Masoud Riyazati was the Content Creator on the 2026 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition.

In Nostalghia, a movie by Tarkovsky, a man walks across an empty pool holding a candle, and his task is to walk across the pool without the flame going out. He tries once. The flame goes out. He returns to the beginning and tries again, and this repeats over and over. The task is simple. But it demands everything. This scene is a cinematic version of life on a long-distance cycling tour.

You start riding. Then something goes wrong. You get a flat tire. You fix it and you continue. Your bike breaks. You fix it and continue. You run out of water. You fill the bottles and continue. You wake up the next day and everything repeats.

Over and over. Again and again. Nothing changes. And yet, everything does.

_________________________________________

About three months ago, a group of strangers met for the first time with one goal: to cross Africa on their iron horse. In Khoekhoegowab, a click language spoken in Namibia, the bicycle is called ‘iron horse.’ A simple name. But it felt like the right name for what carried us all the way from Egypt to South Africa.

The 7,170-kilometre journey started in Egypt, then moved through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. Each country had its own character.

Egypt with its pyramids and endless yellow deserts.
Kenya and the Maasai lands.
Tanzania and Malawi, with their busy roads and children who run beside you, asking questions.
The rusty bicycles that carry a family.
Zambia and Zimbabwe, with their lush, green landscapes, climbs, and challenging roads.
Botswana, with elephants casually walking on the road or standing by the roadside.
Namibia — Oh Namibia! An otherworldly, timeless place that feels like a different planet.
And South Africa, a vibrant country with a complex and controversial history.

Just like the countries, each person had their own character. We had people in their 30s and their 70s. Twenty-seven-year-old Ana and seventy-four-year-old Clyde. Fiona, with no experience in long-distance cycling. Adam, on a personal quest to take a new direction in life. Ralf, a retired engineer who was sometimes even faster than our trucks to reach the next campsite. His pace, from start to finish, was steady. And Fred, an enthusiastic doctor who joined us in Victoria Falls, was soon loved by everyone.

They all had the same map, the same route, but different reasons to be here.
And Africa, in its own way, gives something different to each of them.

_________________________________________

We had storms that followed us wherever we went. Rain that stayed. Days when our tents filled with water and sand, poles bending under the wind.

In Botswana, the night before the 217 km ride, my tent flooded, and there was nothing I could do. I lay in my tent, soaked, listening to the constant rhythm of water, hoping it would stop. It didn’t. It carried on through the night. By morning, it was a shared experience. The campsite had turned into mud and scattered gear. You look around and see sleepless faces that still have to ride 217 kilometres.

And then Namibia. The biggest surprise for all of us. You expect the desert to be dry. It wasn’t. We were wrong. The storms kept coming. Some days, they never really left. Not to mention, we saw a river running beside the desert dunes.

_________________________________________

Riding through shifting sand, corrugation, gravel, tarmac, rocks, and even riverbeds, across rugged plains, teaches you that survival is not just physical. It is about mental strength and finding joy in small, sometimes uncomfortable moments. Trusting that, in its own way, the road will provide.

Like the day we were heading to Canyon Farmyard. The dam overflowed, and the road turned into a river. No way back, no way forward, but the road led us to a gin distillery, where the owner let us stay for the night. That unexpected change became one of the best experiences for all of us. Warm shelter, gins made with local flavours, and a quiet happiness on everyone’s faces.

_________________________________________

These moments along the journey make the ride less about distance and more about the stories each person carries with them. You begin to hear them. Not all at once, not in big moments, but slowly, over days.

People talk about their lives. About things they left behind. About things they are still trying to understand. And sometimes, they speak about people who are not here. Someone they wish they could share a moment with. A memory that returns unexpectedly in the middle of nowhere.

One day, Fred and I sat together and talked. As we shared parts of our personal stories, he told me he misses someone. Someone very special to him. He wished she were here, to see what he sees every day.

At some point, he showed me a message he had written to her. With his permission, I share it:

_________________________________________

Quote: “Many years ago, I gave you a book called On the Loose at a coffee shop across the street from the Children’s Hospital. This old Sierra Club book is about sharing wilderness experiences together. I believe you too would have loved the torrential rain, lightning, and streams of water that overcame the campsite. All of my gear was soaked. I managed to find a chair in a tool shed, where I was fully committed to sleeping, before the crew found me and brought a tarp, mattress, and sleeping blanket into the shed. The shed’s roof was leaky, but that didn’t matter, because the raindrops were caught in a bucket. Oh, how I wish you and I had experienced the storm together. I believe you too would have loved the evening and sharing the experience.”

I believe some of us have similar messages written to someone special, but never sent.

_________________________________________

Finally, there it is. The last day. One last early alarm.
Packing up your wet tent.
Checking the tires.
Filling your water bottles.
Getting on the bike with a tired body.
Looking at the sky.

Looking for Coke stops.
For the lunch truck.
For the hot soup waiting at the end of the day.

Bucket showers.
The small rituals that quietly held everything together.

A long journey where each day opened a new, unfamiliar world.

_________________________________________

As we approached the final city, Cape Town, a mix of emotions took hold. Relief, a quiet sense of happiness, sadness, accomplishment, and a question about how tomorrow will look when this is all over.

Our stories continue, but we carry something from each other.
And maybe that is what remains.

In the words of Nelson Mandela: “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”

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Tour d'Afrique

The trans-African crossing from Cairo to Cape Town has long been one of the world’s epic journeys and an iconic goal for global adventurers. Over...

Veteran Field Staffer Doug Percival reflects on his time with TDA Global Cycling & his love for Africa’s wild spaces.

My journey with TDA began in the January of 2012.
I was hired as the bike mechanic, and flown out to Cairo to join a group of 11 other staff, and about 40 riders.

Before the 2012 Tour d’Afrique

That year was “lucky”, the Countries between Egypt and South Africa were all behaving nicely at that time, and we had a “clear run” to do the Full 12000km tour.

Having been born in South Africa, and already a very avid backpacker, the Reality and
Dream of being able to cross ‘My Continent’, came true.

Those 120 days on tour, without a doubt, changed my life.
At the time, and the months and years afterwards, i did not fully grasp the enormity of it.
For me it felt like normality, travelling and riding my bike, mixed with some long hours of
work and an incredibly social atmosphere, life on the road could have carried on way
longer than it did.

That trip set me up, for many more tours, and from it, it became my career.
Being on bicycle tours is all i have done now for 14 years.
Now that might seem odd for some, and a crazy thought for others, but for me it
became the normal.

In the latter part of the TDA tour, we crossed Botswana and Namibia, two vastly
different countries, which share a huge border, but still remain largely fence free.
Those two countries stood out for me, more than others, because of the open spaces.
Hundreds, if not thousands of kilometres of Open Space, filled with wild animals, very
few humans, and time had not changed them much.

I remember hearing lions roaring at night, seeing the herds of elephants pass right
before my eyes on the roads, crossing savannah land and desert, and finishing my days
duties with nothing but a headlamp and the billions of stars in the night sky each night. It
lived in my mind for years, it still lives in my mind.

2 years later after that experience, i met Frida ( and then somehow convinced her to
marry me!)

I of course mentioned this experience to her hundreds of times… over and over again.
She wanted to go, and i told her that One Day i will take her.

Fast forward a decade, and in March this year, we were able to make a trip to where
those memories began.

We hired a small 4×4, packed a small bag each, and drove out of the Johannesburg car
rental with not a single day planned.
The deal was, no phone service, no satellite phone, just paper maps and some pre-
loaded apps with some basic information on potential campsites in the north.

We left South Africa on day one, and straight into Botswana we drove.

From there, the deep wilderness began.
Wild camping, evening camp fires, no music, no podcasts, no social media.
It was a huge shift from our Normal day to day Life.

We went deep into Botswana, straight to the Kalahari Central Reserve.
The reserve is 53000 square kilometres, to put that into perspective, thats is bigger than
all of Switzerland or Costa Rica.
It is mind bending Big.
And there is Nothing.

Roads are jeep tracks, campsites are just flattened grass patches, no loo’s, no showers,
no nothing. Except wild animals that WILL eat you.
In the 3 days it took to traverse across the Park, we saw 4 other vehicles.
Open space, and being alone, makes you feel Alive!
The magical sun sets on the savannah, and night fall descends.
Real Africa comes out at night.
Once again, i got to relive the sounds of lion roaring at night, elephants walking past our
tent, owls hooting, hyena cackling, it puts your senses into Hyper alert.
There is no ‘just being casual and lazy’ around camp, because out there is the real deal.

We drove further north, dipped in to Victoria Falls that sits comfy between Zambia and
Zimbabwe.
The Falls in full flood, record rainfall really brought its nickname
“The Smoke that Thunders” to reality for us.

Heading Westward, we followed the thin land piece known as the Caprivi strip, a unique
and very interesting section of Namibia, that lies to the south of Angola. ( A fascinating
history of deception the British pulled on the Germans!)

Some of the wildest bit of land you can find.
Wild animals roam freely.
Humans exist in small rural villages, still living in straw and mud huts, like they have for
thousands of years.
Its like time has stood still up there.

We were alone, we hardly saw another vehicle most days.

Namibia was green, the heavy season rainfall had made a mess of the land.
Flooded roads, flooded savannah…
a green desert.

We pushed forward, taking decisions together, relying on each other to make the best
choices in some very serious situations..getting stuck was not an option, help was days
away..if we were lucky.
That made us feel Alive.

We reached the real desert in central Namibia, only to find the flooding had touched
there too.
The famous Sossusvlei dunes were unreachable, a flowing river in the World’s oldest
desert!

A dash to the mining Ghost town of Kolmanskop on the west coast, and back towards
South Africa, via the Kalahari to our East.

We covered 8350km in 28 days.
It was Huge.

At the end of each days drive, we set up camp, made a simple dinner on the gas
cooker, sipped a cup of tea, and watched one of The Greatest Gifts us humans have
been given…
The Night Sky.
A clear night sky in a land of no people, and no interruptions from ground light, is an
experience that We all should have regularly.
The perfect night sky in the Southern Hemisphere is a marvel to the eyes.
The Milky Way as bright as street lamps.

For the two of us, to have that all to ourselves, is something We will Live with in Our
minds for the rest of our lives.

Africa is like nowhere else.
Time has stood still there.
It requires patience, it requires a thick skin somedays, it requires tolerance, but it also
gives back an experience that is not found anywhere else on this planet.

I have travelled this Globe, to many different corners, and my involvement with TDA for
14 years now, has allowed me to revisit many places, many times.
The World has changed in most places, the West and East influences have blended
many places into being similar…you can argue for the better or for the worse, but the
reality is that change has occurred….but not in parts of Africa.
Africa works, in African ways.

If you Navigate yourself past a few power hungry immigration officials, and attempt
dodging several highly corrupted roadside police, and dont let the local coffee barrister
disappoint your day, then you find yourself in a place of simpler times.
Just you and open space.

What a privilege it was to return to some of the places i had last seen in 2012.
I cant think there is a single person, who would say that doing Tour ‘d Afrique didnt
change their life to some degree, i bet even Henry our Founder, shares the same
feeling. It certainly changed mine.

During this trip, One evening in Botswana, we collided with the TDA crew of 2026..and
enjoyed a tasty cold beer together at a brewery in Maun.
A young lady on the staff asked me:
“you have done so many tours, what is your favourite?”.
– its always the same answer..
Africa.
For a thousand different reasons, but mostly because it changed my life.

Doing the TDA in 2012 was the starter meal, being able to return over a decade later, at
a different age, in a different headspace..was the main meal.
Both unique, both so fulfilling.

Frida got to experience what has been living in my thoughts and memories for as long
as we have known each other, and that was beautiful to share.

I guess the point of this blog, is not just to tell you about my holiday, but more to convey
the experiences i have had from that special part of the World, that so few actually get
to see.
For all its chaos, unpredictability, and moments of discomfort, what it does give you is
Time and Space to think, reflect, dream, declutter, and plan.
-and finding that nowadays is a rarity.

Africa will test you, that is a given.
Every one of you who have done that tour, or a section, will know what i mean!

For any reader who has not been there, i cannot urge you more to dip your toes into
some African Dust…. It will make you feel Alive! Paul Simon wrote the Song “under african skies”
A beautiful song, written for a personal, musical and spiritual connection during a dark
time in South African politics.

My Version of ‘Under African Skies’, is for the Dreamer, who imagines vast lands of
natural beauty, unpredictable days, star riddled night skies, glowing campfires, and
untouched Wilderness.
One of the very last bits of Land, that has not changed.

See you on the road somewhere!

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Tour d'Afrique

The trans-African crossing from Cairo to Cape Town has long been one of the world’s epic journeys and an iconic goal for global adventurers. Over...

Birgit Hermann was a rider on the 2014 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition.

I was about to turn 33, a Schnappszahl, as we call it in German. That’s one of those numbers that comes with a bit of mischief. The kind that makes slightly questionable decisions feel like a good idea.

On paper, my life was already good. Stable job, strong community, a place that felt like home in Aotearoa New Zealand. Nothing was missing. And still, something felt… unfinished. Not in a dramatic way, just a quiet sense that I had settled into something that worked but wasn’t stretching me anymore.

Then one evening, I came across a story about a group of cyclists riding the length of Africa. Twelve thousand kilometres. Heat, dust, long days, basic roadside camps. And something clicked. Instantly, I knew: that’s it. It didn’t feel sensible, but my gut said I want to try this.

Credit: Birgit Hermann

So I signed up for the Tour d’Afrique, despite never having ridden 100 kilometres in one go. Somewhere in that decision was a simple thought: this is slightly ridiculous… but I’m doing it anyway. At the time, I had no idea how few people had actually done this. Looking back, it’s a surprisingly small group, fewer than those who have summited Everest. In hindsight, that might have been useful information. Then again… maybe not.

The plan was to start in Cairo and ride south but that’s not how it played out. Due to political unrest in Egypt, the route changed. We started in Khartoum in Sudan instead and headed north first, straight into the wind. These were the winds that usually push riders south, helping them settle into the rhythm of the ride. That year, we met them head-on. It was a rough way to begin without any easing in. No gentle start, just heat, resistance, and the immediate realization that this was going to be harder than expected.

Credit: Birgit Hermann

We rode in a loose peloton, rotating through the front, trying to shield each other. It required precision, timing, and experience—all of which we didn’t have. A small miscalculation was enough. Our handlebars touched. My balance shifted. And I hit the ground. A crash in week one! The pain came immediately.

I got back up quickly, more out of instinct than anything else, but as the day went on, it became clear this wasn’t just a bruise. By evening, even the smallest movements were difficult. I needed help taking off my tight sports bra. The pain was excruciating, unlike anything I had felt before, and left no doubt: something was wrong.

Credit: Birgit Hermann

There were no proper medical facilities nearby. Just a field assessment by the tour medic and a likely diagnosis: broken collarbone.. Which left me with a choice: Stop and get treatment. Or keep riding.

The conditions didn’t make the decision any easier. The heat in Sudan was relentless. At lunch stops, tyres would literally pop from the pressure of sitting in the sun. You’d hear it across camp…another one gone. So instead of us resting in the shade, we dragged our bikes there first. Protect the tyres, protect the rims, protect whatever we could. I had never seen tyres blister before. Out there, in over 40 degrees on long, exposed roads through the Sahara, they did.

Credit: Birgit Hermann

Everything was under pressure. Equipment. Bodies. Focus. And now, my shoulder. That night, lying in my tent, I wasn’t thinking about the distance ahead. I was thinking about whether I was done. There was no drama in it. No big internal speech. Just a quiet question: Is this where it ends? No one expected me to continue. No one would have questioned it if I stopped. But I knew I wasn’t ready to leave. So the next morning, I got back on the bike.

From that point on, the ride changed. Every movement required attention. Every adjustment mattered. I rode differently: more carefully, more consciously, constantly adapting. And mentally, I had to simplify things. Because thinking about the full distance wasn’t useful anymore. Whenever we were down to 42 kilometres, I’d say, sometimes to myself, sometimes to the riders around me: “Hey… that’s a marathon distance. That’s what other people run. Come on, we can easily cycle that.” It became a bit of a ritual. Even when we were completely exhausted, with no shade in sight, and when “easy” was the last word any of us felt.

I also started creating small rewards along the way. One of them was those infamous sports bars we were given. Some South African brand that, in the heat, turned into something closer to a concrete block than anything you’d normally call food. Chewing them mid-ride felt like a challenge in itself, but I’d save them for certain milestones, telling myself I’d earned it once I got there. It didn’t make the kilometres shorter, but it made them feel more manageable.

Somewhere along the way, the focus shifted. I stopped thinking about finishing and started paying attention to what was right in front of me. The next kilometre. The next decision. When to push. When to ease off. When forcing it made things worse instead of better. It wasn’t about riding harder. It was about staying in it.

Crossing the finish line in Cape Town months later was emotional, but it didn’t feel like the dramatic breakthrough I had imagined at the start line in Khartoum. It felt quieter than that. More like something had settled. The biggest shift wasn’t physical. It was in how I approached uncertainty and trusted myself to move forward, even without having everything figured out. What stayed with me was a deep sense that if I set my heart and mind on something, I could achieve far more than I had once believed.

The hesitation that used to hold me back didn’t disappear, but it lost its authority. I had seen what happens when you keep going anyway, and that changes how you show up long after the ride is over. You don’t wait until everything feels aligned or until you feel fully ready. You decide. You take the first step. And then you take the next.

Looking back, I thought I had signed up for a bike ride. What I didn’t realize was that I was stepping into something that would change how I make decisions, how I deal with discomfort, and how I move through moments where things don’t go to plan. Only later did I start to see how much of that carried into other parts of life, and into my work.

Credit: Birgit Hermann

Experiences like this quietly became the foundation for what I would later capture in my leadership framework and book BOLDER. Because the pattern is the same. You don’t wait until everything feels aligned or until you feel fully ready. You decide. You take the first step. And then you take the next. Sometimes, that’s all it is: One decision. Then another. And eventually, without quite noticing when it happened, you’ve gone much further than you thought possible.

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Tour d'Afrique

The trans-African crossing from Cairo to Cape Town has long been one of the world’s epic journeys and an iconic goal for global adventurers. Over...

Masoud Riyazati is the Content Creator on the 2026 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition.

How does it feel to wake up and have about an inch of sand in your tent, on your skin, and even some in your teeth? Don’t get me wrong. This is not a complaint. You sleep under millions of stars. You wake up to the most glorious sunrise. And then you have to shake the sand off your body and your tent. This is the Namib Desert.
………….

We have had an unbelievable experience since entering Namibia. Unpredictable weather with extreme rainfall and strong winds. Flooded roads that are usually supposed to be dry. This kind of weather is very unusual here. For example, the day we wanted to see Deadvlei, a place known for its ancient dead trees surrounded by bright orange sand dunes, the road was flooded in a way that made it impossible to reach. Our rest day in Sesriem was its own adventure. The whole night, sleeping in our tents, it felt like they might fly into the sky at any moment because of the extreme wind. When we woke up, the sand had covered everything.

And when you think, well, I’m going to clean this and go ahead with my day, the rain starts. But not just any kind of rain. The wild African rain, where the sand turns into mud, getting into everything. You see everyone running in a frenzy, trying to save their equipment. When it’s all over, you stand there, look around, and ask yourself: Why am I here?

I think whatever we had experienced so far on this Tour d’Afrique was a kind of training, preparing us for this, for Namibia and its otherworldly desert.

Riding through the Namib Desert, I couldn’t help but think of The Sheltering Desert, a 1957 memoir by the German geologist Henno Martin, who hid in the desert to avoid internment during World War II. There is a connection between his story and ours. Survival, adaptation, endurance. But there is also a contrast. He was here to escape something.

But why are we here?

I look around and see people in sweat-soaked jerseys, sunburned skin, and red marks from mosquito bites. People who most likely had comfortable lives back home, far from this kind of discomfort. That curiosity led me to ask riders a simple question: Why are you here?

Usually, they pause. They look into the distance before answering. For many, it is about experiencing this continent firsthand. Learning something about Africa. Discovering new places, new perspectives. But for some, the answer goes deeper.

Gijs and Loes

Gijs gave me an answer I did not expect. I share it with his permission. He told me that he and his wife always wanted children, but that it would not happen for them. So they asked themselves a different question: What else can life be?

They came here to fill that emptiness. Not by escaping it, but by transforming it.

Through cycling.
Through people.
Through challenge.

His answer made it clear that some of us are here to confront our limits, and what better place than a desert for that?

The desert is an unforgiving landscape. It strips you down to your bare essentials and teaches you the meaning of resilience. The temperature fluctuates drastically. The terrain is harsh, and each surface has its own character. Endless gravel roads burn your eyes after hours of riding. Corrugations test your patience, and each mile leaves a visible trace on your body. Some days the road resists you, forcing your legs to push harder and your body to endure more. Other days, with a tailwind, it feels as if the desert itself is guiding you forward. Here, adaptation becomes your language. By now, we have learned to camp wild, ration water, shower cold with a small bucket, and accept mosquitoes as part of daily life.

But at the same time, the desert offers something rare:

space, silence, and clarity.

Out here, you do not just ride through the desert. You become part of it. Cycling allows you to feel the history of the land beneath you.

The Namib Desert is one step before we reach our final point. The end of Tour d’Afrique in Cape Town, where we can look at each other and say: we did it. But not yet. For now, we stay focused on the road.

There are still a couple of weeks ahead, and the final stretch of any TDA tour is always the most emotional. Every morning and every night, you feel it. We are getting closer to the end. And that is a strange feeling.

You think about home. Your family, your garden, your coffee, your food, your favorite places, the simple things you miss. But at the same time, you know that going back means this will end. To understand what that truly feels like, we have to wait a little longer.

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The trans-African crossing from Cairo to Cape Town has long been one of the world’s epic journeys and an iconic goal for global adventurers. Over...

Masoud Riyazati is the Content Creator on the 2026 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition.

For days, the road has dictated everything: when to wake, when to eat, when to push forward. The rhythm becomes so familiar that you stop questioning it. But every journey, no matter how relentless, contains moments where it pauses, not as a break, but as a shift.

Today, the road dissolved into water.

For twenty-four hours we drift between two shores, between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Suspended between two countries, we are removed from the logic of the road. The bicycles, those faithful instruments of movement, lie somewhere below the deck, suddenly irrelevant.

And for the first time in days, no one measures anything.
Not time.
Not distance.
Not effort.

As a Content Creator, moments like this create a strange question for me: what exactly should I write? Should I describe the journey from my own point of view, or simply observe what others feel and record their stories? Sometimes I think too much about it. But perhaps writing, like cycling, works best when you stop forcing direction and simply follow what is already there.

So instead of searching for a story, I look around.

It’s an old ferry called Sea Lion. The captain looks like someone taken straight out of an old film, steady in a way that suggests long years at sea. The kind of face you trust, even without knowing why.

There are two decks. The lower deck is larger, with tables and chairs, though not quite enough for everyone. Some riders have placed mattresses and pillows on the floor, turning the space into something softer, more intimate. It feels less like transport and more like a temporary home.

The upper deck is smaller, quieter, closer to the control room. Fewer people gather there. Less conversation, more distance. Even here, without words, you begin to notice how personalities arrange themselves in space.

On the main floor, there is a room with a small kitchen, chairs, and free coffee and tea. Some prefer to stay there. Others remain outside, carried by the wind.

I sit on the lower deck.

Allen is in front of me, reading his e-book with a gentle smile. Every now and then he nods slightly, as if agreeing with the page. Maybe it’s something profound. Maybe something simple. Or maybe he is just content.

Next to him, Alex is curled up on a mattress, deeply asleep. Beside him, Lea is also asleep in his chair. I think I’ve seen Lea sleeping more often than riding. The first time we met, he told me with confidence, “I’m the funniest person in this group.” At the time, I wasn’t sure. But now I believe him.

A little further away, Danny and Nicky lean against the railing, speaking quietly while watching the water pass.

Most people are reading. After long days on the bike, it has become a shared ritual. But today it feels different. There is no fatigue behind it. No urgency. Just stillness.

Megan sits nearby with her eyes closed, listening to music. It looks less like listening and more like resting inside herself.

I look outward.

On my right lies Zambia. On my left, Zimbabwe. The skies above them are not the same. Zambia is covered in grey clouds. Zimbabwe is open and bright, with distant mountains. We remain on the sunny side, on Lake Kariba, the largest artificial lake in the world.

Clyde sits in the wind, eyes closed, face lifted slightly toward the sun. There is something about his expression, a quiet kind of joy that does not ask for anything more.

Anna, the youngest in the group, sits across the deck, drawing portraits as she often does. I don’t know who she is drawing, but I know she is paying attention in a way most of us forget to.

Earlier today, before this quiet settled in, I asked some riders a question: What moment from this journey will stay with you?

No one could answer immediately. It’s never one moment. But after some thought, they tried.

For Adam, it is the children by the roadside. A group runs toward you, laughing, shouting, asking questions. But there is always one child, slightly apart, shy, watching quietly. When he notices that one and waves directly, something changes. The shy face opens. A small hand lifts. A smile appears. For Adam, that is enough.

Ian spoke about humility. A local cyclist appears beside you, a rusty bike, flip-flops, no visible effort. They ride with you, then pass you, even on the climb. Before disappearing, they look back and smile. That moment stays with him.

For Eric, it is a realization that happiness might not require as much as we think, and that what we chase at home may not be necessary at all.

Quintin remembers a night at Lomagundi campsite. Hippos were moving in the darkness, close enough to hear, close enough to feel. Later that night, Richard sent a photo to our group chat: a massive hippo standing just meters from a tent. It was Quintin’s tent. For him, being inside that tent, listening to that sound, is something he won’t forget.

Later, I spoke with Clyde. Tomorrow will be his last riding day, and he will leave us, so I spent more time talking with him.

He told me about a day riding toward Mbeya. Heavy rain was falling, the kind that turns everything into mist and mud. On the climb, he felt exhausted and needed a break. He saw a small shelter where locals had gathered, with a fire barbecuing corn. He stopped and joined them. They welcomed him and offered warmth and corn.

When the rain slowed down, he continued. Hours later, he arrived at camp, soaked and exhausted. It was a rest day, so he wanted a room instead of staying in a tent, but he found out that there were no rooms available. He began looking elsewhere.

Then, without him knowing, Brittany heard about a room becoming available. She asked the reception to keep the room for Clyde and told him to take it.

He told me this quietly. At one point, his voice softened. His eyes filled slightly.

For him, that is the meaning of this journey.

Not the distance.
Not the mountains.
Not even the wildlife.

But the small, unspoken gestures between people who were strangers not long ago.

Listening to him, something became clear to me.

Yes, we are riding across a continent. But that is only the visible part. Beneath it, something else moves, a search for connection, for meaning, for moments that remind us of what we are capable of.

Oh, the ferry horn sounds. Soon we will stop for a swim break.

For now, we remain here, suspended in this brief pause where nothing is required of us.

On the Tour d’Afrique, we call this a social day.

But it feels like something more.

A moment where the journey stops moving, so that something else can begin.

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Tour d'Afrique

The trans-African crossing from Cairo to Cape Town has long been one of the world’s epic journeys and an iconic goal for global adventurers. Over...

Masoud Riyazati is the Content Creator on the 2026 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition.

For cycling in Africa you need three hands: two to hold the handlebars and one to wave at people. Kids, elders, men, women — everyone waves.

One of the most fascinating aspects of cycling here is the interaction with locals. It feels different from anywhere else. People want to know who you are, especially the children. The conversation almost always begins with the same question: “What’s my name?” — their way of asking your name. The next question is usually about our destination and when I say Cape Town, their eyes widen.

Sometimes I catch a small spark in them, something innocent and precious. It makes me wonder: what if that brief interaction plants a seed of possibility? Perhaps one day one of those children will remember this moment and think, I want to travel the world just like those strangers. Often the interaction is even simpler than that, just a cheerful “good morning,” even if it’s already afternoon or evening.

Most of the time we ride on the same main road that everyone else uses. There are no dedicated bike trails like in Europe or North America. That luxury does not exist here. At first it might sound like a disadvantage, but in reality it becomes a privilege. You share the road with everyone: trucks, motorcycles, rusty bikes, children walking to school, women carrying large baskets of goods on their heads. Sometimes you see a man standing by the road holding a big machete while casually eating bananas. When he notices you, he lifts the same hand holding the machete and waves with a big smile. It gives you goosebumps.

Then there are the three-wheel taxis — one of the most common forms of transportation here. Our tour assistant Will once described them perfectly: they move like headless chickens. No coordination, no awareness of what is happening around them. Here, very quickly you learn to adapt.

Out here you witness life directly — not through a screen or a staged scene. Cinema has trained us to see Africa as montage: dramatic landscapes, quick cuts, sweeping music. But Africa reveals itself differently, through daily labor and endurance. On Tour d’Afrique you experience this continent with your own eyes. No one is performing. No one is acting. Everything feels like a spontaneous gesture.

To be honest, it reminds me of the films of Abbas Kiarostami, the great Iranian filmmaker who rarely relied on staged or scripted scenes. His films are not performances; they are quiet portrayals of life as it unfolds. In one of his movies The Wind Will Carry Us, nature is the main protagonist, and the human characters shape themselves around it. The landscape carries the meaning. The hills do not explain themselves. The wind does not symbolize anything. It simply moves, and people move within it.

Out here the road feels the same. With every kilometre something shifts inside you. Slowly you begin to understand that you are not the centre of the frame. The landscape reminds you constantly that you are only passing through. Nature has been here long before you arrived, and it will remain long after you leave. In many parts of the world we believe we are the force of nature. We shape nature. Here that idea quickly fades. Nature does not negotiate. It simply decides.

One day, while we were cycling from Babati to Singida, we were caught in a massive rainstorm. Within minutes the road flooded and everything turned into water and mud. A few days later, on the first day we entered Malawi, we witnessed the force of nature again. The night before we arrived, heavy rain had fallen. As far as the eye could see, the land had turned into a lake. Houses were half underwater. People were sitting along the roadside, their farms drowned beneath the water.

And yet, in the middle of that flooded landscape, children were swimming in the muddy water — laughing, playing, waving at us, even inviting us to join them. You need to come here with an open mind and heart and leave your judgement behind in order to understand this life.

We are now in the fourth country of the Tour d’Afrique, and the journey still stretches far ahead. By now the riders and the team have begun to grow closer. Personal stories and struggles are shared more openly. Small riding groups have formed. Coke stops have become our rituals along the road. Conversations last deeper into the evening. And by now, I believe everyone finally knows everyone else’s name.

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Tour d'Afrique

The trans-African crossing from Cairo to Cape Town has long been one of the world’s epic journeys and an iconic goal for global adventurers. Over...

Masoud Riyazati is the Content Creator on the 2026 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition.

“The African roads do not care about your resume. You have two options: either soften your ego before coming to the tour, or let nature do it for you – the hard way.”

Why does someone decide to spend almost three months cycling across remote lands, fully aware of the discomfort, the fatigue, the exhaustion, and the uncertainty that to come? The answer does not arrive at the start line. It unfolds slowly, kilometre by kilometre.

Every rider comes with a different life story. Different reasons. Different expectations. Once the tour begins, however, those stories merge into a shared purpose: crossing Africa by bicycle, living by the rhythm of the road, confronting fears and limits together, and most importantly on this continent, surrendering to nature. It becomes a collective ritual, even if each rider experiences it privately.

Now let’s look at it from a different perspective. If leaving your house for a half-day ride with friends can be a bonding experience, what do we call months of riding together, eating three meals a day (plus all the snacks), and discussing everything from route strategy to the nuances of digestion and the condition of your bum after a long day? Each day holds moments of you at your best and at your worst. Fatigue exposes character and the heat tests your patience.

These trips push the group to communicate, to adapt, to engage. The relationships formed here often resemble siblings more than friends – brimming with intimacy, honesty, and the kind of unguardedness that daily life rarely permits. The bicycles are not the story. They are accelerators. They are tools of discovery, not just of landscapes and cultures, but of the inner self. Of the person who lives inside you.

Until we reach the finish line, we will face physical challenges and unpredictable conditions. Survival on a journey like this is not merely physical. It is mental. It is the ability to find meaning in repetition and joy in small victories. This is not a story about triumph in the conventional sense, nor about a neatly wrapped conclusion. It is an ongoing inquiry.

At the heart of every tour are the riders themselves. The ones who leave their comfortable homes, their families, and their routines to join an expedition of a lifetime. To cross a continent on two wheels. The demographic has its own story. Different professions, different pasts, different cultures, different personalities. Yet once on the road, categories disappear. The road does not care about your résumé. It does not care how much money you have or your level of education. You have two options: either soften your ego before coming to the tour, or let nature do it for you – the hard way.

With every TDA tour comes a team – steady and alert. On this one, Josiah carries the responsibility for more than forty lives. Carolina and Will keep the structure intact. Volker ensures the bikes remain reliable under harsh and uneven roads. Lotte monitors the physical wellbeing of each rider. Our local team members, James and John, feed us as if we were in a five-star restaurant, in a way that sometimes makes you forget you’re in the middle of nowhere. Edwin and Often – it’s hard to describe exactly what their role is. They are everywhere, doing everything.

Just as in Pasolini’s journeys through post-war Italy or in Walter Salles’ The Motorcycle Diaries, the journey does not simply take you across a place; it reshapes the traveler. Not until we are lost – not until we have, in some sense, lost the familiar world – do we begin to know where we stand and how deeply we are connected to everything around us.

The Tour d’Afrique has started and we are cycling across one of the most complex and extraordinary continents on the planet: Africa. And that is a story of a lifetime.

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Tour d'Afrique

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Over the past 20 years, the Tour d’Afrique has changed and evolved, as have I. Yet, it remains an important milestone in the lives of many people from around the world, myself included.

It was exactly 20 years ago today that I stood in front of the pyramids in Cairo for the start of the 2006 Tour d’Afrique.

12,000 kilometres through 10 countries in 4 months. What the fuck was I thinking!? The longest I had ever biked in a day was 64 km, once, during my ‘training’ for the expedition.

This is the photo that started it all. I have no idea where or how I found it but when I saw it, I thought, “This is the craziest thing I have ever heard of.” Turns out the rider in the photo was Randy Pielsticker who, serendipitously, ended up as the tour leader in 2006.

So, 20 years after the fact, what do I remember?

Egypt

Unhappily discovering that the famous Pyramids were practically surrounded by the city of Cairo. Camping amongst the garbage around police stations (security, you know). The sounds of numerous competing mosques for the morning call to prayer. Hose showers. Insane tailwinds. Henry’s Mom happily cutting salami at lunch. The unforgettable ferry ride across Lake Nasser to Sudan.

>>Related Post: Paradise Lost: The God Ship S.S. Sagalnaam

Sudan

The utter darkness at night in Wadi Halfa. I went out to try to find a store and scared myself silly trying to return to our campsite. The absolutely ridiculous roads – following tire tracks in the sand, searching for flagging tape. The unbelievable kindness of the Sudanese people. Camping in the Dongola zoo. The gorgeous, colourful doors to Sudanese houses.  A rider getting lost in the desert and calling her friend in Montreal by cell (not common at that time) for help! The song Bicycle Race – ‘I want to ride my bicycle‘ – blaring out from the support vehicles at dawn in a campsite by the Nile. Racing through the streets of Khartoum on tricked out army pick-up trucks after a dinner for the riders hosted by an army general.

>>Related Post: The Nightmare Road From Wadi Halfa To Dongola

Ethiopia

Beer. The sweet, sweet, taste of beer and the luxury of a hot shower in a brothel after crossing the border from Sudan (no alcohol!) into Ethiopia. The sounds of tents unzipping continuously throughout the night as riders dealt with the inevitable GI issues. The horde of cyclists ravenously descending on the all-you-can-eat buffet at the Hilton in Addis Ababa. The rock throwing kids. The thin green line at lunch and camp, miraculously holding back the crowds of curious locals. The towering red termite mounds.

Field Staff

It is the middle of the night in the desert of northern Kenya. Pitch black. All riders are asleep in their tents. I hear a noise, a vehicle pulling up, and step out into the darkness. I see our Tour Leader, Randy, alone, calmly chatting to 4 heavily armed, very drunk, soldiers who are demanding payment for us to be camping in the bush. Randy talks, and smokes, and talks, and smokes, and suddenly the jeep is pulling away. After about 50m, their brake lights go on. Are they coming back? Randy strolls down the road. Is he coming back? After about 15 tense minutes, the jeeps starts up and drives away. Randy eventually returns. Turns out they had a flat tire and, being inebriated, they needed his help to change it. Just another day as the Tour d’Afrique Tour Leader!

Kenya

Drinking Tusker beer at the Prison Bar in Moyale (Yes, a bar in a prison, run by the prisoners). A lonely morning ride on the remote lava rock road in Northern Kenya, momentarily terrified by the crossing of a caracal a few meters ahead of me. Elephants tiptoeing delicately at night amongst our tents in Marsabit. Cycling through ongoing military exercises in the Kenyan desert (no live ammunition they said!) The stunning sight of Mt Kenya in the morning. A very sobering visit to the Kiberia slum in Nairobi.

>>Related Post: Meltdown Madness: Bandits, Dust Devils & Lava Rocks

Tanzania

Majestic Mt Kilimanjaro. A camping safari in the Serengeti where a rider fought off a bush pig attempting to share her tent in the middle of the night (I’m looking at you, Judy Rigby!). The rocks and red dirt of the Dodoma Road. Discovering that if you mix warm beer and warm pineapple Fanta, the result is a wonderfully refreshing Radler…at least in a remote Tanzanian village. (Thanks to Urs Hausermann for that!). Rain. Rain. And more rain. Setting up a wet tent, Sleeping in said wet tent. Packing up the wet tent. Repeat again and again. The most beautiful day on the entire tour – climbing up out of Mbeya and then speeding down a seemingly endless ridge with gorgeous views of tea plantations and forests on both sides.

>>Related Post: The Dodoma Road: 2003-2010

Malawi

The unnerving number of coffin shops. The stunning light on Lake Malawi at sunrise and sunset. A cool waterfall shower on the climb up out of Chitimba Beach. The surprisingly cool and refreshing pine forests. The taste of the local Malawi Gin. The friendly schoolchildren along the roads. The unbelievable resourcefulness of local cyclists – carrying bags of charcoal, wood, etc.

>>Related Post: Local Bicycles: An Appreciation

Af Routes Support Staff

These Afrikaners, Eddie, Wimpy, Errol, & Cristo, were not about to win any awards for DEI or wokeness, but when your vehicle breaks down in the middle of the Sudanese desert, these are the guys you want in your corner! They could seemingly fix anything with a stick, 2 rocks and a piece of string.

They also had a wicked sense of humour…

Zambia

The boundless rolling hills. The empty, winding road, bracketed on both sides by swaying elephant grass. The interactive school camps where riders and schoolchildren would play games together. The undeniable majesty of Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls). A unique 4 country ferry ride across the crocodile filled Zambezi River.

>>Related Post: The Kazungula Ferry; A Bridge Too Far

Botswana

Cruising the Chobe River. Looking up from the endless scrub of the Kalahari Desert and seeing elephants, up close and personal. Flying over the Okavango Delta. Coming upon a giant pink paper maché aardvark in the middle of nowhere. Hearing the roar of lions at night in camp. Pedalling over 200 km in a single day.

Namibia

Seriously corrugated gravel roads. The absolute silence at night and the vast starry skies. Striking Quiver trees. Sunrise on  Dune 45 in Sossusvlei. Enjoying apple pie in the aptly named desert town of Solitaire. Really feeling the breeze on the traditional Naked Mile ride. The incredible views over Fish River Canyon.

>>Related Post: The Naked Mile: A Cheeky Tour d’Afrique Tradition

South Africa

Crossing the Orange River. The wicked wind. The first view of the Atlantic Ocean followed by an icy dip in its crashing waves. Gorging on fresh seafood in Elands Bay. Receiving our hard-earned tour jerseys the night before the finish. Our arrival on a cool, foggy day at the Waterfront in Cape Town. The last dinner. The bittersweet goodbyes.

Would I do it again?

In a heartbeat.

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The trans-African crossing from Cairo to Cape Town has long been one of the world’s epic journeys and an iconic goal for global adventurers. Over...

The lucky cyclists who rode the 2025 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition from Cairo to Cape Town have had a few months to digest their time in Africa and reflect on their experiences. Here is what they had to say!

Spots are still available for the 2026 Tour d’Afrique and advance registration is now open for both the 2027 and 2028 expeditions.

“I would like to take this opportunity to once again express my huge thanks to the staff under the leadership of Colleen. It’s unbelievable what was achieved. We knew that a competent, professional team was looking after our well-being and we felt safe at all times. Special thanks go to the kitchen team, in fact again to the whole staff. An excellent meal was served three times a day for four months, always very punctually. Simply brilliant!” – Werner Aebersold (Switzerland)

“The trip was fantastic. It went beyond my expectations. I am truly happy and proud of my decision to join the Tour d’Afrique. What an experience! A trip of a lifetime.” – Sushee Nzeutem (France)

“Even though in theory every day is the same, you get up, drop your tent, cycle, eat, cycle, eat and sleep. No day is the same and this is what makes the tour so magical. Even four weeks on from the tour it is still hard to piece together everything we experienced. It is like a lifetime of holidays in one go.” – Sarah Clewlow (UK)

“It was a great team of riders and the organization team under Coleen was great. I especially enjoyed the rides in the desert and the mountains. Everything was reduced to the essentials. All this with good food and very well organized.” – Walter Sayer (Germany)

“Only one month riding but a lifetime of memories. Tough and dirty, exhilarating and rewarding, inspirational.” – Richard Alden (UK)

“An ambitious trip across Africa that does not disappoint. Staff are great. Tour is well organized. Even for sectional riders, the chance to ride part of Africa with this tour operator are not to be missed. Oh, there will be rain and heat, but there will also be zebras and elephants! “- Don Buckingham (Canada)

“My first time with TDA was an amazing experience. I like gravelriding and the section I choose was perfect (Windhoek to Cape Town). I really loved it! Because the food was so fresh, delicious and nourishing I was able to cycle in demanding circumstances and could enjoy it. Namibia is an amazing country to cycle with TDA! Riding from the dessert to the bubbling city of Cape Town was impressive.” – Alexandra Van Kessel (Netherlands)

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Paige White is the Content Creator on the 2025 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition. As the tour closes in on the finish line, she looks back on a much appreciated letter of appreciation from a sectional rider 

Working on a TDA trip is challenging, rewarding, and is an incredibly unique work environment. As crew we get to travel across the world, make friends from cultures different from our own and watch riders push themselves through life changing experiences on and off the bicycle.

We get a unique perspective, seeing riders struggle on some of their hardest days, seeing them push past their breaking points (especially on expedition tours like the Tour d’Afrique) and achieving new personal bests, sometimes in the form of mileage or even setting up a tent for the first time.

The crew works hard behind the scenes so that our riders can focus on what they came here to do, which is ride a bicycle across Africa. This vital work, in many ways, goes unnoticed and like everyone else, the TDA cycling crew appreciate a well deserved “thank you.”

On the 2025 Tour d’Afrique, we received a note of appreciation from one of our sectional riders, Carson Mettel. A few weeks after he had completed his portion of the trip in Livingstone, Zambia, Joe, one of our ATDs read us the following letter:

I wake up early. It’s still pitch black outside and I dig a little deeper into my sleeping bag, happy to have a few more minutes of rest. Then I hear somebody open a door on the dinner truck, the sound of a match being lit, and the gas burner firing up to prepare breakfast. By the time we crawl out of our tents somebody has prepared a delicious breakfast to fuel our morning, heated water for tea, made coffee, and has a stack of delicious pancakes waiting for us.

After many miles of rock, sand, gravel, and dirt my rear wheel starts to make a strange noise. It’s quiet at first but gets worse and worse as the day goes on. When I get to camp it’s late and there are already a dozen bikes with problems to be sorted. Somebody takes the time to work through all the problems and fixes my wheel before the next day’s ride.

After a long day in the hot sun, we arrive at a bush camp. It’s still really hot and not much shade can be found. I’ve gone through 7-8 water bottles already and all my water tastes stale. Somebody finds a local mama to tote cold soda and beer to our campsite so we can have an energizing respite before dinner.

Protests erupt unexpectedly causing havoc with our route through Mzuzu. We get re-routed, then we get re- re-routed due to heavy rainfall. We miss the re re-route, get temporarily lost and have to wind our way through town to our campsite. Somebody is on the road leading into town helping with directions and somebody is waiting at camp, doing a headcount and making sure everyone has arrived safely.

It’s been a hot morning full of hills. The oatmeal breakfast has long since been digested and our energy is running low. At the lunch truck, somebody has made the most beautiful, delicious, nutritious array of salads for us. We’re able to rest and refuel for the rest of the day’s ride. Our whole outlook for the afternoon changes!

The day ends with a long, cold downpour. Heavy rain and hail. I slog into our rest day and my hands are so cold I can barely pull on the brake levers. All I want to do is find a hot shower. Somebody is waiting at the truck to show me where to find my bags and offer me some encouragement along with a huge smile and a thumbs up.

Friends and family back home are anxious about our trip and how we’re doing. Somebody artfully captures the ups, downs, and beauty of our day and by some means finds a way to share the images even though we’re in a bush camp with limited connection to the outside world. Our families can travel along with us and share in our adventure which helps put their mind at ease.

It’s been a long, long day. Lots of climbing, a border crossing, searing sun and heat, a hilly gravel strewn end-of-the-day that includes having stones thrown at us and being hit with a stick. I end up with bad saddle sores and a bad attitude. Somebody lifts our spirits when we finally arrive at camp with a heartfelt “Welcome!” and a warm bowl of delicious soup while somebody has advice for how to treat the saddle sores so the ride can go on the next day.

Everyone is loading up after a quick breakfast and the lunch truck takes off, but gets stuck in the mud. Somebody drops what they are doing to grab a shovel and start the process of digging out the stuck vehicle. Somebody grabs rocks to put under the wheels of the truck while somebody finds another vehicle to pull us out. All so that lunch will be ready when we get to the midpoint of the day.

Each of these “somebodies” is you, an amazing member of the TDA Crew. Without you it’s clear this adventure would not happen. More importantly, without you this adventure wouldn’t be worth doing. Your enthusiasm is infectious. Your kindness heartfelt. Your encouragement more helpful than you can imagine. Please know that all of us appreciate the hard work and long hours you put in to make the TDA possible. We might not always find time to say thank you and acknowledge your efforts because we’re hot, red, hungry, homesick or spaced out. But upon returning home and having time to reflect, I know that you will always be one of my favourite memories of the trip.

Thank you, Colleen, Jo, Lorna, James, John, Often, Lorenzo, Dani, Edwin, Noah, Dehon and Paige!

Kind regards always, Carson Mettel.

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Tour d’Afrique bike mechanic Lorenzo Boutall, currently working on tour in Zambia, shares some important tips and tricks for riders who are new to riding on the dirt.

Tip 1: Tire choice

The first consideration when going from the pavement to the dirt is tire choice. Tires are the most basic suspension of a bike and the wider the tire, the more cushioning that it provides. Along with being wider, different tread patterns and knobbier tires will give your better grip and traction than a slick road tire. Lowering your tire pressure is also an important part of gravel riding and will help alleviate the bumps and rumbles that dirt roads will throw at you. This is something that you can chat to your TDA bike mechanic about so you know how much to decrease your pressure by before you change road surface.

Tip 2: Brake modulation

Having a death grip on your brakes on the dirt is an innocent mistake that can leave you skidding on the road. If you simply grip and hold your brakes, you risk both your front and back tires skidding. You also risk overheating your brakes and wearing down your brake pads. All of this can be avoided by modulating your brakes. Pull the brake briefly, let go. Pull the brake briefly, let go. By using your brakes in quick spurts instead of one long hold, you put less pressure and stress on your bike while also riding more safely. Modulating your brakes also allows for you to relax your arms and your grip while riding, which is especially helpful when going over bumps.

>>Related Post: Seven Tips For Cycling On Rough Roads

Tip 3: Weight distribution

Weight distribution on your bike is different depending on if you are going up hill or going down. When you are riding downhill, you want to move your weight towards the front of the bike. Putting weight over your front wheel will give you more control and if your weight is too far backwards you will notice that you loose tire traction. Going uphill, you want to do the opposite. By focusing your weight towards the back wheel of the bike this will help you control overall bike handling, and prevent you from skidding out. You can also tuck in your elbows, and squeeze your glutes together for increased power and control, especially on very steep terrain.

Tip 4: Cadence

As a general rule, you might want to drop a few gears into something that feels a bit harder while on dirt. This will bring you into a lower cadence where you should aim for a full, round pedal stroke. This means always putting power down to aim for a consistent and full feeling pedal stroke, without any empty spots. By putting in constant watts you are less likely to skid or slip on the dirt. Generally speaking, you can aim for roughly one pedal stroke per second as a way to maintain a nice and constant output.

Tip 5: Choosing a line

It is always good to be looking ahead. If you can see 50-100 metres in front of you, you should be able to pick the best line. ‘The best line’ is usually an invisible line on the road ahead of you, where you can imagine yourself riding through the least amount of obstacles. The less potholes, bumps, corrosion, the better. Sometime the line doesn’t have to be imaginary in your head, and you can look for tire tracks from vehicles as a guide, or take note of where cyclists or motorbikes are positioned on the road already. It’s also good to remember that you can dodge potholes, but breaks in the road and bumps are less avoidable.

Bonus Tip: Hand Positioning

Changing hand positions while you ride is a great way to keep the vibrations of the road from hitting on the same place on your hands. By switching your grip and where you place your hands on the bars, you’ll also be able to alleviate fatigue in your arms and shoulders. We’d recommend switching every few kilometres to avoid hand numbness and sore spots. If you have a drop bar bike you can especially take advantage of the different positioning that your bike allows for.

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Tour d'Afrique

The trans-African crossing from Cairo to Cape Town has long been one of the world’s epic journeys and an iconic goal for global adventurers. Over...

Every January we get a spike in website visits, increased views of our Cairo to Cape Town documentary and lots of social media engagement as people from around the world tune in to watch the start of our iconic Cairo to Cape Town cycling expedition. Doing the Tour d’Afrique has become shorthand for people cycling from Cairo to Cape Town – whether it’s with us or independently. It remains our most popular tour and the one that started it all.

In 2003,  the Cairo to Cape Town adventure set off for the first time and was surrounded by great uncertainty about whether it would be feasible, reasonable… or even sensible to cycle across the African continent. Would it even be fun? While some would still say it’s not sensible, it has proven year after year to be feasible and extremely rewarding… and a certain kind of fun. It has never been exactly the same route. It remains an expedition crossing international borders with geo-political, environmental and infrastructure challenges. ‘This is not a cycling tour of Provence,’ as Founder Henry Gold once told to a rider (though we do offer that too).

A Unique Experience Every Year

So what’s in store for the next 10 years and beyond for our Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition?

Change! That’s about the only thing I feel confident to proclaim.

I was in Cairo this year for the start of the expedition. As before, I was there to help the crew settle into their roles, to address any hiccups and to meet the riders and get them pointed towards Cape Town. I always love this experience. The Tour d’Afrique is usually full of first-timers who are eager, anxious and at a moment in their life where they are open to trying something entirely new and different… and a bit odd.

What was different about this group was the size. It was a smaller group than previous years. While registrations look to be increasing for 2026, it appeared that some are bidding their time and waiting for the day when the ‘full’ Tour d’Afrique is possible again. This hope is misplaced. The world has changed, is changing, and we must adapt. I would argue that there is no such thing as one complete, traditional  Tour d’Afrique route from Cairo to Cape Town. Each expedition is its own unique experience with different highlights and challenges.

The different version of the route over the years

Here are just some of the changes we have made to the Tour d’Afrique in the past:

• 2004 – 2015: The tour had to take a 24 hour ferry transfer down Lake Nasser as the land border into Sudan was inaccessible
• 2008: The group flew over Kenya after post-election violence broke out
• 2014: The tour started in Khartoum after the revolution in Egypt
• 2017: More unrest, this time in Ethiopia, meant a mid-tour flight, restarting the expedition in Nairobi
• 2020: The tour was cut short as COVID-19 lockdowns took hold
• 2024: Sudan’s civil war and continued instability in Ethiopia meant the group flew from Egypt to East Africa

Sometimes these changes happened months in advance, sometimes at short notice as emergencies or unrest arose unexpectedly. None of them changed the fact that the riders reached the end of their Tour d’Afrique expedition and felt a huge sense of accomplishment and were left to remember an enriching and potentially transformative experience.

What will the route look like in 2026 and beyond?

Therefore we believe the route will continue to change and evolve. Two of the largest challenges we face in Africa are traffic and war/unrest. What do we expect?

• While Sudan will be off limits for at least a few more years, we are watching as the security situations in Ethiopia and northern Kenya closely as those show signs of improving.
• Traffic volumes in Zambia have continued to increase as a result of a new bridge that opened in 2021
  (READ: Kazungula: A Bridge Too Far?)

With these issues in mind, we have continued to adapt to the realities on the ground. The 2026 tour will now fly from Egypt direct to Nairobi avoiding the unrest in Sudan, Ethiopia and northern Kenya altogether. Further south, we will divert into Zimbabwe to avoid some heavy traffic in Zambia. With every change, we lose something but also gain something. The mid-tour flight adds an extra step and the new route in Zimbabwe creates some new logistical challenges for the crew but what we get in its place is what every Tour d’Afrique rider since 2003 has had the pleasure of experiencing – a cycling expedition unlike anything they have ever done before. Never the same. Never without challenges and struggles, but each day you wake up in a new place and set out to experience the unknown with a group of like-minded riders and dedicated and experienced staff to support you.

I asked Tour d’Afrique founder, Henry Gold, what he thought the Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition really was:

“Cycling the Tour d’Afrique isn’t a route or crossing a continent. It is a life event. It is one of those things that makes an indelible impact on your life, on the way you experience the world, on the way you think of Africa, on the way it changes you for the better. Just ask anyone who has done it.”

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Tour d'Afrique

The trans-African crossing from Cairo to Cape Town has long been one of the world’s epic journeys and an iconic goal for global adventurers. Over...

Paige White is the Content Creator on the 2025 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition. In this report, she profiles American cyclist and TDA alumni, Bob Kieckhefer.

Robert (Bob) Kieckhefer knows a thing or two about the Tour d’Afrique. Bob joined the 2025 TDA expedition in Kigali, Rwanda as a veteran sectional rider, ready to go. On his first day of riding he was already equipped with his Tour d’Afrique cycling jersey that he earned from a previous tour.

Bob grew up riding a bike in America as a kid, but didn’t do much serious cycling until he moved abroad in the 1990’s. He was a geophysicist living in Sumatra, Indonesia, when he realized that running in the tropics was far too sweaty for his liking. As it turned out, Bob discovered that cycling is the perfect alternative where you can keep you cool with the breeze, even in the tropics.

At 71 years young, Bob now has 35+ years of cycling adventures under his belt, many of which have been taken place with TDA Global Cycling. The Tour d’Afrique is an adventure that began for him in 2018 and it has taken Bob five stubborn attempts to complete the whole route. In 2018, he rode from Cairo to Addis Ababa in a month long trial to see if he’d enjoy the tour and the TDA lifestyle. In 2019, he signed up to cycle from Addis Ababa to Cape Town but in Nairobi he dislocated his elbow. He took a month off to heal, eventually rejoining the group and pedalling from Victoria Falls to Cape Town with the rest of the group.

In 2020, Bob joined in Nairobi to try to fill in the time he had missed in 2019 but suddenly Covid-19 shut down the tour completely after he had ridden only three days. In 2023, Bob finally finished the Tour d’Afrique route in its entirety. When Bob wasn’t busy cycling with TDA through Africa, he completed 6 other tours with TDA – cycling in Japan, South East Asia, Morocco Asia and Australia. One day, a friend raved to Bob about how he needed to go cycling in Rwanda. Somewhere between the Tour d’Afrique adding Rwanda and Uganda to the route and the conversation with Bob’s friend — he decided to return in 2025 for a sixth time on the tour.

From Kigali to Nairobi, Bob’s 2025 TDA journey brings together riding in both new places on the tour as well as some places where he already has memories. Bob recalled one of his most memorable experiences on a past TDA trip in Namibia. At the end of a long 130 km+ day, Bob was getting beat up riding on corrugated gravel. In the twilight, this retired geophysicist saw what appeared to be a large rock 200 metres away in the middle of the road. “I get 50 metres away, and the rock stands up. It turns out that it’s an oryx.!”

Bob described the animal as being the size of a horse with long sharp horns roughly a metre long. “She’s looking at me, and I’m looking at her and I slow to a halt. I’m talking calmly saying things like, ‘Oh I’m so sorry we ate your cousins last night, but he was the cousin you didn’t really like anyway’. I was just blabbering.” All of a sudden, she charged at Bob. Just before he was about to throw his bike towards her as a Hail Mary, she stopped three metres in front of him. After a brief staring contest, Bob and the oryx went their separate ways.

When asked about why he keeps coming back, Bob says that TDA is the place to be if you want to focus on riding while knowing that the logistics of food, travel and all the other necessities are taken care of on your behalf. With the logistical support and the friendship, connection, and community that he has found through TDA, Bob has plenty of reasons to keep coming back on the Tour d’Afrique…time and time again.

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Each country along the route of both the Tour d’Afrique and Cape to Kili Cycling Expeditions can produce some lasting memories for the cyclists but it is Namibia that seems to resonate in their memories perhaps more than any other.

Zebra crossing

Perhaps it is the vastness of the country? The incredible endless views? The immense night skies? The unexpected wildlife?

Spreetshoogte Pass

Or maybe it is the challenging cycling? The corrugation? The sand? The gravel?

Read these 3 blogs below and decide..or better yet, sign up for the Dunes & Atlantic section of the Tour d’Afrique or the Mountains & Dunes section of the Cape to Kili expedition and discover the answer for yourself.

Nine Days Of Namibian Dirt

In 2023, Tour d’Afrique Content Creator Mats Fredrix wrote about the challenging nine day stretch of off-road cycling in Namibia.

“You could tell something big is in the offing by the hustle and bustle surrounding the bike clinic on the rest day. Tires everywhere. Different types of shock absorbing mechanisms being tested and scrutinized: from suspension forks to handlebar and seat post suspension. When it comes to absorbing the shocks, most still stuck with lowering the tire pressure significantly as their primary tactic to tackle the dirt.” (Read More)

Namibia: Deserts, Diamonds & Apple Pie

2022 Tour d’Afrique Content Creator Tate Drucker took a closer look at the history of the country and its unique characteristics.

“With each passing place, and with each casual conversation with a campsite manager who has their own history to tell and apple pie to offer, more and more of the riders have come to question how these people ended up living out in the desert in one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world.” (Read More)

The Dunes At Sesriem

The 2014 Tour d’Afrique saw staffer Bina Bilenky Trahan marvel at one of Namibia’s iconic sights, the dunes at Sesriem.

“Sesriem is the gateway to some of the biggest sand dunes in the world. Most of us went to see the dunes either at sunrise or sunset when the lighting on the red sand is spectacular.” (Read More)

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The Green Hills of Africa section runs between Nairobi and Lilongwe and includes 3 countries – Kenya, Tanzania & Malawi – that are often considered the ‘Heart of Africa.’ This is the Africa that many of us have in mind when we think of that continent – rich, red earth, vast plains of Acacia trees,  lush rainforests, spectacular wildlife, endless green hills and red-cloaked Masai tribesmen.

You can experience this amazing cycling adventure on either the Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition in March going north to south covering all countries starting in Nairobi, Kenya or in the opposite direction on the Cape To Kili Cycling Expedition in October which ends in Moshi, Tanzania near Mt Kilimanjaro.

Here are 5 great reasons to cycle this stunning section:

Mount Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro is an incredible sight, especially from the seat of your bicycle or from your campsite. At 5995 m, the highest mountain in Africa, it stands out sharply from the flat plains that surround it. Riders can enjoy the view, preferably while listening to Toto’s iconic song, Africa, and reading Ernest Hemingway’s famous short story – The Snows of Kilimanjaro.

Fun fact: Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, once wore a rhino costume while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for a charity to save endangered rhinos.

Wildlife Safaris

The Tour d’Afrique pauses for 3 days in Arusha, Tanzania to allow the riders the opportunity to take a wildlife safari out to such famous attractions as Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater. Here they may be able to observe the Big 5 – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and African buffalo. Riders on the Cape to Kili ride, on the other hand, make a stop at Lake Manyara, home to vast flocks of pink flamingoes and tree-climbing lions, before concluding in Moshi, where they can also arrange safaris to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro.

>>Related Video: Cycling Cairo to Cape Town on the Tour d’Afrique – Part 4

Rural Tanzania

In 2009, in response to increasing vehicle traffic on part of our route through Tanzania, I was sent to see if there was an alternative way through the country. Initially, I glanced at a map (paper…remember the year!) and noticed a skinny line heading south from Arusha through Western Tanzania and headed out to see for myself. The new route has turned out to be a highlight of the tour, a 7 day stretch through some of the most remote regions of the country on striking red earth roads amidst lush green jungle.

>>Related Video: Cycling Cairo to Cape Town on the Tour d’Afrique – Part 5

Bamboo Bridge

Hidden away just outside Chitimba Beach is an incredible bamboo bridge first constructed in 1904 – making it over 120 years old years old. Each year the local villagers get together and make the needed repairs, ensuring it lasts for another century or so.

Keep your eyes peeled for the sign…it is easy to miss!

>>Related Post: 9 Surprising Reasons To Cycle Southern Africa

Lake Malawi

If Malawi is the “Warm Heart of Africa’, then Lake Malawi is the warm heart of Malawi. The 3rd largest freshwater lake in the world, it is home to an astounding 1000 species of fish, some of which end up in local kitchens while others end up in aquariums around the world. Beautiful sand beaches are backdropped by verdant green hills and its crystal clear waters are the perfect setting for riders to enjoy some spectacular sunrises as the local fishermen head out onto the waters.

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The 2024 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition finished in Cape Town about 4 months ago and the 2025 Tour d’Afrique (limited spaces still available) will begin on January 17, 2025 in Cairo. What can the 2025 riders expect from their 4 month trip across Africa?

“I had a blast — I met a lot of lovely people and made a few good, lifelong friends. And after getting an introduction to so many different countries on the tour, I have plans to return to several of them sooner rather than later for further adventures. I enjoyed everything, but I most appreciated the low-pressure environment since my style of riding involves a lot of stopping and enjoying myself/having fun along the way.” – Justine Wilke (USA)

“When people heard about me doing the Tour D’Afrique the stock response was “wow that’s an experience of a lifetime”. This cliche was met and surpassed for me. I travelled through countries that I never expected to visit. I passed though amazing landscapes, witnessed (in passing) people living their lives in a starkly different manner to my privileged and cosseted existence. I learnt that I have reserves of resilience and perseverance that I hoped I had.” – Richard Hughes (Australia)

“The staff was very experienced and professional. They were always available to answer questions and provide important support. The route organization in particular was excellent.” – Russ Trice (USA)

“An epic journey of a lifetime with amazing support from the TDA crew.” – Andrew Baldwin (UK)

“Tour d’Afrique helped make my dream of bicycling across Africa a reality. I will forever be grateful for that. I’m amazed at what I was able to accomplish.” – Sandi Gerling (USA)

“It’s hard to imagine a better run trip of this nature. I was incredibly impressed by the staff and how they were able to keep all of us well cared for while navigating a seemingly constant series of disruptions.” – Geoff Buhn (USA)

“A ride that is very challenging but also immensely rewarding. An opportunity to not only see a chunk of Africa but to experience it with all your senses.” – Judith Gold (Canada)

“Simply special, my vocabulary does not have the ability top describe the experience adequately. It has to be experienced to appreciate how special it is.” – Johan du Toit (South Africa)

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The Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition’s second section, from Kigali to Nairobi, is called ‘Jewel of Africa‘ but perhaps we left out an ‘s’ in that title. The ride takes cyclists through 3 of the continent’s most scenic and historic countries – Rwanda, Uganda & Kenya. Each one should be considered a ‘jewel’ on its own, allowing visitors to experience their unique sights, traditional cultures and national cuisines.

Here are a couple highlights from each of East Africa’s 3 jewels:

Rwanda

The Mountain Gorillas

The Tour d’Afrique makes a stop in Musanze, Rwanda for a couple rest days, giving the cyclists an opportunity to see Mountain Gorillas up close and personal. It is a unique experience – there are only around 1000 of them left in the wild and the country of Rwanda strictly limits the number of daily permits. While these are not inexpensive, it is important to remember that the proceeds go back into gorilla conservation programmes, hopefully increasing the number of Mountain Gorillas in the future while protecting their habitat from human activities.  In 2024, one of our field staff who was lucky enough to book a spot, wrote, “We heard voices, voices and grunting. We stood still. The tops of the trees moved, rather, they were moved and rounding a corner suddenly, a silverback gorilla stared at us.”

>>Related Post: The Mountain Gorillas Of Rwanda

The Kigali Genocide Memorial

Everyone should consider taking a visit to the hillside Genocide Memorial in Kigali, Rwanda. Opened in 2004, it includes a Visitor Centre which explains the tragic circumstances and historical context surrounding the horrific events of 1994. The Memorial area also provided a place for families to bury the remains of the genocide’s victims which were scattered across the country. A sobering and important educational experience.

Uganda

The Lakes Of Uganda

The route of the Tour d’Afrique includes stops at 3 of Uganda’s magical lakes. A rest day takes place on the shores of Lake Bunyonyi (‘place of many little birds’) which, as you may have guessed, is famous for the large number of migratory and water birds that can be seen here. A few days later the tour stops at Lake Nabugabo. Once part of the nearby Lake Victoria, the lake was slowly separated from the large body of water by sand dunes created by high winds. Finally, the cyclists will stay on the scenic Ssese Islands in Lake Victoria, one of the African Great Lakes and the largest tropical lake in the world.

Ferries

A short river crossing in Uganda

In order to avoid the traffic into Kampala, Uganda’s capital city, the riders on the Tour d’Afrique are transported out to, and back from, the Ssese Islands on a scheduled ferry.  The archipelago consists of 84 islands and some local tribes still refer to it as the ‘Islands of the Gods’. Getting there and back can be an interesting experience. 2024 Cyclist Judith Gold commented, “Our first crossing was in a long (about 4 hours) ferry ride on Lake Victoria…the majority of riders were packed like sardines in the belly of the ferry. It was actually fun, as we got to intimately know our fellow Ugandan passengers including details of their daily lives while exchanging stories and showing photos of our loved ones.”

Kenya

Mt Kenya

Often overlooked in favour of its more popular twin, Mt Kilimanjaro, Mt. Kenya is a highlight for the riders of this section of the Tour d’Afrique. Slightly shorter than Kili (5199m vs 5895m), the majestic mountain is revered by 4 of Kenya’s  tribes – the Maasai, Kikuyu, Ameru, & Embu – and is surrounded by Mt. Kenya National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for its incredible biodiversity.

Crossing The Equator

People, including cyclists, love to make lists, including bucket lists. Some of the most common items on those are travel related, including such things as crossing the equator. The original route of the Tour d’Afrique, when Sudan and Ethiopia were open, included a stop in the Kenyan town of Nanyuki, where the riders would take the obligatory ‘Crossing the Equator’ photo. With the current route through Rwanda and Uganda, the cyclists end up crossing the equator more than once! In fact, it appears that number may actually be at least 6 although it could be more! Better join the ride and find out for yourself.

>>Realated Post: Crossing The Equator – One Time Too Many?

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These days, what with AI, Insta influencers and Google Street view, the words epic, unique and authentic have lost much of their power in the world of travel. That begs the question – are there any real adventures left in the world? It seems that all of the world’s challenging journeys are being reinvented as luxury experiences with the actual physical and mental demands being subdued to the needs of comfort and, of course, access to the internet. If you can’t post it, is it actually real?

The Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition, I believe, remains one of the last great opportunities to really test yourself, both mentally and physically. To discover what you are capable of. To expose yourself to the unpredictability of Africa. To expect the unexpected. While the conditions have changed over the years since it was first run in 2003, its essence remains the same. As Founder Henry Gold so aptly put it, “This ain’t a ride in Provence.”

Although these particular challenges are no longer part of the current tour, we hope these examples from past Tour d’Afrique Expeditions will inspire you to join us. As Star Trek’s captain Jean-Luc Picard says, “Let’s see what’s out there!”

The Red Boxes

In the early years of the expedition, each rider was given a red plastic box into which all their supplies had to fit. At each campsite they would grab it from the support truck and then set up their home for the night. It also doubled as a bathtub, a washing machine, card table and camp chair.

The Dodoma Road

Cycling the Dodoma Road in Tanzania was a full body workout. Rutted and rocky roads sent handle bars in all directions. From the hips up, all a rider’s strength was spent wrestling the front wheel forward. Steep climbs, snaking descents and sporadic ditches were the norm for an average cycling day on this stretch.

Paradise Lost – The Good Ship S.S. Sagalnaam

Up until 2015, the Tour d’Afrique riders had to cross from Egypt to Sudan over Lake Nasser, first by barge and then on an ancient German ship. One rider remembered the experience as “A lower deck which smelt of last night’s dinner, a toilet in need of attention mixed with a hint of gasoline, and an upper deck which resembled more of a department store rubbish pile turned hide-and -go-seek-nap-time.”

Meltdown Madness: Bandits, Dust Devils & Lava Rocks

For years, until it was paved in 2015, one of the most dreaded sections on the Tour d’Afrique was the 3 day, 260 km stretch between Moyale, on the Ethiopian border, and Marsabit in Kenya, optimistically labelled ‘The Great North Road’ on Kenyan maps. One field staff member remarked, “We camped for a night in the lava rock landscape that is the Dida Galgalu Desert and felt like we had just set foot on Mars.”

The Nightmare Road From Wadi Halfa To Dongola

Until the ‘road’ was fully paved in 2011, this 450 km stretch was a nasty surprise for the riders who had just arrived from Egypt, with its nicely paved tarmac! 2005 cyclist, David Houghton remembered “Nothing could have prepared us for the few roads that ran through the country. In fact, to call them roads was a disservice to roads everywhere. They were ruts, trails, tracks, but they bore no resemblance to roads as I knew them.”

The Kazungula Ferry: A Bridge Too Far?

The crossing was fascinating for a number of reasons beyond the magical voyage across the river’s crocodile infested waters. It is claimed that this is the only place in the world where 4 countries meet – Zambia, Botswana, Namibia & Zimbabwe. This geographical quadripoint means that a ferry passenger would pass through 4 countries on the brief crossing! The method? A couple of ancient ferries. Actually, ‘ferries’ is a rather grand word to describe what, in fact, were a couple of glorified pontoon rafts.

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Dave Auger was a participant in the first ever Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition in 2003. He writes, “During Covid-19 I, like so many others, had an abundance of time due to mandated isolation. I decided to write short stories from memories of my life that just popped into my head as I was thinking of what to write about. I ended up writing more that 60 short stories and decided to package up all the pages and get Staples to put them into booklet form. The title of this little book is: Life’s A Journey – Musings of an Old Fart during Covid 19. This story of my experience on the Tour d’Afrique, titled THE X-RAY, just made it in before it went to print.”

I am in the habit of saving large manila reusable envelopes for future use. I dug into my “stash” and found a large heavy duty envelope that would be perfect for my income tax documents to forward to my tax accountant. This envelope had the word X-RAY in large bold letters written on it as well as a bunch of Arabic writing, which of course, I could not read. It is this envelope which brings back memories for my next story.

In January of 2003 I set off on an epic bicycle journey from Cairo to South Africa – the Tour d’Afrique. There was a support team that carried our tents and gear. There was a doctor from each of the countries that we were to go through and an experienced East Indian nurse from South Africa who was to stay with us for the entire trip.

Dave (far left) gives the thumbs-up at a group dinner in Egypt

We were on the second day of our Sudan section and the roads were horrible – just after lunch the road became better but still rough – I was going up a short, steep hill and spun out from being in too high a gear and fell onto the road and hit my elbow on a large rock. I was pretty sure that I broke my arm. I knew that the support vehicle would be along soon so all I could do was wait. I could see a small cluster of huts off in the distance and saw a mangy looking dog wandering towards me. I didn’t want the dog to see me in case it was rabid or created some other issues that I was in no position to deal with.

Once I was picked up, it became clear that our nurse was a “take charge” kind of person and quickly brought me to a small dusty looking first aid station. By this time my arm was aching and swelling up. The local doctor, like the doctor on our trip, let our experienced nurse continue to look after me in his facility. She took me to the “operating room”. It was a small, long, windowless and rather dark room to examine me on a table.

Dave (L) with fellow rider Hermione after the accident

A cinematographer had joined our group the night before my accident and decided to come along to the clinic to see if he could find anything to shoot. Our nurse put his camera lights to good use by having him shine them on my injured arm. There were some unknown type of insects flying around the room and a person in the room spraying some substance in the air to keep them under control. I recognized the device from my childhood as a Fly Tox sprayer which had a tank on the end and a long tube that held a rod that forced a spray out of a nozzle.

What a sight it was with all these people standing around this room while the nurse sliced a small section of my elbow open to relieve the pressure that continued to build up in my arm. She was worried that the swelling would put too much pressure on my ulna nerve which might affect the movement of my lower arm. There was no x-ray machine at this clinic. She installed a little plastic device that would allow giving me antibiotics by needle a little easier, bandaged up my arm and put on a temporary cast.

Before we left the first aid station I paid the resident doctor for the supplies we used including enough antibiotics to get me to a clinic in Khartoum a few days away. The amount of money he asked for was so low that I felt compelled to give him many times more than what he was asking for.

Because I couldn’t ride my bike or set up my tent I spent our travel time in the SAG wagon. The next day and night we stayed at a town called Dongola which had a regional, walled, boarding school. Henry Gold our trip organizer and leader arranged for me to stay at the school and share a small, dirt floor room that was used by some of the teachers. Three teachers brought me food and sat on the floor in a circle and pulled a bed into the circle so that we could all eat and chat together. One of the teachers could speak fairly good English.

Henry had arranged a bus ride for me to go to Khartoum as well as a stay at a hotel owned by a friend of his. The trip to Khartoum was interesting. I met a teacher from Khartoum who was visiting Dongala scouting for students who might make good teachers. He wanted me to visit his school in the city and talk to his students which I agreed to do but as it turned out I wasn’t able to because of the time spent at the clinic. Our bus held about 20 people and was attended to by a steward who looked after a container of water with a dipper that was offered to passengers who were thirsty. The passenger section was separate from the driver’s area and to communicate with the driver the steward would open a window and pound on the window of the driver section and they would yell back and forth to pass on information.

On our journey we came across a family whose old 4 wheel drive truck was stuck in the sand. Our bus driver stopped and the able bodied men in the bus helped push them out – it reminded me of my helping someone out of a snowbank back home. Just as the family was rescued from being stuck I looked up and saw a small camel caravan off in the horizon passing through the desert – what a wonderful sight. This was before I had a digital camera and was not able to get a good ‘shot’.

When I got to my hotel, the hotel owner arranged for a driver to spend the next day with me to take me to the Foreigner’s clinic and arrange for the trip home. The hotel was over a hundred years old – it was a solid, well built, two storey structure. There was no plumbing in my room but it was spacious with a big beautiful armoire. There was a porcelain water jug and basin on a stand for customers to clean up. Down the hallway there was a bathroom that contained a tub and toilet.

The injury to my arm made it difficult to have a bath but it felt good to clean up after being on a dusty road. Khartoum is the capital city of Sudan and is where the White Nile converges with the Blue Nile. At the clinic you had to pay in advance for medical services – they had a cashier at the entrance and once you told them who you were seeing they advised what the fee was. I was brought to a female ER doctor who greeted me and sent me on to get an x-ray. Before getting an x-ray of course I was off to the cashier. The x-ray room contained an older looking machine with a heavy cable leading out into the hallway where the technician controlled the unit.

I took the x-ray back to the ER doctor who confirmed that my arm was broken and she suggested that a surgeon look at the x-ray and my injury – so off to the cashier I went again! The surgeon said that he could operate on my arm but I asked him, for travel insurance purposes, if he could write a note suggesting that I get the surgery done in Canada. He gave me the letter and a script for an antibiotic and I was off to try to get a ride home.

I was not scheduled to come home until the end of the trip in South Africa in May and had trouble with Lufthansa (a German airline) so I just flew them to Frankfurt, Germany. I then went to the Air Canada terminal where, after telling them my story, I was treated me like royalty. My return ticket in May was Economy and a fixed date. They not only let me update my ticket at no charge but gave me a business class seat! They also gave me a pass for the Maple Leaf lounge where I could eat whatever I wanted and could clean myself up in the lounge washrooms. Talk about service!

I had purchased a satellite phone package before my trip to keep in touch with my wife Marie but did not call her after my accident – when I got to the airport in Toronto I called her and she said that I sounded like I was calling from next door. I told her what happened and said that once I got home I would take a bath then go to the hospital for an x-ray and an operation.

I didn’t make it to South Africa as planned but ended up with a pretty good story!

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Benjamin Levin was the Content Creator on the 2024 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition. He looks back at some of the highlights from the 10 countries the tour passes through.

The Tour d’Afrique allows riders the opportunity to tackle the awe inspiring feat of cycling across Africa. It is an exercise in endurance, mental and physical perseverance, an undertaking that many people will consider, but ultimately decide is too far from their comfort zones. Yet, to view it as simply a long distance cycling journey would be a disservice to the experience. The Tour d’Afrique offers people the unique chance to traverse the highways and byways of 10 African countries, to not only experience what cycling there is all about but to also immerse themselves in what it is like to be in Africa. Here are some of the highlights off the saddle and beyond the biking, that riders experienced on the 2024 Tour d’Afrique.

Egypt

Top Highlight – The historic sites

Pam and Benjamin in one of the temples around the Luxor area

It should come as no surprise that one of the greatest experiences of cycling through Egypt was being able to explore the history in the different places that we visited. In Egypt, history is omnipresent. Our hotel in Cairo overlooked the Pyramids of Giza and was adjacent to the newly constructed Grand Egyptian Museum. Being so easily accessible, these incredible hotspots of ancient history were not to be missed. Walking amongst those pyramids and imagining what life would have been like thousands of years ago was an amazing beginning to the trip.

Luxor was arguably more breathtaking than Cairo in terms of accessibility to ancient wonders. Many of the TDA riders took the opportunity on a rest day to explore the Valley of the Kings, spending time with ancient pharaohs and marvelling at the art and hieroglyphics inside their tombs. There may be no other place in the world with such a plethora of historic sites available to explore.

Honourable Mention – Snorkelling in the Red Sea near Safaga

Rwanda

Top Highlight – Mountain Gorillas in Musanze

Already well documented on the 2024 Tour d’Afrique was the unmatched wildlife experience of hiking with the endangered mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. You can travel to different wildlife destinations all over the world, but there is nothing so singular as being face to face with those amazing animals. “The momma stood up and the baby went right on its back and hung onto her. Then she went around and got him and was showing the baby to us, she really was showing him to us… it was like oh my gosh,” said TDA rider Lois as she reflected on her experience. If you are interested in finding out more about this experience, check out the blog, The Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda, from earlier this year!

Honourable Mention – How incredibly clean the country is!

Uganda

Top Highlight – The amazing lakes of Uganda

One of the more unexpected highlights of the trip was seeing the amazing lakes of Uganda. “We are in a very lucky place to be able to cross through… we go ecosystem to ecosystem, geography to geography, and I think that is rare. You do not get that in many cycle rides,” TDA rider Wendy exclaimed when asked about what was special about cycling through Uganda. We camped on Lake Bunyonyi, a stunning lake with a myriad of islands interspersed about it, and according to some, the deepest lake in Uganda at 6500 feet (although some scientists would argue this fact!). We saw otters, an abundance of bird life, and amazing views for the few days we were near this lake.

We also spent a night on Lake Nabugabo, a smaller lake where we were able to swim and decompress, enjoying the views of vervet monkeys in the trees (less so when they were in our tents) and watching a stunning sunrise over the water. And of course, there was Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa and a source of life for humans for tens of thousands of years. We stayed on the peaceful and relaxing Ssese Islands on Lake Victoria, explored the source of the Nile River from our camp in Jinga, and were wowed by the unique birds and the diversity of lifestyles of the people living in and around this huge lake.

Honourable Mention – The local ferry rides on Lake Victoria

Kenya

Top Highlight – Cycling and Camping under Kilimanjaro

A ride under Mt. Kilimanjaro in our last Kenyan camp

We may be cheating a bit on this one, moving away from our theme of no cycling; however, it is too good to leave out. Kilimanjaro, the iconic mountain (which is actually in Tanzania), is such a striking highlight of this trip that I could not forego talking about cycling around it. After a month in East Africa, where the tour winds through the mountains and lakes of Rwanda and Uganda, getting to Kilimanjaro felt like reaching a major landmark on our trip. “We climbed Kilimanjaro 20 years ago, but we have never experienced anything like this,” said TDA rider Anna Baldwin at one of our bush camps in Kenya. While not quite the halfway point, the mountain represents a new section of the tour, where we start a string of bush camps and truly experience what it is like to be in Maasai land and what many think of when they imagine being in the African bush.

Honourable mention – The views from The Great Rift Valley

Tanzania

Top Highlight – Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Two young lions in the Serengeti

The best part about Tanzania was confirming that Toto was lying, and you cannot, in fact, see Kilimanjaro rising like Olympus above the Serengeti. Well, not really (haha); the actual highlight was a three day safari into Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater. Similar to the Rwandan mountain gorilla experience, these two bastions of wildlife conservation are so incredible that they simply cannot be missed. The Serengeti is nearly indescribable. You can watch all of life unfold there out of the side of your safari vehicle. In only a day and a half of safari, the TDA riders saw elephants jousting, lions on a kill, cheetah rolling in the grass, and the tens of thousands of wildebeest and zebra migrating through the Maasi Mara. Ngorongoro is an area so highly concentrated with wildlife and unique in makeup (because of the microclimate the crater creates), that there is no place in the world like it.

Honourable Mention – The views (and descent) into Mbeya after a tough 7 day riding stretch

Malawi

Top Highlight – Lake Malawi and its fishermen

After being in Tanzania and Kenya for a month, getting to Lake Malawi and seeing the lake and its influence on the Malawian people was fascinating. On every beach there were fishermen preparing their nets for the day ahead or hauling in their catch. Malawi is one of the poorer countries in Africa and talking to these fishermen about their day to day lives was incredibly interesting. Many of them were well educated men who simply could not find the opportunity to do more than fish to survive in Malawi. The insight into their lives, talking with them and watching them go about their business, was one of those striking experiences you have which makes you really appreciate how lucky you are to be able to do what we are doing.

Honourable Mention – The beer at our hotel in Lilongwe (real craft beer for the first time in months!)

Zambia

Top Highlight – Victoria Falls and its surrounding attractions

A boat full of TDA riders takes on the Zambezi rapids

Zambia is a beautiful country, TDA rider Joost thought that, “the first three days in Zambia, the green hills, the scenery, the rivers… it was just gorgeous.” However, it is also tough going with long days of rolling hills and high temperatures. Once the tour reaches Livingstone, everyone is ready for those three days off and to unwind with some awesome activities. Riders took this time to really let off some steam; they went white water rafting on the Zambezi, took helicopter rides and microlite flights to see Victoria Falls from the sky, and even bungee jumped! This is a particularly refreshing time in the tour and these fun times prepare the riders for the final month or so of hard riding to Cape Town.

Honourable mention – The TDA Foundation’s annual bike donation ceremony (see the blog Elephants and Education for more information)

Botswana

Top Highlight – Elephants

Gary cycling by an elephant on the Elephant Highway

The section out of Victoria falls, aptly named the Elephant Highway, is an experience that you cannot find anywhere else in the world. Cycling the first 400 kilometers or so into Botswana, we traverse through a region of Africa that has an incredibly high density of elephants (our tour leader even says she saw 300 elephants in the first 300 kilometers one year!). Helen, who turned 50 during this section, when asked what she will remember about this trip when she turns 100 said, “It has got to be this section of Botswana where I might be seeing the wildlife.”

Botswana itself has one third of the world’s elephant population and one elephant for every 20 people in the entire country. Needless to say, when you are cycling and a herd of elephants walks across the road 100 meters in front of you, it is an unreal experience. Of course, the riders are thoroughly prepared by our experienced staff on how to behave in these situations. While elephants are spectacular and generally gentle giants, they can be dangerous, and we maintain the utmost caution when sharing their space with them.

Honourable Mention – the peace and quiet that you experience because of the low population density

Namibia

Top Highlight – Exploring the Sand Sea and Deadvlei

Namibia is unlike any other country in the world. Around every corner you are wide eyed with wonder; just as you think it could not possibly get anymore beautiful, you go around the corner and it is more beautiful! The jewel in the crown of this cornucopia of a country is the Sand Sea and Deadvlei tour that the riders take on one of their rest days. This tour includes a sunrise hike of the sand dunes and 4 x 4 access into Deadvlei, one of the most iconic sights Namibia has to offer. The sand dunes are surreal, some as tall as 300 meters; they envelope the landscape, covering over 30,000 square kilometers. It is one of the harshest, yet most beautiful landscapes our entire planet has to offer. Deadvlei, an ancient, petrified forest, preserved only because it is so dry there that the trees cannot decompose, is an alien landscape that only exists in this unique corner of the earth.

Pro tip – When you are at the dunes, try walking in other people’s footsteps to reduce the energy you use climbing and slipping on the sand!

Honourable mention – Everywhere else in Namibia. Seriously, it is breathtaking!

South Africa

Top Highlight – Finishing the trip!

That feeling when you are 20 kilometres from Cape Town

It might seem like a bit of an obvious one, but finishing the trip is the highlight of South Africa. The feeling that you get when you see the Atlantic Ocean for the first time and know that you are on your way to Cape Town, the feeling of arriving at the final lunch, knowing that you are just 20 kilometres away from the achievement of a lifetime, this is what makes South Africa a special place for the TDA riders. After four long months of successes and challenges, elation and exhaustion, joyful rides and flat tires, finishing this once in a lifetime expedition puts everyone in a wonderful mood.

Honourable mention – The final slideshow where everyone laughs, cries, and has an awesome time!

This trip is a unique and life altering experience and while cycling is the backbone of it, these experiences on the periphery of the great adventure are what bring colour and substance to the wonderful ride. It is a time in the riders’ lives where they push themselves to the limits of what they thought they could achieve, where they forge relationships and memories that will be with them forever. It is an incredibly special event, and these opportunities to engage in the culture and history, the wildlife and the scenery, are part of what makes the Tour d’Afrique special.

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The trans-African crossing from Cairo to Cape Town has long been one of the world’s epic journeys and an iconic goal for global adventurers. Over...

Benjamin Levin is the Content Creator on the 2024 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition. As the tour approaches the finish line in Cape Town, he considers what the riders will take away with them from their incredible journey.

On the Tour d’Afrique we have visited long dead pharaohs in Egypt, walked with mountain gorillas in the dense jungles of Rwanda, watched the great wildebeest migration in Tanzania and cycled with elephants in Botswana. Now, as we approach the end of the tour, hammering through the gravel (and occasional tarmac) on our way through Namibia into South Africa, we find ourselves reflecting on the trip, considering what we will remember about it in five years. It is not that we will not remember the skies over Lake Malawi or the copper red dirt of Zambia; it is that we will first think of the people. We will remember the amazing shared experience that we have had with each other. Over all of the epic landscapes, over the kilometres cycled and life we have witnessed, we will remember each other first and everything else second. That is what makes traveling special and the Tour d’Afrique extra special.

When birthdays come around, everyone gets in the spirit

When the trip started in Cairo, nervous excitement welled up among the TDA staff and riders as each new face arrived; anyone who walked into the hotel could be a rider. As we began to sort out the TDA riders from the average throng of tourists, our nerves began to calm a bit. And once we started to mingle, we discovered something about ourselves and about the group as a whole: that we were all here because of a similar drive that we have, a drive to see the world and a drive to cycle the world. Everyone on this expedition could have made a different choice, a potentially sensible choice (haha!), to go on a lovely, cushy holiday to any number of remote tropical islands. They could have sat in the sun, drinking cold drinks and breathing clean ocean air. Instead they chose to cycle 9,000 kilometres through dust, wind, rain, and heat, through jungles, deserts, mountains and valleys, on their way to what would be the most epic accomplishment in most people’s lives.

Riding with a buddy is a great way to spend these trips

By the first day, although most people’s nerves had settled a little bit, people were still wary, not only about the ride but about spending four months with a group of strangers. Many riders came with a partner, a friend, even a child or a parent in some cases, but a large portion came solo, hoping to connect with people as the ride progressed; they would. “You are in front of a major challenge with a group, so after the first kilometre you are not a solo rider anymore, you are part of a group,” Jannes Nijland emphasized. He explained that when you are part of a group working towards a common goal, it forms a camaraderie that is only found in environments like the one that the Tour d’Afrique fosters. Three months into the trip, “we have all sort of become an extended family,” Helen Smith commented, as she celebrated her 50th birthday in Botswana, with elephants in the background. Even the Baldwins, an experienced husband and wife duo, had concerns about the social aspect of the trip. “One of the concerns we had coming with a cycling group was that it is a group of people that we are going to be with for four months… but once we got here you sort of realize that everyone has a common denominator that we have got: we are cycling,” Andy Baldwin said.

On the Tour d’Afrique when someone gets a flat they are always supported by other riders

As the trip progressed out of Egypt and into Eastern Africa, bonds continued to form within the group. On the Tour d’Afrique there are riders from all over the world and all sorts of unique backgrounds, including different levels of cycling experience. It became apparent quickly to many of the riders that having this variation in levels of experience was a bonus on our long journey. As Vince Waite and I chatted while riding to lunch one day, little acts of kindness were big on this trip. He explained that one of the things he felt very fortunate about was that another, more experienced rider, Jim Flynn had seriously helped him while riding in Rwanda. Vince had only been biking for about half a year before the tour whereas Jim has been a lifelong cyclist. As the mountains rose up to greet us in Rwanda, many people struggled with the climbs. On one of these days, Vince was standing up on his bike, pushing hard to make a climb when Jim rode past, telling him to sit down. Vince listened, curious about what Jim would say, knowing Jim had more experience. To his surprise Jim put his hand on his back and pushed him up the climb. Vince said that he did this on two other climbs as well, helping him make it through a tough day.

Some riders getting down with a Zambian dance team at the bike donation ceremony

Above all things, this is what the Tour d’Afrique is about and what makes it special: little acts of kindness during an epic undertaking. Doing a trip like this solo would be amazing, a feat of human achievement; however, a trip like this without human companionship would be a much different experience. You might get to see dunes fall into the sea in Namibia, or get to explore the Pyramids in Egypt, but without each other to do these things with, we would not look back at them in the same way. With a group like the one we have on the Tour d’Afrique, it is about more than sightseeing and cycling; it is about connection. It is about the chorus of cheers that go off in support of the last rider getting into camp; it is about the laughing, crying, and smiling you do with your fellow riders. It is about being pushed up the hill and sitting on the beach in Cape Town knowing you did it. And maybe you could have done it alone, but you are glad that you did not.

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Yanez Novoa is a long time TDA staffer who was helping out on the 2024 Tour d’Afrique Expedition in Rwanda & Uganda.

What do you get if you mix 50 strangers and several tons of steel, food supplies and bikes together? Something like a TDA expedition.

And what is a TDA expedition really? I have heard it being described in many ways: a forced march, a circus, a family. What it is, is big and noisy with lots of sharp and shiny bits; it is high vis-vests and flashing bike lights, chain lube and back up derailleurs. Add up all these miscellaneous parts and you end up with a TDA tour.

In the beginning it starts with the banging of pots and truck doors too early in the morning; soft chatter that grows into a chorus of questions, complaints, compliments, and laughter. And eventually, a lot of laughter. But mostly is it the hum of idle chatter as the 50 strangers get to know each other better.

Showtime

When we arrive in a village, we are often the main attraction. Young and old come together to watch us set up camp and live our new lives on the road. At organized campsites and hotels, we often catch management on the back foot as we slowly dominate the space that they usually control and make it our own – the TDA takeover we call it.

Mia getting ready for her birthday celebration at Via Via

This was the case at Via Via in Entebbe, Uganda, which was our home for three nights. The team at Via Via were super helpful and surprisingly adept at handling something like us. It is a definite stopover for anyone visiting Uganda. On the second night it was Mia Hunter’s birthday and she and Hans bought everyone a drink at the bar. I sat back and watched the 50 strangers bond and move towards what they inevitably will be, 50 people from different cultures that rely on each other and look out for one another to reach their final destination.

The mud bath roads require some walking every now and again

The next morning it started again with the rattling steel, the patter of rain and the rustle of tents being packed up. The hum slowly died down as riders finished their breakfast and the circus spread out over the 116 km of riding that day – made up of 36 km of tarred road leading to a jetty and a 15 minute boat ride. It took 7 trips to get all the riders across that rainy bay. After the boat ride it was a 20 km mud bath to get to the tarred road that would eventually lead them to the town of Jinja.

Uli and Eva hop off the boat after a short ride from Entebbe

The mothership, the big dinner truck, was the last to leave Via Via. Sharita and myself left the tour in Entebbe. As the big truck rattled away with all its pots and pans and assorted emotions we heard the birds and the sound of people starting their day, filling the space that had just been full of the 2024 Tour d’Afrique. A moment later, you would almost not believe that the circus had been in town.

All that was left were three black bags. One for organics, one for reusable and one for garbage. The garbage we often have to take with us until we can reach a site where local authorities can deal with it appropriately. The reusable gets recycled or used by locals to keep and do… just about anything they want. The organics goes to a farmer, some wandering goats or, as at Via Via, a compost heap. We try to have as little impact as we practically can and when we do that it will be a positive one.

It might not be our country, but for this little slice of time, it is our home.

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Benjamin Levin is the Content Creator on the 2024 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition. He reports on the recent TDA Foundation bicycle donation that took place in Livingstone, Zambia.

Why do we ride bikes? On a TDA tour we ride bikes for an adventure, for the experience of cycling in a place you never have before – we bike for fun. In Africa, and many places around the globe, people bike for a different reason. They bike because school can be up to 30 kilometres away and elephants have prevented them from leaving on time. They bike because it is the only way that they can carry their goods to the market; they bike because their bicycle is their taxi; they bike because it is what they need to do.

>>Related Post: Local Bikes In Africa: An Appreciation

TDA Global Cycling wanted to create a great cycling adventure through Africa, encourage the use of bicycles and also contribute to helping people in some communities we cycle through by donating bicycles. Over 2300 bikes have now been donated to people across the globe over the lifetime of the TDA Foundation. Most recently, on the 2024 Tour d’Afrique, 34 bikes were donated to young scholars in Livingstone, Zambia so they would be able to overcome challenges and pursue their goal of obtaining a strong education.

Memory, the TDA Foundation partner in Zambia, and Charles Mioba, District Education Board Secretary, during TDA’s bike donation ceremony

Currently, the TDA Foundation partners with African Impact Foundation, a grassroots organization that works on the ground in Zambia, finding appropriate beneficiaries for the bicycle donations. “We partner with them [the Zambian Ministry of Education] for recommendations every year to identify which schools should benefit from this bicycle donation,” says Memory Mundia, Operations Manager of African Impact and the TDA Foundation’s main point of contact in Zambia. Memory and the Ministry of Education are looking for schools that are located in areas where their student body is spread out across a large area and face unique and challenging problems when attempting to commute to school. Once the beneficiaries are chosen, the school works to find which students are the most in need of the assisted transportation, and they are given the bicycles.

The five recipients of bikes at Twabuka Primary School

One of these schools is Twabuka Primary School located roughly 25 kilometres outside of Livingstone, Zambia and inside of the Mosi-oa-Tunya Game Park, a protected wildlife reserve where animals such as elephants, lions and buffalo roam free. “Being in a game park we have deadly animals like elephants,” explains the headmaster of the school. “In the morning the elephants will be traveling back towards the river [Zambezi River] and during that period it is really dangerous for the pupils… giving them these bicycles, they will start off late [to avoid the elephants] but still arrive on time to school.”

It was clear, when visiting the school in early April 2024, that these students wanted to be there on time and ready to learn. Nonetheless, when elephants are on the road, it is extremely dangerous for the students to try to get by them and get to school. Only a few years ago a pupil in 5th year was killed by elephants while attempting to make it on time. “Those times where I didn’t have this bicycle and there were elephants, I used to stay back at home, but now even if there are elephants, I can still come after they are gone… those times I would miss some topics in class, I would find the teacher had started without me, but now I can still come early and find the teacher before he starts teaching,” said one young woman we talked to at the school.

A young TDA Foundation beneficiary smiles as we chat about her bike

Not only are these treks to school at times dangerous for the children, but they also are tiring. Students in this district near Livingstone are expected to be at school at 7:15 in the morning and ready to learn by 7:30. If they have had to cover many kilometres while walking to school, by the time they get there, they are tired and have less energy to learn. “I used to miss classes because I was late and tired because of the distance I covered… having the bike helped me be active in class,” says Mathews Kanyemba, a former recipient of a TDA Foundation’s bike donation. Mathews has now graduated and is currently waiting to hear back from university in Lusaka, where he is planning on studying engineering. “If it was not for the bike, I doubt I could pass the way I did.”

As anyone who has ridden the Tour d’Afrique with TDA knows, education is available all over Africa. Countless mornings we have found ourselves cycling with hundreds of uniformed school children as they make their way to morning classes. The majority of the kids we see are walking, some are biking, and very few are in vehicles. Across the board one thing is very clear; these students are hungry to learn and go to school. Education represents opportunity for these students, a way to fulfill all the potential that each of them has. While we understand that there is still a lot of work to be done, we are thrilled that our bicycle donations help bring these intrepid young learners one step closer to achieving what they set out to achieve every time they make that journey to school.

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Benjamin Levin is the Content Creator on the 2024 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition. In this report, he looks at some of the bikes being used on this year’s ride.

What is the most important thing that you can bring on a bike tour across Africa? Well, a bike of course. Simple, right? In a way yes, but it is also a huge decision that will potentially impact four months of your life if you are riding the entire Tour d’Afrique from Cairo to Cape Town.

Do you want a carbon fibre bike, light on the road but potentially fragile? Maybe, maybe not. Do you want a steel tank of a bike that destroys the gravel sections but is a bit more difficult to climb the base of Kilimanjaro with? Maybe, maybe not. The truth is there is not one bike that answers all the demands of this long, challenging journey. A lot simply depends on what you are comfortable with. We asked some of the riders about the bikes they are currently using on the 2024 Tour d’Afrique so they could inform future riders of the pros and cons and the nitty gritty details of their bikes.

Jim Flynn (Australia)

Jim is riding a Curve bike. It is a full titanium frame that is set up for long distance riding and endurance cycling, particularly off road. Jim likes the titanium frame because of the flexibility that it provides along with the strength. The bike has been modified by adding aerodynamic extension bars to the handlebars. “Probably the most important thing I have got, which is essential for long rides like this, is the extension bars.” He says that having another hand position gives him a lot of relief on long rides. “I would spend all my time on those bars if I could.” Jim explains how people can get neuropathy from using the same generic grip every single riding day and that the options that his extension bar provides are very helpful.

He also has a suspended headset which gives him a bit of deflection which he appreciates on the dirt and gravel. Another thing Jim talks about is his choice to opt for a mechanical one by twelve gearing set up for simplicity. Though he has ridden with electronic gearing in the past, with different set ups, he says when cycling through Africa he prefers to keep things simple, and importantly, parts source-able. It can be difficult to find more modern/complex bike parts in many parts of Africa so keeping things basic is a sensible way to go.

What Jim recommends: Try to have a system that allows you to have multiple hand holds. Also, unrelated to biking but still very important, come with an open attitude and a love of adventure he says. “I think you have got to have a bit of a love of adventure and be prepared to put yourself out a little bit!”

Justene Wilkes (United States)

Justene is riding a Surly Bridge Club that she purchased specifically for this trip. She says that in the past she has ridden an aluminum road bike with a carbon fork but for this trip she wanted something that could handle a wider range of terrain and climbs. Her Surly Bridge Club is all steel and sized up so it is more robust. She loves the steel but says it is heavy and it makes some of the climbing days that much more challenging. However, on the dirt, this bike is a rock star. “We recently had a day of 55 kilometres of rock and dirt and I just plowed right through it… I attribute that to the steel bike and the wide tires that it came with,” she says proudly.

Justine explained that she did not exactly know what to look for when buying a bike for this tour so sensibly she went to her local bike shop to get some recommendations and this was one of the bikes they recommended for her. “One feature that I quite liked is the single chainring in the front, one less thing to break and go wrong for me, and so far I have been very happy with that choice, but the downside is that when we have a really wicked tail wind, I sometimes cannot keep up because I have a max speed I can do.”

What Justine recommends: Carry snacks and Tylenol!

Helen Smith (United Kingdom)

Helen is riding a Hardtail mountain bike, a specialized rockhopper. “I decided to ride the Tour d’Afrique on this bike mainly because I absolutely love riding it!” Helen explains that with the combo of off-road and tarmac, this bike is perfect for her riding style. “The main features that I like about my bike are the front suspension and the ability to turn it on and off, also the three gears that I have on the front chain ring.” She says that for her personally, this gear set has an advantage because she can quickly change between the large and the small cog at the front.

She knows that she does, however, have some limitations, but not the ones you may expect on a bike. “The main limitation of this bike is actually probably me myself. I am the smallest rider on the tour and have the smallest frame size, a 13 inch.” Because of the bike’s small size, she can only carry two water bottles on the frame and does not have any mounting points on the front fork. This, she says, is her biggest battle on tour because she has to carry extra water in a pack which is an inconvenience in her opinion. Helen also carries around something key to her success on tour that no other rider does, a little Scottish teddy as a mascot!

What Helen recommends:  Get a pro bike fitting and make sure that you have enough space to carry a sufficient amount of water.

Henry and Linda (United States)

Henry and Linda, one of our husband and wife couples on this year’s Tour d’Afrique, are both riding the same bike, Fuji Touring bikes. “They are about as basic a bike as you can get,” Linda exclaims. “We have caliper brakes and bar end shifters which are virtually unbreakable!” She explains that bringing a simple bike to Africa was a big thing for her. “I think almost anyone in Africa can fix our bikes,” she says laughing.

The bikes are steel which means they are heavier than many bikes on tour; however, this also means they are rugged and are able to put up with the beating that they get on these African roads. Another feature of their bikes they believe is valuable is having wheels with 36 spokes. With all the dirt roads, the couple believes that having that amount of spokes protects them from potential damage to their rims.

What Linda recommends: Simple bikes! They are easy to fix and maintain.

What Henry recommends: Take a saddle that you are comfortable with and have ridden before. “Saddle sores can take you out,” says Henry. He also recommends double handlebar tape and handlebars with multiple handholds to avoid sore hands while riding.

Jannes Nijland (Netherlands)

Jannes is riding a titanium gravel bike that he bought specifically for this tour. His number one criteria for picking a bike was to find a durable bike that could handle all the elements, specifically the gravel which he loves. “The best days are the gravel days. We had a 400 kilometre straight gravel stretch which is really unique…”

Riding a bike made for the most physically taxing stretches allows him to cruise through the difficult stretches and deal efficiently with the sealed roads as well. He explained that he would rather have a bike that can handle all of the riding as opposed to just some of it. Jannes rides with a double chainring in the front because there is so much climbing and descending that having a wide range of gears to rotate through is a big help.

What Jannes recommends: “The most important thing to bring is your bike!” Jannes says, chuckling. He also thinks that having a double chainring for your gears in front is important because there is more climbing than he expected! Further, he recommends making sure you bring gear that is new. “Do not show up with a cassette that has been riding 6,000 km back home.” Finally, he echoes what other riders have said. If something breaks and you cannot find a replacement, your tour is finished so bring a simple bike with simple parts.

Closing thoughts

As you can see, everyone comes with different opinions on the best sort of bike and suite of features to go with it. Helen and Jannes really find value in having multiple chain rings on their front gears whereas Jim and Justine ride with one and enjoy the simplicity that it brings. While many opinions differ, there are a few common threads that everyone agrees on. First off, you are going to cycle through Africa. This is not Europe where there is a proper bike shop in every town you go through – finding parts to replace can be difficult. Bringing simple parts and ones that are source-able can save your tour. “If something breaks that you cannot replace then you cannot ride anymore… that is the consequence [for bringing parts hard to replace],” Jannes exclaims.

Secondly, bring a bike that you are comfortable riding. This is an epic adventure, something that very few people in the world ever have the chance to do. It is tiring, thrilling, treacherous, and exhilarating. You do not want to be uncomfortable with the bike you bring. Trust yourself and bring a bike that you know you will be comfortable with, a saddle that you have ridden on, and, as Jim says, an attitude for adventure never hurts!

Watch our accompanying video to hear the testimonials from the riders themselves along with some additional tips!

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Benjamin Levin is the Content Creator on the 2024 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition. In this report, he takes a look at TDA Global Cycling’s method of navigation for the riders on tour.

TDA’s Navigation History

In the company’s not so recent past, GPS mapping software was not as readily available as it is today. That meant in order to navigate groups of cyclists across continents, they used biodegradable flagging tape. Yes, flagging tape. Imagine biking 10,000 km down the entire length of Africa and only being directed by little pieces of bright orange tape hung on whatever the staff could find. Sometimes, they even used energy drink powder….needs must!

>>Related Post: Finding Your Way Home

Well, luckily for everyone who would be involved in what seems like a stressful process, TDA has changed with the times and now employs a new way of herding the groups of sometimes 60+ riders across continents. They use GPS mapping and the Ride with GPS interface (with only the occasional flagging tape for areas that may prove confusing).

>>Related Post: Navigation And The Tour d’Afrique: On A Wing And A Prayer

So, what is Ride with GPS? Ride with GPS is an interface that allows users to plan routes as well as map, analyze, and share their rides with friends. Similar to other apps such as All Trails which is used for hiking and running and Polar Steps which specializes in general travel tracking, Ride with GPS is designed for bike travel. With an extensive database of maps, Ride with GPS allows TDA to navigate its plans accurately and efficiently along the routes that they plan out.

Currently, Ride with GPS is being used on the 2024 Tour d’Afrique and 3 months into the tour it has worked without a hitch. We have travelled through deserts in Egypt, mountains in Rwanda, and the savannahs of Kenya and Tanzania, all while having Ride with GPS telling us where to turn, where to find refreshment, and most importantly, how far until lunch!

Ride with GPS is a flexible app that can be customized to best fit the users’ preferences. Most riders on TDA tours use a smartphone with the RWGPS app as their main navigation method. While this presents some challenges (weather resistance and battery drain), in our experience, it is the easiest setup to use, especially for anyone who is less tech-savvy. Riders can bring a battery pack as a back up. Others prefer to use a Garmin or Wahoo GPS device – these are also a good option, but require much greater effort and patience both for initial set up and to load the daily tracks. If you do not already use a Garmin or Wahoo device, a smartphone is the best option

Below you will find testimonials from the 2024 Tour d’Afrique riders explaining how they use the app to best suit them on their rides.

Henry

Henry uses a Wahoo when he rides, while also having Ride with GPS app active on his phone. The Wahoo gives him vocal cues which he thinks are helpful but keeps the app open on his phone because it provides him more information than is displayed on his Wahoo. “I check the app a lot on those long climb days because I need to proportion my energy properly.” He says he will also check information like the speed he is going and the distance he has left until the next stop he plans to make so he can estimate how long it will take him to reach his destination. Henry uses physical cue sheets as well (printed out versions of the cue sheets on Ride with GPS). “I have [used the sheets] to look for coke stops… if we are at kilometre 115 and it says there is a coke stop at kilometre 120, I know that I will have the chance to stop soon.”

Linda

Linda uses a Wahoo during her rides while also keeping the Ride with GPS app active on her phone. However, unlike Henry, she says she rarely opens the app during her ride. She does not use voice cues, simply following the arrows presented to her on her Wahoo. Linda says that riding without checking so many metrics and specifics is “just her style” and that it would be the same way if she was riding solo and not in a large group. “I very rarely look at the physical cue sheets,” Linda exclaims. “I bring them just in case I get separated and need to know what’s going on…I have a lot of trust in my arrows [on the Wahoo display].”

Jannes

Jannes uses a Garmin in order to navigate on the Tour d’Afrique. He jokes that it really is not all that difficult to navigate in Africa. “Well actually it’s not too complicated to ride in Africa cause most of the road is straight and has little turns!” He keeps his Garmin screen on throughout the entire ride because it has enough battery life to last the entire day without dying. The most important metric, and really the only one he says he looks at, is the distance to the next stop on his route. He mentions that he will occasionally look at the speed he is going, or what was going on during the ride, but not consistently.

Kenny (one of our bike mechanics)

Kenny uses his phone as his GPS as opposed to a Garmin or a Wahoo. He chooses to leave the screen blacked out but rides with the audio cues which he listens to in one earphone. He turns his screen on periodically to make sure that he is on route, but when he does, he does not use any of the specific metrics on his home screen. “I like the simplicity of just a line to follow and the avatar.” He says he does not use a physical cue sheet but will use the one provided on the Ride with GPS app when he needs it.

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]]> https://tdaglobalcycling.com/2024/03/herding-riders-across-africa-ride-with-gps/feed/ 4 https://tdaglobalcycling.com/2024/03/the-football-champions-league-is-alive-and-well-here-in-africa/ https://tdaglobalcycling.com/2024/03/the-football-champions-league-is-alive-and-well-here-in-africa/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2024 14:28:35 +0000 https://tdaglobalcycling.com/?p=57647   Gonzalo Pastor is a sectional rider on the 2024 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition. In this post, he reports on]]>

Gonzalo Pastor is a sectional rider on the 2024 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition. In this post, he reports on his experiences, religious and otherwise, in Tanzania.

We are in beautiful Tanzania. A few days ago, we camped under the impressive Mt Kilimanjaro and last night we saw Mount Meru from our campsite. Two jewels of Tanzania! I will be taking with me many wonderful memories from this beautiful land, spiced by the magic of the Tanzanian people. People from different tribes (Maasai, Chagga and other 118 tribes, living in peace with one another) and 3 of the world’s main religions, mainly Christian, Muslims and some Hindu.

I would like to note a material thing that makes many young men and women happy in these lands: the colourful T-shirts from leading international football teams (Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid and others) that are seen all around on the youngsters (and not-so-young!). Dress codes that can be distinguished a mile away while biking, because of their bright colours. The amusing thing is that if you, for example, ask some young Maasai ladies about the team T/shirt that they are wearing, they may look at their shirts and reply that they don’t really know what are those t-shirts all about! But that is, however, immaterial to the smile that you receive from these ladies as a curious tourist! We just like football, and that is why we use those shirts, Jazz told me at the hotel counter! A little gift from the Champions League’s organizers that makes so many people happy down here. Muchas gracias Champions League!

The story of the Maasai people does not finish there. The Maasai, in Arusha and maybe in other places, may be facing some tough times once you look deeper. Modernization has arrived and many large fertile areas are now fenced, thus somewhat limiting the space available for grazing their cows, goats and sheep. Lands that were open fields not so long ago, are now private property and beyond reach for them. My observation is that the Maasai are adjusting to the times. Some are more engaged in agriculture than in the past. Others work in the services sector, in tourism or retail. Those working in the tourist sector may not even carry their traditional bright-coloured shoulder blankets and walking sticks used by their parents and grandparents.

Tanzanian society, overall, is very religious and that may be a source of cohesion in these changing times. The names of our local assistants along the road have been, among others, Emmanuel, Ezequiel, Ruth, Naomi, and Sarah. Even the wifi passwords give you a hint – for example, “Blessing 2023.” The Maasai are also a very traditional social group. Tradition! Tradition! It impacts the way they live and eat. For example, according to their religious practices, not all portions of the cow are eaten and some portions are reserved for men and others for women. I have received many blessings along the road these last two months, including some requests to keep some people in my prayers. My last name is Pastor, which is Swahili reads Mfundisi, or leader of a congregation. Thus, some people think that I am, in fact, a religious leader. That makes me very proud and I now carry that name with great pride and responsibility!

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Judith Gold, sister of TDA Founder Henry Gold, is currently cycling the 2024 Tour d’Afrique from Kigali to Cape Town. In this piece, she looks back at her experience cycling through Kenya.

We have now completed cycling through Kenya. Our first rest stop in the country, after an intense 5 days of riding from Entebbe – through mountains, on dirt roads, in fishermen’s boats and on local trucks – was in Eldoret, the town where Kenyan runners and cyclists train. It was home for the recent Chicago marathon champion and world record holder, Kiptum, who died in a tragic car crash a week before we arrived.

Surprisingly, at least to me, there was a huge difference upon entering Kenya. We saw many industrial farms, greenhouses, and evidence of industry. Sadly, there was virtually none of that in the parts of Uganda we biked, save for one Chinese industrial park. The roads in Kenya are less busy, houses set a bit further off the road and a lot fewer adults and children milling about and the majority of women are in modern dress. The land is also dryer, though still green, and we passed the occasional cactus and acacia tree, but no giraffes (they feed on the acacia). The land turned very green soon thereafter, as we entered the Great Rift Valley. An amazing ride, even among the many amazing rides we have already had.

Another highlight were the numerous crossing of the equator, which I have already written about,  as we snaked our way east from Uganda before turning south towards Nairobi. It’s just one of those things one likes to tick off one’s list, but we crossed it so many times that many of us lost count. A fellow cyclist, after she read the blog, reminded me that I forgot two crossings during our trip to see to the chimp sanctuary in Lake Victoria. As I said, we lost count…

The scenery in Kenya was impressive. It truly is a beautiful country (at least the part we cycled). It’s surreal sometimes to be the only cyclist on an empty long road, as the vast majority of the other cyclists are way ahead of me. I have to remind myself how amazing this really is. And it’s also remarkable how safe it feels. Especially when one considers that the interior of Africa was a completely mystery only 150 years ago.

We had two rest days in Nairobi, a vast and very busy city. We (Gonzalo and myself, and some of the other riders) took the opportunity to visit the Giraffe Sanctuary to see and feed the Rothchild Giraffes, which were nearly extinct before their numbers started to rise due to the work of the sanctuary. There are now close to a 1000 of these.

We also had a short game drive in the Nairobi National park, where we saw lots of game and visited the Sheldrick Elephant Nursery, watching orphan baby elephants being bottled fed and frolic. An interesting book about the founding of the nursery is Love, Life, and Elephants, an African Love Story, by Daphne Sheldrick. But perhaps the best part of the visit to Nairobi was the many interesting conversations we had with Uber drivers. The majority are university graduates who cannot get jobs making a decent living. They work 14-15 hour days. We spoke to several finance/accounting majors. Some lost their jobs during COVID and indicated that these jobs are unlikely to come back. Many complained of recent increases in taxes and how life was getting harder and harder. It was difficult not to put on our IMF hats and start dissecting the economy. Talk of debt was everywhere!

Our final day of riding in Kenya was around Mt. Kilimanjaro with clear views of the snow capped peak. Super lucky!

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Judith Gold, sister of TDA Founder Henry Gold, is currently cycling the 2024 Tour d’Afrique from Kigali to Cape Town. In this piece, she looks back at her experience crossing…and recrossing…one of the world’s great dividing lines.

As loyal followers of TDA Global Cycling will know, the 2024 Tour d’Afrique had to rejig its traditional route to skip over Sudan and Ethiopia. Instead, we got to bike in Rwanda and Uganda and so had the pleasure of many new experiences that were not available on the usual ride. One of these is the numerous crossings of the equator.

The equator is one of those classic things that travellers like to tick off their list. Yes, it may be important to cartographers, and especially to navigators in days past (before Ride With GPS, haha), but really, what is the imaginary line that separates the earth into the north and south to us, everyday people, who like to bike, other than a photo op? Imagine our surprise when we experienced several crossings of this historic marker.

Our first crossing was in a long (about 4 hours) ferry ride on Lake Victoria. Unfortunately the day was bleak, with rather intense rain, and the majority of riders were packed like sardines in the belly of the ferry. It was actually fun, as we got to intimately know our fellow Ugandan passengers including details of their daily lives while exchanging stories and showing photos of our loved ones. We did not, however, mark the crossing of the equator. Not only was it raining hard, but any movement on the ferry was restricted by the large crowd and leaving your seat meant you got to stand the rest of the way. No problem, we knew there would be another crossing. But we did not appreciate just how many.

The second time was epic. It was during stage 23, cycling from Koriema to Nakuru, in Kenya, and we lunched at zero latitude. Very cool! Many of the riders made sure they got a video of themselves riding right under the equator sign, several times! A feeling of a real sense of accomplishment. Another milestone on this amazing journey. But just the very next day, on a ride from Nakuru to our Bush camp at Matura, we got to cross the equator two, or maybe three times. We are still debating this, as we ended the ride on our rest day in the town of Nanyuki, in the North hemisphere somehow, when we should have been in the Southern Hemisphere. Clearly one of our crossing was on either of the two long segments on dirt roads, where the road authority did not go to the trouble of marking this most important of passages.

Nanyuki is an attractive town, best known as the place to organize safaris to see the last surviving northern white rhino in the nearby Ol Pejeta Reserve. It is also directly on the equator and a short walk through town takes one right by yet another sign that announces to the world that one has crossed that imaginary line. The majority of the riders decided that they had enough crossings so they did not bother. In any case, we all crossed it one last time (at least on this trip) on our ride out of Nanyuki to Othaya. I am guessing that no one bothered to stop and take a picture.

All in all, we crossed the equator six times (not counting the crossing in town on our rest day). Maybe 4 more than needed? Even our illustrious tour leader lost count. Maybe TDA Global Cycling should try out a new route, the Equator Ride, snaking along the equator in this part of Africa?

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Benjamin Levin is the Content Creator on the 2024 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition and a self described wildlife photographer. In this report, he looks back at his experience (and that of a few riders) had on the Musanze rest day visiting the mountain gorillas of Rwanda.

The riders had climbed for days and days to get to this point. Rwanda is known as the land of a thousand hills and whoever said that was certainly not exaggerating. But some riders on the 2024 Tour d’Afrique had a destination in mind that was worth the endless ascents; they were going to one of the only places in the world that can offer a wildlife experience as singular and intimate as the one they were after. The excitement in these riders was palpable as we headed to Musanze, Rwanda. They were going to have the opportunity to see endangered mountain gorillas in the wild.

A silverback gorilla lazily staring at us as he eats

There are just over 1000 mountain gorillas left on the planet. With their range restricted to the jungles of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is imperative for the survival of this species that they are properly protected. Tourism is strictly regulated. In Rwanda, only 96 permits are given out each day to see the gorillas. Not only does this make the experience that much more special for the riders that had the opportunity, but it also ensures that the gorillas remain truly wild, not becoming habituated to human intrusion. Moreover, the money made from tourism goes directly back into gorilla conservation and the development of the local community. In a way, the gorillas are the catalysts for the successful development of gorillas conservation programs and growth of the Musanze area.

As it grew closer to the time to leave for the tour, everyone made certain their permits were correct, cameras were charged and clothes were primed for the bugs and rains. Then, in the early morning, we got picked up from camp. Soon we were placed in our groups; the time to search for these beautiful, powerful primates was upon us. The morning was mostly clear, we could see the volcano looming over the jungle. Rain clouds threatened, as they always do in this part of the world, in the distance above Volcano National Park. The bush was dense, more of a game trail than one regularly used for trekking. Ankle deep mud, the enemy of the day, welcomed us to the jungle. For 45 minutes, or maybe an hour, we pushed through the dense undergrowth. The game ranger led us confidently, explaining as he went that all of the gorilla tracking is done using landmarks, no GPS or satellites. Then we heard voices, voices and grunting. We stood still. The tops of the trees moved, rather, they were moved and rounding a corner suddenly, a silverback gorilla stared at us.

One of the most striking feelings you experience while viewing wildlife is being looked at. It is almost ironic, you search for these animals in order to look at them, to see them in their natural environment, undisturbed. So when they look at you, and you can really feel them looking at you, it is an incredibly special feeling. Primates in particular, so human in their appearance and actions, look at you with an intelligence that freezes you in place. We had cycled a thousand kilometres and hiked for many more to end up looking at these creatures, and instead, they were looking at us.

As we observed these wonderful animals, our gaze reflected in theirs, we could not help but compare ourselves to them. Seeing these mountain gorillas in their home, playing, arguing, grooming, and relaxing was like looking at a mirror of the human condition. The tenderness of the mother, the gentle confidence of the father, all things that we have experienced in our day to day lives. Visiting the mountain gorillas was a deeply impactful experience. The unique blend of intimacy and awe of being seen through their eyes is something I will always remember and carry with me.

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Benjamin Levin is the Content Creator on the 2024 Tour d’Afrique Cycling Expedition. In his second report, he looks back at his experience with Egyptian traffic and the different ways people use horns, something that our cyclists slowly learned about during their time in the country.

Arriving in any unfamiliar country can be overwhelming. For the riders beginning the Tour d’Afrique in Cairo, Egypt, with its constant and overwhelming stimulations, the experience is often a shock to the system. A thousand new sights, smells, and sounds welcome you to this great city. Through it all, no sense is as affected as is your hearing. Twenty-two million people live in the Cairo metro area and with an estimated 2.6 million licensed vehicles on the road, one sound rises above the din, honking. While the barrage of horns is often mistaken for constant anger on the road, it is really a nuanced language. Known only to the drivers of Egypt, the language of honking is as important for road literacy as reading street signs.

Many travellers to Egypt, hailing from countries where drivers tend to use horns to express anger or signal danger on the road, may find the constant deluge unsettling if they are not accustomed to it. Before acclimatizing to the honking culture, it would be easy to perceive everyone as constantly angry or in danger, putting you on edge. However, this conclusion would be misplaced. Spend any amount of time in the back of a taxi in Cairo, and you will begin to grasp the complex conversations that unfold on the matrix of streets, in the alleys, and throughout the 14-lane motorways of the city.

Yasser smiling as he chats about Egyptian drivers

As Yasser Mohamad, a Cairo native and a local bicycle mechanic in Egypt who was with us till Aswan to help support the clients, and I were driving, he explained the language of the road. “We have many words we can contact each other with [while driving], like ‘beep’ is like thank you, ‘beep beeeeep’ is like I’m angry from you, beep beep beep beep beep beep is like I love you habibi… some things like this,” he exclaims, laughing. This was just moments after he had honked at a car, passed it as it was honking back at him, then honked again to let them know his thanks. In just a few moments the two drivers communicated that one would pass the other, that it was ok, and then said thank you. All with a few touches of the horn. Yasser remarked that honking is part of everyday life in Egypt and makes driving much safer. “Without this, we would have many accidents on the road.” Lacking the traditionally enforced rules of the road, driving anywhere in Egypt is quite hectic and the use of the horns is a way to stay safe and aware on the busy streets.

Consider honking simply a form of social interaction; the same way that two people would make eye contact and nod to each other, is the same way two drivers honk. It makes sense. Polite people say please and thank you and ask for permission before doing something that may get in the way of others, but in a car we do not have the ability to speak this easily. Horns give people on the road a voice, a voice that people in many countries seldom use.

In Egypt, honking adds a layer of cultural richness to the chaotic song played on every Egyptian street. If you ever have the time to visit, take a moment to listen to the din of cars and trucks. Watch the skillful drivers weave in and out, taking cues from other drivers’ horns. You may just end up appreciating a sound you have been conditioned to dislike.

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