MTB Egypt rider of the month: February 2013
Name: Hassan Choucri
Age: 35
Where are you from?: Cairo, Egypt.
What do you do for a living? I run a stock brokerage company .
When and why did you start cycling? Like every kid I rode a bike but living in Cairo didn’t allow my riding to endure. I took it up again in Dubai for fitness purposes. I bought a mountain bike because it is more comfortable than a road bike then just rode it on the road. I have spent a lot of time in Wadi Degla in my teens and early twenties which obviously begged the idea of “why don’t I ride in Degla”.I asked around and someone mentioned “MTB Egypt” to me. I tracked you guys down and the rest is history. Needless to say riding in Degla ruined road riding for me for good.
Road, off-road, or both? Strictly off-road. Once or twice a week. Sometimes more 😉
Tell us about your bike(s)!: I ride a 2012 Scott Spark 29er Elite. It is a full suspension bike with 100mm of travel.
Favorite ride(s) (road or off-road): Long loop. Extended long loop. Half-Tour and Tour de Wadi. Would like to do the Quarry again and riding in Sinai mountains is the dream.
Do you practice other sports?: Tennis twice a week and I go to the gym 3 times a week.
Tell us about your cycling-related injuries/accidents: 1- Due to reasons that will not be mentioned here, I fell on an upright handlebar while going downhill that hit the spot where the thigh meets the pelvis. That did hurt. The rest of my fall involved hitting my ribcage against a rock.
2- This one I was just out of a big downhill where I really let the bike do its thing only to have the front start playing around at high speed. I guess the front wheel did that because my weight was shifted too far back. Right knee has been in pain for a week. It hurts when I run or walk but luckily it doesn’t hurt when I ride.
Anything else you want to tell us about yourself? I am a musician and riding a mountain bike on a trail gives me the same rush I get from playing music. Mountain biking with MTB Egypt is an activity that my wife and I pursue religiously now. MTB Egypt has the highest concentration of cool people that I have seen in any group before. See you all hopefully many more times on the trails. Peace.
