On TV: Sharing a tandem bicycle tour across Egypt’s volatile landscape

We all know that the best way to get to know a place is from the saddle of a bicycle.

Englishman Dominic Gill takes that one step further, by riding solo on a tandem bicycle and inviting people from the local countryside to join him.

He put that practice into play most recently in Egypt, where he rode his tandem bicycle 2,500 miles across the landscape of the Arab Revolution.

That adventure is now a television documentary entitled “Take a Seat: Egypt.” The seven-part series launches at 8 p.m. ET Monday (Oct. 1) on the Universal Sports Network.

You might recall the 32-year-old cyclist’s documentary last year in which he piloted a adaptive tandem bicycle across the US as he shared a ride with 10 different people living with various disabilities. That documentary, “Take a Seat: Sharing a Ride Across America,” won top honors at the CableFax Program Awards.

Egyptian journey

Last June, Gill began his latest adventure in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, scene of the demonstrations that toppled the oppressive 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak just a few weeks earlier.

Earlier this month, the square erupted in demonstrations again. This time the rioters focused their wrath on the US embassy to protest a  YouTube video that attacked the Islam faith.

Maybe the seven young Egyptians who chose to ride Gill’s tandem bicycle across country can shed some light on conditions in the volatile region.

Gill’s journey travels across the sandy landscape from Cairo, to the pyramids to remote Bedouin villages. The travelers visit Alexandria, the Mediterranean Coast, the Western Desert, the Nile River from Luxor to Aswan, the Red Sea, and the Sinai Peninsula.

Writes Gill:

“In Take A Seat Egypt, I was able to capture images of a country that not only contrasts the U.S., but is also at the heart of one of the most notable socio-political shifts of our lifetime. This series demonstrates that in Egypt, there is a proud, hospitable and tenacious people who are simply trying to bring their country out from underneath a 30-year cloud of oppressive dictatorship. While this may be a long struggle, my companions proved they have what it takes to go the distance in every way.”

Where to watch

“Take a Seat: Egypt” can be seen on various cable and satellite TV services that carry the network, as well as online. You can go to Universal Network Channel Finder to locate the service in your area.

If your provider doesn’t carry the network, there’s also the option of watching in online at Universal Sports Take a Seat Egypt. The opening episode is already posted online.

Schedule

Here’s the schedule for the documentary series.

Oct. 1            8 PM ET        Episode 1: Take A Seat: Egypt – Introduction / Cairo to Alexandria

Oct. 8            8 PM ET        Episode 2: Take A Seat: Egypt – Alexandria to Bahariya Oasis

Oct. 15          8 PM ET        Episode 3: Take A Seat: Egypt – Bahariya Oasis to Dakhla

Oct. 22          8 PM ET        Episode 4: Take A Seat: Egypt – Dakhla to Al Madiq

Oct. 29          8 PM ET        Episode 5: Take A Seat: Egypt – Al Madiq to Aswan to Luxor to Dahab

Nov. 5           8 PM ET        Episode 6: Take A Seat: Egypt – Dahab to Suez

Nov. 12         8 PM ET        Episode 7: Take A Seat: Egypt – Suez to Cairo