Crazy roads, stunning scenery

SADDLE up! Pictured are North Chadderton School teacher Arif Mohin (left) and former Oldham councillor Mohib Uddin before the start of the Tour de Sylhet in Bangladesh yesterday

CHRONICLE business correspondent Martyn Torr reports on a visit to Bangladesh - part of which involves an arduous charity cycle ride
AFTER a fanfare and chaotic press conference, the Tour de Sylhet got under way in steady rain as a party of around 35 cyclists, many from Oldham, wound their way through the craziness which is the roads of this teeming city.

The press conference at the Hotel Metro attracted around 100 people, including several camera crews, for a series of speeches from the travelling party and two Sylhet dignitaries.

As this was Asia, everything was way behind schedule. It was 11.15am when the cyclists finally set off on their 20-mile journey to Singerkach, way out in the Sylhet countryside and the home village of trip organiser Muzahid Khan.

A light lunch was taken at Lala Bazar where the locals gathered in huge numbers to view the spectacle of five strangers — myself, Phil Buckley and Helen Atkinson-Smith — who had ridden in the cavalcade, and teachers Denise and Nicola Ketteringham, who were in one of the six support vehicles.

The ride continued through stunning countryside, acre after acre of paddy fields being tended by every member of the local family, from kids to grandparents.

It was a stunning ride, never to be forgotten by the Oldham group. The locals had ridden back to Sylhet and the footballers, including former Oldham councillor Mohib Uddin, had also returned to be fit for their first game of their tour.

Mr Uddin is the chair of Shah Jalal Unity FC, from Oldham, who are making their fifth tour of the country of their heritage.

On arriving in Singerkach, the group enjoyed a meal in the family home off Muzahid and then visited the construction site of a new health centre, intended to help the poor of the district, which has been largely funded by donations from Oldham business people since the project was born in 1999. The opening is scheduled for December this year.