Cycling to Persia

Some time ago I tried to go into walking as an exercise, but I get bored too easily and stopped. However, during the brief period I was trying it out I came across an interesting idea called Walking to Mordor. Basically, you use a pedometer to measure how far you've walked, and then map this onto the journey Frodo took. So, you might walk first to Bree, then Rivendell[sp] and so on.

Whilst not someone who enjoys exercise I do think it's necessary, as most of my time seems to be spent sat down staring at a screen (or book). Got an exercise bike and use it 1-2 times a week, and whilst I can't claim to be especially fit I do think I'm improving.

So, an alternative to Walking to Mordor struck me: Cycling to Persia. Instead of following Frodo's route, I'll 'shadow' Alexander's using the list of marches in the back of Theodore Ayrault Dodge's excellent biography/military history (simply entitled 'Alexander').

As I reach certain milestones I'll make posts about Alexander's progress. I should stress that although I intend to gradually increase the time I spend cycling (currently 8 miles/19 minutes per session) there will likely be quite a few weeks/months between posts, so don't expect an update every few days.

Here's the list (NB I skipped Greece because all the distance were enormous, all distances in miles):

Asia Minor

Hellespont to the Granicus 50

The Granicus to Sardis 180

Sardis to Smyrna and back again 100

Sardis to Ephesus 50

Ephesus to Miletus 60

Miletus to Halicarnassus 60

Halicarnassus to Telmessus 160

Telmessus to Phaselis 160

Phaselis to Side 85

Side to Termessus 85

Termessus to Sagalassus 70

Sagalassus to Celaenae 60

Celaenae to Gordium 170

Gordium to Ancyra 80

Ancyra to Tarsus 320

Tarsus to Rugged Cilicia and back again 160

Tarsus to Myriandrus 100

Myriandrus to Issus 25

Total = 1,955

I'll put up an initial post about the starting point (with a little bit of background) in the near future.

Thaddeus