Looking back to when I was six, I recall making a lap around the block on my new bike accompanied by my parents.  When I was twelve, I remember riding halfway across town just to pass by the house of a girl I had a crush on.  In seventh grade I got to ride to school all by myself, clumsy saxophone case in tow.  

During high school biking didn’t seem to matter much, but when I went off to college I rediscovered the childhood thrill of riding a bicycle.  Now, just like when I was a small boy, I have tried, incrementally, to see “how far from the house” I can get and still make it home safely.

 
Over the past ten years I’ve had the opportunity to see many wonderful places, ridden across several states in the pursuit of crossing my own continent, done self contained tours, traveled to several countries, biked in the jungles of Cost Rica and pedaled to base camp on Mt. Everest.  

I guess all these rides and the idea of bicycling across the entire African continent are simply extensions of that childhood fascination with wanting to know how far I can go and what lies around the next corner, and in the pursuit of finding that, being amazed by all the wonderful little things I’ll see along the way.

The past ten years as a high school Art teacher have been wonderful, but I have resigned from my position, sold my house and most of its contents just for the opportunity to do this ride…and I can’t wait for the adventure, for the people I’ll meet, for the places we’ll see, and for the simplicity of life on a bike.

So…I’m curious…do you think the old sax will fit in the overhead bin on the flight to Cairo?  Just a thought…

Paddy is my name and I live in Dublin. I heard of the TDA through a friend who was involved in the 2008 Tour. Having heard his stories from the Tour, I was compelled to sign up. I have no long distance cycling experience but can’t wait for this, once in a lifetime, physical and mental challenge.  I also see the Tour as a great opportunity to raise money for my chosen charity ‘Self Help Africa’, an international development agency that works at grassroots level tackling poverty and improving lives in rural Africa.

 I really look forward to meeting you all! If anyone happens to find themself in Dublin before the Tour, contact me and we’ll meet up for a Guinness or two or three or.....!!

I look forward to see, smell and feel the african kontinent!
Never be there before!
And also I am on the way  to the football championship and  with this great biketrip I  will collect money for the UNICEF projekt "schools for africa".
With all people round the world I am happy that the event of football championship first time will start in africa next year......
to bike with fantastic people from so diffrent countrys is really a big experience for me (...and perhaps will make my bad english language better....)
so I am glad to be a part of TDA....
see you.

I'm 23 and have recently graduated from Law school.  I love adventures - have been trekking in Alaska and Mongolia, did volunteer projects in Ghana and Namibia - and sports - have done a couple of marathons and triathlons but this is certainly the biggest and most challenging project I have decided to embark on.  Of course, I worry about my physical and mental capacities but I also can't wait to bike through a continent that fascinates me, discover new places and cultures.  I live in Addis Abeba right now, getting a glimpse of the terrain we will be riding through... I have to admit that it is tough to ride here in Ethiopia but the sceneries are amazing!

My charity is the Joanna M. Nicolay Melanoma Foundation.

Hello all of you wonderful adventurous people!

I heard about this adventure in my first year of university where it instantly captivated my attention.  In my second year I found myself in need of a different kind of education.  I love school, but only consider it part of an incredible spectrum of education, and perhaps it is because I do love school so much that I can't imagine being in school when I know I will not be completely present and committed.  As soon as I realized nothing was telling me I had to be in school, the next immediate thought was Tour D'Afrique!  Biking most of the day, exploring a continent free to make my own thoughts about it at the perfect pace the bike offers with every sense stimulated, sleeping in a tent every night, discovering many cultures in the African continent as intimately as I can without being a native-born thus overcoming my rather generalized view of "Africa", meeting tons of adventurous people from all around the world and of many ages, having my breath taken away by the natural world, an incredible challenge of body, mind and spirit....sounds like paradise to me.  I'm terribly afraid, however, that I will fall madly in love with a field or a small child and live the rest of my life in yearning.... 

I want to give back to this continent that is going to give me soooo much, I already know it, in a way that I believe in very much.  I believe in bicycles with my whole being no matter where, when and what. So, I am fundraising for the TDA Foundation!

Here I go on an adventure my heart has chosen instead of my head!

All my wishes for fun and successful preparations and looking forward to meeting you soonish!

"Don't ask what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive and go do it, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." -Howard Thurman

“Please book me a flight to Cairo on 12 Jan. Don’t worry about the return flight, I will cycle back home”

When I had typed this mail to my travel agent I realized once more how strange this undertaking may seem to some.

Born and raised in Germany I have made South Africa my home several years ago. I have followed the Tour de Afrique for the last years on the internet and now I am in a position to take a break from working life and dare the great adventure myself.

I have traveled a bit on the African continent and love the open similes, the space and big skies. I have done so mainly on foot in the mountains or paddling on rivers, and I am used to camp in odd places. However, although I have participated in a couple of long distance cycle races, crossing the continent on a bicycle and riding those long distances on a daily basis will be new challenge altogether.

I am looking forward to meet you all and all the people on the way, to hear their stories, taste the food and bring home lots of amazing photographs.

In short, I can’t wait to start.

 

Hi everyone, I’m 18 and taking a year out before med school – making me possibly the youngest on tour. However I’ve been lucky enough to have lived abroad and travelled extensively already, so the prospect of the cliché gap year trail through SE Asia and Oceania didn’t appeal. I needed the challenge of a lifetime – enter TDA!

 

My background in sport is extensive – soccer, swimming, athletics, rugby, tennis...unfortunately I don’t think any of these will be particularly useful. After all a muddy sports field in England is a far cry from the Nubian Desert. And whilst I’m a relative newbie to the world of cycling I am slowly becoming one with my bike....I’m sure by the time we reach Cape Town, we will all be cycling machines.

 

The prospect of 12000km through Africa is awesome, romantic and terrifying at the same time. I think I’ll just pedal each teeny-weeny metre at a time...rinse and repeat 12,000,000 times and Bob’s your uncle!  Aaaaah the naivety of youth.

 

My friends know I’m heading off on “a bike ride” and have unwittingly agreed to sponsor me at a seemingly feeble 1p per km...little do they know that they will soon owe me £120 each mwahahahaha

 – can’t wait to meet everyone in Cairo :)

When I first read about the Tour D’Afrique I thought that it would be the neatest but most inconceivable thing to do. I had all the usual objections but over time started running out of reasons NOT to do it! Its appeal to my sense of adventure and passion for travel won out.

I grew up in South Africa (born in Cape Town) but have spent most of my adulthood in Canada where I am a consultant for a Professional Services firm. I’ve stayed pretty active by running and cycling. My wife and I have travelled a fair bit - including a few short bike trips. However, nothing I’ve done will approach both the physical and mental challenges this trip presents. It’s going to test me and I have been preparing as best possible the last few months. I’ve spent lots of time on my trusty Specialized getting both it and my butt tuned as best possible. I’ll be seeing areas of Africa that I could only have dreamed of growing up in Apartheid-era South Africa.

I’m enjoying the preparations – and learning more about a bike and its maintenance than I care to know! I’ll be fundraising for Nelson Mandela’s Children’s Fund.

I’m grateful for my wife and kids’ unreserved encouragement. At a certain level this is something of a self-seeking endeavour that has their selfless support.

Hi, I am Rainer and I live in Munich in Southern Germany.

When I was a young boy, using a bike was the best way for me to get moved, except of at least 5 months of the year when skiing was my preferred form of locomotion.  

As student, I started to do adventure tours by either hitchhiking or using a motor scooter or finally by hiking which became my preferred sports.

Since I have retired, my tours became more challenging, i.e. higher and longer.

When I heard for the first time about the Tour d’Afrique I was immediately very much excited, because I like this combination of adventure and physical challenge. Yet I needed a couple of months to make a final decision because I have not used a bike for a lot of years due to the after effects of a paragliding accident. Finally, after some successful trials, I decided to join the Tour d’Afrique as expedition rider.

The TDA gave me already great pleasure by choosing a new bike and exercising with it at the foothills of the Bavarian Alps. Since I have been already in five out of the ten countries the TDA will pass through, I know that there is a significant difference between these countries and the Alps, and that the tour will not be always exactly fun but often strain.

The African map on my kitchen door reminds me every day on the forthcoming trip, and I am sure that I will have finally great pleasure.

See you all at Cairo!

 

A few years ago my father came back home from a meeting with sparkling eyes; he had just spoken to someone who had cycled from Cairo to Capetown with Tour d'Afrique. From that day onwards, he would often mention this tour imagining how fascinating it would be to cycle through African countries, but never dared to participate. His enthusiasm excited me so much that I was determined to once cross the continent of Africa by bike. Well, here we are, starting together in Cairo and while he takes a little break in between - we'll finish in  
Cape Town together!

Just thought I'd also give you a brief insight into the life and times of (me) Anke ten Brummelhuis. I am one of four siblings, that grew up in the beautiful surroundings of the Netherlands. My mother and father have been married for over thirty years, and as a proper Dutch family, cycling has always been a great part of our lives. Over the last eight years, I have completed a Masters in Human Geography and spent many months volunteering, traveling and working around Southern Africa. Growing up spending my holidays cycling around Europe and South Africa, has been of great importance to me and what I hope to do in the future. At the moment, I'm living (or warming up) in Maputo.

Whilst I am away, I'll be leaving my boyfriend to the important job to find us a house, so I hope to be presently surprised on our return:)

I'd finally just like to add that I am really excited about the  
prospects of this trip. On the one hand, I hope that it will inspire me and help me to better understand the continent, on the other hand I am also a bit nervous about the heat, sand and saddle sores!

Hello fellow riders - My name is Annalise and I live in Sydney Australia. First up, I have a confession ……….I am relatively new  to the serious world of cycling…but I’m not new to shying away from a challenge, something quirky or something a little left of field!

 

I've decided that 2010 is The Year of the Adventure for me! I’ve come to a point in my life where it’s time for an adventure. I graduated from University with a couple of degrees under my belt and jumped straight into a career in Financial Services. Twelve years later and I have seen a lot...from tech bubbles, GFC's, margin lending disasters and everything in between. Annual leave has provided me with some amazing short lived experiences and lots of travel which I’ve loved, but I’ve never had the opportunity to have a “real” adventure.  So I think this is it and I am really excited.

 

The Tour d’Afrique appeals to me for all sorts of reasons – the physical and mental challenge, the endurance required, the rewards it will bring both on a personal level and for those less fortunate, and it will be a journey that I share with a team. As an individual, I think we all need to fulfil our passions to make us more interesting people and I see the TDA as a potential life changing experience.

 

I can't wait to meet you in Cairo and share in what will no doubt be an amazing couple of months with you all!

 

Till then, Ride on Riders!