I always knew I was going to travel through Africa, I just did not know it would be on a bicycle until 6 years ago when I found Tour d'Afrique. I have been cycling for a about 10 years - very socially then I did my first cycle tour and loved it. Not that I have done many more, but I have started spending more time on the bike to prepare for 2012. 

Hello!

Well, you all sound very experienced and/or professional! It's very inspiriing. My history is a bit shorter: Dad bought me a bike to ride around Melbourne at the beginning of last year, it was a lot of fun.
Around August I read the book Carlos did, "A year of Adventures", and from then on when people asked me what I was going to do once I finished uni at the end of the year I jokingly said i was going to ride across Africa on a push bike. A few months later I realised I wasn't joking anymore, so I signed up! During May, my friend and I rode from Melbourne to Adelaide and back. It was incredibly fun!

I'm very excited to see Africa and to do it from the seat of a bike!

I’m from Namibia, but have been working abroad for the past 7 year (6 years in London) and now currently based in Cairo for the past year.

I first read about Tour d’Afrique when I decided to move to Cairo. I wanted to find out about cycling in Cairo and Tour d’Afrique was the first search result on google…Since then I could not see myself flying back to Namibia when the time comes to eventually moving back home. The time has come and I’m pleased to say that I’m not going to be on the usual 10 hour flight but rather that I’m going to be on my bike for 4 months ….

As for cycling…this will be my first bike tour.

This epic adventure also gives me the opportunity to do something great for vulnerable children in Namibia. I will be raisings funds to build a school for Community Hope School (CHS) in Katutura, which is home to some of the most vulnerable people in the capital city Windhoek. CHS provides education for orphans and vulnerable children as well as basic needs such a meal a day.

I’m so looking forward to this tour and can’t wait for it to start…..

See you all in Cairo

 

"I was born and have lived all my life in Toronto as were nine generations of my family. In the not so distant past, I had great success as an age group triathlete competing in several Ironman races.  My interest in training for sport led me to a second career as a Personal Trainer.
 
Ever since I first heard of the Tour d'Afrique ten years ago, the ride from Cairo to Capetown has been on my mind. I have never been to Africa nor have ever crossed the equator for that matter. Really looking forward to being part of TDA 2012. I am sure each day will be both challenging and humbling. This trek is way beyond triathlon!! Yikes.
 
The TDA foundation gives bikes to health care workers in the countries we travel.  Bikes provide transportation for them to do their good work. The TDA tenth anniversary goal is to donate 500 bikes!  Helping those suffering in Africa is an overwhelming task - even a small donation is a huge help." 
 
Follow me on twitter for pictures and comments
 
activeage@twitter.com

I'll also be riding for PEOPLE TO PEOPLE CANADA (P2P), sponsorship for orphans in Ethiopia with HIV/AIDS.  You may donate at http://p2pcanada.org/   Donors can then click on the Canada Helps DONATE NOW button, then on the pulldown menu for Cairo to Capetown for Orphan Sponsorship.

Hello all,

I can't wait to start the tour.

I've never done anything as long as TDA before. I enjoy my endurance mountain biking, bike touring and even multi-day racing but I've never done more than a week of racing before. 4 months will certainly be a challenge.

I'm originally from Scotland and I've been living in Australia since 1998 and now living in Melbourne. I've travelled a lot but I've never been to Africa before. I'm looking forward to experiencing it.

See you all in Cairo.

Jon


I'll be keeping a blog - http://www.more-erratic-wanderings.com/

I am looking forward to greeting everyone in my current hometown of Cairo, especially Rosalyn Goodwin since it has been over seven years since we last completed a bike tour together!! What a coincidence that we end up on another tour together after all this time.

For the past two and a half years, I have been living in Cairo. As I am sure you can imagine it has been a fascinating time to live in this part of the world. Amidst the chaos and pollution, there is truly an element of ancient beauty underlying the sights and culture here. I love living in Cairo, but I know it can be very overwhelming even to an experienced traveler (if  you don't believe me, just wait for your first taxi drive from the airport). Please contact me at janadumas@live.ca if you have any questions or concerns about Cairo, or what to expect and I will do my best to answer your questions.

I know many of you will be wanting to tailor tips around Cairo/Egypt. I cannot at this point make any promises, but if you would like help in organizing trips please email me and I will do my best to put together a few packages. I would also like to invite you to a felucca ride on the Nile close to our departure date. If you are interested please email me. I am thrilled to finally be riding Africa...it has been a goal since completing the tour with Rosalyn many years ago, and somewhat of a driving force behind my decision to move to Egypt. I am looking forward to meeting everyone so soon.

 “I am always happiest on my bike and a number of years ago, while driving through Namibia in a vehicle on some remote dirt track, I mentioned to a friend that I wish I could rather be on my bike. His reply was “ Tour d’Afrique”. So here I am.

I live in Cape Town so finishing the TDA here will make it extra special for me as well.

I will most probably be one of the older contestants at 60 but still feel extremely young and am looking for a few challenges from you younger riders. Even though I have had this TDA in mind for a number of years I made a last minute decision to enter which has made it very exciting, as everything is suddenly happening at an incredible pace. I will be raising funds for The People’s Dispensary For Sick Animals, PDSA (SA)

I know this is going to be a journey, both outward and inward, that I will never forget.

Looking forward to meeting all my fellow riders.”

I was born and raised in Toronto and have continued to live here through all of my adult life.  I have dreamt of travel for years, but have always been afraid to take the plunge. Plunge, I always do; there is no dipping my toes in and testing the water.  This is my first trip off continent since I was a child.
 
Travelling to several different places in Africa has always been a dream for me.  In recent years I dreamt up wanting to do a cross Canada bike tour, of course going through Africa had never occurred to me, until I heard of Tour D'Afrique. Once I did, I knew that I had to do this.  Now I'm living my dream.  I look forward to meeting and sharing it with others passionate about travel and cycling.  
 

Hi everyone, I'm Adam Lister (20 years old) from Ottawa, Canada.  I decided to enter the Tour D'Afrique because I am young, strong and ready for an epic challenge.  I am doing the tour with my father, Graham Lister, it is a perfect time in both our lives to experience this epic journey in the land of our ancient ancestors.  I am a very spiritual and adventurous person, I gather strength from many scenarios and environments and I thrive in the outdoors. Africa here I come!!!!

I have been doing cycling trips since 1980. At first with in neighboring countries like France, Belgium and Germany. Later further away in Spain, Greece, Norway, Italy, Morocco (through the Atlas), South-Africa (Kwazulu Nathal) and a few trips in the Rocky Mountains in the US. Most trips were 3 to 5 weeks long and in the company off friends or girl friend. The last few years I took part in organized trips further away in Tibet and last year in Peru and Bolivia.

I always wanted to do a long trip on a bicycle in Africa and I think taking part in the Tour d’Afrique is the best and “easiest” way to do that.

I really enjoy discovering new surroundings by bike, it gives you the right speed to see and feel the environment. Doing it in the company of other cyclist makes it even more enjoyable.

I’m looking forward to enjoy, although it probably will be harsh at moments, this trip with all you guys.

 

Novice enthusiastic green and white sporty racer keen to meet other adventurous mtb’s on the “long way round” but promising not to be “the third wheel”.   I am attracted to new experiences, willing to see new sights, keen to explore new countries.  I am built for comfort not for speed, slow-twitch long-distance endurance orientation.  If you are of like persuasion will meet you in Cairo and will ride to the end of the earth with you, or Cape Town at least, whichever comes first. 

Cheers, Marianne.

As a novice cyclist from Ekibin, Australia, I am looking forward to the unique opportunity to cycle the “dark continent”.  As a young boy Africa was seen as a country of mystery, adventure and an exotic land of immense beauty and vast remoteness.  The physical and mental challenges of this journey will allow me to discover not only the real Africa, but also myself and it is this road that I most look forward to travelling.

My TDA expedition will begin in Kenya where I will meet my fellow travelling companions and share the many miles until Cape Town.  To all the participants on the 2012 TDA, I look forward to meeting you in Nairobi.

Hi All, my name is Ian, I'm 26 and I live in England just outside London. I've decided to make 2012 an interesting year by riding the Tour D'Afrique. I'm trying to raise money for a charity called Build Africa. For more information look on my website.

See you soon.

Me: A rider of average fitness,on a sabbatical leave from teaching high school math. Just a girl on a bike.

Why:  Because Africa is a place like no other…. a return to Gaia

For whom: For the young, and old, who are experiencing blindness due to cataracts, in Africa.

The Equation: $ 50 =  cataracts removed from both eyes

How to help: Please donate through my page at http://bit.ly/Cairo2Capetown4Sight

Thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

“There are no strangers, only friends you have not yet met”.   ~W.B. Yeats

Hello. My name is Marita and I am from Ireland. I am hoping to take on the full tour in January and now that time seems to be ahem 'racing' by I am really starting to look forward to the trip. I am definitely no athlete but I would say I have dabbled in adventure activities over recent years and have always kept myself active and curious. Apart from raising funds for  a very worthy cause, lung cancer research, I suppose you could say that I am doing this tour 'for the craic', however I may be eating those words at some stage en route. I plan on becoming a very proud member of the Back Pack and enjoying the ride. And as for EFI, I will certainly aim for it but I will be realistic, afterall TIA! Looking forward to seeing you all in Africa

I first heard about Tour d’Afrique when I picked up a brochure at a bike show in Toronto several years ago. It was always in my head as one of those things to do “someday.” But the seed was planted.

I’ve been living overseas in China and Dubai for the last 4 years, and now that I’m back in Canada, I guess I feel the need to experience some adventure again, so I took the plunge and signed on for this adventure. Someday is nearly here! My cycling ability is definitely recreational so I expect I’ll be at the tail end of the riders every day, but that’ll give me all that much more time to experience everything on the road.

I’m raising funds for the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which is an organization that works to support women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

The link to my fundraising page is http://bit.ly/w2oS14, and my blog is at www.nolaon2wheels.wordpress.com

I’m very excited about this and am really looking forward to meeting all of you and sharing this adventure with you. See you in Cairo!

I love challenges. Over the years I have done a lot of mountaineering, rock and ice climbing, kayaking, blue water sailing, triathlons, scuba diving, cycling and skiing.  These adventure sports have taken me all over the world.               Cycling for four months across Africa, feeling its pulse, sensing its elements and having the unexpected happen like an elephant crossing the road in front of me brings a smile to my face.  I can't wait for the adventure to begin.

My name is Christian and I‘m from Zurich, Switzerland.

I have been cycling for a long, long time... I think since I was a pupil riding to school because I could never stand walking. During the last ten years, I participated in popular races all around in Switzerland and in Italy, but I never was a Pro-Rider.

I received my MSc in Geography from the University of Zurich and along my „scientific“ time I always was deeply engaged in the YMCA (locally spoken Cevi - an organisation very similar to the scouts in Switzerland).

As a Geographer, you have to discover our earth, as a cyclist you have to travel by bicycle and as a scout you have to use your life experience.
So, when I heard of the first challenge of the Tourdafrique in 2003, I knew it that I have to face this challenge as well. It became a goal or better a dream which I wanted to realize sometimes in my life.

Now at 2012, my dream comes true!

My employer „ESRI Germany/Switzerland“ accepts a longer break, the cash amount for conducting this expedition is safe thanks to my benefactors and sponsors, and last but not least my girlfriend supports me in this big event and is going to welcome me in CapeTown.

My goals are to experience the real Africa! Experiencing nature and culture with a few of multinational like-minded people; that is the reason to visit the exciting Africa through the longest bicycle-race in the world!

For further informations visit my tourmap http://www.cipas.ch/tourdafrique

 

I love riding long distances through new places. A tourist who likes to ride fast and a racer who wants to see the world.

I have done a number of long endurance events from 200-3000 miles, but nothing that prepares me for Tour D'Afrique. I'm excited to undertake this adventure and thrilled to travel through Africa. What better way than by bike?

Tour D'Afrique will my first of 2 big rides in 2012. Upon returning to the US I intend to also race the Tour Divide, a 2600 mile race from Canada to Mexico. I will be raising money and awareness for World Bicycle Relief
(http://action.worldbicyclerelief.org/page/outreach/view/individual/brycewalsh)

I think this profile picture shows just how excited I am about TDA!!!

Just want to start my introduction by sending a HUGE hug out to everyone.  I can’t wait to meet you all in person – and share this epic journey together.

What is mildly interesting about me…hmmm???

I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada – and spend every free second in the Rocky Mountains – I love hiking, scrambling and camping.  But my real passion is traveling.  I have spent years of my life living and volunteering overseas and roaming the world.  Numerous modes of transportation have taken me through many countries on this planet – planes, trains, boats, camels, tuk-tuks, horses and my own two feet – but never, ever on two wheels.

Actually - I might as well start my introduction with the truth, as I won’t be able to hide it much past unpacking my bike in Cairo!  I would in NO way describe myself as a cyclist.  A traveler, definitely!  An adventurer, sure!  The crazier the better!  But no one has ever, ever accused me of being a cyclist.  I heard about this trip, giggled, and thought to myself who signs up for something like that?  Must be a bunch of nutters!!!  The next day I paid in full, and now I can’t wait to get started.  What sold me was the section called ‘What is the typical day like?’ – it talked about the first/fast group, the middle group and the Back Pack – ‘the folks that are enticed by a good falafel stand, an Ethiopian coffee or a cold beer’!  That’ll be me!!!

I am in the process right now of shopping for a bike – who knew there were so many kinds??? And that cute wasn’t a feature! And why can I never understand the question – “Do you wear clipless pedals”? And yes, if you are worried, the training has also begun!

I won’t fill you in on all the boring details about me in this intro.  I’ll save that for a patch of road mid-Sudan when it’s you, me and 198 more kilometers until camp.

Three things I am SUPER stoked about right now:

1)      My sister (best friend) is joining me for the last leg of the trip – Windhoek to Cape Town.

2)      I’m riding for a cause – ‘Carla Bikes Africa to End Energy Poverty’ – please check out my blog @ www.carlabikesafrica.com

3)      Meeting and spending four months making a heap of new friends and sharing adventures together.

Until we meet in person – I can be reached at:

Facebook -  http://www.facebook.com/carla.ann.white

Twitter – @carlabikes

Gmail – carlabikesafrica@gmail.com

I am extremely excited to be sharing this adventure with such a worldly group of people. 

Until real hugs in Cairo…

 

Peace,

CARLA

 

I'm in over my head. Waaaaay over my head.