• 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
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
Alex

128 Articles

Hello and welcome to my blog!
Here's a bit about me: Born 1982 in Austria, studied & worked in 9 different countries, picked up a few languages, currently feeling at home in Zurich (Switzerland). Professionally, after 12 years in banking, I now like to call myself an aspiring (social) entrepreneur. I’ve travelled a fair bit, yet not in Africa. In 2015, I climbed Kilimanjaro and wrote a book about it—Kilimanjaro Uncovered. Ever since, I’ve wanted a bigger physical and mental endurance challenge, and to see more of Africa. Early 2016, I learnt about Tour d’Afrique by chance and immediately fell in love with the idea of cycling Africa. It didn’t take me long to book the tour, following my heart and intuition. Now I can't wait to see how this adventure unfolds and where it will lead me. Hope you enjoy reading and following me on this blog!
GalleryOne lesson a daySouth Africa

Day 121: The journey is the reward

May 13, 2017 6 Comments 4416 Views

When I first heard about Tour d’Afrique (TDA) over a year ago, I was instantly hooked. It sounded like exactly the kind of challenge I’d been waiting for—to ride Every F***ing Inch (EFI) from Cairo to Cape Town. However, I was an unlikely candidate for that challenge: I had no particular cycling experience—even just pumping...

Read More
One lesson a daySouth Africa

Day 120: Don’t drink and ride

May 12, 2017 10 Comments 4699 Views

Today has been a mostly enjoyable ride, with heaps of opportunities to stop for a drink and/or snack. Everyone has been in a good mood, knowing that we’ve done it and nothing can stop us now. I joined Liz and her friends (who joined Liz yesterday to cheer her on and cycle into Cape Town...

Read More
One lesson a daySouth Africa

Day 119: Accomplishing something extremely difficult is highly rewarding

May 11, 2017 4 Comments 3179 Views

Yesterday was a very difficult riding day, today was expected to be even harder—the make or break day for our EFI. “Don’t take long breaks”, Rupert had advised me. “Last year, even the best riders only reached camp at 4.30 p.m.” Tough climbing, dirt, and expectation of headwind in the afternoon would make today...

Read More
One lesson a daySouth Africa

Day 118: We cannot control whether people like us, only our own thoughts and actions

May 10, 2017 6 Comments 3497 Views

We generally have quite a good group dynamic. Tallis had commented several times about our group being particularly positive and tolerant of each other. Apparently, in prior years, there had been instances of people openly fighting with each other. Well, we certainly have tribes and sub-groups, people who share more similar interests and thus tend...

Read More
One lesson a daySouth Africa

117: Focus, focus, focus

May 9, 2017 Leave a Comment 2628 Views

This morning has been a difficult start: deep sand, heavy corrugation, and downhill right out of camp against freezing air. My fingers had become so frozen that it was painful to pull my breaks or shift my gears. Before TDA, there’s no way I’d have cycled under these conditions, and if, there’s no way I’d...

Read More
One lesson a daySouth Africa

Day 116: Air resistance is an exponential function of speed

May 8, 2017 Leave a Comment 4615 Views

Last afternoon, Rupert announced that he had to watch his diet. Because he wasn’t cycling that fast anymore, he wasn’t burning the same amount of calories. That didn’t make any sense to me. Wouldn’t cycling from A to B always require the same amount of energy, no matter whether we’re going faster over shorter...

Read More
NamibiaOne lesson a daySouth Africa

Day 115: Never mess with border officials

May 7, 2017 5 Comments 2740 Views

This morning, we’ve crossed the border from Namibia into South Africa—our 11th and final country. Both countries being relatively well developed (neither of them requiring a visa, at least not for most of us), this should have been a quick and easy procedure. By the way, if you’ve read my blog entry for day 3...

Read More
NamibiaStatus

Day 114: Our last rest day—preparing for a tough home-run

May 6, 2017 3 Comments 2088 Views

Today has been our last rest day on the tour. Next time we wake up and don’t need to ride a bike, we’ll already be in Cape Town! Where has the time gone!? It’s also been our laziest rest day of the entire tour. We’re camping directly at the Orange River, which forms the...

Read More
NamibiaOne lesson a day

Day 113: Tourists hardly ever get to see the full picture of local realities

May 5, 2017 Leave a Comment 2125 Views

It’s not all just touristy glamour in Namibia, as this photo of vineyards in Aussenkehr might suggest. This is where the workers live that support the local economy, right next to a top-notch Western style supermarket for tourists—shanty town nicely decorated with straw/wood to fit into the landscape and please our eyes? NB: I...

Read More
NamibiaOne lesson a day

Day 112: Speak up and take action to implement your ideas

May 4, 2017 4 Comments 2288 Views

Given I’m writing this blog with the theme of one lesson a day, I’ve had the following idea very early on (already in Sudan, I think): Wouldn’t it be nice to have a video in which each of us tour participants shares one lesson we’ve learnt on this trip? It should be a great souvenir for...

Read More
1 2 … 13 Next

Stay updated

POPULAR VIDEOS

LATEST RIDES

LET ME HELP YOU EXPLORE AFRICA

I found my purpose while cycling through Africa: To help you too experience the beauty of this continent and the warmth of its people – safely and responsibly.

At Fair Voyage, we partner with local sustainability leaders to curate socially and environmentally responsible travel experiences. You get personal travel advice directly from local experts and tailor-made trips crafted just for you. Tell us your trip ideas to speak to your advisor today.

Before cycling through Africa, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, became aware of the exploitation of porters working on the mountain, and wrote the book Kilimanjaro Uncovered.

Appalled by the continuing exploitation of human life in travel, I partnered with the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP) and volunteered with them as advisor and board member to help make a difference.

At Fair Voyage, we treat our porters fairly, which also leads to a safer and more enjoyable experience for our travelers. See what our travelers say.

Climb Kilimanjaro

Been to the top of Africa yet? I’d be excited to help make this happen for you. Ask to speak to your Kilimanjaro advisor today!

Facebook Twitter Youtube
  • Popular
  • Recent
  • Interactive map December 24, 2016
  • Packing my gear for TDA—a miracle of organization and compartmentalization January 5, 2017
  • Day 3: Losing EFI is like losing your virginity—supposedly January 15, 2017
  • Packing my Koga bike for the flight in 25 simple steps January 4, 2017
  • My almost perfect bike that won’t make me a racer December 31, 2016
  • 20 months post TDA – a truly life-changing journey September 8, 2019
  • Sudan Video—unembellished footage of what it’s really like January 28, 2018
  • Riders sharing their lessons learnt and inspirational stories September 10, 2017
  • Day 121: The journey is the reward May 13, 2017
  • Paul’s humorous Pirate Speech about our staff May 12, 2017

RECENT COMMENTS

  • Alex on Sudan Video—unembellished footage of what it’s really like
  • Stephen Owen on Sudan Video—unembellished footage of what it’s really like
  • Alex on Riders sharing their lessons learnt and inspirational stories
  • Rohit on Riders sharing their lessons learnt and inspirational stories
  • Alex on Day 121: The journey is the reward
  • Alex on Sudan Video—unembellished footage of what it’s really like
  • Victor on Sudan Video—unembellished footage of what it’s really like
  • Helen Dawtrey on Day 121: The journey is the reward
  • Dale M on Day 121: The journey is the reward
  • Jeannette Gravett on Day 121: The journey is the reward
  • Jeannette Gravett on Paul’s humorous Pirate Speech about our staff
  • Kim on Day 121: The journey is the reward
  • Gun Frisk on Day 121: The journey is the reward
  • Alex on Day 120: Don’t drink and ride
  • John on Day 120: Don’t drink and ride

Categories

  • Botswana9
  • Egypt19
  • Gallery11
  • Gear3
  • Kenya9
  • Link3
  • Malawi7
  • Map1
  • Namibia14
  • One lesson a day97
  • Quote1
  • Resources1
  • Rwanda5
  • Social impact2
  • South Africa7
  • Status15
  • Sudan21
  • Tanzania15
  • Tips2
  • Tour info2
  • Uganda10
  • Video8
  • Zambia10

Get live updates

ALEX CYCLES AFRICA
© Copyright 2017.