To Cycle Or Not To Cycle. A Tale Of Vehicle Transfers On TDA Tours

Over the past 20 odd years TDA Global Cycling has earned its spurs by cycling across countries and continents. Cycling the entire route has always been a primary element of our tours, but from the very first Tour d’Afrique in 2003, which included a ferry transfer across Lake Nasser between Egypt and Sudan, TDA Global Cycling has found interesting ways to transfer our cyclists by means other than bicycle when necessary.

Most often a transfer by boat, train, bus or plane is incorporated into the tour route long in advance, as part of the original planning of the tour. This can be done to avoid areas with political unrest or closed borders, to avoid dangerous traffic, or simply to cross an area where roads or bicycle paths do not exist.

Colombia boat transfer on the 2024 South American Epic (San Marcos to Ayapel)

It also is done at times to add to the overall enjoyment and experience of the tour, such as the boat journey along the Bosporus into Istanbul at the end of the Istanbul Express, an overnight ride on the Trans-Siberian Railway in Mongolia during the Silk Route, or an amazing journey by small watercraft through Colombian wetlands on the South American Epic.

Some transfers we’ve organized over the years were not planned pre-tour, but created out of necessity along the route, to avoid potentially unsafe situations. These transfers can be temporary additions to tours, due to reasons such as sudden protests, political unrest, weather events related to climate change, and other causes. In all cases, we make these decisions based on rider safety and enjoyment.

Let’s take a look at some of the reasons for, and history of transfers on TDA tours.

Geopolitical

Some are temporary and unexpected. For example, in August 2008, the Silk Route (which at that time ran west to east, Istanbul to Beijing) was just about to cross the border from Turkey into Georgia when Russian forces invaded that country. Instead, the riders retreated to the Turkish town of Kars and were bused to Ankara. From there, they flew to Baku, Azerbaijan where the tour restarted.

Earlier that same year, election violence in Kenya meant that the riders on the Tour d’Afrique had to skip the entire country. The riders cycled all the way to the Ethiopia/Kenya border and then the group bussed back to Addis Ababa to fly to Tanzania while the support vehicles drove through Kenya. After a 2 week break, the group met up in Arusha and the tour restarted from there.

On the Silk Route in 2012, an unexpected clash between the government and local militant groups in Khorog, Tajikistan meant that some of the the riders had to be transferred by Tajik army helicopter to the country’s capital, Dushanbe in order to restart the tour while others arrived in vehicles arranged by the Aga Khan organization.

Some are hard to predict like the December 2025 border closure between Cambodia & Thailand, which remains to this day. As a result our 2026 Bamboo Road cyclists will fly from Siem Reap to Bangkok. On the positive side, this closure allowed us to create an exciting new route from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap that includes both a bus and boat transfer!

The continuing horrific situation in Sudan and the ongoing civil unrest in Ethiopia has meant that for the past few years, and likely long into the future, the Tour d’Afrique includes a flight transfer from Aswan, Egypt to Nairobi, Kenya to avoid those conflicts.

Environmental

Unexpected rain in Namibia on the 2026 Tour d’Afrique

We have had to occasionally transfer groups before due to extreme rainfall and flooding, such as a camp on the South American Epic in Argentina in the foothills of the Andes, but have generally avoided any longer transfers due to climactic events. However, climate change is accelerating. Extreme summer heat in Europe. Typhoons in Asia. Drought and forest fires in North America. In response, we need to be prepared, flexible and quick to adjust.

Developmental

The Great Eastern Road in 2006

As countries around the world, especially those of whom in the past have had poor road infrastructure, see an increase in their wealth, the first thing that happens is more cars and trucks appear on the road. In 2006, when I cycled the Tour d’Afrique, the Great Eastern Road through Zambia was, to me, a wonderful ride. There were virtually no vehicles on the road at anytime and the cycling was divine. Fast forward 20 years and we now have rerouted the riders into Zimbabwe to avoid the traffic. This change meant taking a ferry across Lake Kariba which, happily, turned out to be a favourite memory for many cyclists on the tour!

It is not just in Africa, this situation is occurring everywhere and requires us to seek out even more remote and quiet roads for riders to pedal on.

Enhancement

Leaving a ferry on the 2025 Island Hopping Japan tour

Some transfers, such as mentioned in the introductory paragraphs here, are not done out of necessity, or unsafe situations, but are done purely to enhance the overall tour experience. Long and arduous bicycle tours at times can benefit from a day or two of a different mode of transport, whether that be Island Hopping by ferry in Japan, a mountain train journey in Sri Lanka, or a bus / game drive across Kruger National Park in South Africa. Though this isn’t something we choose to do lightly, a group transfer can allow TDA to maximize the experience on tour.

It is a credit to our staff, past and present, both in the field and back in the office, that we have been able to successfully deal with a wide variety of these situations, especially the unexpected ones and still create incredibly unique and memorable travel experiences that only TDA Global Cycling knows how to pull off.