Female Saudi cyclist pedals her way to glory

RIYADH: Months ago, Yasmine Idriss saw herself in a dream, surrounded by cascading waterfalls, lush greenery, and the high peaks of mountain ranges. Although it was only a vague vision, she knew it was Iceland.

On Tuesday, Idriss began her attempt to cycle around Iceland’s Ring Road or Route 1, a nearly 1,400 km road that goes around the country, a popular route for tourists who want to explore.

It is a journey of a lifetime and should she complete it, she would become the first Arab and Saudi woman to do so.

She told Arab News: “If I had no obstacles in my way, what would I do? This is what came up. I wanted to take time to be on a real adventure — a difficult one. One that would push me to my limits and force me to grow.”

As a self-supported explorer, she is cycling with around 32 kg of camping gear and equipment, water, and other essentials for the trip.

Idriss plans on using camp grounds for accommodation and will stop at hotels along the way to freshen up.

For the next three weeks, including four rest days, she will be cycling an average of 80 km daily.

However, plans can easily change when facing the elements: “The thing with Iceland is, it’a open. It’s all (mostly) flat, there are no obstacles and there are no trees — which is why it’s so windy, because there’s nothing to stop the wind.

“What people tell you about these things is that you’re never really ready. You can try to simulate the experience as much as you want. But the real deal is always going to be tougher, and there’s nothing I can do to simulate the wind,” she said.

Idriss, who is sharing updates from the journey on her Instagram account @yasidriss, wrote in the first post that she is on the road with peak winds of 24-48 km/h.

As a novice biker, the Nordic landscape serves as the perfect doorway for cross-country exploration. “It’s such a raw country … I’m excited to just be at the mercy of the elements, in a way, as a primitive, primal way of being and exploring a country,” she added.

Idriss dived into the newness of it all with determination. She spent the first half of the year preparing for the adventure with training sessions with a cycling coach four times a week and strength training three times a week.   

The training gave her new biking skills like clipping in, riding one handed, and swiftly mounting on and off.

Idriss noted that these are things that someone who grew up riding bicycles could do in their sleep, but she had to take the time to learn.

While new to the pedals, Idriss has previously trekked across Spain, parts of Europe, and Southeast Asia. She described feeling a sense of euphoria when the fatigue would set in after a long day and she would have no choice but to rest for the night.

Recalling that experience, she said: “That’s when something switches. Whether it’s our survival instinct, or something spiritual … You feel something that I can’t really name that takes over. That’s the prize that you win for putting yourself through this kind of stuff.”

She seems to hold a deep admiration for the opportunities that lie in going on adventures, testing the body’s strength, and being close to nature.

“There is something to gain from discomfort, and it is growth. It’s how we’ve survived for millions of years as human beings. It’s how we grow and expand our hearts and our minds. That’s really what I’m after.”

There have been a number of Saudi women who have taken up challenging endeavors in nature. In 2019, Mona Shahab climbed Mount Everest and used the ascent to raise money for underprivileged children in Egypt. In 2016, Mariam Saleh Binladen crossed the English Channel, as part of a series of ultimate endurance challenges to raise awareness of the plight of Syrian orphan children.

“It feels like a Saudi woman today has no obstacles in front of her. If you think about everything from government and businesses to the service industry, women are at the forefront everywhere and I think there’s never been a better time for the Arab woman to shine,” she noted.

Following on the path of the pursuit of one’s own dreams, Idriss’s Nordic Ring Road adventure is to inspired others to pursue their personal goals. It’s like the self-care airplane analogy states: you must put on your own oxygen mask before you assist others.

“I think I purposely am doing this without a cause to encourage people to do things for themselves … I’m just excited to see what’s waiting for me there. I know I’m supposed to learn something I’m supposed to grow in a certain way that I’ll only find out after the trip.”