
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 11, 1990                   TAG: 9007110111
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: OSAKA, JAPAN                                LENGTH: Short

JAPANESE PAIR FINISH 9,300-MILE BICYCLE TRIP

A Japanese couple have completed a trip along the Silk Road, traveling 9,300 miles across seven countries of Eurasia on bicycles.

Yusuke and Ruriko Kawabata, both 31, left the Chinese city of Xi'an on April 1, 1989, and reached their goal in Rome 14 months later on June 1, cycling through such cities as Kashgar, Karachi, Tehran, Istanbul and Athens.

Yusuke said he was thinking of another challenge on a global scale. But it may have to wait.

"Actually, I'm two months pregnant," Ruriko said. "Now we're looking forward to having a family adventure some day."

Traveling along the Silk Road had been Yusuke's dream since childhood. The Silk Road is an ancient series of trade routes linking east and west Asia.

The couple said that rather than a sense of accomplishment on reaching their goal, they felt gratitude toward the people - total strangers they met along the way - whose kindness made it possible for them to complete the difficult journey.

- Asahi News Service

by CNB