This is the first in a series of reports from our bike in Africa -
Cinelli. More to follow. We hope you enjoy them...
I had always dreamed of visiting the pyramids. Growing up in Italy I found myself yearning for distant lands, when the opportunity came to join the Tourd’Afrique I rolled right into it.
Flying to Cairo in the cargo bay was a bit scary, and cold, but when we touched down it was warm and hectic. My first stop was the customs office where I was held up for days and interrogated for long hours. Finally Mr. Brian, my savior, bailed me out, not only did he do this for me but he would also be the one pedaling me through Egypt!
Not to get too far ahead of ourselves; the picture above is me at the Pyramids in Giza. It was a crisp morning and I’m very photogenic as you can tell.
The roads in Egypt are similar to home, Mr. Brian steered me everywhere I needed to go and made sure I arrived in camp each night safe and sound. The other bikes aren’t as pretty as me but they have their merits, I usually got locked up for the night with a few of them and we’d chat about what adventures the next day might hold in store for us. At this point, the adventure continues and we have entered Sudan!
My next report will hopefully come from the Dongola Zoo…
Njabulo will be driving the Land Cruiser once we get to Sudan. He has years of experience as an overland driver and cook and he will also be helping out in the kitchen to serve us delicious food with a local flavour.
“When I heard about the opportunity to be a part of TDA I grabbed it because I wanted to see more of Africa.
I’ve been as far north as Kenya but never beyond that. I can’t wait to explore places I’ve never been to before. Mentally it’s going to get very tough when people are tired and expecting a lot from you but my smile will always be there!”
Noah is in charge of the lunch truck on the trip. He will drive the truck, pick up weary cyclists who can’t carry on from the halfway mark and help to prepare lunch for 50 famished cyclists every day.
“I’ve known about TDA for about five years and always wanted to work for them. It’s my first time north of Malawi and so far it has been very interesting. My experience with the cyclists have been fun, they’re really different from the people I usually worked with. Hopefully when the Tour d’Afrique is finished I can also work on some other tours. I would love to do the Silk Route because I’ve always wanted to see the East. This is an adventure like no other!”
Big man Justin is in charge of the big dinner truck on tour. He will have to deal with some pretty horrid roads on our way south and still make it to camp on time every day to set up camp before the riders arrive.
“I have been looking forward to this trip for a long time. The transit up north was fantastic. It was the first time I experienced such nasty roads but I managed to get through without getting the truck stuck. If it doesn’t rain when we go back the truck shouldn’t get stuck as well, but if it rains when we are in Kenya we might have some difficulty. The secret is same gear up, same gear down. I want to see the whole world and this is just the first step.”
When faced with the choice of a steep hill and a headwind most cyclists will probably choose the hill.
After four days of flat riding and excellent weather conditions the TDA riders received a timeous reminder that this is a hard tour and there is still a lot of riding to come. A steady incline over 57km took everything out of their legs and tonight everyone knows they’ve been on a bicycle for the past four days. To make the ride even harder a swirling headwind also accompanied riders as they edged closer to their first rest day.
There is now only one day left before we arrive in Luxor and all the weary legs receive a welcome break. The rest day is also the approximate halfway marker for Egypt and the promise of being able to tick off one of ten countries is helping everyone along when the going gets tough.
The first mandatory stage took place on Sunday with a flat 166km on good Egyptian highway and after some good racing the winners came in at about 6 hours. So far the weather has been kind to everyone with no headwinds, cool mornings and warm afternoons.
Most riders have spent a lot of time on the road during the first three days and day 2 saw some leave at 7am and only arrive at camp a few minutes before sunset at about 5:30pm.
Though there are a few sore bums and stiff legs, everyone is still in high spirits and getting stronger every day.
-- Catharina Robbertze
It only took two day
s for 50 hungry people to finish most of the TDA supplies and we had our first experience of local Egyptian food shopping today.
The fresh fruit and veggies sold on the streets are beautiful and tastier than anything you’d find in any modern grocery store. The shop owners are friendly and helpful and if they don’t have what you need a swarm of kids are sent to find it for you in another store.
You might not always find the exact products you are looking for but with this kind of help and quality you can’t really ask for anything more.
-- Catharina Robbertze
