Whether for tourism, competition or basic transportation, Africa is slowly but surely starting to take bicycling seriously.
Africa has been relatively late in embracing the bicycle, but it does seem to be happening.
In South Africa, the bike-sharing schemes popularized in Paris and elsewhere in the world are also being tried in Capetown.
And Zambia, as you can see from the video above, has joined Ghana in producing bikes, serious bikes, made from bamboo frames.
But what about the touring cyclist, the racer? What’s in Africa for them?
The reality is that you can tour Africa by bike, just as you can any other continent in the world.
Some adventurous cyclists organize their own bike tours. I know of at least one young Scandinavian rider who’s training to do the Mother Continent — the entire continent — solo.
If you’re not feeling that adventurous, no worries. There are several companies offering organized two-wheel group tours in several different African regions.
They tend to vary in degree of luxury and degree of difficulty, leaving it to you to pamper yourself or push yourself as much as you like.
To get your research started, here is but a partial list of companies that offer bicycle tours in Africa:
- African Bikers
- Bicycle Africa
- Escape Adventures(New Zealand)
- Escape Cycle Tours
- Extreme Safari
- KE Adeventure
- Soultouring
- Tour d’Afrique
- Trek Travel
- Wildcat Bike Tours
For you ultra-competitive types out there (and you KNOW who you are!), there also are races. Some of them are road races; most are off-road. Some are done as charity fundraisers, the rest simply for the thrill and challenge of competition.
They may not rank with the Tour de France, but they’re no joke:
The other thing you’ll find out in these events is that, little by little, Africans are discovering bike racing, and taking it seriously.
How seriously? Cycle racing is already firmly established in South Africa — everything from classic road and track races to mountain bike and BMX racing — to the point that young South Africans are starting to compete in European road races. In African continental athletic competitions, racers from Ethiopia and Eritrea are starting to gain notice.
And it turns out that some of the best ground for training and racing is in Rwanda. Let’s face it, it’s called The Land of a Thousand Hills for a reason.
In Kenya, meanwhile, as this story from London’s The Guardian newspaper shows, young athletes who traditionally would have been expected to devote themselves to long-distance running are starting to turn to cycling, instead.
Two of them, Zayako Nderi and Samwel Mwangi, actually went to France on their own a few years back to take on the most famous-infamous climb in road racing, the Alpe d’Huez.
This towering mountain in the French Alps is a grueling ascent that has destroyed more than a few professional road racers on the Tour de France. What could a couple of inexperienced Africans do with that?
All they did was post two of the fastest non-race times ever recorded on the mountain.
In other words, they crushed it.
That’s right, cycling world. The Africans are coming.
And you’re free to join the ride.
NOTE: The listing of the above organizations does not represent any kind of endorsement by IBIT or me. I list them here solely as a research aid for anyone interested. As always, do your homework on these outfits before you commit any of your precious time, or even more precious money.
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