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

A long time ago, I had a ten minute conversation on the beach with Steve who had been on a TDA tour through Africa. I didn’t know it then but it planted a thought in my head that would soon change the course of my life.

It seemed that everything I had done before had in some way prepared me for this. A life in hospitality and a few years at sea - from some grand establishments to some very inhospitable vessels and anything in-between.

There were a variety of less stimulating occupations I had explored before I landed at TDA. I think this is what has kept me here for so long, the almost overwhelming stimulation that one gets from daily life on tour, which is miles apart from my quiet country life in South Africa.

That, and the other people. There is always such a variety of people from all walks of life and from all over the world that I would otherwise not have met.

Nirmika Athalye

What I love most about this work is the constant puzzle of figuring things out, the hands-on problem-solving, working closely with local teams, and adapting to whatever comes our way. Alongside that, the camaraderie that grows across borders with people you never expected to meet is what keeps me coming back for more. At the heart of it all, though, it’s you - the riders. Watching people from all kinds of backgrounds come together, each pushing themselves for their own reasons, and achieving things most wouldn’t even dream of, is endlessly inspiring.

No matter how diverse our backgrounds, cultures, or professions may be, out on the road everyone is equal. All connected by a shared passion and a curiosity for the world around us and the world within us. That quiet determination, that raw humanness, is truly beautiful to witness, day in and day out.

I live in Central India, close to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Ellora Caves, right along the Hippie Trail route. Thanks to my parents and their wonderfully offbeat way of raising us, I grew up exploring the outdoors from a very young age, in a way most kids in India probably didn’t. At 17, I left the country for the first time as an exchange student in France. Everything was new; the food, the language, the culture.. but it gave me a taste of what else was out there. After that, I knew I had to keep chasing the horizon. During college, I began leading treks and summer camps across the Indian Himalayas. That was the start of my professional journey in the outdoors, more than a decade ago.

Over time, I found a way to blend my two favorite things, adventure and photography into a path in adventure filmmaking....and that’s how I found TDA in 2019!

It’s hard to pick a single favorite memory, but riding the full Tour d’Afrique in 2023 was truly life-changing. Cycling for months through places I’d only ever seen in books or on screen was like a dream. The expanse of the universe in front of you, and watching it change slowly one sunrise, one pedal, and one sunset at a time was unforgettable. I think I’ll be chasing that wilderness feeling forever.

If you're thinking of joining a TDA tour, my one tip would be this: come with an open heart and an open mind. Some of the toughest days on the road might just become the most meaningful ones. Embrace whatever the journey throws at you and enjoy the flow. Because once you go back home, this will be all you’d be daydreaming about.

Helen Gertig

I'm a GP based in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland. Love an adventure by any self-propelled means. I have previously been medic for the (fabulous) Tour d'Afrique, Silk Route and Trans-Himalaya TDA expeditions. Looking forward to joining you all for this joyful two-wheeled scamper!!

depi Chaudhry

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.

Harold Solomon

Husband of 20 years and father of a high school senior, Ben and freshman, Mira. I love adventures and need one now to get my next chapter in life booted up. Always worked well when I've done that in the past and I hope it brings the same magic again.

Rod Pennington

Hi there fellow adventure travellers, looking forward to sharing this experience with all of you....let's go!

Catriona Kennedy

Mike and I have cycled from Istanbul to Beijing, Shanghai to Singapore, through India, Cartagena to Santiago and Brazil with TDA and done numerous cycling tours through Europe and across America. This trip through Seoul and Japan sounds fantastic and we're really looking forward to it.

Juan Xavier Checa

Hello, my name is Juan Xavier Checa, I am from Ecuador. I love to be in the nature and make new friends. I am waiting to start riding my bike in this tour!!!!!

Peye Vlot

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

Henry Gold

Founder, TDA Global Cycling

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, TDA Madagascar 2019 ,TDA Himalayas 2019 and North American Epic in 2022. I also sail, trek, climb and ski long distances and remotely. Looking forward to exploring with like-minded friends!

Don Colpitts

The vendors setting up their market stalls in the early morning light, the children joining friends for the walk to school, scooters carrying entire families through busy intersections: the start of another day, in this town, right now, right here, where I am in the midst of the intimate fleeting dance called life. Some make references to "real-life" back at home, call this journey "once-in-a-lifetime", speak of a destination as a finish line. I reject all such attempts to constrain these experiences of exploring the world's peoples, cultures, geographies, religions, customs, daily rhythms of life, as merely attempts to stay sheltered in what is familiar, to be put it in a box to be forgotten. Instead, these journeys are life-changing: challenging what we think we know, can do, can feel, and need.

Richard Feldman

Since 2016, I’ve ridden with Adventure Cycling Association on their Southern Tier USA Cross Country Route, the Route 66 ride from Chicago to L.A. and the Pacific Coast from the Canadian to Mexican borders. Morocco will be my third trip with TDA. My previous trips are the Bamboo Road from Shanghai to Singapore. and The Trans Himalayan ride through Northern India into Nepal. Great adventures all! Semi-retired, divorced with two adult sons. I live in and bike New York City. Enthusiastically looking forward to this new adventure! Everyone tells me Morocco in a fantastic place to see and be.

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.

Dunnery Best

Victoria B.C. Canadian. Hikes, bikes and races and cruises sailboats. Snow sports: downhill, board, XC classic and skate . Devoted mushroom hunter.

Brigitte Oelert

I am married to Jürgen Willrodt and our first vacation 30 years ago was a bike tour through France. After our kids were grown, Jürgen convinced me to ride the Ruta Maya in Central America in 2015. It was my first TDA tour, which was tough but absolutely fantastic! The following year I cycled part of the Trans-Oceania Tour - from Auckland to Queenstown and in 2019 the first 4 weeks of the Trans-Himalaya Tour. And in 2023 the Journey to the East. I'm looking forward to bike the Baltic and to meet some friends.

Marco Panebianco

photos.google.com/albums CIAO!

Simon Thompson

I'm an independent IT Consultant. Really looking forward to the Trans-Himalaya - it will be my first major cycling tour and it looks like it will be quite an adventure!

Ellen Loopstra

NA

Jonna Koch

I feel alive when I ride my bike. It is my fifth TDA tour. I did the Trans-Himalaya 2019, Kingdom of the West 2022 and Trans-Caucasus 2022 and sections of th Silk Route in 2025.

Bernice Aebly

This is me having fun in Vermont. This will be my fifth time with TDA, Orient Express in 2018, Baja section of North American Tour, 2013; Australia 2104; and 2 month Silk Route in 2016. The draw for the Silk Route was going through Mongolia . This new tour in the Himalayas is an area that I have not travel to before. Looking forward to the experience and meeting up again with friends from past tours. Wow so excited, a space came available for Journey to the East 2, so here I go again. So many good friends to meet up with again and to enjoy Japan. See you all soon.

Per Sörner

Freelance engineer, musician and reality hacker from the Swedish west coast. Currently on an indefinite sabbatical to explore life more fully. I find expedition cycling a good way to practice living in the present, enjoy the "simple" downsized life, see the world, fill up with new impressions and stretch the edge of my comfort zone. Previous TdA experience: Hong Kong to Bangkok (Bamboo Road premiere 2013), Bali to Alice Springs (Trans-Oceania premiere 2014), Quito to Cusco (SAE 2015), Ulan Bator to Gorno-Altaysk (Silk Route 2016), Freetown to Cape Coast (West Africa en Vélo premiere 2018), Kashmir to Kathmandu (Trans Himalaya premiere 2019) and Journey to the East (2024).

Caroline Denee

The Silk Road in 2014 was my first tour with TDA and my first long distance tour, now I'm back for more. A chance to reunite with old friends, make new friends and to meet like minded souls from all around the world. To explore by bike gives you the chance to experience remote locations, bustling cities, try new cuisines, be part of different cultures, take on new challenges, get plenty of exercise and to have the camaraderie at camp at the end of the day to share the highs and the lows with those who understand. In 2019 I completed the first trans Himalaya tour and that was quite an adventure. Europe will be very different this time. Can't wait for this adventure to begin !

Ross Norton

Lover of mountains, keen mountain biker, Capetonian and father to two teenage daughters

Michael Netzsch

I am happy that I can join another tour with TDA.

Ron Jewula

I live in Victoria and Whistler, Canada. Although I am more at home either on a sailboat or skiing, a couple years ago I rediscovered cycling after a short 48 year break. This will be my first trip to India and Nepal so very much looking forward to the ride. I still have a couple years of youth left before I turn 70, so what better way to enjoy life. I’ve done a couple longer rides – across Canada in 2015, Silk Route with TDA in 2014 until a rather inglorious end in Western China (I wasn’t watching and crashed out), then returning again in 2016 to complete the full ride. It will be great to ride again with many good friends – See you in Srinagar next August.

Marie-Josée Vasseur

It’s always a joy to be on a bike, see the world and meet new people. See you on the road!

Erwin Attenberger

Hi, I´m Erwin, already 69, 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, Silk Route and Trans-Himalaya. Looking forward to meet you on the next tour with TDA.

David Paterson

I am 69, retired, and live in the Okanagan Valley of B.C. Canada. Really only cycle to travel. Went on tda trips in Africa and India and the Himalayas.

Peter Hodges

Kiwi who enjoys getting out and exploring. (tda veteran)

Fred Promoli

Occupation: retired Physical Education and Outdoor Education teacher; former naval officer; Hometown: Guelph, Ontario Current residence: Collingwood, Ontario Former provinces of residence: all but Nfld, NB, PEI TdA experience: Tour d'Afrique 2003; Orient Express 2008; Silk Route 2008; Bamboo Road 2013; Australia 2014; South America 2015, 2017; Lake Winnipeg 2016; (America by Bicycle northern route 2016); Trans Himalaya 2019 Current activities: cycling, motorcycle touring, golf, canoe tripping, xc skiing; bagpipe band member

Juergen Willrodt

I am 75 years old and have already participated in 10 TDA tours mainly as a sectional rider. I am married and happy father of three girls (44, 29 and 27) and grandfather of three grandchildren. I am partly retired working now just 1 or 2 days a week which gives me plenty of time to travel. I have studied physics and have a Ph.D. in theoretical particle physics. I have been active in sports all my life and before I started doing cycling tours I have been active in Karate and participated in World Championships 1975 in Los Angeles and 1977 in Tokyo and became European Champion in 1977. You can find more information on my website.

Michael Kennedy

This is my 8th TDA tour starting with the first TDA I have also done the first Silk Route, Bamboo Road, South American Epic, Carnival Cycling Expedition and Trans Himalaya as well as the second India Adventure/Hippy trail. I have also cycled across the US twice, Europe, eastern Australia and South America as well as numerous shorter tours around America, Europe and North Africa.

Rae Simpson

The Odyssey will be the twelfth TDA trip for me and my wife Ursula and Valhalla will be number 13. We're looking forward to more fabulous inches, reunions with friends from previous TDA trips, and meeting new friends.

Ursula Simpson

I am a retired IT specialist / database analyst. Enjoying life in Squamish, on Canada's West coast. Either hiking, biking, or skiing. Having fun with my two grandsons and one grand daughter or hanging out with friends. My husband Rae and I have participated in 11 TdA tours mainly in either the Oceania, African or Asian continents. Last year was our first tour with TdA in Europe riding in the Viva Italia. Now I am looking forward to venturing out to European countries I have not been before.

depi Chaudhry

Ezhil Ebinezer

I still remember when I learned to ride a bike – that quiet thrill, that feeling that the world just opened up a little more. That sense of freedom has stayed with me and shaped how I see the outdoors as more than just a place to explore, but as a space to slow down, learn, and connect with the world around me.

I’m from India and now living in Manchester, UK. I tried a few different paths before realising my happiest moments were always outdoors. That changed everything. I started out managing operations for an active holiday company in India, then moved into full-time guiding cycling and trekking trips across India and beyond. Fifteen years later, I still love every bit of it. In 2023, my longtime friend Baba, a TDA legend, introduced me to the TDA family.

That love for the outdoors is what keeps me guiding. I’m just as excited about exploring new places as I am about meeting the people who join the journey. Every trip is a mix of new landscapes, different cultures, and fresh perspectives!

Tip for future TDA riders:

A positive spirit and an open attitude go a long way in making the trip enjoyable. While you are out there riding, don’t rush - take your time and really soak in the experience!

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.

Sharita van der Merwe

The thing I love most about my job is watching the social dynamics unfold.

For as long as I can remember I’ve been stripping, fixing, and riding bicycles. As well, I knew from a young age I wanted to explore, travel, and see the world—my dream at one time was to fly airplanes. However, it wasn’t long before I realized that flying in a straight line from point A to point B wasn’t for me!

When I left school I had no direction, no idea of where I wanted to be or what I wanted to do, once my dream of flying died. In 2003, I saw a magazine ad of a bunch of cyclists lined up in front of the Giza pyramids and I became hooked on the idea of doing that but I had to choose between taking a four-month cycling trip across Africa or going to Warriors Boot Camp to get educated. I chose Warriors and the programme equipped me for life by giving me a solid foundation. There, I was free to discover and explore who I was and to test physical and mental endurance. Having my attitude and my comfort zone constantly pushed readied me for all sorts of real-world challenges. I stayed at Warriors for three years, then cycled solo across Africa when I was 22 years old. In 2009, I landed the job as TDA’s assistant tour director on the Cairo to Cape Town trip—and the rest is history.

Ever since, Africa has been my baby and my favourite. I’ve worked on other tours—the Silk Route, the Bamboo Road, Ruta Maya, Magical Madagascar—but Africa is my full-time project and has lately included TDA’s complex tour of West Africa.

I’m based in beautiful Cape Town; when I’m not here, I’m scouting, exploring, problem-solving somewhere in the world and revelling in the adventure of being alive.

TDA has taken me to 80 countries and my most incredible off-the-beaten-track expedition was the West Africa scout in 2017, especially Guinea—I’d never been to a place so remote, rough or wild. I fell in love with Africa all over again on that trip. The stories are epic and endless!

There’s never a dull moment with TDA, because you absolutely never know what’s going to happen next.

Samuel Covins

UK-based doctor working in emergency & expedition medicine and previous tour medic on the Tour d'Afrique. Looking forward to cycling around Asia with you all on the Trans Himalaya and Golden Buddha tours later this year!

Felice de Schutter

Hitchhiking through Argentina and Chile 6 years ago first inspired me to travel by bike. Meeting so many long-distance cyclists and listening to their stories I just couldn't help it but buy a bike for my own adventures. And once you start travelling by bike, you can never go back. The freedom it gives you, not having to wait for a bus but just hop on the bike, the perfect pace at which you move through the environment, fast enough to cover some distance, but slow enough to see everything, interacting with the locals whenever you like, occasionally stopping for delicious local meals, and in the evening, finding the most beautiful campspot for setting up the tent, it's unique. Not to forget just feeling good moving in the fresh air all day. Since I fell in love with bikepacking, I spend a couple of months every year on self-supported bikepacking trips. The Alps, Eastern Europe, Dolomites, Italy, and most recently I spent 6 months cycling all the way through Mexico from North to South. Before I started working with TDA, I guided MTB tours crossing the Alps, and, combining my degree in Psychology with my passion for the outdoors, I took troubled kids for month-long hiking trips through the German forests. I am convinced that being outside in nature, especially in combination with sports is the best way to stay healthy, both physically and mentally. Being confronted with and testing and overcoming your own limits each day inevitably leads you to become stronger. Share this experience with a like-minded, adventurous community like you meet with TDA, and the positive outcomes double. I'm super excited for this next trip and curious to meet everyone! Hasta luego!

Samuel Roy

I see bike touring as an opportunity to slow down and bring yourself back to the essential things in life. Food, water, shelter, love, connection, space in your heart, space in your mind, movement, exploration. I believe that travelling by bike is the best way to discover our beautiful planet because of the pace of travel. It's fast enough to cover ground and cross continents, as we do with TDA, but it's slow enough to be able to truly soak in the destination you're in and everything that comes with it. The vulnerability of being alone on a bike, dressed up in bright lycra in the middle of nowhere makes you approachable and sparks curiousness and interest in the locals you meet on the road. As a tour leader with TDA, I am grateful to have the opportunity to facilitate these experiences, moments and connections.

I'm originally from Montreal in Canada where I studied business and tourism, but I have recently moved to Barcelona where cycling is unreal, even over the winter months. For the past few years, my career has been a collection of different projects and opportunities such as working as a TV host back home in Quebec, guiding with TDA and other outdoors companies as well as running my own vanlife conversion business. I've always loved getting around on two wheels, for some years, my focus was to go as fast as I could while I raced Ironman triathlons as a semi-pro. Nowadays, I still enjoy riding my bike, but a little slower, and looking around much more.

My best memory on tour is without a doubt when both my parents joined the 2019 Tour d'Afrique as riders to cycle the last two sections of the tour, from Vic Falls to Cape Town. It was such a precious privilege to be on sweep duty and get to ride with both of them through the namibian dunes.

As a tip for future participants, I think the best mindset to come onto a tour with is one of gratitude. We are all so privileged, both staff and riders, to be on these trips that being grateful for this life we get to live is an attitude we must cultivate.

See you on the road!

Rajni Kant

I am a mountain trekking guide. I am working with Cycling groups more then last 15 years. I am worked as a Chef and manager .I have done many task in my life. I worked as a barman as well I worked with many organizers but TDA is different I live at very beautiful place called Manali at Himachal Pradesh. north part of INDIA I found TDA from a local support. they was doing new adventure in high Himalaya named it Trans Himalaya from their my journey start with TDA this story from 2019 but after that COVID came and destroyed every thing and after 3yers everything become normal and 2023 journey start again I got chance again to work on that after that I worked on tours in trans Himalaya, Hippie trail and ,bamboo road now the journey is still on. TDA give me chance to see the world witch I can not see from my on. I am the first person in my family who traveled out side of my Country. thanks. TDA

Yanez Novoa

A long time ago, I had a ten minute conversation on the beach with Steve who had been on a TDA tour through Africa. I didn’t know it then but it planted a thought in my head that would soon change the course of my life.

It seemed that everything I had done before had in some way prepared me for this. A life in hospitality and a few years at sea - from some grand establishments to some very inhospitable vessels and anything in-between.

There were a variety of less stimulating occupations I had explored before I landed at TDA. I think this is what has kept me here for so long, the almost overwhelming stimulation that one gets from daily life on tour, which is miles apart from my quiet country life in South Africa.

That, and the other people. There is always such a variety of people from all walks of life and from all over the world that I would otherwise not have met.

josine meurs

Richard HIMBERT

Cyclist since 1987 after having been a runner, I traveled mainly in France and a little in Europe, in 1993, I made my first trip ouside the european continent, it was Colorado's turn. In 2018 i started a world tour by bike, North America Epic from Tuktoyaktuk to Yuma is one stage, so I will finish, I hope so, the all American continent from Ushuaïa to Tuktoyaktuk.

Bob Whitehead

Bob Whitehead Age: 75 Profession: Retired Chartered Civil Engineer Resident in Hong Kong: 31 years I was attracted to join my first bike tour in 2012 with TDA Global by the prospect of long distance adventure cycling in intriguing and sometimes remote and hostile environments. This was TDA's Silk Road tour. Some time later, when I saw their South American bike tour advertised, I was immediately attracted back to do my second long distance tour. I have now fitted bike touring into my already full & active lifestyle! So where have I come from? I’m a retired civil engineer and have lived in rural Hong Kong on and off for much of the last 40 years. There is a great range of outdoor activities on the doorstep, in particular excellent trail running and sailing. It’s also a good hub from which to take off to countries in the region and indulge in skiing, trekking and even simply just travelling! When one is still fit, why would you want to leave Hong Kong, even after 31 years? Well, I have at last now moved back to UK. As for what else got me into cycling……..Well, I’ve been a trail runner for most of my time in HK and reached the top level in my age category in cross-country, long distance trail running and mountain marathons at the ripe old age of 55. Then, after a few years, I decided to take after the great ultra-marathon runner, Marshall Ulrich, and diversify. This, as a way to keep motivated. It started with adventure racing and along with a team mate, we travelled around SE Asia competing at the top level for a number of years. Mountain biking was an important discipline and to help with my bike fitness, I brought my trusty 30-year old Carlton Gyro road bike over from the UK as my training steed. This had to go back recently to be sandblasted and painted after suffering from the ravages of Hong Kong's humidity for 10-years. Then in 2010, we competed in the Scottish Coast to Coast adventure race, for which I purchased a 16-speed cyclo-cross bike. I decided to "tour" back along the route over 5-days. This started me thinking about doing a "proper" bike tour and since I possessed a book about the Silk Road, such a bike tour loomed high on the agenda. I had also picked up a couple of books in a second hand bookshop back home in England. They were travel books on Morocco and Yunnan province in China. Glancing through those I rediscovered trekking, something I had experienced years before in Nepal in the early ‘80s. So long distance bike touring and high altitude trekking have been the focus more recently. In 2012, it was the Silk Road for 10-weeks for which I set up my mountain bike with road transmission components. In May 2013, I completed two solo treks in Morocco each based on the two highest peaks of Toubkal and Mgoun, both a little over 4000 metres. And from May 2014, China was the focus. It started with the Big Kora, a Pilgrims' circumnavigation of three 6000-metre peaks in western China involving seven mountain passes of up to 4700m. Since then, Habba Snow mountain has been the focus, with several trips (there being no maps available) culminating in a successful trip to the summit at 5,396m in 2019. Late in 2014, I completed a 5-day tour in Devon, UK on my cyclo-cross bike. This with a view to tackling LEJOG, a bike challenge of 970 miles taking in the UK from bottom to top (SW to NE). I needed to test out my gearing for the many hills on LEJOG. The idea was to take in LEJOG as a warm up for the SA Epic. The part of the LEJOG in Devon has the toughest hills on the whole LEJOG route, so this was an ideal testing ground for my equipment and gearing. And the result? I straight-away ordered a new MTB cassette and new rear changer for the bike! As for LEJOG, well I completed this in 12-days after Easter 2015 …….. and still had to walk up a number of the hills! For the South American Epic, starting in July 2015, I decided to take my mountain bike, which had proved very successful and trouble free on the Silk Road. I felt it more suitable and comfortable for the longer distances and longer climbs. And it featured yet again in the TDA West Africa tour in 2018. Meanwhile I'm still enjoying trail running and find it compliments biking very nicely. I also more recently introduced road biking to my activities and found a superb circuit in South Devon which takes me about 23kms there and back along superb coastal scenery.

frank smith

This is a great chance to ride with some old Boet from the RSA.I have only been in this part of the country while travelling in a car so it will be great to slow down and see the area.

Tjeerd Saatrube

Hi, my name is typical Dutch and for most people difficult to pronounce. So just call me 'cheers', that's very close to what it should be. Although I am a flatlander of 57 years, I love the mountains all year round: hiking, skiing and biking. In 2023 I enjoyed my first TDA-tour to the Himalayas. That experience tasted so good, that I really wanted to book another trip with TDA.

Karin Lind Hansen

I love travelling. I love biking. I love visiting new places. I have visited several places with TDA - but there are still places left to see, explore, and enjoy :)

Mary Potyrala

Richard Schingler

I love to travel and see the world from the seat of a bicycle. Married living part time in Spain.

Craig Tingle

Looking forward to another trip with TDA and meeting up with my very old Canadian friend.

Dennis Joe

I'm looking forward to the next adventure and new places. And, I'm look forward to meeting my fellow travelers and sharing this adventure. See ya soon!!

Dag Willems

I love nature, the mountains, landscapes, endurance and i like riding my bike in new territories. I like to feel the elements on my body, a challenge and an adventure. I like to be completely freed and taken away from the every day routines and responsibilities of life. I look forward to meet everyone on the tour.

Henk van der Huls

Dutchman , cycles regularly , 75 years of age , medical background , living in the carribean on Curacao . NA .Happily married.

Brian McCloskey

My wife Karen and I reside along the seacoast north of Boston. I've loved riding with TDA on over a half dozen adventures, most recently Morocco and Viva Italia. Very much looking forward to reuniting with old friends and exploring new and exciting landscapes.

Tom Woodard

Time for another adventure, (veteran of Tour d'Afrique 2018, South American Epic 2022 and Trans-Himalaya 2023.) Looking forward to meeting a group of like minded people to share the experience.

Erik Snucins

Retired Land Surveyor , gentleman farmer, and enjoy long rides

Laurens Keesen

I am 62. I cycle a lot. I am born in Holland, and moved to the Caribbean island of Curacao almost 30 years ago. I am really looking forward to my next adventure. I did several bike tours in Europe and the Americas carrying my own stuff. This is my third time on an organized tour, I did the Trans Himalaya and the Maroc tour.

An Vaes

After tour d’Afrique, I didn’t expect to take part of a new adventure so fast. But as life can sometimes take unexpected turns, this is definitely one of them. I’m looking forward to this adventure. See you all very soon!

Brenda Trenholme

I have a passion for most outdoor sports, especially in the mountains. I’m looking forward to exploring these countries with old cycling friends and staff and meeting new ones. By giving slideshows of my past cycling adventures, I have fundraised for a Canadian charity called the Kenya Education Endowment Fund. I’m considering creating a digital presentation of this ride as a fundraising enterprise. www.KenyaEducation.org

Mats Fredrix

I remember the first time I had tears of joy running down my cheeks on a descent. The day after I was screaming every syllable of 'Paradise by the Dashboard Light' suffering the wind battering down on my nose. You'll soon experience those beautifully painful joys of riding yourself. It's my mission to make sure you get home and have a way to show and share those moments with your friends and family. See you soon, rouleurs!