Africa
Well, actually mostly in the Mahgreb
And even then only bits...
The Mahgreb is an area mostly along the Mediterranean coast of northern Africa. I've travelled in Algeria - before the 'troubles' when it ranked as the all-time best place I'd been - Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia
A few lifetimes ago I travelled thru Sahel Africa in a large swing from Egypt thru Sudan, Central African Republic, Cameroon to Nigeria where we called it quits - Nigeria is like that... The whole thing was not for the faint-hearted but it was a truly life-changing experience . Well, it was back in the 'eighties
And yes, I went to Timbuktu (Tombouctou). The journey from Algiers was amazing (if somewhat difficult). The destination? Underwhelming
But that's another story and in the Africa pages (for now) you'll find details of bike touring along the Mediterranean coast of northern Africa - you'll also find something about Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan too
For really interesting stuff about bike touring in Africa check out the Bicycle Africa website
Why?
I'm really note sure... like many things in life these tours were rather acidental, especially the jaunt in Tunisia. I planned to ride in Libya in 2003 but it just didn't work out and so I rode in Tunisia as a sort of consolation prize
But why Libya anyway? Perhaps it was a fascination with the 'muslim' world born of a couple of lifetimes ago when I worked in Sudan and Morrocco; perhaps it's just the road less travelled, I don't know
And Cairo to Casa? Well, it seemed like a nice thing to do during a 3 month vacation...
Where?
Eritrea A short trikeless tour in 2011
It was meant to be with trike but cardiac surgery intervened
Ethiopia And another short trikeless tour in 2011
A really short 'add- on' to Eritrea Both places have been, and remain, if somewhat unwillingly, entwined and a back- to- back visit tho difficult given the vitriolic relations was instructive. Just which of these two is indeed a 'failed state'?
Libya The one that got away, a failed trike tour in 2003
I had hoped to spend April 2003 riding my trike thru Libya. The triking bit of trip didn't work out, but the 'tourist' part was OK (if expensive)
Tunisia A truly brilliant tour in 2003
It started out as something of a second prize but it soon morphed into a truly brilliant tour - at least when I got away from the 'tourist strip' - I met more wonderful people, ate sublime food (I must have eaten briq every day and grew to at least tolerate the blistering heat of harissa), saw spectacular sights of the ancient world, ventured into the fringe of the Sahara and well, just had a great time
Mahgreb The BIG one, in 2009
This is a ride of almost mythical proportions, it's the journey that's said to be near impossible: visa problems, closed borders, Islamist 'terrorists', long distances and all the rest, but I tried it anyway, altho my version really should be called Cairo to Algiers...
Sudan A short tour in 2009 and a longer tour in 2010 (both trikeless)
2009 - A short add-on to the Cairo to Casablanca tour to re- visit places and people I had known 20 years ago
2010 - A longer visit to places in the north that I passed thru 20 years ago
What?
What did I find?
I'm not really sure what I expected to find... altho each place is completely different - d'oh - one thing they had in common was an incredible friendliness, wonderful hospitality and, well, the adjectives tell the story don't they?