Charity cyclist pledges to finish ride after crash

A walking tour guide who has been on a charity bike ride from Yorkshire to Cairo for the last four months has had to change his plans after being hit by a van.

Harry Satloka had been cycling the 4,970-mile route from Harrogate to Egypt since July, but was taken to hospital on 9 October after being involved in a collision in Eastern Turkey.

Mr Satloka said that although he was “very battered and bruised”, he had no broken bones and had not suffered permanent damage, for which he was “eternally grateful".

Mr Satloka said he still wanted to finish his journey to raise money for the Harrogate-based Artizan charity and would hopefully get back on a new bike this week.

Describing the incident in Turkey, he said a van had hit him from behind and he could not remember much more about what had happened.

“I was quickly taken to the local university hospital and within about half a day or so, they had patched me up and put some stitches in and then I was released," he said.

“Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for Rudolph, my bicycle, as the wheels were left completely bent out of shape and the frame was twisted and bent.

"The only thing I managed to salvage were the handlebars and his bell - everything else was destroyed.”

Mr Satloka said he "would have loved to have finished the trip properly”, but he was grateful his injuries were not worse, adding that wearing a helmet had ultimately saved his life.

Mr Satloka said once he was released from hospital, he flew to Alexandria in Egypt and then took a bus to Cairo, where he found a new bicycle.

He said he was hoping to cycle to the pyramids from his hotel on Friday.

"The new plan is to do the last 40km across Cairo after a few days of resting," he explained.

“Sometimes I feel a bit devastated about the way the journey has ended, but for the first 95% of it, I have had the most wonderful time and met incredible people.”

Mr Satloka previously said that the inspiration for his cycling trip to Cairo had come from his late father, who helped spark his love for both history and the pyramids when he surprised him with a trip to Egypt at the age of 14.

Mr Satloka, who set up a walking tour company called Harry Does History after settling in Harrogate eight years ago, set off on his adventure with the aim of raising money for Artizan.

The charity is a shop based in Harrogate that raises money for differently-abled people in Peru and Ecuador through selling hand-crafted jewellery.

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