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VENTURE<br />
Travel<br />
Riding out<br />
trouble<br />
Got a flat tyre in the<br />
Ethiopian Highlands, but<br />
no tools? All you need is<br />
a shoelace and a field<br />
1<br />
Remove the<br />
outer tyre and tube<br />
from the rim<br />
2<br />
Tie a shoelace tightly<br />
over and next to the spot<br />
with the puncture. Don’t<br />
go easy on the knots<br />
Head for the hills: the riders pass through Kenya, almost halfway into the tour<br />
the most problems in Namibia, as less<br />
than 10 per cent of the road network there<br />
is tarmac. At least I’m now an expert at<br />
patching up holes by the side of the road.<br />
<strong>The</strong> team spirit that comes about on a<br />
tour like this is great. When you’re on the<br />
bike, you may be fighting just for yourself<br />
against the heat, the potholes, the climbs<br />
and the headwind, but as soon as the<br />
others see you’re in difficulty and might<br />
even want to give up on that stage, they<br />
urge you on until you’re pedalling again.<br />
Some of your teammates become real<br />
friends as you sit around the campfire in<br />
the evenings; I’m still in touch with them.<br />
I had to fight against exhaustion, heat<br />
stroke, diarrhoea, and dips in motivation.<br />
But even if the tour really took it out of<br />
me, I never considered retiring. You really<br />
get to know yourself like never before. I’ve<br />
been much more relaxed and open in the<br />
way I live since the adventure came to an<br />
end. I’ve realised what a good life I have,<br />
and that many of our problems aren’t<br />
really problems at all. Pretty amazing<br />
what a bike tour like this can do to you.<br />
<strong>The</strong> next Tour d’Afrique runs from 15 Jan<br />
to 8 May 2021; tdaglobalcycling.com<br />
Stop and gape<br />
Make a detour to visit these three marvels<br />
City of the Dead<br />
(Cairo, Egypt)<br />
It is estimated that around<br />
half a million people live here<br />
among the graves, family<br />
mausoleums and lavishly<br />
decorated burial sites.<br />
Devil’s Pool<br />
(Livingstone, Zambia)<br />
A natural pool (pictured)<br />
with a stunningly good view<br />
on the edge of Victoria Falls,<br />
the world’s largest waterfall.<br />
Leper Tree<br />
(Liwonde, Malawi)<br />
A hollowed-out baobab that<br />
became a final resting place<br />
for lepers, who, as recently<br />
as the 1950s, couldn’t be<br />
buried in Malawi.<br />
3<br />
Fill the outer tyre<br />
with as much grass<br />
or as many leaves<br />
as you can before<br />
replacing the tube<br />
4<br />
Pump up the tyre<br />
and carefully continue<br />
on your way until you<br />
find a colleague with a<br />
professional repair kit.<br />
Items that Jérôme Blais<br />
advises you pack for the trip:<br />
Baby wipes<br />
Essential to combat sweat,<br />
sunscreen, and a lack of showers<br />
Stretcher bed<br />
Forget roll mats and air mattresses –<br />
they get soaked when heavy rain hits<br />
Clothes brush<br />
Being able to brush the filth from<br />
your clothes from time to time is<br />
surprisingly re-humanising<br />
CLICK PICTUREWORKS AFRICA LTD, ALAMY SASCHA BIERL<br />
82 THE RED BULLETIN
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