The preferred route is South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Sicily, Italy, France. The estimated time is 4 months and the whole project right now is daunting!

This trip is one of the most challenging we have undertaken and the big hurdle is having to be flexible enough to change routes because of the uncertainties at any time over safe passage being possible through Central Africa. We have to be sufficiently flexible to be able to switch from one route to another even within a week, the volatility of the region is that high.

The risks of a biking traverse include clearly not just wildlife, that is far more prevalent in Africa, than in any other continent, but also the activities of bandits and corrupt officials that seem to permeate the region. In addition we are likely to have to camp out far more often on this trip than we have on others, simply because the lack of any alternative. We’re looking forward to that bit.

One conundrum has been whether we should consider a support vehicle for the whole trip. There are some good arguments for it – the bikes will be a whole lot lighter as a result, extra fuel will be available, and we’ll have our own means to traverse deeper rivers. The downside is that 4 wheels might hold us up and bring a whole lot of problems of its own. The debate is over – no support vehicle!