British cyclist to avoid Ukraine via Belarus on around-the-world endeavor

UK citizen Richard Evans is going to go around the world by bicycle (about 25 thousand kilometers). His itinerary crossed Ukraine at first. However, he decided to choose Belarus due to the recent events in that country. But he was refused a Belarusian visa due to having no invitation – none of the four travel agencies Evans’ team worked with managed to solve the problem.

The Briton contacted Brest bicycle club Ruchayok with the help of the European Cyclists’ Federation.  The club asked the Belarusian Embassy to London for assistance.

The problem was solved after a month of correspondence, head of Ruchayok Mihail Kuzmenchuk said. Richard Evans received his long-awaited visa.

Kuzmenchuk: "He was really content – he will be able to enter Belarus. It will be his first visit and he knows very little about our country. He said that he wanted to join our club. We decided to accept him and invited Mr. Evans to Belarus as a club member.”

Richard Evans left London on April 5 and is planning to return home at the beginning of October. He is already in Poland and will arrive in Brest on April 12 or 13.  

Richard Evans’ itinerary on Twitter