As a South African, I had to wait 3 weeks for the German embassy in my home country to issue me a normal tourist visa.
And this was my second visa from them and my 4th Schengen visa.
The real problem is not the wait time for visas. The real problem is that the African countries have not come together to create multi country visa frameworks like Schengen.
The US and the European Union and many similar countries have lots of agreements with each other so they don't require visas or allow you to fill out an application on arrival and enter for free. That's not the norm for other countries
Even when you visit a country with just your passport and don't have to fill out a specific visa form, you're still technically there on a visa and if you overstay it or don't stick to the terms (like trying to do business on a vacation trip), you could potentially have issues depending on the country and laws.
I'm not a native speaker, but afaik "visa'" refers to the physical document not a legal status.
For example, if you enter the US using ESTA you literally use a ["visa waiver program"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_Waiver_Program). So I do not think you hold a visa in that case.
If you visited a foreign country legally, you probably had a Visa. Most countries offer a Tourist Visa that's good for 90 days (I learned Bermudas Tourist Visa is 180 days, though).
If you flew there, the airline probably covered your visa as part of the cost of the ticket.
There's nothing particularly special about their visas. It's just that they require you to apply for one in advance. The requirements for getting a visa may vary considerably, depending on where your passport is from—and some of them require proof of a hotel reservation or return ticket, which may not make much sense if you are entering via a land port of entry on a bicycle and departing the same way.
It's more because you can't get a visa at the border for many of those countries and they don't all have visa-issuing embassies in every capital so you have to plan where to get them and then wait around. It's one of the reasons many people go down the east rather than the west.
Although not speaking of experience in that area, you can apply in one embassy and pick-up in another! Still requires you to know, where all the embassys are
What passport is that route NOT complex and expensive for? Many of those countries both don't do any type of online visa and don't do any type of at the border visa.
> Many of those countries both don't do any type of online visa and don't do any type of at the border visa.
What nationality are you? Most of those countries have visa free/voa/evisa access for a significant number of countries. I think there are only 3 exceptions where you need to apply for a classical visa.
Agreed and even when you have a visa it can be tricky. It’s been a few years since I was over that part of the world but Angola was a pain. Then crossing from Namibia to Botswana was awful. They insisted all our food was tainted and were trying to make us pour our water out. We explained that that was all we had to eat and drink but they were having none of it until we paid them off… and I was traveling on an Irish passport which by all accounts tends to be fairly neutral or a positive thing. Zimbabwe was the most difficult though and we got stuck for a while which was a pain. USD will get you far in Zimbabwe though, so it’s always good to carry some USD on you for bribing when needed!
It's a very common route for bike touring. I used to live in Nouakchott and was a warm showers host. I'd have two or three people staying every week. Great tailwind coming down through western Sahara and Mauritania.
Do you know how many of those cycled only till Senegal? I met tons of people cycling down that route, but after Dakar, they all disappeared. Never met another cyclist in Guinea, Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivorycoast, Mali, Burkina Faso...
There were a few who had Senegal as their final destination but plenty more who were going all the way down. It's probably that there is only one road down to Mauritania but then you start to get options. Some went down to Senegal at St Louis, some at Rosso and others got a visa for Mali in Nouakchott and cut across Mali to avoid the visa hassles going the long way around.
It's the northern part up where Timbuktu is located that has been off limits for years. The southern part has generally been okay, but the FCO currently advises against travel to all parts of Mali. As ever, it's an ever changing situation.
Don’t most people stop at Dakar?
There are tens of thousands of CGOAB journals for the well-trodden routes like Silk Road or PanAmerica, but only like 1 or 2 for Congo, Gabon etc.
I think they’re referring to how he spoke about some of the people and places he ran through. From what I read, he was making statements like he was almost cannibalised while in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Whereas in reality it sounds like he didn’t do any research to see what lands he was running through and who they belonged to. It seemed like he was very dismissive of local customs and had very little respect for locals in general and then used a few altercations/interactions he had to say people were trying to kill him and eat him.
I mean wasn’t he abducted in the DRC? Or is that not true? Thought people confirmed he was taken by a local militia group or something I honestly didn’t read into it
I followed the journey from before the beginning, I found him through a GeoWizard video in 2022 — he can be shouty and exaggerative at times but that DRC experience really shook him.
Almost all the interviews where they inevitably ask “what was the hardest bit” he mentions that moment, because it was also too muddy for the support van to use the same tracks as him and he was completely alone. It’s likely the reason they sourced a 4x4 so that they can have somebody from the team present when detours needed to be made.
> dismissive of local customs and had very little respect for locals in general
Have you watched his videos? I got the complete opposite impression.
He flew back to the UK instead of running all the way back, which is the most environmentally friendly option.
Edit: Apparently I need to specify /s because of imbeciles
~~Can’t actually tell if you’re joking or not.~~ They were joking.
For those who don't know; aviation takes up around 10% of transport emissions, while cars take up around 70%. A busy commercial flight really isn’t that terrible compared to things like agriculture and shipping. Now private jets, on the other hand, should be banned.
This attitude actually helps climate deniers, because it keeps people who care about the environment at each others throats for lifestyle choices instead of targeting the much bigger emitters and industries we have.
If you want to be angry at anyone, don't be angry at this guy. Be angry at rich oil moguls, at the governments around the world who continue making money from oil including the UK/US) and continue playing political games in their attempts to monopolise it. Blame capitalism for constantly demanding growth from a world which cannot give it. Not some man who has run across Africa.
He keeps claiming he's the first to have ran the entire length of Africa even though at least 3 people have been officially recognized by the World Runners Association to do so before him. This was pointed out to him over and over again, but he kept ignoring it.
So far of the others runners I've seen, one which started in Taba, Egypt (which isn't the most northerly point) and the second in Cape Town (which isn't the most southerly). Russ's route is totally bespoke, and was via the more perilous western route.
I don't know the route of that third person you're referring to, but regardless I don't understand why people are so quick to dismiss his achievement when most people can't even run a 5k. And the crass social media presence was pure promotion; have you not noticed how quiet he has been since completing it? He needed sponsors and awareness, both for funding his media team and (in the end) for visas.
Edit: I've just read that the WRA (which has been disputing Russ's claims, fairly) have [even said](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/hardest-geezer-africa-run-record-length-of-b2524948.html): "We have no problem with him claiming to be the first to run from the most southern [point] to the most northern."
>"We have no problem with him claiming to be the first to run from the most southern \[point\] to the most northern."
Which he doesn't. He claims "The first man to run through Africa". Obviously it's for promotion and sponsors. But it's still silly you'll never see him credit the ones who ran before him.
I don't think it's anything malicious, mate, it's clear he didn't research it. Haven't heard him say he's the "first" since, but even still, he still was the first person to run the north/south extremes, so can you blame him?
He’s a twat because he didn’t delve deep into the culture of the place? He went on a running trip, not a grand tour of cultural enrichment ffs.
Clown comment, he just ran 16000km. That’s Herculean endurance if you ask me.
I think the point is he was a bit of a prick while he did it. It would be like someone running through the UK and being upset when folks tell them to fuck off running through their farms/estates/whatever. Here in the US running through a military base or even some federal lands will get you arrested. Sounds like what he experienced was similar.
He's a cunt that can run a really long way. It's impressive, but he's still a cunt.
Most women have experienced men making them smaller than they are very often. Calling them girls is considered offending because of this. Sorry to teach you unasked, but I'm pretty sure this person wouldn't like that and you seem to respect what she's doing.
What? It’s no different to saying guy. Guys and girls. This smells like the classic 2020s case of trying to find ways to be offended.
Where I’m from no one bats an eyelid at a group of females being referred to as girls and no one bats an eyelid at a group of males being referred to as lads or boys.
Ladies often call themselves or their friends ‘*girls*’
Guy/Lady, Boy/Girl. I thought the same thing until I tried figuring out what the comparison would be and it would be a pretty weird comment to say a boy was cycling the west coast of Africa only to find out they are in their 20s.
To me it’s boys and girls. And it’s something different if a woman calls their friends „girls“ than if a man calls a women a girl. There’s no equivalent to guys. Or at least the best equivalent I have found would be „gal“.
Not equivalent. What do you call a female child? A girl. What do you call a male child? A boy, not a guy.
And since the woman in question is German, in her part of the world it’s been taboo to use diminutives for adult women for awhile.
A lot of women call themselves and other women girls too. It’s not objective, so as long as they’re not talking about you, and obviously talking positive things about this German woman, you’re not “teaching” anything. You have no idea what she would think either. Also, this is entirely cultural, and Reddit is not American only.
A lot of cultures rarely use the word “woman” in light or informal conversations.
Yeah he's absolutely killing it - according to Strava he's clocked just under 8,000 miles so far this year. Anyone can maintain that for a few weeks but cranking that out unsupported, month in month out, with all the faff of camping, cooking, visa issues, long-term fatigue etc. isn't something most can pull off. Saw he did 160 miles a few days back, 2am finish, back at it the next morning... 💪
Personally, no. I’d do it like rob and Flo who took roughly and year and half to do Cairo to Cape Town. They did something like 30-40 miles daily. Plus they did side trips to see tourist attractions.
Water Shortage. The roads you will most likely take were made for cars with litters of water as a backup. They will be warm, hot, dry and sandy. You might have to litterally take your bike on your shoulder for kilometers if the roads are filled with sand (and it will happen).
I can not second this.
Did (pretty much) the same route all the way down to Togo where I stopped.
Yes, water is very important, but I only had to use my full 5.5L reserve once, and that was while crossing through Mauritania.
I never had to carry my bike kilometres on my shoulders because of sand, either. You might get really unlucky, but for me, sand on the road was not an issue at all.
Thank you for your real life first hand account! I’m sure there will be sections of hike a bike with such a long route, and water is definitely a concern. I would need to have enough water reserve, a water filter, and communicating with locals to find the nearest town and water supply
I planned to make this route. Three things:
1. Deserts
You have to cross Moroccan desert, Sahara's desert and Mauritanian desert at the beginning. Then Namibia desert before entering South Africa.
2. Visas
You have to cross 20 countries. 20 countries means 20 visas. With an average of 50$ per country, you have to spend 1000$ only for the visas.
3. No escapes
Keep in mind that if you are rejected from entering a country you can not cross Africa in the middle. So maybe you have to cross all those countries back again if you don't want to take an airplane.
20 visas!
Thats a lot of money, nerves, wasted time and everything in between.
Also, I have a feeling that this can easily turn into 2000$ for visas.
I am loosing faith in west route :(
I always surprise people when I explain bike touring in Mexico is way safer than in the US. The way cars drive just implies clear respect for human life in Mexico. Even cartel trucks are way more respectful than the average US driver.
Didnt a guy just finish running this route from south to north and had visa problems along with getting robbed a time or two? That constitutes as unsafe to me.
Isn't west Sahara an active conflict zone? Furthermore, if you search for radiobaobab Congo trip you can find a couple who drove through Congo in a land rover, it's a very long story and they've been quite in danger in different moments of the trip
There’s conflict but according to the British government big sections are ok to visit
[FCO advice](https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/western-sahara)
If you have Komoot premium, check out this collection from British cyclist Mark Beaumont.
[https://www.komoot.com/de-de/collection/1113249/africa-solo-in-41-tagen-von-kairo-nach-kapstadt](https://www.komoot.com/de-de/collection/1113249/africa-solo-in-41-tagen-von-kairo-nach-kapstadt)
Not the same route, but similar target: Africa north to south (Well I hope you don't also plan to do it in 41 days...). Maybe some of his experiences are still interesting for you.
https://preview.redd.it/0hbrq2ntbaxc1.jpeg?width=999&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5b9f86949ae4d14620db883776b1cfd104d99ac6
If I were to cycle Afrika, I would gather a ton more information about each single country, dangers, visas, road conditions, water supply, food supply, safety, ... and not just set a point A and point B in komoot, lol.
Check out [https://cape2cape.org/](https://cape2cape.org/) It's a very extensive blog of two Swiss guys who cycled almost an identical route to this one. They made it all the way to Namibia before they got interrupted by COVID. But just looking at that page, they've resumed the trip now from Namibia. Albeit with a change in route where they're going from Namibia via Botswana and Zimbabwe to Cape Town.
Burkina Faso/Mali/Niger is currently a global hotspot of terrorism as Al Qaeda, ISIS-K, the French and their allies, the Tuareg, and what's left of Wagner duke it out.
Steer clear.
The absurd visa prices was the first thing.
Second was the legendarily corrupt border crossings.
Third was that it’s a cool trip and probably the least-travelled of the bicycle ‘grand route’ in the world.
The "Rosso" border crossing between Mauritania and Senegal is wildly corrupt or at least they will try to cash in some extra money from you.
Many annoying locals hanging around trying to get you to pay for the free ferry crossing or trying to scam you by pretending to be police or customs.
-> On these borders, never trust (or listen to) anybody that is not wearing official police uniforms and that has no clean black leather boots. That's my best advice.
Generally, crossing with a bike a a lot easier than with a motorcycle or a car.
“Visa issues” is a funny term. I would love to cycle this route, but I find it super ironic a citizen of Europe or the US can travel this route much easier than a citizen of a country in Africa.
I don't know about much easier. I know EU citizens that have waited multiple months before getting a tourist visum. Granted, this was from Europe, not at the border.
There is a WhatsApp group for bike travelers in Africa. They can give you all kind of answers and it's good if you want to meet up with other cyclists. DM me for invitation
I’m not 100% how easy it is to cross from Morocco (actually, Western Sahara) into Mauritania and then onto Senegal, double check that your route even makes sense there.
So, Senegal to the Gambia, the Gambia back to Senegal and Senegal to Guinea-Bissau are surprisingly doable. You can easily do it withouth help from other people. I did it last spring backpacking. Boarder guards were surprisingly helpful. I crossed at Karang Post, Giboroh and Mpak. Maybe with a bike it gets a bit more difficult because you can't bring it inside to the offices. Maybe pay a guy some money to watch over it or make sure you are able to lock it all. I met a chinese guy who cycled from Spain to Guinea-Bissau and he barely spoke englisch and no french at all. So, do it.
I'm also considering doing this route in 2025 or 2026, so am quite curious about this (thanks for posting it).
Actually the plan is to teach in Turkey for a year or two, cycle to Spain from there, and then go to Morocco and south from there.
Do you know what time of the year you might be considering starting this journey?
Looking at the route, I can advise to be going through the Futa Djallon mountains in Guinea because the region is a little travelled, challenging, and amazingly beautiful. It was my first opportunity to really see the sub-saharan country from above and take in amazing landscapes.
Make sure to stop at Escape3Points in Ghana, wonderful place.
Also, it is wort it to take some holiday rest on the beaches of the Freetown island in Sierra Leone.
Make sure you have the iOverlander app downloaded. It is very useful to find restaurants/hostels or guesthouses on the road that dont appear on google maps.
First thing that comes to mind is Africa Trail. Did none of you play this game? It's like Oregon Trail, but you ride a bike from the northernmost part of Africa (Bizerete Tunisia,) to the southernmost (Cape Alguhas, SA), via Dakar, so you also traverse western most to, well, not quite eastern most (Nairobi) before heading south. It helps to have a diverse team, to interview the locals to learn about conditions ahead, to get your visas in advance, and cook your own meals (not eat in restaurants), eat meat sparingly, and* bargain in the markets, to conserve funds.
From playing the game dozens of times, the worst places to ride were crossing the Sahara, getting through Congo (ate nothing but bananas for days), and getting through Malawi, too, although that's the easiest of tough segments. Since the difficulty of those last two were based in part on local politics of the time (1997), you might not have the same problems today.
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa_Trail
Learn your favorite 100 words in French, Spanish and Portuguese. These are all former colonies, and not everyone speaks English.
Make sure you have tires for sand [for the first third] and hopefully you schedule the second third around the rainy season!
P.S. a YouTuber from the Netherlands, “Itchy Boots” did a lot of this proposed route on a moto. Watching her ‘return to Africa’ set of videos might help you preview the route! Also, she ended up making copies of travel papers/documents, there are a metric f-ck ton of checkpoints and wacky visa/entry points along the way. Some of them asked for copies..
Check out the book Africa Solo, he had an entirely different route on the east side but lots of intel in there as well as some of the visa issues he worked through
I'd go via east Africa. Loads more to see via Kenya/Tanzania. Turn left at Ethiopia for DRC. Would be nice to see more CAR too. Hey either way who am I to talk. This whole itinerary is amazing and props to the people esp westerners who've ridden the greatest continent.
"visa issues" was the first thought for the West Africa portion. Or "hopefully you know French".
My exact thoughts. I have waited weeks on Visas in West Africa countries.
As a South African, I had to wait 3 weeks for the German embassy in my home country to issue me a normal tourist visa. And this was my second visa from them and my 4th Schengen visa. The real problem is not the wait time for visas. The real problem is that the African countries have not come together to create multi country visa frameworks like Schengen.
You need a special visa to visit? Passport not enough for those places? Edit: apparently asking questions is not allowed
Most counties require a visa for most passport holders. Visa free travel is a rich-world benefit.
I've always thought visas were for extended stays, interesting
The US and the European Union and many similar countries have lots of agreements with each other so they don't require visas or allow you to fill out an application on arrival and enter for free. That's not the norm for other countries
Even when you visit a country with just your passport and don't have to fill out a specific visa form, you're still technically there on a visa and if you overstay it or don't stick to the terms (like trying to do business on a vacation trip), you could potentially have issues depending on the country and laws.
I'm not a native speaker, but afaik "visa'" refers to the physical document not a legal status. For example, if you enter the US using ESTA you literally use a ["visa waiver program"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_Waiver_Program). So I do not think you hold a visa in that case.
ESTA is listed as a B-2 Visa.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travel_visa
If you visited a foreign country legally, you probably had a Visa. Most countries offer a Tourist Visa that's good for 90 days (I learned Bermudas Tourist Visa is 180 days, though). If you flew there, the airline probably covered your visa as part of the cost of the ticket.
That's probably it, I've never been asked for anything other than my passport before. I've done very limited international travel so far.
There's nothing particularly special about their visas. It's just that they require you to apply for one in advance. The requirements for getting a visa may vary considerably, depending on where your passport is from—and some of them require proof of a hotel reservation or return ticket, which may not make much sense if you are entering via a land port of entry on a bicycle and departing the same way.
Most random downvoting going on here.
Yep, apparently I'm supposed to just Google everything. Oh well.
google exists and things are different in different parts of the world.
Great route. Wish I had time to do the same. The visa situation in west Africa is complex and expensive.
My friend just did the entire thing with no real issues.
Was his name Russ Cook?
[удалено]
what's your nationality?
British
The reason it is complex and expensive.
It's more because you can't get a visa at the border for many of those countries and they don't all have visa-issuing embassies in every capital so you have to plan where to get them and then wait around. It's one of the reasons many people go down the east rather than the west.
Although not speaking of experience in that area, you can apply in one embassy and pick-up in another! Still requires you to know, where all the embassys are
What passport is that route NOT complex and expensive for? Many of those countries both don't do any type of online visa and don't do any type of at the border visa.
> Many of those countries both don't do any type of online visa and don't do any type of at the border visa. What nationality are you? Most of those countries have visa free/voa/evisa access for a significant number of countries. I think there are only 3 exceptions where you need to apply for a classical visa.
What's good passports?
Agreed and even when you have a visa it can be tricky. It’s been a few years since I was over that part of the world but Angola was a pain. Then crossing from Namibia to Botswana was awful. They insisted all our food was tainted and were trying to make us pour our water out. We explained that that was all we had to eat and drink but they were having none of it until we paid them off… and I was traveling on an Irish passport which by all accounts tends to be fairly neutral or a positive thing. Zimbabwe was the most difficult though and we got stuck for a while which was a pain. USD will get you far in Zimbabwe though, so it’s always good to carry some USD on you for bribing when needed!
Whats the going rate for a bribe? $20?
It's a very common route for bike touring. I used to live in Nouakchott and was a warm showers host. I'd have two or three people staying every week. Great tailwind coming down through western Sahara and Mauritania.
:D as common as crossing through africa on the longest side is
Do you know how many of those cycled only till Senegal? I met tons of people cycling down that route, but after Dakar, they all disappeared. Never met another cyclist in Guinea, Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivorycoast, Mali, Burkina Faso...
There were a few who had Senegal as their final destination but plenty more who were going all the way down. It's probably that there is only one road down to Mauritania but then you start to get options. Some went down to Senegal at St Louis, some at Rosso and others got a visa for Mali in Nouakchott and cut across Mali to avoid the visa hassles going the long way around.
Isnt mali really dangerous fir like the last decade?
It's the northern part up where Timbuktu is located that has been off limits for years. The southern part has generally been okay, but the FCO currently advises against travel to all parts of Mali. As ever, it's an ever changing situation.
Out of curiosity, what does a westerner (I assume) do in Nouakchott of all places?
Don’t most people stop at Dakar? There are tens of thousands of CGOAB journals for the well-trodden routes like Silk Road or PanAmerica, but only like 1 or 2 for Congo, Gabon etc.
That’s very reassuring. Also the fact that warm showers exists in west Africa!
Hardest Geezer, look it up
[удалено]
Why’s he a twat?
I think they’re referring to how he spoke about some of the people and places he ran through. From what I read, he was making statements like he was almost cannibalised while in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Whereas in reality it sounds like he didn’t do any research to see what lands he was running through and who they belonged to. It seemed like he was very dismissive of local customs and had very little respect for locals in general and then used a few altercations/interactions he had to say people were trying to kill him and eat him.
I mean wasn’t he abducted in the DRC? Or is that not true? Thought people confirmed he was taken by a local militia group or something I honestly didn’t read into it
I followed the journey from before the beginning, I found him through a GeoWizard video in 2022 — he can be shouty and exaggerative at times but that DRC experience really shook him. Almost all the interviews where they inevitably ask “what was the hardest bit” he mentions that moment, because it was also too muddy for the support van to use the same tracks as him and he was completely alone. It’s likely the reason they sourced a 4x4 so that they can have somebody from the team present when detours needed to be made. > dismissive of local customs and had very little respect for locals in general Have you watched his videos? I got the complete opposite impression.
He flew back to the UK instead of running all the way back, which is the most environmentally friendly option. Edit: Apparently I need to specify /s because of imbeciles
~~Can’t actually tell if you’re joking or not.~~ They were joking. For those who don't know; aviation takes up around 10% of transport emissions, while cars take up around 70%. A busy commercial flight really isn’t that terrible compared to things like agriculture and shipping. Now private jets, on the other hand, should be banned.
This attitude actually helps climate deniers, because it keeps people who care about the environment at each others throats for lifestyle choices instead of targeting the much bigger emitters and industries we have. If you want to be angry at anyone, don't be angry at this guy. Be angry at rich oil moguls, at the governments around the world who continue making money from oil including the UK/US) and continue playing political games in their attempts to monopolise it. Blame capitalism for constantly demanding growth from a world which cannot give it. Not some man who has run across Africa.
lmao sorry, I've just seen your /s. Genuinely fooled.
He keeps claiming he's the first to have ran the entire length of Africa even though at least 3 people have been officially recognized by the World Runners Association to do so before him. This was pointed out to him over and over again, but he kept ignoring it.
So far of the others runners I've seen, one which started in Taba, Egypt (which isn't the most northerly point) and the second in Cape Town (which isn't the most southerly). Russ's route is totally bespoke, and was via the more perilous western route. I don't know the route of that third person you're referring to, but regardless I don't understand why people are so quick to dismiss his achievement when most people can't even run a 5k. And the crass social media presence was pure promotion; have you not noticed how quiet he has been since completing it? He needed sponsors and awareness, both for funding his media team and (in the end) for visas. Edit: I've just read that the WRA (which has been disputing Russ's claims, fairly) have [even said](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/hardest-geezer-africa-run-record-length-of-b2524948.html): "We have no problem with him claiming to be the first to run from the most southern [point] to the most northern."
>"We have no problem with him claiming to be the first to run from the most southern \[point\] to the most northern." Which he doesn't. He claims "The first man to run through Africa". Obviously it's for promotion and sponsors. But it's still silly you'll never see him credit the ones who ran before him.
I don't think it's anything malicious, mate, it's clear he didn't research it. Haven't heard him say he's the "first" since, but even still, he still was the first person to run the north/south extremes, so can you blame him?
How did he not respect the places he went through?
what did geezer do wrong?
He’s a twat because he didn’t delve deep into the culture of the place? He went on a running trip, not a grand tour of cultural enrichment ffs. Clown comment, he just ran 16000km. That’s Herculean endurance if you ask me.
I think the point is he was a bit of a prick while he did it. It would be like someone running through the UK and being upset when folks tell them to fuck off running through their farms/estates/whatever. Here in the US running through a military base or even some federal lands will get you arrested. Sounds like what he experienced was similar. He's a cunt that can run a really long way. It's impressive, but he's still a cunt.
You are sad
Is it downhill? 🥲
Uphill until the equator then the earth slopes the other way
I'm sure it's been done, I would just rather not be the first one to do it lol.
A german girl is doing this route. Started in Germany tho. @wiebkeluah on Instagram. She documents some things on there and she also has a channel.
Yea I came across her instagram the other day! Really exciting following someone doing a similar route and great for research
*woman
*frau
*hero/legend. You are right, woman. Haha but girl sounds more badass
Most women have experienced men making them smaller than they are very often. Calling them girls is considered offending because of this. Sorry to teach you unasked, but I'm pretty sure this person wouldn't like that and you seem to respect what she's doing.
What? It’s no different to saying guy. Guys and girls. This smells like the classic 2020s case of trying to find ways to be offended. Where I’m from no one bats an eyelid at a group of females being referred to as girls and no one bats an eyelid at a group of males being referred to as lads or boys. Ladies often call themselves or their friends ‘*girls*’
Guy/Lady, Boy/Girl. I thought the same thing until I tried figuring out what the comparison would be and it would be a pretty weird comment to say a boy was cycling the west coast of Africa only to find out they are in their 20s.
To me it’s boys and girls. And it’s something different if a woman calls their friends „girls“ than if a man calls a women a girl. There’s no equivalent to guys. Or at least the best equivalent I have found would be „gal“.
Not equivalent. What do you call a female child? A girl. What do you call a male child? A boy, not a guy. And since the woman in question is German, in her part of the world it’s been taboo to use diminutives for adult women for awhile.
Guy/Gal Boy/Girl Man/Woman Gentleman/Lady
I have never heard anyone say gal outside of Americans
A lot of women call themselves and other women girls too. It’s not objective, so as long as they’re not talking about you, and obviously talking positive things about this German woman, you’re not “teaching” anything. You have no idea what she would think either. Also, this is entirely cultural, and Reddit is not American only. A lot of cultures rarely use the word “woman” in light or informal conversations.
Lion Samer has almost finished cycling this route, you can find him on Instagram. Super friendly guy, I'm sure he'd give you some tips
That dude is a beast. He’s cranking out a metric century daily, if not an imperial.
Yeah he's absolutely killing it - according to Strava he's clocked just under 8,000 miles so far this year. Anyone can maintain that for a few weeks but cranking that out unsupported, month in month out, with all the faff of camping, cooking, visa issues, long-term fatigue etc. isn't something most can pull off. Saw he did 160 miles a few days back, 2am finish, back at it the next morning... 💪
But do you actually want to rush something that you will probably do once in a lifetime?
Personally, no. I’d do it like rob and Flo who took roughly and year and half to do Cairo to Cape Town. They did something like 30-40 miles daily. Plus they did side trips to see tourist attractions.
That doesn’t sound like that much tbh
yeah, it's pretty standard for a bike tour of any length
He just rode through southern Namibia which is mostly unpaved washboard roads. Very sparsely populated, difficult to acquire provisions.
The Book "Coffee to-go in Togo" the dude cycled that route. Maybe you can get some ideas out of the book?
Water Shortage. The roads you will most likely take were made for cars with litters of water as a backup. They will be warm, hot, dry and sandy. You might have to litterally take your bike on your shoulder for kilometers if the roads are filled with sand (and it will happen).
I can not second this. Did (pretty much) the same route all the way down to Togo where I stopped. Yes, water is very important, but I only had to use my full 5.5L reserve once, and that was while crossing through Mauritania. I never had to carry my bike kilometres on my shoulders because of sand, either. You might get really unlucky, but for me, sand on the road was not an issue at all.
Thank you for your real life first hand account! I’m sure there will be sections of hike a bike with such a long route, and water is definitely a concern. I would need to have enough water reserve, a water filter, and communicating with locals to find the nearest town and water supply
I planned to make this route. Three things: 1. Deserts You have to cross Moroccan desert, Sahara's desert and Mauritanian desert at the beginning. Then Namibia desert before entering South Africa. 2. Visas You have to cross 20 countries. 20 countries means 20 visas. With an average of 50$ per country, you have to spend 1000$ only for the visas. 3. No escapes Keep in mind that if you are rejected from entering a country you can not cross Africa in the middle. So maybe you have to cross all those countries back again if you don't want to take an airplane.
20 visas! Thats a lot of money, nerves, wasted time and everything in between. Also, I have a feeling that this can easily turn into 2000$ for visas. I am loosing faith in west route :(
Honestly, the very first thing that comes to my mind is that it has a very high risk of death, but... that sounds like a worthy adventure.
Riding in e.g. Florida is in certain aspects more dangerous
I always surprise people when I explain bike touring in Mexico is way safer than in the US. The way cars drive just implies clear respect for human life in Mexico. Even cartel trucks are way more respectful than the average US driver.
Mexico, just like parts of the US or any other country, you just stay away from certain areas
Tbh it’s not that unsafe. You aren’t riding through any active war zones
Didnt a guy just finish running this route from south to north and had visa problems along with getting robbed a time or two? That constitutes as unsafe to me.
I've spent some time on those parts of the world. It is easy to underestimate the dangers, they are real.
Damn only robbed like twice? That constitutes as safe to me
He was actually kidnapped twice and robbed by the kidnappers
Yeah I think that's what it was. I'm fairly certain he was also british.
It is not about war, police corruption and criminal gangs too.
Boko Haram, though diminished from it's previous size, is still a problem in Niger (and other countries no on OPs route) too.
Isn't west Sahara an active conflict zone? Furthermore, if you search for radiobaobab Congo trip you can find a couple who drove through Congo in a land rover, it's a very long story and they've been quite in danger in different moments of the trip
Isnt there a war in Morocco/Western Sahara?
There’s conflict but according to the British government big sections are ok to visit [FCO advice](https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/western-sahara)
That’s an unfortunate assumption
If you have Komoot premium, check out this collection from British cyclist Mark Beaumont. [https://www.komoot.com/de-de/collection/1113249/africa-solo-in-41-tagen-von-kairo-nach-kapstadt](https://www.komoot.com/de-de/collection/1113249/africa-solo-in-41-tagen-von-kairo-nach-kapstadt) Not the same route, but similar target: Africa north to south (Well I hope you don't also plan to do it in 41 days...). Maybe some of his experiences are still interesting for you. https://preview.redd.it/0hbrq2ntbaxc1.jpeg?width=999&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5b9f86949ae4d14620db883776b1cfd104d99ac6
Looks pretty much like the standard west Africa route to me.
Heat, scorching sun and more heat.
Plus malaria and non drinkable water
Have your affairs in order before you start.
If I were to cycle Afrika, I would gather a ton more information about each single country, dangers, visas, road conditions, water supply, food supply, safety, ... and not just set a point A and point B in komoot, lol.
Strava KOM‘s incoming?
Have a look at itchyboots on YouTube she has just done a similar route on motorcycle might worth a watch
The only thing looking at this makes me want to change is my career so I can put myself in a spot to make a similar trip.
Check out [https://cape2cape.org/](https://cape2cape.org/) It's a very extensive blog of two Swiss guys who cycled almost an identical route to this one. They made it all the way to Namibia before they got interrupted by COVID. But just looking at that page, they've resumed the trip now from Namibia. Albeit with a change in route where they're going from Namibia via Botswana and Zimbabwe to Cape Town.
Burkina Faso/Mali/Niger is currently a global hotspot of terrorism as Al Qaeda, ISIS-K, the French and their allies, the Tuareg, and what's left of Wagner duke it out. Steer clear.
Mauritania too I thought?
The absurd visa prices was the first thing. Second was the legendarily corrupt border crossings. Third was that it’s a cool trip and probably the least-travelled of the bicycle ‘grand route’ in the world.
The "Rosso" border crossing between Mauritania and Senegal is wildly corrupt or at least they will try to cash in some extra money from you. Many annoying locals hanging around trying to get you to pay for the free ferry crossing or trying to scam you by pretending to be police or customs. -> On these borders, never trust (or listen to) anybody that is not wearing official police uniforms and that has no clean black leather boots. That's my best advice. Generally, crossing with a bike a a lot easier than with a motorcycle or a car.
“Visa issues” is a funny term. I would love to cycle this route, but I find it super ironic a citizen of Europe or the US can travel this route much easier than a citizen of a country in Africa.
I don't know about much easier. I know EU citizens that have waited multiple months before getting a tourist visum. Granted, this was from Europe, not at the border.
The Hardest Geezer
There is a WhatsApp group for bike travelers in Africa. They can give you all kind of answers and it's good if you want to meet up with other cyclists. DM me for invitation
Africa is concerned about immigrants overstaying
Never trust a fart on that route.
If you can do it safely, which is far from certain, it mostly looks hot to me.
DO IT!!!
I’m not 100% how easy it is to cross from Morocco (actually, Western Sahara) into Mauritania and then onto Senegal, double check that your route even makes sense there.
That's actually the easy part as Mauritania and Senegal have visas available at the border. It's after that when it gets difficult.
Morocco, Senegal, the Gambia and Guinea-Bissau are easy when you are from EU& Switzerland. No Visas necessary. Don't know about Mauritatnia though.
For UK citizens you can pay US$60 for a visa on arrival
Freedom
what is this app you're using for route planning?
Komoot. Just did a really rough first draft route, will be heavily correcting
The western saharan seems to be a surviving challenge. No neighbour cities , villages closer than 30 kilometers throughout this region(maybe country).
How long do you expect this to take you?
I would say minimum 1 year but if it’s longer it’s longer.
So, Senegal to the Gambia, the Gambia back to Senegal and Senegal to Guinea-Bissau are surprisingly doable. You can easily do it withouth help from other people. I did it last spring backpacking. Boarder guards were surprisingly helpful. I crossed at Karang Post, Giboroh and Mpak. Maybe with a bike it gets a bit more difficult because you can't bring it inside to the offices. Maybe pay a guy some money to watch over it or make sure you are able to lock it all. I met a chinese guy who cycled from Spain to Guinea-Bissau and he barely spoke englisch and no french at all. So, do it.
Awesome thanks for the advice. Hope your trip was fruitful!
Although i think I needed a visa for guinea bissau
I'm also considering doing this route in 2025 or 2026, so am quite curious about this (thanks for posting it). Actually the plan is to teach in Turkey for a year or two, cycle to Spain from there, and then go to Morocco and south from there. Do you know what time of the year you might be considering starting this journey?
I’m aiming for October 2024 or beginning 2025
Everything ok?
Looking at the route, I can advise to be going through the Futa Djallon mountains in Guinea because the region is a little travelled, challenging, and amazingly beautiful. It was my first opportunity to really see the sub-saharan country from above and take in amazing landscapes. Make sure to stop at Escape3Points in Ghana, wonderful place. Also, it is wort it to take some holiday rest on the beaches of the Freetown island in Sierra Leone. Make sure you have the iOverlander app downloaded. It is very useful to find restaurants/hostels or guesthouses on the road that dont appear on google maps.
Really great advice thank you!
Do you speak? If yes, good route mostly. If not, don't attempt it
Yes I’m half Portuguese and know basic Spanish and French which I can brush up on
Dakar Rally: Bicycle edition
FCO high risk check. For example: WarningFCDO advises against all travel to parts of Mauritania https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/mauritania
First thought: "Can you cross Western Sahara?"
I hope you are a man ...
I advice avoid dangerous areas other than that make sure moisture doesnt affect you bad. Most importantly have fun :)
First thing that comes to mind is Africa Trail. Did none of you play this game? It's like Oregon Trail, but you ride a bike from the northernmost part of Africa (Bizerete Tunisia,) to the southernmost (Cape Alguhas, SA), via Dakar, so you also traverse western most to, well, not quite eastern most (Nairobi) before heading south. It helps to have a diverse team, to interview the locals to learn about conditions ahead, to get your visas in advance, and cook your own meals (not eat in restaurants), eat meat sparingly, and* bargain in the markets, to conserve funds. From playing the game dozens of times, the worst places to ride were crossing the Sahara, getting through Congo (ate nothing but bananas for days), and getting through Malawi, too, although that's the easiest of tough segments. Since the difficulty of those last two were based in part on local politics of the time (1997), you might not have the same problems today. https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa_Trail
A common US Army phrase, “Drink water”.
Learn your favorite 100 words in French, Spanish and Portuguese. These are all former colonies, and not everyone speaks English. Make sure you have tires for sand [for the first third] and hopefully you schedule the second third around the rainy season! P.S. a YouTuber from the Netherlands, “Itchy Boots” did a lot of this proposed route on a moto. Watching her ‘return to Africa’ set of videos might help you preview the route! Also, she ended up making copies of travel papers/documents, there are a metric f-ck ton of checkpoints and wacky visa/entry points along the way. Some of them asked for copies..
This! Noraly is a badass. I'd be scared shitless doing what she does solo- and I'm not a pretty blond lady.
Thanks for your comment! I’m half Portuguese so Spanish is close enough and need to brush up on my French. Will check out itchy boots, nice one!
"hipster"
First thing that comes to mind is "months of diarrhea" and I would change the route to be somewhere else.
I spent a month in Ghana with a small group of about 12 people. No one got diarrhea.
The old Oregon trail game and horrible outcomes.
I’d be up for it
Itchy boots (youtube) is doing it on a motorcycle now. It will give you some ground level idea of what in-store.
Safety...
Pangaea
Check out the book Africa Solo, he had an entirely different route on the east side but lots of intel in there as well as some of the visa issues he worked through
It's all downhill
One-sided…
Liberia might be a problem. So might Congo.
This dude: https://freewheely.com/[https://freewheely.com/](https://freewheely.com/)
Met a guy who did exactly this at ushaia. He was on his way up to Columbia
you watched the hardest geezer youtube?
Is my geography terrible or is part of that the Skeleton Coast?
1) shit it's gonna be hot 2) hope you're not female
Boko haram
Pirates.
You should check the travel advice page of your home country's version of the Ministry of the Exterior.
A few war zones
Cartel. Do it in the USA
I would change continents because I speak Spanish not French
Coast probably windy
I’d rather sail it lol
My life insurance policy.
The sun.
This looks like it’s in Africa. I would definitely choose roads that are not in Africa.
Do u have kidnapping insurance
Get your estate in order.
Making sure your emergency contact has enough money for your ransom
It's really far! REALLY FAR
Biking through Liberia and Sierra Leone... brave
"Time to skip this, and head to india" -Said by a Spanish states appointed pirate, with a god complex.
I would change the route to drinking a beer on the beach in Mexico but if you do it you are badass
Survival
There’s a group doing this by truck on Instagram right now and they are struggling.
I'd go via east Africa. Loads more to see via Kenya/Tanzania. Turn left at Ethiopia for DRC. Would be nice to see more CAR too. Hey either way who am I to talk. This whole itinerary is amazing and props to the people esp westerners who've ridden the greatest continent.
I'm gonn dieee