on day four, before cycling 132km on day five to Dahab on the Gulf of Aqaba and 94km on day six to the finish in Sharm El Sheikh.

Mr Ahmed, the founder of a Frankfurt-based consulting company, got the cycling bug after moving back to Egypt three years ago and doing triathlons. He met Mr Hohmann when he bought his bike at Wolfi’s in Dubai.

He got the idea for the Cop27 bike ride about six months ago and has his sights on creating an even larger event in the UAE for next year’s Cop28.

The Cop27 bike ride is supported by several partners, including Mercedes, the German embassy in Cairo and the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce.