Motorcycling in Egypt-Adventure beyond the ancient monuments Group PTS Cruisers- slogan- Friends Forever Report Claudia Terra #cmdterra http://entusiastaadventure.blogspot.com.br/ Pictures PTS Cruisers https://www.facebook.com/PtsCruisersGroup/
Group based in the small and pleasant Port Said, coast of Egypt, international tourism area with a high standard hotel chain. The group is the oldest in the city. According to the vice president and one of the founders of PTS Cruisers, Samy Kamel, the acronym PTS stands for Port Said and the 3 skulls of the coat of arms represent a group of people willing to ride to death and beyond. Samy said that the PTS Cruisers is their 2nd family and their greatest joy, and that in the group each protects and cares for each other. His current bike is the Suzuki Boulevard M109R, one of the most beloved bikes by Egyptian motorcyclists, but his favorite bike is the Triumph Rocket III. PTS Cruisers currently has 30 official members and an additional 8 in evaluation status. The group is made up of people from diverse professional areas such as merchants and businessmen, among others. The group was founded on 08.08.2013 and according to Samy, is the PTS Cruisers is the first organized motorcycle club of Port Said (city that currently already has 3 groups and 2 chapters) and member of the Egyptian Auto & Motorcycle Federation. The founding members of the current group and board are: President Shady Galal, Vice President Samy Kamel and Directors Islam Alaa, Mohamed ElTarabily and Mohamed Tamim. The group has representatives in the cities of Cairo: Ismailia and Hurghada. The main meeting point of the group is an Italian restaurant of one of the members, place used for birthday celebrations and any other celebration or simple meetings to
celebrate the friendship between members and friends, always accompanied by live music. "We like almost all kinds of music, but not so much Heavy Metal," says Samy. Another difference in relation to the Brazilian motorcyclists is that the members of this group do not have tattoos, some do not do it for religious reasons, however, there are members of other groups that have tattoos.
The bikes also do not have much extreme customization, some, however, have very cool airbrushes. According to Mostafa Elshabaany, in Port Siad there are still no specialized services in customizing motorcycles. He is a member of the group only 1 year ago, but in his words "The PTS Cruisers is not just a motorcycle group, it's a real family". He is a long-time motorcyclist and a lover of the Harley Davidson V Rod and as some members of the group, says he intends to come to Brazil to get to know the local motorcycling. But in the group there is a member who has been in Brazil for a few years: "I was in Brazil from 2012 until 2014. I was working off-shore as captain of an oil recovery vessel in Fortaleza, state of Cearรก, northeast of Brazil. Of course, I was also in Rio de Janeiro for 3 weeks, "recalls Mohamed Tamim, one of the group's founders. He has one of the most beautiful bikes in the group, with beautiful airbrushing, according to Mohamed, a work done in Cairo with Losboyz Artgallery. In his season in Brazil, unfortunately Mohamed said he did not have the opportunity to ride a motorcycle and also said he had an interest in returning to Brazil. Similar to various groups in Brazil, PTS Cruisers also participates in humanitarian, environmental and other tourism promotion activities in Egypt: "We participate in many humanitarian activities, such as in orphanages, homes for the elderly, etc. We also participate in patriotic activities such as the promotion of tourism, as we ride with
everyone to the beautiful places of Egypt and send the message to the world that Egypt is safe. We encourage people to visit Egypt, "says Samy.
In addition to others, the main rules to be followed for a person to become a member of the group are: 1- Comply with the rules of the group and respect the group's coat of arms; 2- Fulfill the safety issues, how to use the essential safety equipment and check the conditions of the bike before the tours; 3- Meet the arrival time at all walks and monthly meetings; 4- Do not externalize the internal affairs of the group; 5 Respect the traffic laws; 6- Respect and support all other motorcyclists and always help someone who is in need.
Half of the bikes in the group are the Suzuki Boulevard M109R from 1800cc. The bikes to integrate to the group have to have above 1000cc. Harley Davidson is also very present in Egypt with an official store in Cairo and there the brand name bikes are much desired. The group holds monthly meetings where all members are invited to attend, as well as several council meetings throughout the month. At the moment the group has only male members, however, according to Vice President Samy, the PTS Cruisers accepts women as official members of the group. Several women accompany the members, who are their husbands, fathers or friends. Still, according to Samy, it is possible that some women who already accompany the group as passengers, may in the future, become official members and that it is very likely that PTS Cruisers will be the first Port Said group bike to have women bikers as official members. Unlike some motorcycle groups in Brazil, at PTS Cruisers, a former member is free to join any other group that is best suited to their interests. Safety rules such as helmet use are mandatory in Egypt. According to Samy, it is generally mandatory to wear a helmet throughout the country, especially in large cities and all highways, however, in small towns and suburbs, it is possible to ride without a helmet, but only in certain areas where you Would not pass at speeds of 40 or 50 km / h. The quality of the roads varies, as a rule they are good. "Most of our destinations are through good roads, because it is something that everyone takes very seriously. We have previously verified the quality of the track, we have previously certified that the road is good and safe for our tours," explains Samy. And, in the Egyptian transit, as here in Brazil, there are still some disrespect on the part of some drivers of cars towards the motorcyclists. "That's why we have batters to protect our travel training with large numbers of motorcyclists," says Samy.
Motorcycle events The PTS Cruisers is the oldest group motorcycle in Port Said, a group of motorcyclists very united and active, they are always in great presence in the events that happen by the country, in addition to receiving the other groups in Port Said. Recently in July, the PTS Cruisers hosted the group The Riders from Alexandria to meet friends and celebrate friendship and union biker. "The visitors, our dear friends, traveled about 600 kilometers round trip to visit us and we were pleased to host them for 3 days in our city. They would do the same for us in Alexandria. It is very common in Egypt that motorcycle groups come together and travel to visit other friendly groups in other cities. We rode together, spent the day at the beach, shared meals and celebrated together, "explains Samy.
The bike groups are very united in the mystical country of the legendary pharaohs. The main motorcycle events in the country always have the official support of the groups. Usually, large events are co-organized by leaders of various groups and not just one. But each group also holds its own event to celebrate some special date for itself and receives several groups as guests. In Egypt there are always many motorcycle events. On 11 August, the 2nd Beach Bikefest took place in a luxury hotel on the San Stefano Beach in Alexandria, an event hosted by Alex Cruisers and supported by dozens of guest groups bringing together hundreds of motorcyclists on the coast. There are some things in this event that would surprise Brazil's motorcyclists. Example! The fact that a mega event is officially only 1 day long (but of course the bikers start arriving there the day before and return to their cities one day after the official end date), and official activities happen only during the day with western music, of course. And yes, there is a lot of female presence, women with biker looks, although only a few of them actually ride bikes, but that's a growing number in the land of powerful Cleopatra. Another peculiarity of Bikefest is that only the invited groups participate, with previous confirmation of presence.
Beaches, bikinis and pyramids Many Brazilians may think that in Egypt, beaches are not beautiful, clean and that women can not wear bikinis. But this is not totally true and as in any country there are great beaches and other bad ones. The myth that women do not wear bikinis is a myth on many beaches, especially beaches in areas with a large presence of tourists and of course on the beaches of resorts and hotels with stars, places where the biggest motorcycle events in Egypt, Of private beaches, compound villages and tourism where women are free.
However, according to Samy, there are beaches where there is a greater presence of women with high religiosity and conservatism who prefer to go to the beach wearing muslum bathing suit (beautiful costume and reminiscent costume, perhaps, but a little fun for a simple and energizing sea bath and catching a tan!). And, the dream of riding a motorcycle next to the monuments that give popularity to Egypt (pyramids and sphinx), this is totally possible to realize. You practically enter with the motorcycles through roads between the pyramids raising much dust among tourists, camels and much sun. A beautiful walk that would make the Pharaohs wake up and join the group! To do so, according to Samy, prior authorization must be obtained with local authorities, but this is simple to achieve.
Motorcycling in Egypt, with groups like the PTS Cruisers is becoming grand and very organized, is a pleasure and a passion taken very seriously by hundreds of lovers of the pleasurable adventure on two wheels. As they say there: L & R - Love & Respect. May it always be so among all the motorcyclists on the planet.
Thank you very much to Shady Galal for allowing this report to me and Moto Adventure Magazine and to Samy Kamel, Mostafa Elshabanny and Mohamed Tamim kindly granted me great interviews. PTS Cruisers is welcome to Brazil at any time. You are great motorcycling leaders! It is Inspiration for many. Run safe, free and happy,
always! See some videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
I1kE4aURLQ&t=9s
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