Tour d'Afrique Ltd. | Rider profiles, descriptions, photos, and links

Len DeMoss

United States

Hi, I’m Len DeMoss, age 62 (at the moment) and will probably be the “old guy” on the 2011 TDA. I longer work, having retired from Ford Motor Co as an engineering manager in 2002, until they pulled me back to live/work in Asia for 3 years in 2004-2006. During that time I traveled extensively throughout China, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan, South Africa and Vietnam. In 2007 I was asked by the Company to return to live/work in China for 2 years which ended up as an 18 month stint.

I have been a long time runner, having done over a hundred marathons, and numerous ultrarunning events of 50K on up to 100 miles. I’ve run multi day runs through the Andes in Peru (including twice running the ancient Inca trail to Machu Pichu) as well as runs through Patagonia in Chile, Argentina and competed in the Comrades Marathon in South Africa 3 times and the Two Oceans Marathon in Capetown. I took up cycling in 1991 as cross training for running and cycling has developed into an intense passion.

The past 5 years I’ve done self supported bike tour rides with a UK friend (met him on a ride in Vietnam) through Asia. We meet in Bangkok in early Jan, and then just take off riding for 3-4 months. Our last trip was Jan – March, 2010 through northern Thailand, northern Laos into northern Vietnam, then down the length of Vietnam and back across Cambodia. I extended the ride by riding around the island of Bali in Indonesia.

In Cambodia several years ago, I met a couple who were cycling around the world who told me of their ride through Africa on the TDA. I looked up the website and put it in the back of my mind as possibly a someday. In Jan, 2010, my son who was living in Capetown, mentioned that he wanted to ride TDA in 2011 and enticed me into doing the ride with him. He signing up to race it; I’m undecided. I figure unless they give awards for an old age division, I’ll go Expedition.

I have had many opportunities in my life to travel around the world and see new cultures. I’m especially intrigued with seeing how other people live out their daily lives without the luxury of having the comforts we in the West have available and think we need to survive. I am really excited about doing the 2011 TDA and looking forward to doing this trip with my son. I’ve been to Victoria Falls, Namibia and other countries we’ll be riding through and can’t wait to do it on my bike.

I have always tried to live my life on a philosophy of the only regrets in life are the risks you were afraid to take. I wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity of riding TDA once in my life.

I am undecided at the moment regarding riding for a charity. My heart is with cancer victims and children with cancer so possibly I can find a worthy charity along those areas that meet my goals. It’s always been difficult for me to ask people for money for charity events I’m doing and typically I find myself donating the majority of the gift to the charity!

See everyone in Cairo!

Hardy Grune

Germany

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Hi everybody

I’m Hardy and 47 years on planet earth obviously haven’t made me any wiser. Or how can you explain the desire of going to Africa and spend four month on a bike crossing the whole continent?

It must be the hunger for life burning deep inside me and urging me to do things other people consider as “crazy”.

I love travelling, I love cycling, I love getting to know the world and I love Africa. Working as a freelance journalist in the football business (that’s soccer for you guys over there) I’ve been to Africa a couple of times and I’ve always been fascinated by it. Africa is so full of laughing, of dancing, of humanity. Yes I know, there is a dark side of Africa as well.When I covered the African Cup of Nation 2008 in Ghana I sometimes felt like going through all emotions in just a quarter of an hour. Joy and anger, optimism and despair, laughing and crying. That’s exactly what I expect during the Tour d’Afrique. I’ll love it, and I’ll hate it. That’s Africa, as they say in Ghana.

I only discovered the beauty of riding a bike four years ago. Until then a bike was something to go with from place A to place B while trying to avoid every possible hill (I couldn’t think of cycling a mountain then). Since I bought myself a racing bike I can’t get off the road and have to tackle every mountain that happens to cross my way. I’ve been to France a couple of times following the Tour-de-France-routes and cycled up some of the “holy” cols.

But I never went on a bike four months straight and I certainly never cycled in condition we’ll be likely to meet in Africa. So everything will be a big adventure and arriving in Cape Town I guess I will have changed. I’m already curious.

What I like about the Tour d’Afrique is the idea of being part of a group and be in a competive situation at the same time. It’s just much more than a sightseeing-tour and not being over-ambitious I certainly have one goal: achieving the ELF-status. But then… this is Africa…

I especially look forward going to Tanzania. In 1989 I spend six weeks in a small village in the Usambara region and when I visited the Kilimanjaro I was told, that whoever sees the top of the mountain without clouds will come back one day. I was lucky and since then I always dreamed about coming back. But then I never thought of going by bike...

I’ll take the Tour d’Afrique as a sabbat period for myself. After more than 15 years freelancing as a journalist and author I feel a bit rusty and have become curious what else is on offer in the world. In that way, Tour d’Afrique will be a journey into the unknown.

Looking forward to see you all in Cairo!