Studying Food, Agriculture, and Agroecosystems while Bicycling across Africa
In January 2009 I began a four month, ten country bicycle ride with Tour d’Afrique Ltd. (www.tourdafrique.com) from Cairo, Egypt to Cape Town, South Africa. My goal was not only to complete the ride but to teach a university course related to African food, agriculture and agroecosystems to students on the University of Minnesota campus. About halfway across the continent, while in Tanzania, I took a fall which resulted in a compound fracture of my right ulna. That knocked me out of the 2009 ride. I returned to Nairobi, Kenya in March 2010 to complete the expedition. On this site you can read the daily transcripts of the 2009 ride and listen to the audio blogs of the 2010 ride. If you click on the country link to the left you will find the most recent posting from that country.
Enjoy!
Quick links to various videos:
TDA 2009-2010 Overview
An overview of TDA 2009-2010: People, Culture, Agriculture – a sliver of our world.
The song is Asimbonanga, sung by Johnny Clegg & Juluka Savuka.
African People – TDA Riders
The four month bicycle ride across Africa brought TDA riders in close contact with many African people. Here are some images, some of which were taken by Jason the Artist from Kansas who drew the cyclist at the beginning and end of this video.
Distances, Elevations, and Calories in TDA 2009-1020
Wonderful World
Here are some photos other TDA folks took of Paul during the bicycle ride across Africa in 2009 and 2010. While never ‘taking the truck’ (except after breaking his arm in 2009), he did walk rather than ride certain certain paths and mountain assents. Plus there was the ferry ride across the Nile River after getting lost near Aswan…
James the Chef – TDA 2009-2010
Here are photos primarily of James McKerricher, the Chef on the Tour d’Afrique in 2009 & 2010, and the food he and his helpers prepared for us each riding day. (Also shown are Miles MacDonald and Allison Barnes, former and possibly future chefs.) Most all of what we ate was sourced locally, with little to no packaging and processing. You see we ate well!
Zambezi River / Victoria Falls
April 16, 2010. Twirling upside down over the 111-meter high Zambezi River Gorge just below Victoria Falls – off the bridge linking Zambia and Zimbabwe. Never before have I seen a 360-degree rainbow. Stunningly beautiful. Never again, now only memories.