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We’re a little late to the congratulatory party but we want to congratulate writer, filmmaker, endurance-rider, and Radavist contributor, McKenzie Barney on the completion of her Cycle the World Project! McKenzie has shared several stories from her 18,000-mile journey that spanned five continents, and four years, and we can’t wait to see more stories from this impressive journey.
Cairo to Cape Town. The words tumbled together in poetic cadence. Africa’s malleable cycling route from the Pyramids of Giza to Table Mountain was my dream of a decade. Soured by the rigid nature of sponsors’ expectations, I chose a bare-bones expedition. Plans and timelines aside. To travel for travel’s sake. To sink my teeth into the truth and toss the rest by the wayside. I started from the Egyptian pyramids with just my kiwi partner, the most efficient machines ever created, and the entire African continent ahead. Southbound and on edge, we began our trans-continental cycling journey dissecting Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.
For Malawi teen mothers Maggie and Febby, a bicycle can mean the difference between staying in school or not. Knowing that education equals a brighter future, for them and their daughters, these young mothers strive to finish their schooling despite an almost two-hour walk to school. The gift of two wheels might be the perfect answer…
“Expect the Unexpected”
The MGR is a 650 km gravel route, 4 stages, about 8000 meters of elevation,
some like to call it a disguised mountain bike race with a bit of gravel,
some will argue that this is the spirit of gravel, a limitless exploration of where the bike can take you.
A week ago, 61 contestants battled it out over 4 stages through the Masai Mara wildlife reserve, during the inaugural Migration Gravel Race in Kenya. While an epic adventure in itself, there’s more to this race than meets the eye. The MGR is one of the prongs of the Amani project, aimed at creating more race opportunities for East African cyclists to measure themselves with the best on an international level.
What better way to do so than to bring in the very best? With the attendance of 2021 Unbound-winner Ian Boswell and runner-up Laurens ten Dam (who claimed the victory at MGR), the bar has been set for future editions. Sule Kangangi, Kenyan pro cyclist and coordinator of Amani’s activities in Kenya, and 2021 Unbound winner Ian Boswell share their thoughts on this unique first edition.
One of our contributors, Ryan Le Garrec, just took part in the Migration Gravel Race last week in Kenya. It is a 650 km off-road stage race with 8000 meters climbing in the Massai Mara. The grueling but rewarding course attracted lots of riders from all over the world. Among them was Unbound winner and second, Ian Boswell and Laurens Ten Dam. But more importantly, the race took pride in featuring local talents, riders from Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda.
The race organization wants to have an impact on African cyclists representation in gravel and road races around the world.
On the fringe of the Namib Desert lies the Skeleton Coast. No one has ever completed its entire length in an unbroken line before by their own power. Explorer Kate Leeming sets out to be the first.
Her thousand-mile journey sees her enduring some of the most inhospitable terrains and harshest climates on the planet, in one of Africa’s most remote and spectacular locations. Accompanied by local companions, she battles extreme winds, energy-sapping sand dunes and quicksand, and comes face to face with the endangered but deadly Kunene Lions hidden in the vast desert. Travelling on an all-wheel drive fat-bike, she traverses beautiful landscapes and discovers the region’s hidden secrets and the harsh realities of life in this unforgiving land.
Watch the full documentary at Outside.
The pandemic has us in the throes of deep wanderlust. While travel has been momentarily halted, stories such as this get our minds whirling into a spiral of possibilities. Paulo LaBerge and Heather Plewes toured throughout Tanzania and Eastern Africa, penning a journal of sorts for Esker Cycles, filled with short stories. Today, we’re sharing those tales…
What would you see on a bike tour in Tanzania? This video showcases the sights and sounds from a six day tour with One Bike Tanzania.
When Ethio Cycling Holidays reached out and asked if I had ever considered cycling in Ethiopia?
my answer was “No, but tell me more !”
Richard (one of the founders) showed me a few photos and told me about the rich culture and history of Ethiopia. “Wow!” I replied I’d love to make this happen.
It’s the 4th of March. My wife and I are making our way to London Heathrow Airport (Terminal 2) to begin our journey to Makelle, Ethiopia. The capital city of the Tigray region which is north of Addis Ababa. Before our flight to Makelle, we take an overnight flight to the Ethiopian Airlines hub in the capital city of Addis Ababa.
Check out the full-length video from today’s Reportage here.
A film by Ryan Le Garrec Produced by Ryan Le Garrec and Lander Deldime. Made with the support of The Race Around Rwanda, Visit Rwanda, and Hunt Bike Wheels.
On February 2020, 65 people lined up at the starting line of what was to become an extraordinary adventure, a challenge through thunderstorms, muddy roads, and never-ending hills, rewarded with stunning views, thousands of cheers and everlasting memories. Each and every participant of this 1.000 km bikepacking race has an amazing story to tell, Tugende shows you some of these stories, from the very first person over the finish line, to the last one to reach Kigali.
I arrived in Rwanda on the 26th of January and was greeted by a spooky line of doctors and nurses wearing masks, they were filtering us before border control, asking us to remain about two meters away from them while they would conduct a short interview.
The world was barely aware of the virus outbreak at that time, Corona was still a light Mexican beer, flying was no biggie and I was just happy I had managed to sneak in business class and have two dinners, champagne, and a screen to watch films.
My only concern was finding the next race I could cover. I hadn’t started enjoying that one and I was already thinking of the void after it.
Tugende is a film about the race around Rwanda, made by Ryan Le Garrec, produced by Ryan Le Garrec and Lander Deldime. Check back here on the 22nd of April for the full feature and photos.
Since 2003, the Tour d’Afrique has brought cyclists out to Africa to ride from Cairo to Cape Town…
Temple Cycles in the UK sponsored a young rider named Jack who wanted to ride self-supported 6000km through Africa. This is his story.
One Bike, a community-based, Social Enterprise of bicycle enthusiasts, located in the vicinity of Mount Kilimanjaro has one mission; to support and improve the lives of people in Tanzania by using bicycles to empower them to live healthy lifestyles, build strong communities, and save our environment.
Each weekend, One Bike holds a Re-Cycling Tour which invites members of the community around Moshi to join in as they ride the roads in town and pick up plastic bottles. One Bike wants to do their part in protecting the environment around the villages of Kilimanjaro, especially in the context of maintaining a vibrant tourism industry.
This came out so rad. I saw one of the rough cuts at Eurobike. Here’s the scoop:
“Lucas Brunelle Goes to Africa movie has been produced by CINELLI and edited by Benny Zenga.
Filmed by Lucas Brunelle while riding the new #BootlegHobo cinelli bies through the 1700km of the legendary Diamond Coast route, final stage of the Tour d’Afrique!
Hobo is a totally new steel bicycle, engineered and equipped for off-road rides on long distances,
Tour d’Afrique has been an incredible test for our new bike as well as an outstanding way to announce Hobo to the world!
With such a cast a short introduction about our friends spotted in the video is a must!
Chas Christiansen, 100% pure San Francisco, is one of the top riders of the Cinelli Mash Team, iconic figure of the fixed-gear culture, always on the highest steps of Criteriums, Alleycats and Cyclo-Cross Single-Speed races podiums.
Lucas Brunelle is the famous video-maker who introduced the first-person point-of-view shooting technique in cycling races thanks to his great riding skills and the innovative helmet-integrated cameras-system with which is filming and reporting the most extreme race contests all over the globe since more than ten years.
Last but not least, Dario Toso couldn’t miss, explorer of the contemporary, historical ambassador of the Bootleg State of Mind.”