Loaded Touring Bike in South Africa

Loading a Touring Bike

Loading a Touring Bike Loading a Touring Bike – during my travels I have met lots of people, comments or questions I hear repeatedly is “How do you fit all that stuff on your bike?” or “You have everything you need in those bags?”. The wonderful thing about touring on a bicycle for an extended…

Mandela Statue in Pretoria

Johannesburg for Christmas

Cycling into Johannesburg for Christmas No one told me Johannesburg is so hilly. Starting several miles out the hills start, combined with high temperatures made for a tiring ride into the largest city in South Africa, also referred to as Joburg or Jozi, home to around 13 million people. As I neared the Golf club…

Zambia – Lusaka and a relaxing time fishing

Really, that many?  Time has flown since departing the UK. I have now cycled in 13 different countries, 1 British Territory, Gibraltar and crossed 16 borders since the middle of May. Looking forward there are not that many more to go! After seeing an abundance of wildlife near Mfuwe, Zambia my next target location was…

Malawi and the Lake

Malawi and the Lake The Sahara difficult? No it was easy, much easier than I thought it would be. Now parts of Tanzania, er yes parts of Tanzania have been hard. Hot, dry, arid and in some places windy, mostly blowing from the wrong direction oh and hilly. Whilst food and water stops are easy…

Baby Elephant

Mt. Kenya and Karen

My first week in East Africa now completed, and I found circumnavigating Mt. Kenya quite an experience, crossing the equator twice, once back into the Northern Hamisphere on the east side of the mountain and back into the Southern hemisphere on the west side. For most of the route, the mountain is obstructed from view…

Bamako BMX

Bamako BMX Fun and Skills

Bamako BMX Fun and Skills This child shows his Bamako BMX fun and skills during my time in in Bamako, Mali I came across this talented child with a worn out BMX and no shoes or decent pedals displaying some outstanding skills on his BMX. The brakes didn’t work, the headset was loose and the…

The Gambia & Jole Rider Visit

While staying with Cherno and the cycling club, we were able to catch up on some things like washing clothes, bike repairs and taking time to see the beach at Gunjur. Cherno and his wife fed us well with African food, rice with fish, black porridge (rice with sugar and groundnut) and Cherno’s wife’s famous…

The road to Dakar and The Gambia

After a lovely week resting at 7 Palava, it was time to get going again. Another cyclist from Belgium Wouter arrived a couple of days before and he was planning on heading further into Africa. Wouter had been in contact for a while after being told by a Moroccan Gendarmerie checkpoint that there were cyclists…

Resting In Senegal

After spending over two months on the road to reach Senegal, I thought it maybe time to allow myself a proper bit of R&R. The Campsite Camping 7 Palava near St Louis I had read about on more than one travellers blog. After spending some time in St Louis after crossing the border from Mauritania…

The Sahara & Mauritania

Riding into the Sahara during summer isn’t something most cycle tourists do, most go through either before or after (I’d originally planned before). Luckily the route you take which starts in Morocco, follows the coastal route for much if the Moroccan part which helps to keep temperatures at a manageable heat. Throughout the crossing the…