Erwin Attenberger

Hi, I´m Erwin, already 66, retired. My first long tour was TDA 2014, where I went from Khartoum to Nairobi and on my own through Uganda, back to Kenia and from there down to Southafrica, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique. Meantime I´ve been on several TDA-Tours including South America and Silk Route. Looking forward to meet you on the next tour with TDA.

Michel Savoie

This will be my seventh trip with TDA. I like to travel on a bike with other cyclists like me.

Frieder Wolfart

After riding with TDA one and a half time the Silkroad, the Magical Madagaskar and the Himalaya Tour it's time for the next one to South Korea an Japan. For me Korea and Japan are totally unknown countries and it's time to change that. I am looking forward to meet some old friends again and to find some new ones.

David Houghton

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the bicycle in 2017, I’ll be taking 200 bicycle rides. Twenty-six of those rides will be in Madagascar.

JANICE FLEMING

I love to travel. I love to cycle. My ex & I biked 8,000 km across Canada for our honeymoon in 1979. I have not done any touring since. I thought I should start with something small but Madagascar called me.

Walter Ott

I am 70, live in Baden Switzerland and work still 1 day a week in a consulting and research company in Zurich as a senior consultant and researcher (economist and electrical engineer) in the realms of energy, environment and sustainability policy. I am very interested in economics energy and climate policy as well as in social development, literature and movies. Besides cycling and biking I like hiking, jogging and skiing. I know TDA from my Madagascar TDA-tour in 2017 and look forward to the Journey to the East.

Catherine Hanauer

Bicycle and adventure enthusiast. This has been on the bucket list for far too long

Justin Steel

Love Cycling. Love Africa. Tired of London..... .....so looking forward to joining up with TDA and fellow cyclists, to explore Madagascar (or maybe just a small part of it, in my case)

Annegrete Warrer

India 2011, Rome 2012, South Asia 2013, Indonesia+Australia 2014, South America 2015, Madagascar 2017 - now it's finally time for Africa although only Marocco, Mauritania and Senegal. Looking forward to test my present abilities surviving another expedition - hope for a little help from my friends of whom there seem to be quite some on this very challenging tour. Looking forward to meet you guys again.. After having managed first part of West Africa I now fell ready for the southern part of East Africa! For the people I still have not met: Danish, living in St. Anton, Austria, 65 years of age.. More of a skier than a cyclist..

Shaik Baba

Baba is a maestro in the art of cycle maintenance. He has close to 20 years of experience in the industry along with 10 years of travelling the length and breath of the country on cycle trips and camps. India is a highly diversified country with many languages. With five spoken languages under his belt, Baba is an asset to have on the team. Baba is a very friendly team person and ever willing to help & contribute in all aspects.

Jean Bernier

Hi, my name is Jean. I grew up in the beautiful town of Québec city. I have been very active since my young age. Physical education teacher for 32 years; now retired. That's my second experience with the Tour d'Afrique: In 2011, I participated in the four months challenging T.D.A.: very proud of my E.F.I. (evrey f... inches) Countries visited on bike: Canada: coast to coast. Vancouver to Inuvik ( Arctic: on the Dempster highway.) Africa: Cairo to Cape Town. India. See you all.

Johannes Hamunyela

How I got to be a cyclist Hi my name is Johannes Hamunyela, well known as “Jo-Joe”en I am 1,62 height,24years of age, it all started off as a joke clearly remember the year of 2008. By then I was 15 years of age. In my grade 8 in the city of Namibian well known as Windhoek. I was always so curious on owning my own bike as I always use to see most of my friends riding not allowing me to share with me simply because I take too long to return. Likely for me my secondary school get sponsored with bikes and the school started working out to those who do good for the school where I got to own one for myself too. So we started bragging on who’s faster than who we would go to the high ways. “the western bypass” to race amongst ourselves until we decided to actually join up for a competition “Race” where I got to win my first Amazing race the NEDBANK CYCLE CHALLENGE 35km under P.A.Y Physically Active Youth so I got to be introduced to P.A.Y which is an after school program where I would always come and do my school work and where we did some different sports activities’ so those of us that loved cycling joined and we get to be registered in races and we made it more fun by competing each other. There it goes the more you win the more you want to keep winning as I grow. So I got to be selected in the national team where I am till now, I got to travel to different countries either with my team or the national team to represent the country. And we would mostly bring back either medals or jersey’s as time passes so do i get to ride different bikes for different teams too. Where by so bikes sometimes I get to be invited alone for races to other countries. Like Japan, South Africa. I as well got to be doing training camps. E.g. the UCI camps which most of the races and places I visited I consider as achievements. I really feel like I have a lot to tell when it comes to my life history. As came from a really struggling family and with me cycling helps me provide a little income to my family. Where I can. It’s one of the reasons why I take cycling serious. I was born and raised by a single mother unemployed. I have 3 three brothers and a sister. I am my mum’s second born of the family. Where my younger brothers love seeing me ride my bike and I wish I could get them their own bikes but it really impossible as cycling in my country is not really recognized that much. So the little price money I get I have to assist my mother. With buying food and pay my little brother pre-primary school. I really feel sad sometimes when I see them look at me. I am rated as one of Namibia’s top cyclist and I am glad and happy, I feel proud of myself.

Emily Currie

“‘Happiness is only real when shared’: I think this counts for a whole spectrum of experiences and emotions—pain, hardship, excitement, joy, for instance—and explains why sharing an adventure or journey with a group makes it so very real!”

Who would have thought that growing up on a farm and a career in rural healthcare would prepare me for a job like my job at TDA? I always had the desire to travel and even though I thought working here would be too good to actually come true when I sent in my job application, here I am, six tours and 28 countries later. I’ve learned more about the world and myself then I ever expected.

With so many incredible memories—and so much food shared, so many friends made along the way—it will take me years to process everything I’ve experienced courtesy of TDA. Highlights of my travels so far include finishing the North American Epic (NAE) in Mexico City on the Day of the Dead, cycling Central Asia’s Pamir Highway, Abdul’s pilaf in the parking lot, Colombia, pan con chicharron, Patagonia, a massive thunder storm in Zambia, Hami melon, Madagascar, Samarkand, walnut and honey spread on fresh bread and topped with whipped yak cream, eaten in a warm yurt… and the list goes on! It’s amazing to realize that everything I experience with TDA will have an impact on my life long after these adventures are over.

One adventure I don’t expect to have again is the one I had in Mexico, when we discovered Hurricane Patricia was heading right straight at us. Monitoring the storm’s progress through the night—from stage 4 to stage 5—seemed so unreal. By 5:00 a.m., CNN was calling Patricia the strongest hurricane ever measured on planet earth. A few hours later, we loaded all bikes, riders, kit and crew onto an extra van and bus … and took off, tails between our legs, because Patricia was shaping up to be a beast! By nightfall we were safe and sound in the heart of tequila country, and, as Patricia lost most of her fury at landfall, the party at our lodgings ramped up.

There are so many wonderful aspects to working with TDA but key amongst them are travelling with purpose, meeting people from all over—and the food!

Peye Vlot

Since 1990 living and working ( dental surgeon ) in Muscat ( Sultanate of Oman ).

Bill Wilson

This will be my 8th trip with TDA, as I've previously ridden the Trans Europa, the Orient Express, the Hippie Trail, the Bamboo Road, Magical Madagascar, the Tour d'Afrique and the Trans Oceania. I retired four years ago, after more than 35 years prosecuting criminal cases for the Ontario government, and spend the bulk of my time cycling, golfing, reading and traveling. I am looking forward to getting together with some old friends and making some new ones.

Brad Davis

Australian 25-year-old journalism graduate whose only priority is getting out and seeing as much of the world as possible! I'm passionate about travelling, socialising, and writing (usually about travelling and socialising).

Jacqueline Nel

"It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle." Ernest Hemingway

Rae Simpson

I'm a 75-year old semi-retired test pilot, still flying jets and instructing part-time at International Test Pilots School. I took up cycling when arthritis and a double hip replacement ended to my running career. Korea-Japan will be our ninth TDA trip - we (Ursula and I) did Africa in 2008 and we keep coming back for more, most recently the inaugural Trans-Himalaya - great way to see places we've not been before, always a good group of fellow riders, always well supported. To fellow participants in Journey to the East, we look forward to meeting you and to exploring what is new territory for us, and we're forward to again riding with old friends from previous TDA trips.

Steven Pade

I live in the United States on the West coast in Burlingame, California just south of San Francisco. I'm a retired software engineer that specialized in medical applications. I love to travel. I will go anywhere anytime. This is my third TDA tour. I cycled the Orient Express in 2013 and Magical Madagascar in 2017. Cycling is my passion. I am proud of the fact that I bicycle more miles per year then I ride or idrive a car. I love the freedom of traveling on a bicycle. Traveling by bicycle your only concern is your health, your bicycle, and experiencing the immediate world around you. Im looking forward to meeting you in India and experiencing the wonder of the Himalaya Mountains with you.

Ursula Simpson

I am a retired database analyst. Enjoying life in Squamish, on Canada's West coast. Either hiking, biking or skiing, or entertaining my little grandson. My husband Rae and I are seasoned riders with TdA. Tour d’Afrique in 2008, Rome in 2012, Bamboo Road in 2013 and Australia in 2014. New Zealand in 2016. The Magical Madagascar tour in 2017. Hippie trail in 2019

Emily Currie

“‘Happiness is only real when shared’: I think this counts for a whole spectrum of experiences and emotions—pain, hardship, excitement, joy, for instance—and explains why sharing an adventure or journey with a group makes it so very real!”

Who would have thought that growing up on a farm and a career in rural healthcare would prepare me for a job like my job at TDA? I always had the desire to travel and even though I thought working here would be too good to actually come true when I sent in my job application, here I am, six tours and 28 countries later. I’ve learned more about the world and myself then I ever expected.

With so many incredible memories—and so much food shared, so many friends made along the way—it will take me years to process everything I’ve experienced courtesy of TDA. Highlights of my travels so far include finishing the North American Epic (NAE) in Mexico City on the Day of the Dead, cycling Central Asia’s Pamir Highway, Abdul’s pilaf in the parking lot, Colombia, pan con chicharron, Patagonia, a massive thunder storm in Zambia, Hami melon, Madagascar, Samarkand, walnut and honey spread on fresh bread and topped with whipped yak cream, eaten in a warm yurt… and the list goes on! It’s amazing to realize that everything I experience with TDA will have an impact on my life long after these adventures are over.

One adventure I don’t expect to have again is the one I had in Mexico, when we discovered Hurricane Patricia was heading right straight at us. Monitoring the storm’s progress through the night—from stage 4 to stage 5—seemed so unreal. By 5:00 a.m., CNN was calling Patricia the strongest hurricane ever measured on planet earth. A few hours later, we loaded all bikes, riders, kit and crew onto an extra van and bus … and took off, tails between our legs, because Patricia was shaping up to be a beast! By nightfall we were safe and sound in the heart of tequila country, and, as Patricia lost most of her fury at landfall, the party at our lodgings ramped up.

There are so many wonderful aspects to working with TDA but key amongst them are travelling with purpose, meeting people from all over—and the food!

Yanez Novoa

Exited to be part of the team.

Jill Cohen

Hi Everyone! I'm looking forward to joining Magical Madagascar 2019 as your Tour Medic. Saddle sores happen--I'm here to help, and we'll get through it. :) A bit about me: I'm an ER Travel Nurse and Dance Teacher, currently on assignment in the lovely little Eastern Sierra mountain town of Bishop, California. I like running amok outside on a bike, a snowboard, a boat, or my own two feet. And I love expeditions, explorations, journeys, and discoveries. If you say "Hey wanna come visit me in Siberia," I am that person who will show up on your doorstep. This is more or less how I started working with TDA. Ok, see y'all soon!

Dehon Ninon Cedric Ainarime

Dehon ,26 years old,Tourist Guide. This is always what i wanted to do and I feel so blessed to be part of this trip again. I look forward to meet all of you and having great time in Madagascar

Mark Wambui

Mark Wambui is a Storyteller. I enjoy tackling new adventures that test my endurance and commitment because through each of those moments I learn a little bit more about myself.

Shaik Baba

Baba is a maestro in the art of cycle maintenance. He has close to 20 years of experience in the industry along with 10 years of travelling the length and breath of the country on cycle trips and camps. India is a highly diversified country with many languages. With five spoken languages under his belt, Baba is an asset to have on the team. Baba is a very friendly team person and ever willing to help & contribute in all aspects.

Elizabeth (Liz) Crago

There are so many interesting places to travel to, and I can't think of any better way to travel through anywhere, than by bike. I enjoy the challenge it brings and I look forward to going to the more out of the way locations and interacting with the locals. I enjoy seeing how different life is in new places and from other perspectives. I enjoy travel, and I love cycling so am looking forward to combining them both for this trip. What will make it even more enjoyable is that my partner and best friend, Steve Caithness, has decided to join me on this amazing adventure.

Stephen Owen

Cycling since school age chasing buses to school, and now aged 53, I have stepped up cycling in the last 7 years with weekend rides and endurance 300/500km rides in 24hrs, wisdom/body is now telling me that multi day riding more fun... More recently cycled across Atlas mountains North Africa, Sri Lanka and recently TDA Madagascar in May 2019. The East2 full trip will be exciting range of landscapes and such a complex history and culture. It always brings a smile to my face once I've sat down with coffee in hand and consider how lucky I am.

Rebecca (Becky) Lewis

I live in Steamboat Springs, CO. I do lots of outside activities in this mountain town, including hiking, biking (road and mountain), fishing, skiing, x-country skiing, show shoeing, and probably more I can't think of right now. I do a lot of volunteer work. I'm divorced and almost retired. I've traveled a lot of the world, and always wanted to go to Madagascar. Can't think of a better way to do it than this. I'm going with my neighbor and friend, Amy.

Amy Jenkins

I am so excited to join this ride! I have ridden in Italy, Spain, Croatia, Vietnam , Cambodia and across America. This is sure to be the coolest location yet! I am married and have 2 adult children, their spouses and a 6 year old grandson, all of whom are the light of my life! In addition to biking, I love everything outdoors including snow and water skiing and teach adaptive snow and waterskiing as well. Because I am retired, I spend my time volunteering for Hospice, for an adaptive sports program and at our local hospital with our therapy dog Mollie. Life is grand and I look forward to this wonderful adventure with all of you!

EVAN KENLEY

I have the wanderlust. What better way to do it than by bike? I have traveled extensively and recently did the SAE and Silk Route. What fun and challenging trips. I am hitting that sweet spot in age when the time, energy and desire are there to challenge myself to new adventures. I look forward to sharing this challenging experience with my fellow adventurers.

Tom Green

Steve Caithness

I'm brand new to cycling, thanks to my partner Liz for enticing me to join her on this amazing trip. I've been pretty active all my life, playing sports, fishing and diving, and especially enjoyed travelling to Truk Lagoon in 2011 and 2013 diving shipwrecks. So I am looking forward to a new challenge and enjoy meeting new people from different cultures and with different ways of life.

Alan Knight

I look forward to meeting and riding with all of you. This will be my second tour with TDA. I survived Cairo to Cape Town in 2013 and hope to survive Madagascar as well – and not get lost too many times. I retired about two years ago and currently live just outside of Geneva.

Hugh Green

Mechanical Engineer

Ellen Kurland

I'm a paramedic/firefighter in Washington DC who is looking forward to getting out of the city and politics of DC. Madagascar seemed as far away as I could go and still be on this planet. I am currently reading a book on a researcher who spent a lot of time in Madagascar studying Lemurs and I'm getting pretty excited about being there. I can only get enough time off of work to do the first section. Looking forward to meeting everyone and doing some cycling.

James Bowen

I am a plump 64 year old recently retired barrister who should know better

Freddie Kennedy

Charlene Cebryk

Love the outdoors, hiking, golf, camping, cycling, travelling. Have enjoyed doing all of these things at one time or another with my husband and/or our (now adult) children.

Jeanine Hartnett

I’ve loved Japan ever since I did Ironman Japan in 1994 and 1995 and had home-stays. So excited about going back. This will be my third TDA trip. I retired from a banking career in New York in 2016.

Rita Tellerman

Sonia Simard

Henry Gold

Founder, TDA Global Cycling

Niels van Dongen

Ruth Storm

Joining the Tour d’Afrique in 2007 was the beginning of my love of cycle touring. Since, I’ve cycled independently in Europe, New Zealand, Middle East, North America, TDA Silk Road 2016 and TDA Madagascar 2019. I also sail, trek, climb and ski long distances and remotely. Looking forward to exploring with like-minded friends!

Julie Hunter

I’m a Kiwi living in the U.K. I got bitten by the cycling bug in 2014. with my kiwi riding buddy we’ve been doing independent cycling and camping trips in Spain, France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and this year Sicily. Madagascar is an exciting location, will be my first trip without loaded panniers, looking forward to meeting like minded people and seeing the Lemurs.

Jane Hartwell

I have wanted to travel to Madagascar for over 20 years, and am really excited to do so via bicycle! I really believe you see the world from different perspective from a bike. This will be my first time on a bicycle tour. I'm looking forward to meeting and riding with everyone else. I don't have any (non-work related) social media links!