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…

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…

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…

Workaway Rabat and Onwards

The workaway week in Rabat with Ana and Salah at their school near the Barakas in Rabat was an experience I never thought I’d have in a million years. Only a couple of months ago living in the UK with a comfortable job and taking lots of things that we in the UK take for…

Its getting Hot!

Normally, I don’t do hot weather, however throwing myself into a warmer climate and adding on top cycling, I’m surprising myself at how well I am coping with the heat. Since meeting Norman and Renas, the schedule I was working to seems to have gone out the window a little. I was planning on doing…

Au Revoir France – Hola Spain

The last week saw me spending my last few days in France, leaving the Workaway placement in Olargues and arriving in Spain. After going to the local festival of the cherry’s (Cerises) Local Festival in Mons Trivalle Elke and Norbert saw me off, sending me away with bread, locally cured sausage and the ever so…

The Bike

What do you do and where do you start about getting a bike that would be suitable for a long bike ride or to go touring on? It’s bewildering, when you start to look into the multitude of options there are for choosing a suitable bike to go touring on, what frame material, what gears…