Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Cycling the world - Asia: episode 21
I leave Baghdad escorted by a local cycling team and roll out of the city feeling oddly relaxed. The road is smooth and the day lazy until I reach the ancient city of Babylon. Reluctantly I pay the entrance fee only to realise that what is left is either piles of mud or reconstructions that look more like Minecraft than history. The heat is brutal. At sunset I ask to camp at a mosque and instead I am given a room food and a shower. The following day turns into my Iraqi nightmare. A truck knocks me off my bike on a busy highway and I am lucky not to be hit by the cars behind me. I walk away with a smashed knee scraped hands and a bent pedal. Later the same day I am harassed twice by two different men. Exhausted and shaken I approach what I think is a mosque for the night only to discover it is the residence of the most influential sheik in the region. He invites me to stay and have dinner with him.
MY GEAR FULL LIST: kit.co/davidetravelli
SUPPORT my round the world bike expedition:
Donations: paypal.me/davidetravelli
Postcards' Club: alaska2patagonia.com/postcards-club
Follow me:
Blog: alaska2patagonia.com
Instagram: instagram.com/davidetravelli
Facebook: facebook.com/davidetravelli
Twitter: twitter.com/davidetravelli
#bikepacking #biketouring #bikelife
#bicycletouring #cycling
*Some links in this description are affiliate links and therefore when clicked, if you buy the service or product I may make a small commission off of that sale. My opinions on products and services remain unbiased.
Cycling the world - Asia: episode 21
I leave Baghdad escorted by a local cycling team and roll out of the city feeling oddly relaxed. The road is smooth and the day lazy until I reach the ancient city of Babylon. Reluctantly I pay the entrance fee only to realise that what is left is either piles of mud or reconstructions that look more like Minecraft than history. The heat is brutal. At sunset I ask to camp at a mosque and instead I am given a room food and a shower. The following day turns into my Iraqi nightmare. A truck knocks me off my bike on a busy highway and I am lucky not to be hit by the cars behind me. I walk away with a smashed knee scraped hands and a bent pedal. Later the same day I am harassed twice by two different men. Exhausted and shaken I approach what I think is a mosque for the night only to discover it is the residence of the most influential sheik in the region. He invites me to stay and have dinner with him.
MY GEAR FULL LIST: kit.co/davidetravelli
SUPPORT my round the world bike expedition:
Donations: paypal.me/davidetravelli
Postcards' Club: alaska2patagonia.com/postcards-club
Follow me:
Blog: alaska2patagonia.com
Instagram: instagram.com/davidetravelli
Facebook: facebook.com/davidetravelli
Twitter: twitter.com/davidetravelli
#bikepacking #biketouring #bikelife
#bicycletouring #cycling
*Some links in this description are affiliate links and therefore when clicked, if you buy the service or product I may make a small commission off of that sale. My opinions on products and services remain unbiased.
