MTB Egypt’s February 2012 rider of the month is Karim Azmi.

This month’s featured rider is Samer N. Behnam, whose unprotected shins live in absolute harmony with the meat-grinding brutality of the sharp metal pins of his platform pedals!

This week, a team of seven Egyptian amateur cyclists fly to Nairobi, Kenya to take part in one of the stages of the famous annual cycling event, Tour d’Afrique.

Can you believe we have not featured an MTB Egypt rider of the month in a whole year?! We can’t either, that’s why we’re kicking off the 2011′s featured riders with Neal Afifi, longtime MTB Egypt rider, member of the weekend’s regular riding group, and all around outdoor enthusiast.

Sometimes we also ride bikes in the desert…at night. Full moon night rides are great. Riding the same trails in the dark is like riding new trails. There is also a certain magic to the whole experience of being on a bike in the middle of the desert at night.

Name: Mohamed Kandil Age: 25 Where are you from?: Obour City-Cairo What do you do for a living? : Marketing Manger When and why did you start cycling? : I’ve been cycling for as long as I can remember. Road, off-road, or both? It was not until recently that I started off-road cycling and it’s really fun but before it was mainly road biking. Tell us about your bike(s)!: Renault Eclaireur , all aluminum with Shimano Acera , It’s a [...]

Name: Hany Nagaty Age: 34 Where are you from?: Cairo, Egypt What do you do for a living? Telecom Engineer When and why did you start cycling? I started serious cycling one year ago. It was when I knew about some cycling event in Europe where we should cycle 800Km in 7 days. So I started serious bike training for the event, and after coming back I’m still into cycling. Road, off-road, or both? Both Tell us about your bike(s)!: [...]

Name: Nora Mortagui Age: 27 Where are you from? Raised in Alexandria but currently living in Cairo. What do you do for a living? I work for a multinational in the human resources department. When and why did you start cycling? I started cycling in April, 2009 because I was looking to adopt an outdoorsy activity where I can continuously challenge my body & mind especially in a very male-dominated sport. Road, off-road, or both? So far, off-road, I have [...]

Name: Mohamed Abou Bakr Al Fakahany Age: Almost 20 Where are you from? Born in Jeddah/KSA lived there for a while and currently living in Cairo What do you do for a living? Still a mechatronics student. When and why did you start cycling? I have started cycling last November. Actually I bought my bike to join a tour from Nuweiba to Dahab, although it was a tedious challenge and Nuweiba was full of cats during the day and mosquitoes [...]

Name: Sara Tabana Age: 25 Where are you from?: Fort Lee, NJ    / Nasr City, Cairo What do you do for a living? Grad student When and why did you start cycling? I started a long time ago, cycling on and off with friends in the New York area, I recently started Mountain Biking in Egypt and I LOVE IT! <3 Road, off-road, or both? hmm, I’m ok with both. Tell us about your bike(s)!: My bike is pink with [...]