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23
Oct
Where’s Harry? The Harrogate tour guide completes his epic adventure
Harry Satloka, the leader of the Harrogate Free Walking Tours, has completed his epic adventure.
He set off from the spa town in July on his bicycle, Rudolph, and passed through 17 countries before reaching his finish line.
After 6,567km of cycling and a dramatic collision in Turkey, Harry successfully reached the Pyramids.
The Stray Ferret has been following his journey, and caught up with him again yesterday (October 22).
Harry is now back in Harrogate after 111 days travelling.
After six years of hosting the tours, Harry wanted an adventure of his own and decided to combine his sabbatical with fundraising.
He has raised over £2,000 for the Harrogate charity Artizan International, which supports differently-abled people in the UK and Latin America.
The charity also runs the Artizan café and creative space in Harrogate.
Harry arrived back in England last Saturday (October 26). He flew to Manchester and landed at 2pm.
He arrived in Harrogate at 6pm just in time to watch his partner, Rebecca, perform in the Haunting of Hill House.
He said:
I have spent the last two days not moving from the sofa and plan to meet my friends and family. I am going to take some time to relax. I plan to go to Artizan this week and have a delicious cake.
He described the final days of his trip as a “mixed bag of emotions,” he said:
I am delighted that I managed to get there alive, but I am disappointed to get so close and have to give up cycling.
It was heartbreaking to get the bus and look out onto lovely flat roads that would have been good to cycle on, and having to leave Rudolph in Turkey was gut-wrenching.
It has been 16 years since I last saw the Pyramids and it was everything I hoped it would be.
The last time Harry visited the Pyramids was just after he lost his mum.
Harry said:
Me and dad left some of her ashes inside the pyramid. So, this time I took some of my dad with me so that they could be back together.
Harry and his dad at the pyramids
The last time the Stray Ferret caught up with Harry he was preparing to fly to Alexandria after his collision in Turkey.
On October 9, Harry was cycling through a tunnel when he was hit from behind by a van travelling at around 50mph and was taken to Kahramanmaraş University Hospital.
The accident meant that Harry was unable to cycle across Egypt.
After his accident in Turkey, Harry uses a stick to walk long distances and will take a few weeks to physically recover.
In the city he explored the library of Alexandria and the catacombs and made videos for his YouTube channel before heading to Cairo.
In Cairo he stayed with a friend named Janice, who is originally from Harrogate and reached out after reading about his journey and offered him refuge.
She drove Harry to the Pyramids, and he was lent a bicycle to complete the last 100 metres of his adventure.
He said:
It felt strange not to be on Rudolph, but was nice to cycle the last part.
It has been overwhelming how amazing and generous people are. At home and around the world people have helped me and donated to Artizan. It is very humbling.
I am ecstatic about how much has been raised. I have set a personal goal but don’t want to say what it is because I don’t want to jinx it.
I want to thank everyone who has supported me. When it was miserable and raining or really hilly and I thought ‘what am I doing here?’, I just knew so many people had been so generous, and it kept me going.
Harry at the pyramids
When asked if he had any highlights from the trip, he said:
Arriving at the Pyramids was very special and people in Egypt are all so friendly.
Switzerland was lovely and had breathtaking views. Romania surprised me – it had a wonderful combination of scenery and history.
The Stray Ferret asked Harry when the Harrogate Free Walking Tours will return.
He said:
I still haven’t decided what will happen with the tours. They may return next year, but I am undecided at the moment.
On Friday December 20 at 7pm in Cold Bath Clubhouse an event which will see Harry sharing tales of his travels is set to take place.
To donate click here.
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