M E D I A
“Intense” may well be the most accurate term describing a Follow the Women bike ride. Each day is a delirious whirlwind of new sights, sounds, aromas, tastes, passions and exhaustion.
And all the while you’re just dying to share this exhilarating experience with your family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, classmates and just about anyone you will thereafter encounter in the course of your life. That’s the intoxicating effect of Follow the Women.
Below are links to videos and articles created by FTW participants.
Our Voices
Apologies for the poor quality of so many of the videos from the first rides. We post them anyway for those who are curious about the early days of FTW. They are documentation of those events.
Clip from Lebanon TV on Follow the Women, 2017
Welcome Dancers, Tripoli Lebanon, Colleen McGuire, 2017
Farewell Dinner, Beirut Lebanon, Colleen McGuire, 2017
Lively Music & Dance en route Colleen McGuire, New York, 2008, 7:05 minutes
Lebanon Drumming Colleen McGuire, New York, 2008, 0:50 minutes
Scenes from the 2009 Ride Janet Fogel, California, 2009, includes Sabra & Shatila, the playgrounds at Aqbat Jabr in Jericho, dabke dancing, 8:39 minutes
Syria Faces (1:30 min) and Syria Crowds (1:50 min) Betsy Schwartz, California, 2009
Palestinian Youth Center, Lebanon (Sabra Shatila Camp) Betsy Schwartz, California, 2009, 1:54 minutes
Israel Border, Allenby Bridge Betsy Schwartz, California, 2009, 1:03 min
FTW Song Betsy Schwartz, California, 2009, 1:49 min
Press Coverage
If 300 or so women traveled from Beirut to Jerusalem by motor coach no one would give us the time of day. Our tactical media weapon, the bicycle, lands us fifteen minutes of fame. Resourcefully, we turn the camera’s attention to the struggles, suffering and daily ordeals endured by women and children in the Middle East — a topic the press does not ordinarily regard as a “sexy subject.”
American rider’s opinions and statements were often sought out by the Arab media. It is important for the US Team to articulate our opposition to the U.S. government’s fundamental policies in the region. Doing so offers hope to the region’s populace that active and informed American citizens can steer the U.S. government towards a foreign policy based on peace with justice.
‘Follow the Women’ bike tour visits Syrian and Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon by Colleen McGuire, Mondoweiss, October 18, 2017
Watching Your Back in Lebanon, blog by Lynette Chiang, November 28, 2017
Follow the Womenn by Samar Maatouk Boutros, Kuwait, Marie Claire Arabia, December, 2009, In Arabic with 5 pages of terrific photos (PDF)
Women Cycle for Mideast Peace Sharing Hopes, Fears by Yiota Kamaratos, FTW Cyprus Team, Middle East Times, April 13, 2007
En Marche by Flore-Aël Surun, FTW France Team, Le Monde, December 22, 2005 (French)
Each New Town Had a Story to Tell by Sophia Haque, FTW UK Team, Chronicle (England), October 6, 2005
A Bike Ride for Peace by Mohammad Ghazal, Jordan Times, September 22, 2005
Women for Peace by Syria Times, September 20, 2005 (PDF document)
A Rare Event by Sophie Nicholson, FTW UK Team, Adventure Cyclist, May 2005 (PDF document)
