EFI – Every Fabulous Inch

If one does a little research on Tour d’Afrique on the internet, one thing to be found in almost every blog is the EFI (Every Fabulous Inch) status.  The Tour d’Afrique is considered one of the toughest cycling events ever, and the longest bicycle race in the world. Being a 120 days long race with 96 riding stages, there are a lot of situations that can keep a cyclist from riding one or more times during the tour. A broken bicycle, a health problem, getting burnt out and many other issues make being able to ride every single inch of the Tour a matter of luck, hygiene, health, equipment, fitness and mental strength.

Only about 20% of the riders are actually able to make it all the way to Cape Town without ever having to ride in the trucks, but almost everyone leaves Cairo with that dream.  Out of the 63 riders registered for the full 12,000 km tour, around 30 have been able to keep riding their bicycles despite heat, terrain, sickness, equipment failure and physical and mental tiredness on the first 3,000 km. Through the very long cycling days in Egypt, the heat of Sudan and the general diarrhea that usually goes on in camp throughout Ethiopia, these very determined human beings wake up day after day, put their tents down and jump on their saddles for another long day of riding, day after day, for every one of the 471,416,380 inches across Africa.     

   — Adele Woodyard