Dad bikes 17,000 km via Armenia, Thailand to watch son in OlympicsFebruary 19, 2018 - 14:38 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A Swiss skier's father, Guido Huwiler, 55, and his wife Rita Ruttimann have biked 17,000 kilometers through Italy, Armenia, Thailand and a host of other countries to watch their son at the Olympics in PyeongChang, Yahoo Sports reports. When passing through Armenia, the pair took photos of well-known spots and just gorgeous scenes in the country, posting them on Instagram and describing the warmth of the Armenian people and the breathtaking beauty of the mountains and valleys. The couple set out from Switzerland on February 2, 2017, with the goal of biking all the way to South Korea. And, with just a week to spare, he made it in time to see his son compete in the Aerials events at Phoenix Snow Park. (Gasser’s mother was there as well, flying in like the rest of the sane planet has done.) “My dad is crazy,” Swiss free skier Mischa Gasser laughed after his qualifying. “He was a skydiver as well in his younger age. It’s just what they have to do.” There were some small hiccups. Huwiler and Ruttimann couldn’t bike through North Korea, of course, and couldn’t secure the necessary approval to ride through China. So they took a couple of well-timed plane flights to keep the journey moving. The duo rode through an astounding 20 countries on their way to PyeongChang, staying in everything from hotels to tents along the way. The full list: Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and finally South Korea. “They’re here for supporting us and our [Swiss] team,” Gasser said. “All the guys think it’s just great.” Top stories Armenian gymnast, Olympic bronze medalist Artur Davtyan has reached the finals of the World Cup. Gor Manvelyan has denied reports alleging that he has expressed a desire to one day play for the French national team. Roma midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is not considering FC Spartak Moscow as his next haven, according to fresh reports. 10 Armenian lifters will compete in the 2021 World Championships scheduled to be held from 7 to 17 December in Tashkent. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |