Rather than take a heavy Chain wip and spanner on tour for that once in 5-8000km that you actually reverse the Rohloff cog, I either borrow stuff from other cyclists or use my old chain (which also usually needs replacing around 5000km) to make my own chain wip and borrow a spanner from a local [...]
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Coming home
”I am prepared to go anywhere, provided it be forward.” David livingstone As I stretched out over the 4 seats in the center row of the Emirates 777 to Dubai I found myself reflecting on the last couple of weeks in Kenya. I felt content that I’d pushed on the last couple of months [...]
READ MORE »Cycling around Kilimanjaro
“What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life.” George Mallory Since reading that it was possible to cycle around Kilimanjaro last year while following Peter Gostelow I’d been keen to cycle the same route around the mountain to Kenya. I spent almost a week [...]
READ MORE »One year later
“And with each challenge faced, with each victory won, you suddenly come to the realization that you are a different person than the one who began the journey.” Unknown Author A year on the road and only about two weeks of cycling left. Maybe a little premature for an epilogue but I can sneak Kenya [...]
READ MORE »Bicycle Safari
“As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.” Solomon A week into Linda’s visit I was finding my routine in paradise, enjoying the views of Zanzibar’s beaches, the quiet life, good company and getting started on my book. Sadly only two days after writing the following for my first chapter, Linda [...]
READ MORE »Impressions of Zanzibar
The winding alleyways are still there, and the carved doors. The east coast beaches are as lovely as ever. But, Zanzibar has changed. It’s due in part to the masses of visitors who descend on the island during the high season. In part, it’s due to the seemingly endless proliferation of new hotels, most built [...]
READ MORE »Cycling Southern Tanzania
So, now that the last blog post is off my chest I can resume normal service for my last two months in Africa. Thanks everyone that left a comment, email or message for support after that post. I am certain I’ve made the right decision and I don’t consider my trip over really, it’s just changing continents. [...]
READ MORE »The Wall
Our lives improve only when we take chances and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves. Walter Anderson October 2000 I locked myself up in a hotel room in Vientenne in Loas for three straight days, only briefly escaping three times a day to get meals [...]
READ MORE »Crossing Lake Malawi
I arrived at Nkhata Bay harbour at 9am an hour before the departure time I’d been told the previous evening. I wasn’t surprised to find that the cargo boat was less than half loaded and that there was still a lot of sugar to be loaded, but this boat is notorious for leaving early when [...]
READ MORE »Gear Talk 9 months in
Its been a while so I thought its once again time for a little gear talk. Its a little earlier than I planned but I now have time. Distance travelled : 10-11,000km Distance Cycled : 8-9000km (this trip) Click on this image to go to Flickr and see the gear tags. Be sure to also [...]
READ MORE »Where did Shane go??
I really didn’t want to write this post, but after 2 days in a backpackers with the combination rest and social interaction, I’m slowly regaining my sanity and sense of humour. Therefore I can be a little more reflective about recent events instead of just being the whining bitch I’ve felt like and hated of [...]
READ MORE »Alone in a crowd
I arrived at the Mozambique – Malawi border at 8am two hours after the official opening time, as I pulled up to the barrier I heard the border guards in the distance shouting “stop, wait”. Stopping and waiting seemed the sensible thing to do at a border gate. The immigration building was obviously no longer [...]
READ MORE »Mozambique pt 3 : More sand and a send off
The next day after the beach nonsense I took the early morning boat back to the mainland and cycled the 3 hours to Dondo. I was tempted to once again camp at the hotel but didn’t want to bump into the idiot drinking partner I’d had the previous week so pushed on and took the [...]
READ MORE »Mozambique pt 2 : Beach bum?
A man is never more a man than when he embraces an adventure beyond his control, or when he walks into a battle he isn’t sure of winning. John Eldridge After two sleepless nights, a short test run and hours not getting much wiser from my map it was time to go. I’ve always maintained [...]
READ MORE »Mozambique pt 1 : Lost in translation
While in no mans land between Zimbabwe and Mozambique I bumped into a group of five students cycling coast to coast for charity. This was quiet a coincidence because I’d had contact with them through Twitter and didn’t expect to meet up. After chatting for 10 minutes we went our separate ways, they were looking [...]
READ MORE »Money for da eggs
” Round the corner there may wait, A new road or a secret gate.” J.R.R. Tolkien On the road again I was sad to leave Bulawayo but after almost a month of inactivity I was pleased to once again have itchy feet and the need to be on the road. The first couple of days [...]
READ MORE »Slowly Slowly
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us” . J.R.R. Tolkien The contrast of when an overland truck arrives at a place is like day and night. A quiet camping spot at a quiet backpackers, with quiet talks with other travellers becomes an overrun campsite full [...]
READ MORE »The first 6 months
Here is a nice little video I put together that sums up the first 6 months cycling through Africa. Despite a few challenges, set backs and being sick from time to time I can sum up the first 6 months by saying I love this nomad life, and hope I continue to love it in [...]
READ MORE »Closure
The following is an article that has been on my computer since a few weeks after the Kalahari madness. During that episode and in the weeks after I found myself wondering why I’d pushed myself so hard, foolishly refusing to give up. After the heat of the battle so to speak it is obvious that [...]
READ MORE »Mosi-oa-Tunya
Travelling down the Zambezi with his small party of local guides and porters he must of been pretty shocked to look over the edge of the falls from the island where he moored his boats. David Livingstone was the first white person to “discover” Mosi-oa-Tunya (the cloud that thunders)in 1855. Later naming it after a [...]
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