I cycled across Jordan in November 1999 for the NDCS. I’d spent months raising sponsorship and training and I was anxious about being fit enough to complete the challenge. It was a tough ride on varied surfaces: a dried-up lake bed; the Amman-Baghdad highway; rough, boulder-strewn trails and lonely desert tracks. In the course of five extraordinary days, we swam in the Dead Sea (or tried to – 60% salinity makes that almost impossible) We saw Mount Nebo and - like Moses before us – the Promised Land of the Jordanian Valley beyond it. We walked down a narrow canyon and out into the fabulous, ancient city of Petra. We were entertained by a gracious nomadic Arab, who served coffee to all 60 of us with impeccable hospitality, whilst his women-folk giggled, hidden behind a curtain. We cycled through some of the toughest off-road country in the world to spend a night under Bedouin-style canvas in the desert. The sky was awash with stars; one of our company knew them all: he named the constellations, the planets, the satellites. It was magical and unforgettable. Seven years and eight NDCS cycle challenges later I can still recall that week in almost minute-by-minute detail, so vivid, so lasting and so deeply satisfying was the experience. I rose to the challenge, rediscovered a long-dormant love of cycling and helped some young deaf people get a better start in life than they might otherwise expect without the support of the wonderful NDCS. I urge anyone who is undecided to make the commitment. I promise it will be one of the best things you ever do.
David Joss Buckley
