Cyclist on mission for peace gets rousing welcome in Doha

Cycling is more than a passion for Indian national Fayis Ashraf Ali, on a ride from the southern state of Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram all the way to London, upholding the message of peace for humanity. The adventurer, who was in Doha last week during his expedition, received a rousing welcome from community organisations and interacted at multiple gatherings.“My mission is to leave strong messages about peace, healthy heart, fitness, zero carbon emission, drug free campuses and eradication of polio. I believe in the potential of cycling and my ride could make impacts and changes while I interact with people from various walks of life,” Ali, who entered Qatar from Saudi Arabia with a Hayya Card, told Gulf Times.The 34-year-old engineer from Kozhikode, embarked on his expedition on August 15 with a itinerary covering 1,000 destinations across 35 countries. Driven by the inspiration and energy obtained from the last cycle ride from Kerala to Singapore in 2019, Ali decided to make an effort to do something more special. “Discussions and interactions with various stakeholders are at the core of my mission,” he said. Ali holds discussions with academic institutions, universities, community centres, socio-cultural youth groups' gatherings, local and international voluntary organisations during his expedition. In Doha, he met the functionaries of various organisations and institutions including the Indian Cultural Centre, World Malayali Federation, Chaliyar Doha, Mindtune Waves, KMCC Elathur constituency committee, Al Muftah Rent A Car and GoMosafer. He visited various places including Doha Corniche, Souq Waqif, Aspire Zone and Al Bayt Stadium. Ali, who reached Qatar after cycling through Oman, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, is leaving Doha Saturday for Kuwait. He plans to cover Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey and enter more of Europe through Greece. His first expedition to Singapore took 104 days and more than 8,000km covering Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia.