On bike clothing:

1. Campagnolo cycling shorts expensive but nice for my butt.
2. Berghaus Long Sleeve shirt
3. No name cycling gloves
4. Socks
5. Helmet or sun hat and sunglasses($3 safety glasses instead of $50 cycling sunglasses).
6. Lowa Renegade GTX hiking shoes.

The baggage:

1. Bike packer plus rear panniers (old version)
2. Ortlieb bike packer plus front panniers
3. Bum bag (for passort, wallet while on bike)
4. Exped Drypack pro 25 (drysack for clothing and a daysack)

The wardrobe:

The rule: All clothing has to fit into my front LH pannier (this is also my seat for lunch breaks).

1. Berghaus Long Sleeve shirt
2. PHD design minimus vest
3. Nike ACG Lightweight fleece
4. North Face Trousers with zip off legs x2
5. Lightweight T-shirt
6. Cotton shirt with short sleeves
7. Socks x2 pairs +wearing 1 pair (all the same type so if it becomes 2.5 pairs its not a problem)
8. Rab Event jacket
9. Goretex packlite trousers (not sure I even need these for Africa…)
10. Legwarmers for early morning starts, cold days and cold nights
11. Fleece hat Buff
12. Teva’s of course, and maybe flipflops, haven’t decided yet
13. X bionics cycle underwear x1 (lightweigh standby cycling shorts)
14. Sloggi underwear x2

As you can see it isn’t alot, I’m travelling fairly light and will have to layer up if it gets cold, but generally the weather will be nice and warm:). And I’m still able to cut back a little more on the clothing if I dont mind smelling a little more. Still have to think about that a little.

The living room and bedroom:

LH rear pannier, the tent goes ontop my rear rack if I’m carrying alot of food.

1. Msr Hubba Hubba 2 man tent (inside a waterproof stuff sack to stop everything getting wet)
2. Exped Synmat 7 (a luxury bed that will hopefully last longer than the downmat did)
3. Cumulus Lite line 300 (customised to 250g down)
4. Inflateable Pillow (no more sore neck for me)
5. Chair kit for the exped (a luxury item which usually goes with me but it may get left at home to save 800g)

The bathroom:

LH rear pannier:

1. Washbag with a hook (to hang it up in a bathroom/room or in the tent)
2. Shampoo (for hair, body, clothing and pans)
3. Anti persperant
4. Toothbrush/toothpast
5. Razor
6. Condoms (?)
7. Nails scissors
8. Medicines, pills and potions
9. Moisturiser (that’s how I stay looking so young)
10. Zinc cream (keeps my bum baby soft)
11. Ear plugs + cotton buds
12. First aid kit + emergency foil blanket
13. Baby wipes/ wet wipes ( for those hard to reach places you want to keep clean when theres no shower around)
14. Toilet roll
15. Dental floss (for flossing and hundreds of other uses)
16. Needle and thread
17. Lightweight Microfiber Towel

Kitchen:

Mainly RH rear pannier:

1. Optimus Nova Plus Multifuel burner
2. Optimus Terra Panset without the big pan
3. Titanium Spork
   
4. Sea to summit kitchen kit (herbs/spices etc)
5. Plastic plate (also for cutting stuff on)
6. Opinel pocket knife (a little old fashioned, but cheap and still my favourate)
7. Army tin opener
8. Bottle of wine (for the flavour of course)
9. MSR Dromedary watersack (2x 4L)
10. Shampoo (see bathroom)

Workshop:

RH rear pannier:

1. Crankbrothers multi tool incl spoke wrench(Customized)
2. Park Tool Superpatches (handy for a quick fix but dry out after a couple of months on the tire)
3. Normal patches (for a proper fix)
4. Plastic tire levers (1x Large 1x normal)
5. Rohloff tool
6. Rohloff oil set
7. Spare Rohloff rear sprocket
8. Innertube x 2
9. Spare tire x2 Marathon XR/Extreme (seems alot but I want to be self supporting in Africa)
10. S+S tool
11. Spare nuts and bolts, 1x gear cable, spare brake blocks x2 sets
12. Tyewraps, hose clamps and wire (for emergency repairs)
13. Crank removal tool(?)
14. Spare spokes x ?
15. Chain oil 50ml
16. Other far too heavy crap which I hope never to use…..

Electronics and gadgets:

RH rear pannier:

1. Kindle e-reader(stupid that they sell a UK model and an international)
2. Laptop Acer aspire one N255
3. Varta usb battery charger (also buffer to charge phone/ ipod)
4. Ipod nano (new type) Loving listening to podcasts and learning languages on this thing(should of got the 16gb though).
5. B&M E-Werk transformer from hub dynamo to Varta/ gps
6. Garmin etrex hcx gps
7. 6x rechargeable AA batteries (2x torch, 2x gps, 2x reserve/charging)+ 2x AAA for rear light.
8. Fenix LD20 LED torch (has search light mode incl handwarming, or long battery life mode)
9. Longwave radio (left it in Uganda, I find world service boring)
10. Nokia 6500 classic mobile (without sim card, will buy locally)
11. Usb mains adaptor (with 2x1000mA sockets so I can recharge ipod and batteries in 1 go)
12. Camera Panasonic Lumix TZ5 with battery charger (why cant they just go usb too)
13. Various wires, plugs and cables for all of the above

What about front RH pannier?

This is my reserve pannier, when I leave home I make sure its empty, this allows for food and junk that I accumulate on the road. If I don’t have too much food with me I put something from one of the other panniers here, panset for example.

Last minute addition:

Berghaus Verder 65L backpack plus walking poles for a change of pace from time to time during the trip. An extra 2.5kg than a normal canoe bag. Time will tell if this was a handy extra.

Gear for cooler/wetter continents:

1. An extra fleece
2. My Tatteljee winter sleeping bag
3. A different tent, my favourate bad weather tents are from Hilleberg not cheap but awesome quality
4. Long johns
5. Thicker goretext jacket (mine is 500g heavier than my Rab jacket)
6. More socks
7. Proper hiking shoes (mid or high model instead of a low model)
8. Winter gloves, goretex with down/synthetic filling.
9. Goggles and face mask for really bad+ cold weather

Yes Msr have finally seen the light, its no longer yellow!!

Summer 2011: Msr have seen the light and changed the colour of their tents. The recession is still in full swing here so there’s almost a tent price war going on between various outdoor internet shops. So when I saw the new MSR Hubba Hubba Tent V6 in green for only €270 and knowing I’ll be spending most of the next 2 years wild camping in Africa I just couldn’t resist buying the 2011 model.

The verdict?:

(In comparison to my origional yellow Hubba Hubba)

The green colour is lighter than I thought but its actually the ideal colour for camping between bushes and other low greenery. The crappy  tent pegs are history and MSR have finally seen the light and changed to my favourite stakes (V-pegs from DAC) these are the same stakes used by Hilleberg. They’ve also strenghend the lower guyline attachment point. Just like the previous version the bottom of the outer tent is quite high from the ground to allow better ventilation. This is nice unless its raining really hard, then the rain splashes up and under the outer tent…..can’ t have everthing I guess.

In summer 2011 I tested the tent in a nasty summer storm without problems. I have no doubt this is the ideal tent for Africa, and is probibly one of the best 3 season tents on the market. With a good sleepingbag I’ve slept to just above freezing point. In warmer dryer weather I just use the inner tent for maximum ventilation.

Room for improvement?: Maybe MSR shouldn’t be so cheap (or shouldn’t cheat in the published weight) by including guylines and a couple more pegs with the 2011 model. Yup the tent came without guylines and only has 6 pegs. The only other improvement I can think of is changing the colour of the ceiling panel in the inner tent, its still white which reflects the moon very nicely when using only the inner tent. This makes it almost glow in the dark, goodbye stealth. Pink pegs? whats that all about, maybe I won’ t loose these ones in the grass I guess…..

Update: 2012

Now after 180 nights of use in Africa I’m still of the opinion that this is the ideal tent for Africa. The mesh has a few holes probably thanks to thorns and bushes during wild camping. The tent is spacious, easy to set up, light and surprisingly durable. The foot print is essential to protect the bottom of the main tent, it also doubles as a tarp for shade on those warmer days.

I am under no illusions about the tent floor being waterproof after so much wild camping in the desert, but thanks to the foot print its not as bad as it could be (the footprint is now almost as much duct tape as other material).

This article will take a look at the gadgets I used during the trip. By gadgets I mean anything that supplies or uses electricity in one form or other.

Disclaimer : All information on this page is based on my own experience and opinion and therefore does not necessarily have anything to do with fact, science or have to agree with your opinion.

Power generation : 

My front wheel is fitted with Son hub dynamo from Schmidt which generates power while cycling. It does what its supposed to do and without any noticeable extra effort on my part(allegedly 0.5w when no gadgets are using power) at higher speeds the hub can generate up to 6W/12v. As the body is bigger than a standard hub it means you use shorter spokes making the wheel slightly more robust. The only downside I can find with the hub is the price, it adds about €150 to a standard wheel. Twice during the trip I had no power from the hub, a quick clean of the contacts on the right hand side of the hub fixed this.

Note to stupid people : don’t submerge it in water (river crossings) as it has a breather hole which will allow water into the hub.

When I’m away from town for more than 3 days I also use the hub/e-werk to charge my phone for a morning every other day (and have it switched off most of the time) this is enough to fully charge it again. The E-werk has dozens of settings an cables allowing it to power most things if you know what you’re doing. Recently they brought out a slightly cheaper USB-Werk which is actually more suited to most people like myself that mainly charge USB items, it also has a small internal battery which will keep a gps powered at a stoplight etc.

In the one year cycling in Africa I never wild camped more than one week straight so never needed to charge my AA batteries via the hub. For battery charging I use a small 2 cell Usb charger from Varta. I carried 6 AA batteries in total. 2 for the GPS, 2 for my torch and 2 in the charger as spare.

To charge my usb devices (phone/battery charger/ipod) I used a Belkin dual USB in combination with a local adapter that costs about €1 (rather than an expensive universal travel Adapter) and sometimes my laptop. That said for a similar trip I’d take the expensive all in one option next time, at one point I was carrying two bulky adapters and a multi plug. Having a dual USB charger is very handy when doing the sneaky charging in a petrol station thing, you can charge the phone and ipod at the same time .

Comms : 

For someone that was never a fan of using a phone its quite ironic that I’ve been through four phones in little over a year.

1. Nokia 6500c  (The black one) Due to falling out my pocket at work too often it was on its death bed just before the trip. But I found it to the be ideal phone. Simple, lightweight, chargeable with USB and long battery life.

2.  Nokia 6500c  (The gold one) Being cheap and knowing my colleagues all had fancy new phones I went begging and found someone that had a Nokia I could take out of retirement for them. Sadly only 2 months into the trip the phone and my hand had an  unfortunate science lesson about skin friction, gravity and rapid negative acceleration when in contact with the floor (for those out there that know even less about physics than me science doesn’t know deceleration!).

3. Nokia C3 (The pink one) The next morning after the nokia/gravity incident I heading into the throbbing metropolis of Kokstad in South Africa and was able to get a good deal on a Nokia C3 sadly they only had it in pink. This phone proved to be a disaster in every aspect compared to the 6500, couldn’t be charged by usb (meaning yet another charger and couldn’t charge from my dynamo hub because I didn’t have the right cables for that with me). Poor battery life and worst of all it had apps, before I knew it I was as just as addicted to mobile Facebook and Twitter as everyone else. My carefree detached from the outside world part of the trip was over.

4. Samsung Galaxy Mini (The yellow one) Two months on I’d had enough of the pain of trying to charge a laptop, phone, several USB items with only one socket so decided it was time to get a phone with USB charging to fit in with my power plan ( and like any drug I wanted more apps). Just before leaving Namibia I was able to get a good trade in price for my pink phone for a yellow phone. My life as a human being was over, I’d become an android clone like so many others. The following are apps I’ve found handy for cycle touring in Africa:

• Facebook/Twitter/Gmail : to stay in touch
• Reduce photo size: the standard photo sizes are too small or too big for uploading/emailing with African internet.
• Xe Currency converter : Less chance of getting shafted by money changers
• Latitude : I updated it almost daily for my Route page so people know roughly where I was.
• Google maps: handy once in town for finding stuff and getting orientated.
• Calender : Tracking visa expiry date. Once home I synced this with my google calander and have gone totally digital in the agenda world.
• Internet : Googling somewhere to stay in big cities.
• Whatsapp : a nice chat program to stay in touch with friends around the world.
• Warmshowers/Couchsurfing : Warmshowers isn’t very well covered in Africa but there’s plenty of couch surfers.
• Badoo: If I felt like having a date.

I see I’ve already rocketed above the 1300 word count for this article so its obvious that gadgets will have to become a 2 or 3 part thing. I did say it would be an in depth look at my gear

In part two, I’ll look at Media/entertainment, light and navigation gadgets.

The extra leverage of a 2×4 makes it alot easier too

Tip: Don’t lie the wheel cog side down while the cog is removed or the oil will leak out.

I change my oil about every 10,000km. The advise Rohloff give about changing every 5000km is based on mountainbikers that like to clean their bikes with high pressure hoses every weekend……

Rohloff cog removal with improvised chain wip from ShaneCycles on Vimeo.

 ”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 despite my heart no longer being in the trip. I’d been able to finish on a high, once again loving the challenges and beauty Africa has to offer, leaving Africa happy rather than the inevitable bitter aftertaste I would have had if I’d quit in Dar es Salam.

The last two weeks in Kenya I’d cycled many almost impassable roads thanks to the rainy season and the poor condition of the dirt roads, so my last memories cycling in Africa are of me covered from head to toe in mud and sand and happy as a pig in shit.

I spent my last night camping in Africa alone at a deserted campsite in Hells gate national park. I spent the evening and sunrise overlooking the plain below and watching the Buffalo, Giraffes, Zebras and Warthogs grazing undisturbed by people and cars. What a way to finish a trip!

The following morning I took a lift to Nairobi, I saw no reason to spoil my memories with a day of cycling the road to hell or getting squashed.

Coming home

Walking through the front door of a house I left a year ago planning never to return was a little weird. By the time I was in the living room it felt as if I’d just left a week ago. It was nice after a year to walk into a place and recognize things, things that I’d bought years previously, furniture, my favorite painting on the wall. I felt like I was home.

The next morning I found myself hunting for my stove, planning to head into the garden to cook up some water for a cup of tea. “Shit I don’t have any fuel.” Then I remembered there is a kettle in the kitchen, time to learn to live the “civilized” life again.

The first week went by in a blur, enjoying the luxuries of home, wasting gallons of drink water under the steaming hot power shower, enjoying the cool damp autumn air, walks in the woods and catching up with friends. Mr Hyde also enjoyed being pampered in a workshop with proper tools rather than at the roadside or in a field. Good food and an overdose of good coffee gave me lots of energy and my sickness and tiredness of the last months felt like a distant memory.

For almost the first 10 days my mind felt less fit than my body. It felt empty and numb almost as if I was sedated. It was unexplainable and almost scary especially in combination with all the flashbacks but I just accepted it as part of the process. This is now happily also a distant memory and I’m now feeling rested and able to start looking forward again. The regular flashbacks of the last months are now almost non existent so I guess my mind is finally catching up and getting its filing system sorted out.

Setting realistic targets and making plans for 2013

We’re now in a season where people make ridiculous New Year resolutions which they never keep because they are unrealistic or impractical or they just don’t believe in them. I’ve never really understood this New Year circus, if you want to stop smoking/drinking/eating or get fit why not start today? Instead of the first of January when you wake up with a hangover.

On that note I’ve started jogging a couple of days a week and plan to have a crack at a half marathon next year. How hard can it be? Its like walking 21km but then slightly faster?

If the last year has taught me anything its that there’s no point in me planning too far ahead. So for now I’m working on a 12 month plan to get work in spring after my cycling in Lapland trip. Hopefully I’ll get work for about 6-8 months then make a plan for what I want to do next winter, at the moment that part of my crystal ball is very foggy, I have some ideas but have no idea what I really want to do so far from now.

I’ll be taking 2013 very much on a one step at a time basis. The first step being waking up in my tent somewhere in Northumberland on New years day, then catching up with friends and family in the UK. Then cycling for three weeks in the cold with fellow crazy cyclist Helen Lloyd. (see wintercycletouring.com for my Lapland trip reports) Everything after that is foggy but it will be very much an earning more freedom credits thing for the summer…

This is my last blog post for Shane Cycles Africa. Thank you for sharing my journey, now go out and have your own adventure, this Truman show is finished!!

For now…..

“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 in the bustling and over run with tourists and touts Moshi. The small rainy season is in full flow now and I spent many days wondering if it was going to be possible to cycle this dirt road. In the end resorting to checking out weather forecasts to see if there might be a dry spell when the road would dry a little and be passable.

It is impossible to walk the streets of Moshi without hearing the call of “My friend do you want…..” Or people trying to make friends with you in the hope of leading you to their shop or tour agency. Luckily the tone is generally friendly and not too hard core. Whilst in Moshi I briefly had the company of a French cyclist and later a couple of cyclists from Korea. The chance to swap stories and tips over a few beers is always a unique pleasure when on the road.

With a little confusion as to which route around the mountain was the dirt road and a little confusion riding back and forth to Himo I finally headed back via Moshi to cycle the road to the West of Kilimanjaro.

Whilst on my way I was passed by several Land rover’s  filled with 4-6 locals and 1 or 2 Mzungu tourists off to climb Kilimanjaro. I found myself wondering why 2 people need so much support? 1. guide, 2. Cook, 3-4 Porters 5. Shoe fastener ? 6. Bum wiper?

Once the tar road stopped at Sanya juu what followed were two of the best days cycling since Namibia. Stunning views of the Savanna below, tough cycling over gravel and mud and lunch with friendly Massai people.

With of course the occasional hour hiding from the thunder storms in disused buildings.

Because of the cooler climate of the higher altitude and the rainy season parts of the route felt as though I was cycling through the Yorkshire dales. Green grass, blossom filled trees and white houses. The cool air a constant reminder that the rains would start at any time.

It was a pleasure to see the Massai on there own land being Massai rather than the ones  I’d seen in town being a tourist attraction.

Thanks to the occasional thick forest I was able to have a peaceful night sleep in the bush.

Border trouble

I arrived at the border town of Rongai just before lunch. Though not an official border crossing it does have an immigration office. After one hour of waiting, asking around and sending out search parties it was obvious the immigration officer was sleeping off a hangover somewhere and wasn’t planning on coming to work for one exit stamp.

A little worried I headed down the mountain on a small forest track to Loitokitok and found the immigration/police station just before leaving town. It didn’t take the sober Kenyan immigration officer long to point out I didn’t have an exit stamp from Tanzania.

I explained the situation and he was sympathetic but insisted I go to the main border crossing at Hassit to get an exit stamp. After the hard cycling of the previous days I was in no mood to cycle the 11km back to Tanzania and come back again. The immigration guy then suggested I just get a taxi there and back and he would watch over my bike, he then went to the trouble of calling me a taxi and arranging a fixed price.

Two hours later after two taxi rides, a motor cycle taxi ride, some border hopping, money troubles, illegally going back into Tanzania once I had my exit stamp, and a big argument with a taxi driver about how much I had to pay him for waiting for me at the border I was back at Loitokitok.  I had my exit stamp, Kenyan visa ($50) and some Kenyan shillings. All’s well that ends well.

I then cruised the 15km down hill to the next town where I found a €5 hotel room and some cold beer.

Kenya

The next day I rode the 85km to Emali, a small smelly truck stop town on the main Mombasa-Nairobi highway. The ride was almost as spectacular as the previous days though much easier.

Kilimanjaro to my rear, Savanna and dozens of Giraffe’s left and right, dozens of different beautifully coloured birds flying over head and a quiet tar road to my front. If the wind had been a little more friendly it would have been the perfect day cycling.

At one point I was within 10m of two Giraffes, sadly they didn’t hang around long enough for a photo.

And that was four very tough but very rewarding days of cycling around Kilimanjaro from Moshi to Emali. Now for a week cycling dirt roads to Naivasha then its all over…….

“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 in at a later date. Here are my reflections, lessons and highlights  from 12 months cycling through Africa. Plus a glimpse into the crystal ball about the future.

Warning: It’s been a long journey so at 3000 words this is my longest blog post to date, you might want to get a cup of tea, coffee, wine or beer before you start reading. And like any long journey you should have a pee too before you start!

———————————

It was a year ago this week, I can remember vividly the flight from Amsterdam to Cape Town on the 3^rd of November 2011. Rather than reading, sleeping or watching films I spent most of the flight staring at the blue screen watching the little airplane fly past the countries I anticipated passing through a year or two later. Morocco, Mauritania, Mali , Senegal, various Guineas, Cameroon, DR Congo and so on. I was relieved that after more than 18 months of planning that I my trip had finally started.

Looking back it seems a life time ago and so much has changed in me in the mean time despite already being an experienced cyclist and fairly sure of who I was. I haven’t kept a precise log of how far I’ve travelled but a rough guess from GPS tracks that cover most of my journey show that I’ve travelled about 14,000km almost 11,000 of which I cycled. I guess the distances already show a big change in me, the purest is gone. If I get sick or short on time for something, I don’t have an issue with getting a bus. I no longer have anything to prove to myself or others in that department and in  the future aim to regularly get the bus or train through boring parts of a country if on a long trip. Life is too short for weeks of mindless plodding through boring scenery. I believe Alistair Humphreys and/or Rob Lilwall coined the phrase “Miles not smiles.” In their books Moods of Future Joys: Around the World by Bike  and Cycling Home from Siberia both good reads BTW. This seems such a waste, get a bus smile again sooner ?

 The highlights of the trip

South Africa :

• Zigzagging over the Zwarteberg mountain range, not particularly high but pretty all the same and a nice warm up for things to come.
• Being hosted by several  Warmshowers.org hosts, especially Johann. Johann has now become a treasured friend and mentor who has helped me through some of my toughest decisions during this journey.
• Spending a few weeks with Candice and Steve Black at the Kotsho horse farm, including a horse riding trip into Lesotho. In those three weeks I also Hiked the Giants Cup Trail possibly the happiest five days of the trip, being alone in the mountains with awesome scenery.
• Cycling up the infamous Sani pass to Lesotho 15-25% gradient, gravel, rocks, rain and the confused look on tourists faces when they saw me from inside their 4×4’s.
• Not Dying in the South African Kalahari during summer despite a nasty crash, cracked rib, cracked elbow and choosing to cycle through a desert during the height of summer.

Lesotho :

Lots of hills, often cycling at 3000m, awesome scenery and a weird WII party with the staff of AfriSki on New Years eve.

Namibia :

• Desert, Desert, Desert. Between Kimberley in South Africa and Swakopmunt on the Namibian coast I’d spent almost 2 months in the Kalahari/Namib deserts during Summer. My accommodation in that time was a three was split 60/20/20 between wild camping/ paid campsites/ hotels. In that time my fears of wild camping became a memory and sleeping in the bush became my life blood.
• Despite a couple of near misses with death, dehydration and once practically running out of food and water, some of my happiest times during this trip were whilst suffering in the desert. I think only when living so close to the edge can one feel so alive. Living in the bush, carrying a week of food and as much water as I could I felt in my element. I felt like the adventurer I’d always wanted to be and felt alive and on top of the world.
• Namibia also brought a visit from my best friend and ex-girlfriend Linda. Linda brought a welcome break from cycling and being alone. She also brought a holiday budget which allowed for fancy hotels and a hire car which meant we spotted two Leopards among other things in Etosha national park.
• I also spent a few days being hosted by Johann’s girlfriend in Windhoek, a wonderful host, and friend that I would later affectionately call the cat lady.
• Though cycling the Caprivi strip with a head wind was hard and boring, I did get to see my first of several wild elephants, scary, exciting but awesome to see them in their element.
• Spending four days on the banks of the Zambezi with Peter Gostelow, doing what boys do. Pete and I are now good friends and still have almost daily contact.

Botswana :

Botswana had zero highlights along the Trans Kalahari Highway and the main road along the Okovango. This was about 700km of mind numbingly boring road, and in hindsight I should of got a lift the whole way. The road for more than 1000km (include the Caprivi strip) is tar road, 10m grass left and right, then endless bush you can’t see through. It’s pretty, but quickly gets pretty boring. That said, wild camping was easy and beautiful.

Zambia :

Zambia was one of my favorite countries and for no particular reason. The cycling was as boring as the previous 1000km of bush apart from the week I cycled in the West towards Mongu.

• The people of Zambia were some of the friendliest I met during the trip along with Zimbabwe and Mozambique (Coincidence that they all border on the great Zambezi river?).
• Cycling 30m away from three cheetahs in Kafue National Park.
• Meeting and being hosted by Siri and Gerrit while I rested in Lusaka.
• Meeting and being hosted by the folks at Munali coffee farm. Also drinking gallons of Munali coffee at the farm and in the weeks after thanks to them weighing my panniers down with coffee.
• Meeting and cycling with Ken McCallum, who is now a treasured friend.
• A micro-light flight over the Great Victoria falls.

Zimbabwe :

Zimbabwe has a special place in my heart. This is the country I fell in love with and really should of just stayed put. Friendly people, a healthy mix of real Africa but cosmopolitan cities, perfect wild camping and a special lady in Bulawayo whose heart I broke by pedaling into the middle distance like I said I would after a wonderful month together.

Mozambique : The big surprise.

I’d been worried about going to Mozambique due to its recent history, talk of land mines and the huge language barrier.

• Despite poverty, history and the language barrier the people of Mozambique where kind and patient with me, some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met and without the “Mzungu give me money” attitude of their neighbours to the North. They also often respected personal space and didn’t crowd me too much in the small villages when I stopped for a break.
• Mozambique has the nicest bread in Africa, called Pau.
• After Mozambique an orange will never again taste so sweet and juicy.
• Awesome wild camping between Dondo and Caia.
• Manica beer, tasty warm or cold.

Malawi :

• Spending a couple of weeks at Nkhata bay. Eating, drinking and watching life go by as I tried to recover from my mini burn out.
• I also had a great weekend in Nkhata bay when more than 10 other cyclists randomly arrived.

Apart from that I wasn’t impressed with Malawi, too many tourists, NGO’s and “Mzungu give me money.”

I was however relieved to get across the lake without sinking.

Tanzania :

• Cycling Southern Tanzania. Despite the bad roads and road works, a lot of the route was very demanding and beautiful. Once I hit the more boring coast road at Lindi I got a bus to Dar es Salaam.
• Finally a wide selection of beer, most of which were better than the beers of previous countries.
• The awesome views of the mountains West of Tanga.
• Along the coast eating a fresh coconut almost everyday, along with other fruit.
• Cycling around Kilimanjaro.

Zanzibar :

• Spending a week on the pristine beaches.
• Stepping back in time in Stone Town.
• Another visit from Linda, so flashy hotels, good conversations and tourist food again.

Kenya:

• The convenience of people that spoke reasonable English again.
• Cycling the muddy dirt roads in rainy season, once again happy as a pig in shit.
• Tourist food at Lake Naivasha
• Spending my last night camping in Africa in the Hells gate national park.

Kenya gave me the finish to the trip I’d hoped for. By taking the dirt roads in rainy season I had a great balance of tough riding and reasonable food/ hotels in town. All topped off with a night camping on the side of a hill in Hells gate national park watching the wild life go by. I finished the trip content and happy and over the dip of previous months.

The Change

Before the trip I was a confident man, knew what I wanted from life in the short term and had a reasonable amount of experience cycle touring. I was looking forward to the challenge and adventure Africa would bring.

The early months in South Africa I was just finding my feet, recovering from pre trip stress and learning to accept that this is my new life.

Through the deserts I finally had a lot of time to think and meditated during the rhythmic turning of my pedals. Two months in the desert where you rarely have a conversation longer than “How much is a camping spot.” or “ Could I have some water please.” Brings you close to yourself or close to insanity. In this time I had enough time to think about my life, choices I’ve made, situations I’ve regretted etc, etc . With many moments of outrage or tears I put all my demons and skeletons to rest in the Namib desert.

Changes, the good, the bad and the ugly.

There have been many changes, some I recognize, some I don’t, many subtle many I like and some I don’t.

First the bad and the ugly…….

I’ve changed in a negative way.

I’ve become tired of Africa and all that makes Africa interesting and fun. I no longer have an interest in learning about new cultures or meeting new people. I only stop briefly at villages for a drink or groceries and quickly move on without too much conversation.

Africa has physically and mentally drained me. I feel like a shadow of my former self, the desert adventurer is now a hollow drained body and mind.

I have increasing difficulty dealing with poverty, each time I see a cow or goat eating rubbish or a person rummaging through someone else’s rubbish it makes me feel sick.

Africa has lost its charm for me which is sad with so much still to see.

I have ZERO tolerance for touts, hustlers or anyone that starts a conversation with me that leads to them wanting something from me. This also blocks out the possibility of the occasion genuine person that just wants a chat. I’ve had enough of people asking for money, telling me they have a cousin that has something for me, or people asking for help with their study.

I can only hope that these are all temporary things that will be fixed with a little rest in Europe and that in no time I’ll once again be on top of the world and in my element somewhere and once again open to contact with strangers.

The good changes…..

Africa had humbled me. I’ve been brought to my knee’s physically and mentally a couple of times. I have learned that the human body and soul are strong but far from invincible.

Because I’ve been brought to my knees I’ve learned that pride and ego can be put to one side. I value my self sufficiency but several times during this trip I’ve had to ask for help from a stranger, on one occasion saving my life.

I am now more open and tolerant of peoples opinions and choices in life, a lot less judging of how people choose to live or travel, each to their own and all that. Though I still think backpackers that take Valium to sleep during a night bus are frigging stupid!

I have been humbled by the amount of interest that has been shown in my trip by complete strangers, ex-colleagues, friends and distant family. Also by the support shown via the Paypal button to donate a little to buy me a coffee, beer or clean hotel room.  Thank you all!!

I’ve learned that just about all people are good (well OK I knew that already it’s just been reinforced in Africa). It doesn’t matter where in the world you cycling into a small village and ask for water or help, people will go out of their way to help a stranger. This is especially true in Africa where a sense of community and pride are very strong.

Note : this is only true outside of tourist areas, in tourist areas people will also go out of their way but in the hope of earning something from you.  That said shop keepers remain about 40/60 for either trying to rip me off or give me a fair price. The former I affectionately call Mzungu tax.

From Botswana to Tanzania I cycled thousands of kilometers with a head wind and fairly uninspiring scenery ( I only had about a dozen days of tail wind during the whole trip), this gave me a strong mind and body.

I’ve found a passion for wild(bush) camping, in the early days I had sleepless nights hearing animals or people. Now I sleep like a baby if in the bush. The ability to wild camp a few days a week now dictates if I like an area or country more than the people or scenery.

I’ve discovered a joy for writing and learned to express myself more through writing and sharing the things I see around me me. My blog has also made me more conscious of the moment, constantly thinking “How am I going to write this up?” Naturally my spelling and grammar need a lot of work but you can’t have everything. I think many moments would have been lost forever if I hadn’t thought about writing it up on my blog. I now see and experience more and have become more aware of the small things around me through my writing. I’ve seen a large improvement in my writing in the last six months, a process that is a wonder really for someone that has light dyslexia and near enough failed English at school.

I’ve developed a healthy respect for the easy luxury life we have in the “civilized world.” And a respect for the things we take for granted:

• Electricity all day every day
• A fridge, freezer, kettle and other kitchen luxuries
• Clean fresh water from 6-10 taps in house whereas many villages I passed through only had one tap for dozens of families
•  A well stocked supermarket within walking distance
•  A choice from dozens of different types of fresh bread rather than dozens of stale white loves.
• A machine that makes your cloths smell nice rather than hours of hand washing.
• Gas/ electric cookers in a separate kitchen rather than a  charcoal stove in the one room house/hut or outside
• A clean spacious bathroom
• Waking in the morning not itchy from mosquito or bedbug bites
• Education, welfare system, medical system and strange things called work contracts and pensions.
• Fairly efficient and not too overcrowded public transport
• Fast reliable internet
• Good coffee
• Police that are generally not corrupt
• Health and safety laws
• Silence
• etc etc etc

I’ve learned the value of a good conversation, something I’ve been desperately lacking most of the trip.

My original plan was to continue from Kenya around Lake Victoria through DR Congo then to cycle the West coast of Africa.  Thanks to recent events, see “The Wall”  I’ve decided to stop my trip in Nairobi . Thanks to the experiences of this trip I’ve learned what I want from cycling touring. It seems the “Blunt instrument “ (as Tom calls a RTW trip) of a long term trip is not for me.

I’m not the bicycle nomad I thought I wanted to be but at the same time I have found what I do want to be. I was happiest being pushed to my limits in the Desert, cycling the mountain passes of Lesotho and hiking through the Drakensburg on the Giants cup trail.

I have in fact discovered my passion lies in being an adventurer more than a nomad. Challenging myself to my limits rather than slowly plodding around the world.

Looking into the crystal ball about the Future

It was a relief when I decided to escape “Living the dream.” I now have time and money left over for other things before going back to work. Things that inspire and motivate me more than just plodding on for another year or so, I no longer feel trapped in my trip.

I’ve discovered that my passion lies in adventure and challenges rather than the long slog and also that I love writing in my own unique open and honest way, as well as sharing useful information for other cyclists. At the same time as anyone who has done a trip of any length in a third world country I’m looking forward to enjoying the luxuries of home for weeks or months after a trip.

I hope to spend the next year or two finding balance between enjoying the luxuries of home and doing tough and/or interesting adventures. I hope to be able to do seasonal work in Europe each summer, preferable 6-8 months. Then in the winter head off somewhere for a cycling/hiking/other adventure.

This trip maybe finished now but I won’t be working for a few months yet so have a few things in the pipe line.

Early January I plan to tick off one of my few remaining childhood wishes and walk the length of Hadrians wall in Northern England (140km). In February I plan to explore the other extremes of weather by cycling to Lapland. During my time in Lapland I will spend more time concentrating on learning to enjoy camping at -20 degrees than actually cycling, only actually cycling about 40km a day. I hope to develop the field skills and learn what I need to learn to be ready for a big cold weather trip during winter 2013.

So I’m not done, I’m just moving continents and looking for new challenges.

I also hope some time in 2013 to finish an e-book about my trip and add a lot of information to my site as a resource to others planning a bicycle trip through Africa.

To stay up to date of my future adventures and mindless ramblings follow me on

Facebook/shanecycles

Twitter/shanecycles

My main website shanecycles.com

My new cold weather site wintercycletouring.com

And here on my Africa blog you can expect one or two more blog posts about the trip plus in the coming months I’ll publish more in depth “Gear Talk” and “Country Info”.

Thank you everyone who has shown an interest in my trip, thank you for your comments and support. I hope you’ll choose to continue following in the next round of adventures.

My trip is dead. Long live my trip.

“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 got the call.

“Some goodbyes were weird or painful. My relationship with my parents always just carries on where if left off, whether I come back from shopping or a year on the road. Despite that my mother was unusually worried this time round, apparently Africa is dangerous?

Linda’s father, now a good friend had prostate cancer and was going downhill. The chances of him being around on my return were almost zero. This made for a very emotional evening for everyone.”

24 hours later Linda was on her flight home and I’d gone from a $70 hotel in paradise with my best friend back to being alone in a $4 room at YWCA on one of Dar es Salaams noisiest streets. The culture shock for both of us was immense to say the least.

I’d planned to leave Dar quickly but had found a cafe with great coffee, awesome food and the fastest internet I’ve experienced in Africa. Four days later and a lot fatter, I was done with my new website www.wintercycletouring.com , had sent out the first tentative emails about work next year and had had enough of trying to prostitute myself out to potential sponsors. Luckily by being occupied in the cafe I was oblivious to the riots and tear gas just 2 blocks away and outside the YWCA. It’s a little sad that a naive bet between two children can turn into a religious battle, but so is the twisted world we live in!

The road works on the road to Bagamoyo were as bad as ever so the following day I was happy to hit the quiet dirt roads North of Bagamoyo. By lunch time I found myself at the gate of the Saadani National park expecting to be turned back.

It’s quite amusing that what is a fairly featureless sand track all of a sudden gets very interesting just by paying $20. I guess the hint of adrenaline at the prospect of spotting one of the park’s Lions or many Elephants and Buffalos makes any bicycle safari more interesting. The looks on the faces of  “Safari Tourists” when they saw me having a break was prices less though.

20km later I found myself in the village of Saadani and hadn’t seen any wildlife of great interest. The  “Saadani tourist center” offers a tourist campsite at $30 and rooms from $40. I was a little offended but not surprise at this typically African tourist milking. I didn’t see the point in paying $30 just to sleep behind a fence in a featureless, uninteresting campsite so had about set myself on wild camping just outside of town. As I walked away the park ranger had taken the hint that I wasn’t going for the tourist option and pointed out that there was a local guest house in the village for $10. Five minutes later Mr Hyde was parked in the room and I was enjoying an ice cold beer at local prices.

The following morning I attempted an early start in the hope of spotting the still illusive Lions ( I have seen Leopards, Cheetahs, Elephants and thousands of various kinds of Boks in Africa, but the lions still are hiding from my socks). Two hours later I was leaving the park disappointed at only seeing one giraffe, some heart beast, Warthogs and a few other things that should be on the BBQ).

The following two days were a pleasant but almost uneventful ride along the coast on a fairly poor road to Tanga. About 20km before Tanga the combination of being tired from yet another 4am wake up call from a mosque next door, heat, humidity, a moments lack of concentration and a pothole meant I came to a grinding halt with my shoulder. As my shoulder hit the ground I heard a loud crack and thought bugger, that’s my collar bone, game over. I waiting for a few seconds for the pain to start but nothing came, so I stood up dusted myself off and checked Mr Hyde out, the only damage he had was that the lowest bottle cage had broken off.

Once in Tanga I was forced to take four days off to let me knee recover from the crash. But with a nice view and a cool sea breeze it wasn’t the end of the world to stay put for a few days. Tanga is another great example of colonial collapse with a yacht club and a few other small institutions desperately still trying to keep up appearances.

I had originally planned to take the back roads through the mountains to Moshi and Kilimanjaro, but with my knee not being 100% I decided to take the easier route on the main road. The road from Dar/Tanga to Moshi though beautiful is horrible to ride, its narrow and the main bus/truck route heading north. I’m now regretting taking this route but I wasn’t in the mood to rest my knee for another week in Tanga, such is life.

Anyone know what these pineapple on steroids are? It seems that the leaves are harvested for something.

Kilmanjaro

From day one I said I wouldn’t climb Kilimanjaro, but as I get closer it becomes tempting, but I get that if I get close to any mountain. For me it’s equally tempting to climb Mount Meru or Mount Kenya, these two being a lot cheaper and less busy, making them much more attractive.

Not the detract from the achievement of others or their wish to climb Kili. For me it would go against pretty much every principle I have about Travel, Tourism, Self supported adventure, box ticking, tourist tax and environment raping. Not to mentions I’m cheap  and would rather see the $1000 invested in my next tent and sleeping bag for future adventures rather than a 5 day hike.

All easily said 120km from Kili, let’s see if I still have my resolve in a couple of days once I see it….For now I’m using my knee as a convenient reason not to even consider it, the last thing I need right now is a long term injury.

And that’s that, just another couple of days and Shane Cycles Africa is one year old, and a couple of weeks after that Shane Cycles Africa will be over. My knee’s recovery in Moshi will dictate if I take the boring and busy main road to Nairobi which will take 3 days, or a more interesting route that will take two weeks, I know which I want to do………

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 with apparently no thought for the surrounding community and ecosystems. Whatever the reason, the sense of stepping back in time, the island’s once-legendary ability to transport the visitor through centuries and cultures, is lesssened.

Lonely Planet East Africa

It’s not often that I feel the need to pick up a guide book, less often that I buy one. But when I saw a copy of the Lonely Planet lying around I thought I’d see what it had to say about Zanzibar. The introduction really hits the nail on the head. But there’s a certain irony to such a statement in a leading guidebook that is probably the major reason that so many people now flock to locations like this and inevitably ruin them. Such is the world we now live in.

Here is an impression of Stone town and Matemwe beach, the two locations I visited while on the Island. Neither suited to a budget traveller but a unique and pleasant experience all the same.

Luckily it’s now low season so it is possible to still find quiet back streets and get the Stone Town feeling among the alleys and shops. The locals are friendly and not too pushy about talking you into visiting their shop or taking a tour or taxi ride.

I often cringed at the price of a cup of coffee and cake in a back alley tourist café but I appreciated the chance to have a good cup of coffee and some chocolate cake all the same. This café was especially nice and had a great window into daily life.

Matenmwe on the North East coast is said to be one of the quietest beaches on the Island. Unfortunately the village has little to offer and the hotels on the beach are a great example of rich and poor so close together, just as I’ve seen so often in Africa and other tourist traps around the world. Tourists staying, eating and drinking in their $50-150 a night resorts owned and managed by foreigners while the locals eek out a living farming and collecting seaweed.

I made the effort the first day to find a locally owned restaurant in the village but the only place I found only did the standard Chips Mayai and it wasn’t a very good one either. I guess not enough tourists escape the big hotels to make it worth making a semi local-tourist restaurant in the village.

Matemwe is a great location to relax and I’m finding it a perfect place to start some serious work on my book, I may even get it finished before Christmas 2014.

So, another week living the life of luxury here then I’ll spend another six or so weeks cycling to and in Kenya and will be flying home early December. In a way its a shame to be leaving Africa but I’m also very excited about my next round of adventure in the New Year and enjoying reading up and gearing up for those.

But for now at least, this isn’t my last sunset over Africa :

I have a busy New Year planned, starting with a 140km hike along Hadrian’s wall in January plus catching up with some friends in the UK. February will be a month of searching out new extremes in cycle touring for me ( new website will be online in December). March will hopefully be Job interviews and back to work as soon as possible after  that. Winter 2013 I plan to be on the road again for a 3-4 month trip.

But first Africa :

I left Songea after my extended break, I wasn’t feeling too confident that I’d get far that day as I had in fact only cycled three days in the previous five weeks. Three weeks of that time I’d been in or around bed, sick or recovering.

Luckily most of the 80km I cycled that day was tar road, not too inspiring but a pleasant, easy start. It took about three hours to get into it then I had an hour feeling totally back in my element, followed by three hours of tired empty legs until I hit the small town of Namtumbo where I managed to find a clean room for 6000sh (€3).

The next day things rapidly got more remote. The small villages I’d encountered almost continuously stopped and the road became a combination of road works and dirt track. Despite the tired sore legs from the previous day and my obvious lack of fitness I was once again very happy to be in my element.

It seems that I just totally switch off on tar roads now, they really just don’t do it for me (though less road works on the dirt roads might be nice).

Remoteness once again means relaxed lunch breaks and getting my hammock out for an after lunch snooze .

About 30km from town I encountered the wildlife corridor I’d been warned about which meant only one small village for the next 50km. Some people may get worried by such a sign but for me it means idea bush camping as there’s no one around, the chance of actually encountering migrating elephants or lions is almost zero. Though if you listen to the locals you’d believe there’s a lion behind every tree in the area.

That night and a couple of others after Tunduru I enjoyed camping in the bush. As there where almost no villages around I was happy to make a nice romantic campfire and spent most of the evening gazing into my bush TV. To once again be able to bush camp reminded me of what I want from cycle touring. I enjoy a tough day of cycling followed by a night in the bush where the only background music is the birds and wildlife and not the speakers from a local bar or the room next door. I even have no problems with forgoing my end of day reward of a cold beer if I substitute it with a sunset in silence with a cup of coffee.

Despite the warnings from locals my biggest worry for bush camping was not lions but the sporadic bush fires synonymous with the end of the dry season. As a precaution each night I actively looked for a spot to camp where there’d already been a fire, figuring this would be the safest place to camp.

My rest day in the throbbing metropolis of Tunduru gave me time to reflect on Tanzania and the things I’d seen in both Mbinga and Songea. National pride is big here, many people wearing the national flag colours in an armband, shirt, flip flops or a full tracksuit with hat!

Conversations with locals when I told them I’d come from Malawi very quickly turned to “we are a peaceful nation” this I assume is a reflection on the current border dispute with Malawi (in short the official border runs along the Tanzanian side of Lake Malawi, but now oil has been found in the lake…I’m sure you can work the rest out).

Despite the obvious poverty in southern Tanzania compared to most the other countries I’ve been to Tanzania has an almost cosmopolitan element compared to its neighbours. Bars and bottle stores are no longer seedy, dark affairs but often have tiled floors ,tables, chairs, sometimes a outdoor terrace, sometimes a fridge and beer is almost always presented with a napkin and glass. This is the first time I’ve drank beer from a glass on a regular basis since………home actually.

It would appear that Southern Tanzania isn’t yet fashionable with NGO’s like Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia seem to be. Few of the smaller villages I past had a water pump, many using a bucket and rope to retrieve water from a well. Some places even just retrieving water from holes dug in dried out river beds. Yet at the same time many of the larger villages had a small shops that stocked bottled water at €0.50 per 1.5L or coke for less.  Unfortunately for most people the luxury of what for me is fairly cheap bottled water is for them an expensive luxury out of reach.

A note about food in Tanzania

For months I’d looked forward to the infamous “Chipsi Mayai” (chips omelette) and chapatti’s. The novelty of heavy and greasy chapatti’s wore off quickly, Chips mayai not so quick but there’s only so much you can eat. Unfortunately Tanzanian food doesn’t do it for me.

Breakfast is usually a chicken soup (including all the bits of chicken) though not too appetizing it’s a lot better than the alternative of goats offal soup including lungs, kidneys, arsehole and all. This is usually served with sweat tea and a chapatti or banana. After breakfast things pick up as lunch is often chapatti and tea, chips mayai or the Rice, beans and chicken/goat that also gets served for dinner. Unfortunately any nutrition that might of been in the rice and beans has usually been boiled out. Main meals are often also served with the same horrible cabbage that Malawi and Zimbabwe had, this falls into the category “well its green so there must be vitamins in it, so I must eat it no matter how bad it tastes”. On a lighter note, one of my goat soups came with some meat that could only have been a nipple or a willy, and as it was the only meat I’d seen in two days I obviously had to eat it, and as a totally surprise it was the tastiest most tender piece of meat I’ve had in my mouth in months….

Luckily though I’m now on the coast where banana’s, oranges and coconuts are ripe and cheap and if I’m feeling rich I can go to a tourist hotel and have a swanky pork chops and chips for swanky European prices. Sometimes nutrition goes above budget.

I’m now almost rested after a week in Bagamoyo. I’m starting to feel more mentally and physically rested and look forward to two weeks on Zanzibaar starting this weekend. After that it’s a 5-6 week trip to and around Kenya before I click my heels and move magically to another continent. I’m looking forward to the rest, rain and greenery of Europe. It sounds strange but only someone that hasn’t seen the rain and greenery of Europe for a long time would understand. I guess the grass is always greener next door.