It was the day after “208”, the longest ride of the Tour. We were facing 162 kilometers, long enough but we were happy for the 40+ kms shaved off the previous day’s ride. The early morning was cold, the air grey and heavy with a dense mist. Some way along I caught up with a … Continue reading Mental Toughness Redux →

The other evening we crossed the border into Namibia. The ride was the longest of the whole Tour: 208 kilometers. Like much of our journey through Botswana the road was a flat, straight road stretching endlessly to the horizon through an arid landscape of shrubs and small trees. Our route is home to an array … Continue reading Numbers →

I am a slow rider. I don’t have the force of many of the others, although noticeably improved from when I first set off from Cairo. In the context of this Tour slow does not carry as such the extolled benefits of “the slow movement”, which advocates the slowing of life’s pace and a move … Continue reading Slow →

We sit on a saddle for up to eight hours a day. We have a lot of territory to cover each day so we spin the miles on a journey whose end is too distant to be real. Our reality is the road, which we consume and the road in turn consumes us. We are … Continue reading Wonder →

What’s it like to ride day after day often for long distances (over 150 kms)? Each day is different depending on terrain, elevation, wind, local culture, human interactions, as well as how rested you feel and how well you are in yourself. Yet each day there is an unchanging bedrock experience. It seems commonplace to … Continue reading A Day In The Life →

A couple of days ago, Jen, our medic, gave a small speech at our daily pre-supper rider’s briefing. Tallis, the Tour leader, booms out “riders’ meeting” and we gather as if the bell had rung for school assembly. Jen wants to remind us about wound care in the tropics; a couple of the riders had … Continue reading Age →

We take a rest day camping at Chitimba Beach on the shores of Lake Malawi. We had had a long ride after leaving Mbeya, 162 kilometers and a border crossing into Malawi. We were looking forward to a pause. As we arrived at the turn off to the beach, about one kilometer from the main … Continue reading The Bubble →