I am a Canadian living in Western Australia with my wife, Juliana.  Since Juliana and I decided to do the Tour d’Afrique, we have been asked many questions.  I would like to share my answers, to some of these questions, with you:

Why cycle across Africa? – “I want to ride my bicycle; I want to ride it where I like.” (Freddie Mercury)

How will you get ready for this? – “Ride lots.” (Eddie Merckx, explaining how to prepare for long races)

You must really like cycling? – “When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.” (H.G. Wells)

You must be crazy? – “Maybe, but why be normal?” (Anonymous)

I am a Canadian living in Perth, Western Australia, with my husband Rod.  The moment I read that the participants of the Tour d’Afrique had the privilege of eating porridge every day, I knew I had to sign up.  I love porridge!

Hi, I can't wait to meet you all, I come from crappy weather central, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. I was born in Jerusalem, Israel but moved when I was 2. I have only recently gotten into cycling (about a year ago) but I have taken to it like a duck to water. I can't wait to test my iron here and then in Africa when i do the even more epic Tour d'Afrique.
 
I'm only 18 so I can't wait to learn some life lessons the hard (but fun) way. When my dad first told me about this company and what they do i thought he was psycho, but as I read into it I started to understand there was no better way to see the world. Most teens in America go from high school to college to
career. Not me. They say this is the best time of our lives. Well unless you choose to do something different and exciting, its just like the rest of your life. I love traveling, and now I love biking.

Hey, I am African born and (partially) raised (I sound like a loaf of bread??) - and have a slight desire to see as much of the world as I can, though I've never considered using a bike to do it before.

While studying in Perth I definitely chose the “no car, use public transport and my bike everywhere” option which is about the only time I regularly rode a bike that I can remember. But at the same time I meet a pretty cool South African bloke who rode and introduced me to this epic ride. Before he was done describing it I was certain I wanted in, and have been planning to ride it for the last year. So 18 months and (only) a couple of rides later…it’s just about here.

I'm looking forward to tackling the African continent, my bike and myself in the Tour. And I'm counting on meeting some great like- minded people who will drag me across the finish line! Hope to see you there! Stuart

 

My name is Gerald Coniel. I am a 45 year old entrepreneur born in France, but I have lived most of my life abroad including 10 years in South Africa. I have already done this trip over 100 times (yes 100!...), but each time some 10 000 meters separated me from the ground and each time I was going at something between 900 and a 1000 km/h…. Being a kind cyclist and loving Africa, I decided that time had come to do this trip at a different pace, so that I could put faces and sceneries behind names that pop up on air plane TV screens… So this will be my excuse for going slow… I have to make up for having gone too fast so many times…

I have participated in quite a few mountain biking races in Africa, including the famous Cape Epic in 2005. It often felt that something was missing about these multi day events, they just seem to go too fast, so Tour D’ Afrique should be a very different thing and I am already looking forward at spending quality time at camps, revisiting the day events with fellow cyclists.

Having already done the southern African part of this trip on a motor bike, I can tell you that we are in for a treat! It is simply amazing!

Tour D’Afrique is for me a personal physical and mental challenge as well as a need to kick out daily routine and modern days comfort aside for 120 days. I will have great remote support for my wife (and my two teenage kids) who will broadcast my photos and resumes on the blog of the trip as well as help me raise funds for charity.

Cairo here we come!

 

I am happiest when I am on a bike.  I used to love cruising around the neighbourhood on my reliable old clunky - a vintage Glider.   My faithful commuter, a Kona Tiki has seen me through many long Canadian winters – snow and all.  I know that fixed wheels are bad for my knees but I just adore my very first road bike turned fixie – a 1985 Velo Sport Lovell.  And then there’s my Cannondale road bike – it has given me the freedom to explore the nearby urban landscape and fall in love with the distant countryside.  If I could choose to do anything all day long – it would be ride a bike (although skiing would be a very close second but that will have to wait until 2011!).

 

After over 12 years in book publishing, I wanted to find a way to ride more and the TDA’s Cairo to Cape Town trip seemed to be the perfect opportunity to make riding my full time job – for 4 months at least.  The TDA has also become a great platform for raising awareness about the good and important work the Stephen Lewis Foundation does throughout Africa.  I am grateful to everyone who has supported my fundraising initiative and my ride.  I offer special thanks to my parents for their unwavering support, my sister for being such an inspiration, and my brother for spending so many early mornings in the saddle at my side.   I am really looking forward to meeting everyone in Cairo, getting on my next bike, and riding with all the TDA 2010 adventure seekers. See you there!

 

Howzit, I’m Jethro and I’m South African! I’ve lived in India for some time and traveled a lot in Asia. For the last 2 years I’ve been in Amsterdam, but now its time to head back to Africa – and what better way than to cycle across it! I enjoy cycling and recently did an amazing cycle tour from Tibet to Nepal over the Himalayas and via Everest Base Camp. Registering a bit late for this tour, but better late than a whole year later. I am really looking forward to being on my bicycle for 4 months (rather than behind a computer) and to the (very cold) beers that will be waiting at the waterfront in Cape Town! See you all in Cairo!!

I always enjoy sports and last year I discover cycling. I crossed my country on a bike and now I want to push it further. Africa sounded like a challenge, but after looking pictures and reading blog it definitely adding more reason why I want to make it to Cape Town.

I’m Canadian living in the north east of the country. Cycling is not a part of the culture compare to others sports as hockey or skiing. After a year, cycling as become a part of my life. I'm still looking why I'm hook to this sport, but like a drug, I'm enjoying the feeling.

I’m attract by the thing which sound impossible. TDA is not impossible, but sound more difficult than many others things that I have done. Many rides are on the schedule before to be ready for Africa. Until there have a good ride and see ya

Growing up in a family that loved sports and travelling I discovered my passion for cycling and foreign countries early on.
When I was barely three years old I taught myself how to ride a bike. After many tours with my family I decided to join a cycling club when I was fourteen years old. Since then I have been participating in many different bike races, apart from a four year break.
 
When the Tour d’Afrique caught my attention, I was immediately thrilled! The combination of a four month vacation, a language trip, adventure, foreign countries, a lot of sport and little luxury as well as the chance of getting to know your own physical and psychological limits convinced me from the word go. I love challenges like this! My decision to participate in this tour at some point was made within minutes! TDA 2010, here I come!!!
 
I am looking forward to this great adventure, to the many experiences and surprises, to the ups but also the downs awaiting us.
And I am looking forward to you!
 
See you all in Cairo!

So here I am, preparing to embark on this incredible journey. I'll miss my home in Brooklyn, my friends and family and my pups, but I cannot wait to take a much-needed break from New York corporate law to rediscover the majesty of the African countryside.

This is not my first experience globe-trotting. I lived in Nairobi my first summer of law school, spent two years in Armenia with the Peace Corps, and have backpacked through the other continents as well (except Antarctica--that'll be next!), so I am comfortable in locales where plumbing is optional and well versed in the use of charades as a supplement to (or replacement for) oral communication. 

While I am becoming a dedicated cyclist and spandex enthusiast, I'm not going to lie, I can't keep up with Contador . . . YET. But I am still determined to finish the Tour, even if I'm the last one across the finish line. Slow and steady, that's my pace.

 

I will be raising money for the Global Fund for Women.

Greetings.

When I stumbled on the web page for this tour at the end of October it didn't take me very long to sign up.  As soon as I saw it I knew I had to go. I'm at a time in my life when I don't have any other commitments forcing me to stay home. The trip might be way outside my ordinary travel budget, but I can deal with that after the celebrations in Cape Town.

In my daily routine I use a bicycle for nearly all my transportation mostly because I enjoy the pace, the freedom, and exercise it gives. It's also a necessity for me at the moment, since I don't have a car and public transportation in rural Nevada is virtually nonexistent.

I've always enjoyed pushing my limits on a bike--seeing how far I can go or how much I can carry. One of my ultimate goals, tucked into the deep recesses of my mind, has been to cross an entire continent by bicycle. Not knowing just how to start planning for such a trip, I had pushed this goal aside for a while. Something else I've always wanted to do is experience Africa. This journey will be an opportunity to do both at the same time.

I've done quite a bit of traveling, but always on my own, and never on a bike. I've also done quite a few challenging one-day rides, but I've never tried to cram 96 of them into a four-month period. I hope I'm not in way over my head. Most of my friends think I'm a bit crazy for doing the modest amount of biking and traveling I do--wait until they hear that I signed up for this...

My goal for this ride is the same as for any long ride: to finish. EFI. And to fully experience the entire journey along the way. Don't expect to see me whizzing by you; I know I'm not very fast. I won't be racing anyone but the SAG wagon driver.

I know this trip will be extremely challenging and difficult at times. I also know that it will be extremely rewarding. Nothing breaks down mental stereotypes better than actually visiting a place first hand. It would be tragic to pass up the opportunity to experience Africa at human-scale speed without the isolation that a pane of window glass provides in all other forms of modern transport.

My background is in global sustainability and computer science, but mostly focused on sustainability now. When I'm not on a bike, some of my favorite activities are swimming, skiing, climbing, scuba, and just about anything that gets me outdoors.

I can't wait to meet you all soon in Cairo!

Meet Jos:

My name is Jos. I am a ‘cycle-olic’ and this is my first confession… This affair started about 10 years ago. Did it happen when I put my leg over for the first time, setting off with great expectations in the early morning sunlight? Was it scaling the first hill, or feeling the thrill of flying as I made it down the other side? I’m not sure – but it happened and I was hooked. I am a social cyclist and have never entered any event longer than a day-race. And I’m most definitely not the camping type, so not sure what’s most daunting, the cycling or the camping!

 

Why am I going on this journey?

My friends and family call it a mid-life crisis! I laugh them off – I’m living my life. I love cycling, travelling, Africa and making a difference in the lives of others. With this expedition, I can do all of that – and I’m aiming to become an EFI’er.

 

What is my background?

I am a trained accountant and have spent most of my professional career in banking, but I left the corporate world last year and stumbled across this event, which seems ideal while I consider my next move. I have worked and lived in a number of African countries.

 

My cause:

Matla A Bana – A voice against child abuse, is my chosen charity for two reasons. This South African national organisation helps to minimise the abuse children suffer when they report crimes against them. It is said that a child is raped every three minutes in SA; Matla A Bana reaches more than 5000 children a year. It was founded by two of my good friends, Callie and Monique Strydom, who survived a four-month hostage ordeal in the hands of Al Queda terrorists. This is the second reason why I support this charity. The two of them have great understanding for living and operating under extreme conditions – and they are most probably the only two friends who will understand the suffering awaiting me!

 

Visit http://matlaabana.co.za for more info on the charity.

I m 49 (50 on the tour) ,married ,3 children and "semi retired" from being a director of a medium sized global Telecoms company. I ve always enjoyed sport running up to Marathon distance. I ve done a couple of Ironman events. This is definitely the biggest physical and mental challenge i ve ever undertaken by a long way and I have to admit I am a little worried and yes scared by the enormity of the task. I don't know how my body or spirit will respond. Your all invited to my 50th Birthday party on the 8th April.. i think we leave Lilongwe on the 7th. Id like to thank my wife Mandy for being relaxed about being away for so long .Oh by the way, did I mention that I m a little bit worried by the enormity of the trip!    

I will be riding to raise funds to build a library and medical centre at rbatu Ensesa School that is based in a poorer part of Gondar Ethiopia. This will help about 650 children aged from 5 to 15. I have gotten to know the children and teachers personally over the last 3 years so you can be assured that all funds raised are put to best use.

I work closely with a small and highly effective charity called Link Ethiopia www.linkethiopia.org that links schools in the UK to schools throughout Ethiopia. Letter writing exchange, fund raising, educational and teaching visits often develop over a period of time"

Howdy folks. After an abrupt end for me in TDA2009 north of Iringa, I plan to meet up with you-all and ride from Nairobi to Cape Town. The urge to return to the sights, sounds, smells and feels of bicycling through Africa pales to the thought of two more months of James’s cooking. You can only imagine what you are in for – I know, or at least think I know.

I am a professor in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics at the University of Minnesota. As I travel with you I will be observing the food, agriculture and agroecosystems and relate these observations back to a class I will be co-teaching. The title of the class is “Food and Agriculture from Cairo to Cape Town at 10 mph”. Yes, I know I can’t
push my bicycle through the desert sand or up a mountainside at 10 mph, but maybe in the absence of too many flat tires, speed bumps and potholes I can average that speed. Check out my website at http://paulporter.cfans.umn.edu

One of the delights of doing a bike ride like this is meeting a wonderfully diverse and eclectic group of individuals like yourselves. I look forward to hearing your stories as we bounce on down the path. But please, no complaints about James’s cooking.

I'm a recent graduate, having studied Computer Science for the last three years. I enjoy travelling and cycling and instead of heading straight into a job, a gap year seemed like an appropriate break.

Never done any organised tour before, nor have I covered any substantial distance before. I do love the sport though and started racing cross-country whilst studying - to date I've finished 13 (out of 13) races (albeit not ranking very highly). Before university I started cycling to school as a fitness measure and quickly got hooked.

My parents are East African and I know Kenya fairly well. Still
haven't seen much else of the continent though and the TDA seems like a challenging way to cross ten countries to visit off the world map.

I'm looking forward to it, and only worry about the inherent lack of connectivity (probably good for me) and the high chance of injury (less
good)!

Bike obsessed and dreaming of a break from work and an adventure it didnt take me long to stumble upon the Tour D'Afrique website. As much as I love riding and racing in Manchester, theres something really special about a place to place trip by bike somewhere new and Africa seems about as far from routine as you can get. Persuading my boss to agree to me having time off and persuading my partner to share the dream were easy, persuading his employers was harder but they did eventually say yes. We can't quite manage the whole tour but will be joining from Addis Ababa to Windhoek with the hope of doing the final section sometime soon whenever we get chance. Swapping carbon TT bikes and racing for a trip across all sorts of terrain in Africa is going to be awesome. Can't wait to meet everyone.

The Tour D'Afrique for me is the combination of a 30th birthday present to myself, an escape plan from reality as well as a desire to push myself to my physical and mental limits and begin to test the limits of my endurance.

I am no stranger to discomfort, having spent over 600 field days in remote areas of Alaska guiding youth at risk as well as years as a combat engineer in the Canadian Army. Over the last 10 years I probably have more cumulative time sleeping on the ground than in a bed. I love travelling and new adventures and challenges and am looking forward to seeing Africa for the first time from the seat of a bicycle. I am excited to share this adventure with people from all over the world. I look forward to meeting everyone in Cairo!

I will be raising money for the Suncatchers Project, A non profit that builds solar ovens for communities in Africa. These ovens provide the opportunity for communities to cook food and boil water to make it safe to drink. I hope to give back to the communities that I bike through by helping support this worthy cause.

"I love sports & travelling, and the best continent so far is Africa.
So when I heard about Tours d'afrique it was a split second decision ;-) Sitting behind my desk as a freelance IT-consultant it is a nice outlook to spend 4 months in nature. I am really looking forward to the trip, and hoping for a physically and mentally new experience..."

xxxxx

Greetings from Manhattan!  After learning how to bike by dodging taxi drivers and city buses during rush hour, I am very curious to discover which roads contain more potholes- Northern Kenya or New York City.  In 2006, I co-founded a non-profit organization called In the Running (www.intherunning.org)  to connect endurance pursuits with global grassroots fundraising.  I have run marathons on all seven continents for In the Running, and I will be cycling across Africa to raise money for three organizations that use running, cycling and soccer to promote youth development in Africa.  There is so much to think about before such an adventure—Can I blog from a sand dune in Namibia? Can I tip the bike mechanic in beer?  Will the other riders notice when my tent collapses on me the first night?  Perhaps the most concerning detail for me so far is this bit in the registration packet about this not being a “tour for fashion.”  Weight restrictions and lack of shower facilities aside, I plan to look stylish in my 3-5 allotted pairs of cycling shorts and jerseys for four months.  Who’s with me?  

xxxxx

'I am taking part on the tour during my gap year, it appealed to me because of the challenge and the unique experience of crossing a continent on bike. I cycle roughly 10 miles per day and have completed the London – Cambridge bike ride (60miles) 5 years in a row. I love the feel of freedom and energy that cycling gives you and I can’t wait to get started.

I have lived in the university town of Cambridge for my whole life, a city very enthusiastic about cycling. After completing two years of college, the Tour D’Afrique seems like the perfect adventure for me.

I have never been to any central or southern African countries so the experience will be completely new for me. I am looking forward to the unexpected things along the way and meeting all the riders. I will be joining the tour around half way in Nairobi and cycling all the way to Cape Town.

 All the best for the full tour riders who will  already have cycled 5,000km when I join you. '.

I'm a 27 year old engineer currently working in Algeria but with permanent ties in Calgary. I'm only here one out of every 3 months, but it's a temporary situation.

I love almost anything outdoors (camping, hiking, skiing, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, snorkeling, climbing) and sports (basketball, football, ultimate frisbee, baseball, soccer). I've travelled extensively through North America, Europe and Northern Africa.

Born elsewhere, raised in the UK and US, moved to Canada for school and decided to stay.

If you want to know anything else, just ask.

Also, I am just getting into photography, so I currently enjoy taking an obscene amount of poor quality photos, which is much better than taking poor quality obscene photos.

A year ago I set myself a to-do list: things to get to.. eventually.  It was short: climb a mountain, run a marathon, get a PhD, and ride my bike across a continent.  I think that getting a job should be in that list too.  

 

Last winter I had the opportunity to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and found that such a short trip was such a tease - the small portion of Africa I saw left me yearning to see more of this cultured, diverse, and beautiful continent.  I think that's when I unofficially made the decision to return on my bicycle, even joking with our guide that I would wave at him a year later when I biked by.

 

By the time my former rickshaw running colleague told me she was doing the tour, my excuses had run out.. I  am so excited and grateful to have the opportunity to undertake such an adventure.

 

Check out my blog @ www.lynnewolfson.wordpress.com or follow me on twitter @ LynneWolfson

 

Twende!  Haraka!