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ALEX CYCLES AFRICA
  • Home
  • About
    • Who’s Alex?
    • Tour d’Afrique
  • Itinerary
    • Interactive map
    • Planned itinerary
    • Detailed schedule
  • Gear
    • My bike
      • Selection criteria
      • Bike specifications
      • Packing my bike
    • All other gear
      • My packing list
      • Packing my gear
      • TDA packing list
  • Countries
    • Botswana
    • Egypt
    • Kenya
    • Malawi
    • Namibia
    • Rwanda
    • South Africa
    • Sudan
    • Tanzania
    • Uganda
    • Zambia
  • One lesson a day
  • Social impact
  • Links
Home » About Tour d’Afrique

About Tour d’Afrique

Tour d’Afrique is an annual cycling tour & race from Cairo do Cape Town. It is organized by TDA Global Cycling and takes place in 2017 for the 15th time. Here are some facts about the 2017 tour:

  • Crosses 11 countries (one more than usual as Ethiopia is replaced by Uganda and Rwanda)
  • Covers 11,500 kilometers (like every year, just on a modified route)
  • 27 full-tour riders—17/10 men/women—23 native English speakers/1 Austrian/1 German/1 Swede—14 below age 50/13 aged 50+ 
  • Takes 4 months including 87 riding days (three less than usual due to the modified route)
  • Scheduled to leave Cairo January 13th and arrive in Cape Town May 13th, 2017
  • Further info: tdaglobalcycling.com/tour-dafrique

So is it a tour or a race? And what if riders can’t make it?

  • Participating in the race is optional. Most riders participate as tourists and prioritize the experience over speed.
  • While everyone comes with the mindset that they will attempt to cycle every day, only few participants manage to actually cycle every inch of the 11,5000km.
  • When riders get sick, loose energy or don’t manage to complete a day’s scheduled ride, they will get transported on the truck.

EFI—Every Fabulous Inch, or rather Every F***ing Inch

  • Only few tour participants manage to cycle all the way, every inch of the 11,500km.
  • Those who succeed are awarded the highly coveted «EFI» status.
  • Reaching EFI is particularly hard because the tour allows no delays. Every inch needs to be cycled as scheduled, even when sick.
  • Reaching EFI means continuously persisting through extreme hardships like cycling through the Sudanese desert at more than 40° Celsius, potentially torrential rains and muddy roads in the Southern parts, hazardous traffic, cycling when sick (diarrheas, colds, sores, etc. almost unavoidable), and all of that while sleeping in a tent with partly horrendous or no toilet/washing facilities!
  • Obviously, only those with the right mindset & iron discipline can succeed. However, it also involves a fair bit of luck (e.g. no accidents).
  • So far, no Austrian woman has reached EFI (only 2 men in 2003 & 2008). I would be very proud if I manage to do so, but safety and fun come first. Let’s see . . .
  • Further info: tdaglobalcycling.com/efi-riders

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