Tour d'Afrique Ltd. | Global Bicycle Expeditions, Races and Tours

  • Icon_social_newsletter_on
    Newsletter
  • Icon_social_rss_on
    RSS Feed
  • Icon_social_twitter_on
    Twitter
  • Icon_social_facebook_on
    Facebook
  • Icon_social_youtube_on
    YouTube

Blog | All Roads Lead to Rome Blog Icon_16x16_light_rss RSS

All roads lead to a good story…




Completing a TDA trans-continental expedition can be one of the most memorable experiences in a person’s life.  Often at the conclusion of a 2 or 4 month bicycle journey people are left dazed, and some wander around aimlessly for weeks or months afterwards.  So many experiences, so many new friends, so many insights into yourself and the world around you…

And where does that leave you?  You return home, in the months you’ve been away those you know have continued on in their jobs, their routines, their day-to-day shuffle.  It can be hard for them to differentiate one week from another… perhaps they bought the latest Ipad; maybe they’re hoping to win the lottery. 



You begin to tell them about your time away, about the dust and heat in Kenya or the yurt you slept in in Kyrgyzstan, or how on one day, just one day in 4 months of cycling you could not even feel your legs and you rode your bike faster than Lance Armstrong, and felt that you could have ridden to the moon.  The memories start poring out, the experiences all start to run through your brain, hurtling towards your tongue, but… no one is listening, your loved ones have put their headphones back in to listen to a Lady Gaga song, your work mates simply look right through you and when you’re done speaking ask you if you’ve been away on sick leave, the bus driver you try to tell the story about the night in Tanzania when you heard the most beautiful drumming from a nearby village and went to explore… he’s fingering the panic button next to his steering wheel.  No one cares, not even 1 person.



What does this mean?  It means that you belong to a group of mad people who have cycled across continents and they belong to you.  These fellow swashbucklers, explorers, adventurers, daredevils are the only ones who can really grasp your story and want to hear you tell it many times over… of course as they listen they are reforming their own bizarre and amazing stories from the continent which they crossed, country by country, pedal stroke by pedal stoke.

How you yearn to be reacquainted with your lost fellows, how you wish to be reunited! 

In 10 years, we at TDA have received the occasional complaint, and we take them seriously, but one received was hard to solve… “You should prepare us better for our lives when the Tour is over”.  Well, we’re still struggling with exactly what should be done in that regard, but what we have done I believe is a step towards fixing that complaint… the Alumni event in Rome this coming October.



Not only is the All Roads lead to Rome event an amazing chance to see the highlights of Rome by bike, experience all the splendid tastes of Roman cuisine, and delve into the daily grind of the Romans… you could even say it’s a kind of support group for the wayward and wandering, the post-tour syndrome, the unheard.  Surround yourself with those who truly know you, those who can almost recite your stories before they’re told.  You are not alone…

Posted April 02, 2012 by Miles MacDonald
Btn_share_twitter Btn_share_facebook


E - friends & R - friends




In an age of social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and the like, the word 'friend' has a different meaning. Jenny and I are friends with many people, mainly through electronic encounters. Perhaps we should call these friends, our e-friends.

When do friends become r-friends, real friends? When you have cycled across Africa together!

Our network of r-friends enlarged significantly after the TdA of 2006 and some of them we see reasonably often:

Madeleine and Christian, with we did another cycling trip.

Irmie and John who visited us here in France and who we will see soon in South-Africa.

Judy (below) who drove 4 hours to see us during a camper trip in Canada.



We also made r-friends following the TdA of other years:

Marius and Hannie from Holland who helped us prepare for our trip.

Wilbert and Rob with whom we did more cycling together.

Louise and Henk who came to our house to hear about our experiences to prepare for their trip.

And recently Eric who wrote his lovely book A Home To Head For about his 2010 TDA experience.

Many others we have not seen in person since May 2006. Perhaps because our roads did not cross, like with Tobias, the doctor on our 2006 tour, who we saw unexpectedly in 2010 on the Ferry in Port Hardy BC in Canada.



It's then that you realise that even if you haven't seen each other for years, the experience on the ride across Africa together has created a bond forever. It gives you a warm feeling, almost emotional, to see each other again. R-friends with a capital R!

We hope to see many of our R-friends during the All Roads Lead to Rome Alumni Event this year. We will bring enough handkerchiefs for those emotional moments and yes, also our book from the TdA2006 (not for sale sorry!). It will bring back sweet/sad memories but it will also be a good moment to make new plans for other trips together somewhere on this planet.

See you, Jenny and Kees Vonk

Posted February 16, 2012 by Guest Author
Btn_share_twitter Btn_share_facebook


All Roads Lead to Rome




One of the most important elements in making a tour successful is the participant themselves.  Their ambition to cycle long distances, their ability to adapt, their patience, and the bond which they create with their fellow cyclists along the way all heighten the collective experience.



In October 2012 we are inviting all our past participants from all of our Tours, and anyone else interested in just how far a bicycle can take them, to join us in Rome.  This idea was originally born along a little dirt road at a Tour d’Afrique bush camp near Arba Minch, Ethiopia.  A few whiskeys had been had with Mr. Henry Gold and the night was clear and quiet.  The thought came up - why not! After challenging ourselves on some of the toughest roads in the most distant countries, let’s bring our past tour participants together to celebrate their shared experiences in one of the world’s great cities.



Everyone wants to visit Rome, and for good reason.  The city is renowned for its stunning architecture, delicious food, religious and cultural history.  This is your chance to be involved in an event that will provide unique insight into the city as a whole and enable you to relive and revel in the camaraderie built on our many tours over the past 10 years. As with crossing whole continents, there is no better way to explore a city than by bicycle. For 6 days we will cycle an average of 30 km per/day with the assistance of local bicycle guides. Each day we will explore a different area of the city and its surroundings, with time not only to take in the sights: museums, parks, castles, ancient aqueducts, and the Coliseum, but also to see the spaces in-between, and the contemporary life of Romans in a myriad of neighborhoods.  For those of you with less time available, it will also be possible to join for only the last 3 days and make a long weekend out of it!



We have organized a centrally located hotel for everyone to stay in.  This is where each day’s ride will begin and end.  Bicycles will be provided for you.

This event will not only highlight Rome while on your bicycle.  The 1st, 4th and 6th night will feature a group meal at some of the tastiest and most hidden away Trattorias Rome has to offer. 

There will be wine to be drunk, stories to be told, and the late night hours of Rome to splendor in.  The other three nights will be open for you to explore the city with your closest friends from past tours.



We will also be adding another dimension of learning to the experience.  On one evening we will host a meeting of local bicycle advocates who will inform us about the challenges and successes of the bicycle in Rome.  Here you will have a chance to share your own hometown experiences and thoughts on bicycle transportation and advocacy.

For those of you dreaming of more trans-continental tours, we will present our upcoming tour calendar on another evening and listen to your ideas for future tours as well.  You never know what all our inspirations might create!

Space is limited. Register now!

For more information please check out our website or email us with your questions.

We look forward to seeing you in Rome!


  

Posted January 23, 2012 by Tour d'Afrique Ltd.
Btn_share_twitter Btn_share_facebook