When our original summer travel plans were cancelled due to COVID-19 we decided that it would be a good idea, for some reason, to travel around the whole of Cyprus instead. On a bike saddle. In August. In ten days.

We also thought it would be a good idea to try and raise money for charity. 

On the afternoon of 4 August 2020, two explosions occurred at the port of the city of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. The second explosion was extremely powerful, and caused at least 171 deaths, 6,000 injuries, US$10–15 billion in property damage, and left an estimated 300,000 people homeless.

The event was linked to about 2,750 tonnes (3,030 short tons; 2,710 long tons) of ammonium nitrate – equivalent to around 1.2 kilotons of TNT (5.0 TJ) – which had been confiscated by the Lebanese government from the abandoned ship MV Rhosus and then stored in the port without proper safety measures for six years.

Something similar happened in our island in 2011. On 11 July 2011, at Evangelos Florakis Naval Base, situated at Mari, Larnaca in Cyprus, a large amount of ammunition and military explosives self-detonated, killing 13 people. The €700 million Vasilikos Power Station was reduced to a "mangled shell", and the electricity supply to approximately half of Cyprus was interrupted. The Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) later instituted rolling blackouts in order to conserve the supply and stated that it would import generators from Greece and Israel while the damage, estimated at €2 billion, was being repaired. The rolling blackouts lasted for two to three hours in each area and were planned to affect only residential areas.

Lebanon and Cyprus have always had close ties, and we have family and friends from Lebanon. In this moment of crisis we would like to raise some money for the Lebanese Red Cross.

We will be setting off from Nicosia on 20 August and heading towards Troodos. After 3 days of solid climbing we’ll be heading back down towards Pomos and then travelling along the coast all the way to Protaras. The total distance covered will be north of 500km (depending on how many times we get lost) If you’d like to follow our adventures and probable mishaps and misfortunes follow @ttourdechypre2020 on instagram. And please, let's raise some money!


Peace, love and understanding. And happy summer!
Gramps & Jumanji. (Christos and Costas)