I Spent One Year Riding a Bicycle Across Africa - Here is a Photo for Each Country!

In October 2013, I informed my boss that I was going home and would not be back. Over the next few days, I brought my clothes to a charity shop and sold the rest of my possessions.

Less than two weeks later, I was looking for a second hand bicycle in Cape Town, South Africa. The bicycle, a Trek 820, cost US$150 which was $50 more than the tent I picked up later that day.

As I had no previous cycling experience, I asked a local bicycle shop to teach me the correct way to fix a puncture. The very next morning, I left the hostel and began cycling to the edge of the city. It would take one year to ride a bicycle through Africa.

Here are some photographs from the trip - one for every country through which I passed.

Kilometre #7 Leaving Cape Town. Table Mountain in the background.

Kilometre #870 Cycling through the Namib Deesert. It was beautiful to camp beneath the stars each night but relentless heat and desert winds made it difficult to cope with the loneliness.

Kilometre #1,920 Travelling endless roads with this Chameleon in Botswana. The scariest part of the trip - wild camping alone in lion country.

Kilometre #2,850 Reaching Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe was a huge milestone. Listening to the sound of the falls on my approach was unforgettable - the Smoke that Thunders!

Kilometre #3,000 Zambia was incredibly green and full of friendly locals. Beautiful children were always on hand in Africa which certainly helped on the down days. So much spirit and love to give!

Kilometre #3,800 Malawi is known as the warm heart of Africa. It’s true - I feel embarrassed when I think of how kind natured the people are in Malawi - and they have “nothing” - according to the western world.

Kilometre #4,800 Tanzania - The young boy on the right is a member of the Masaai tribe - they wear white face paint and black clothing in this “coming of age” period.

Kilometre # 5,800 Northern Kenya was a stunning wilderness. They say there is nothing up there but bandits and emptiness - I disagree - it was one of my favorite parts of the trip.

Kilometre #7,300 Climbing through the Simien Mountains was an epic experience. This land honestly feels like stepping back to medieval times and to be able to climb these mountains on my heavy bicycle was a sign of how far I had come since Cape Town.

Kilometre #8,900 One of my favorite and saddest photographs of the trip. Travelling on the ferry across lake Nasser from Sudan to Egypt was like waving goodbye to Africa. I slept on this boat overnight with the stars up above and counted my blessings.

Kilometere # 10k+ - Reaching the pyramids did not feel like the end. In fact, I had a very strong feeling it was only the beginning ....and I was right.

I hope I have earned the right to ask you to upvote my first post on Steemit. If you would like to follow my next adventure - Hiking 4,125km on the Pacific Crest Trail - I will be posting both here and on my Facebook page for Microadventureworld.