Africa By Bike

In the first of our Great Rides series we feature Ross Hopkins story of one day in their epic 10,500km ride from Ethiopia to South Africa.

Having completed bicycle tours in Scandinavia, South America, South East Asia and New Zealand, Africa loomed as the next big adventure. After months of planning and preparation, on December 29 2006 we landed in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. This was to be our starting point for our African bike trip. Travelling by bike to us is the ultimate in freedom and adventure. We both share a love of experiencing different cultures from the saddle of our bike, and although we knew Africa would be the most challenging yet, nothing could prepare us for what we endured throughout our 7 months cycling through Africa. It pushed us to the limit of our physical and emotional boundaries and nearly broke us.But it was living a dream. It was an opportunity to escape our cultural cocoon in which we live.

It was an adventure and it was real.So nothing can really compare to the wave of relief and sense of independence we felt when we cycled out of Addis Ababa. The daunting prospect of having ¾ of the African continent ahead of us was a distant second to the feeling of pure freedom.The excitement of being in an unknown land with everything we needed on our bikes made us feel alive. The adventure had begun. To describe our trip in a short space is merely impossible. Every single day provided us with memorable adventures, intriguing encounters, unique scenery and a new glimpse into the remarkable life of Africa. So rather than try and describe our 7 months and 10,500km through 11 African countries, I have instead included one of my journal entries written on the day we crossed from Rwanda into Tanzania.

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