PS

The Tour d'Afrique is finished, my weblog will not get any new articles, but the work of the Pola van der Donk Foundation continues. If you already have donated money, thanks a lot for this. If you did not yet contribute a gift, please look my homepage (english) for the right accountnumbers, and make your donation. It is money well spent!

Final words

Saturday, may 24. Already two weeks have passed since i crossed the finishline in Capetown. A lot of things have changed in my life since then: i'm getting used to sleeping in a bed (in stead of on the floor), drinking water from the faucet is not dangerous for your health anymore, and i eat my meals sitting at a table. We run the household with four people again, and i have started working again.
Back to normal it seems. But in my thoughts the Tour d'Afrique still is very present. Several times per day small video-clips are played: a cola-stop in Sudan, the climb in the Blue Nile-gorge, a conversation with a Zambian cycle-racer with one arm, i think my thoughts will wander to Africa many times.
The Tour was what i had hoped and expected iy would be, i enjoyed every second of it. The biking through Africa, the hardship, the many conversations with the local people and the beautiful scenery, have been imprinted in my memory. Also my fellow riders will be in my mind very often. In Cairo we started out as complete strangers, and 4 months later we have crossed the finishline as a group. I'm starting to realize how abruptly we have cut those ties two weeks ago when everybody left. "We'll keep in touch" we said in Capetown. It will not be easy to keep this promise.
At the end of the Tour d'Afrique, there are several different emotions: i'm proud that have managed to realize a dream, i'm happy with my performance on the bicycle, i'm sad because the Tour is finished, and i'm very glad that i can return to the "normal life"with our family.
Slowly the Tour moves from the present to the past, the lines on my arms and legs, seperating the areas with and without sunshine, are getting blurred already. "It is a life changing experience" the TdA-website says. It's much to early to say if this applies to me, but one thing is for sure: it has been an enormously intense experience that will be in my mind for many years to come.

The final stats:
Distance travelled: 10502 km
Altitudemeters climbed: 62500 m
Average speed: 23,5 km/h
Hours on the bike: 447 h
Flat tires: 11

Some more numbers:
Pitching the tent: 87 times
Liters of Fast Fuel consumed: 170
Number of Power Bars: 125


I would like tot thank everybody who has sent me emails and text-messages in the past 4 months. Especially Lisanne Groenendaal, who has designed my website and helped me with my blog when internet let me down in Africa. I alo want to thank PliegerWielersport in Meerkerk for their support and advice. Of course Apotheek van Keule and Pot & Sassi should be mentioned here: not only for their material support but also for the many trainingkilometers we rode together. And last but certainly not least i want to thank Helène, Guus and Lieke:without their agreeing with me doing this, and without their support before and during the Tour i would certainly have never made it.

The finishline !!

The last ridingday on saturday, may 10, was a very special one: you have been cycling for 4 months to get to Capetown, and suddenly you see that name on the wyteboard as the destination for the next stage. Most of us started the day with mixed feelings: being away from your friends and familiy for 4 months is a very long time, the prospect of seeing them again is very nice. On the other hand everybody realised that this very inensive expedition would come to an end and that the group of people with whom you travelled through Africa, often in difficult situations, would fall apart.
In the morning I put down my tent, and threw it in the wastebasket with a big laugh. After having wrestled my red box into the truck for the last time, we took of in the direction Melkbosstrand, from where we would depart for the last kilometers to Capetown. There was an extensive fotoshoot on the beach, overlooking Robben-island, and at 12.30h we drove of, escorted by a lot of policecars and a group of cyclists from BEN (Bike Empowerment Network). Every kilometer the density of population got higher and the exitement grew, Finally a last turn to the left, and there it was: the finishline at The Waterfront in the heart of Capetown. At the line the three people I missed so much were waiting for me. Seeing Helene, Guus and Lieke again after 4 months generated an explosion of tears and happiness, it was a moment i will never forget. There were flowers, presents, photographers, journalists, interviews, flags of the participating countries, but above all: many tears and hugs.
After a light snack in a tent, we were marched towards the amfitheater. There were speeches, the winners of the race were announced (Jos Kaal and Deb Corbeil) and every rider received a medal. The EFI-riders were named, and everyone of them received a special medal. The last bike donation took place (90 bikes), by that time the rain came pouring down. Back again into the tent for champagne and snacks.
In the evening there was a diner for the participants and their families, during which the prices for the race were handed out, and several "thank you"s were delivered. The climax was the showing of a very beautifull slide-show with music about the Tour, made by the filmcrew using our own best pictures.
After the formal part, the disco started and our legs could do something else than cycling. It was a beautifull and warm ending to a very special biking-event!

The last week

The last part of the Tour d Afrique 2008 was made up of 6 stages, going from the Namibia-South African border to Capetown. The first three days we took the highway going south. It was a somewhat boring road with hardly any towns and moderate amount of traffic. On both sides of the road were vast prairie-area's. Some diversion was offered by the south african names of the towns. They are in a somewhat distorted variant of dutch, so it caused a smile on my face quit often.
The weather had shifted towards a more fall-like type: colder temperatures, fog and a drizzle, It was a pity, because it made the approach towards the coast less impressive than i had expected. I was on the coastal road for at least 10 km before i could see the first atlantic waves on my right. The last two camp-sites were at small seaside towns (Elandsbay and Yzerfontein). They gave me a somewhat sombre impression because of the grey weather. Luckily there were no accidents in the last week that made people loose their EFI-status.
The last night on may 9 in Yzerfontein was a very special one. The cook had really tried to organize a tasty barbecue, the wine and beer kept on flowing, and the basic theme in all the converstaion was (of course) the last 4 months. There was a prize-ceremony with a wink (the most beautifull legs, the weirdest laugh, etc) in short: it was party-time. With a howling atlantic ocean in the background, i fell asleep, dreaming about the final day.

The participants of the Tour d’Afrique

When I entered the breakfast room of the Cataract hotel in Caïro early January 2008, I was very curious to who I would meet there and with who I would spend the next 4 months. Who is THE TdA-rider?
Is it a group of biking fanatics who can only talk about chain rings, frames and cranksets? Or it is a group of endurance athletes who have only one focus, the finish? Are we talking about experienced travelers who jump from continent to continent? After having biked 4 month through Africa with this group, I can give you one answer: There is no such thing as THE TdA-rider, everybody has his own story, his own motive and his own approach to the Tour d’Afrique.
Let’s start with the facts: (I’m only talking about the 55 full riders, the ones who ride the whole distance) The youngest rider is 22, the oldest rider turned 68 in april. There is not one age group that is dominantly present. There are 9 riders above the 60 years, I estimate the average age on 45. 17 women take part, and 38 men, there are 7 husband/wife couples and 2 father/son combinations. Canada has 22 participants, the Netherlands comes in second place with 9 riders.
Some participants are retired; some don’t have to worry about work because of other reasons. There is a considerable number of people who have finished their studies or quit their jobs, and will have to find a new job after the Tour. A third group is formed by people like me, who have saved money or days off, or who have used a certain arrangement in their country to create the possibilitie to ride through Africa for 4 months.
Amongst the participants there are many endurance athletes: tri-athletes, marathon-runners (I know of at least two runners with a personal best under the 3.00 hours), mountain climbers, road cycle racers, etc. On the other hand there are quiet some people with little athletic experience, who have only started to cycle because they wanted to do the Tour d’Afrique.
I think that the number of people who take part because of the challenge (“can I ride the whole distance form Cairo to Capetown?") is approximately the same as the number op participants who have a more touristic approach and want to get to know Africa. The first group is focused on things like EFI and will ride also when they are not feeling well. The second group will skip a day of cycling more easily, or will leave the Tour for some days to visit a place of touristic importance. The one approach will not necessarily be in conflict with the other approach, and in this Tour it indeed does not: a very striking aspect of this Tour d’Afrique is that there are hardly any serious conflicts. Although there are many characters and motives to take part, we have traveled as a group to Capetown.

The last frontier

I’m writing this text, looking out over the Oranje river, the border between South Africa and Namibia. We’re enjoying the last rest day before we ride the last kilometers to Capetown.
We got here in six days, leaving form Windhoek last Monday. Three of those days were on a beautiful tarmac-road with not much traffic. The landscape was very empty and level, it reminded me of Arizona, USA: in the distance there is a mountain range, train rails right next to the road, and desert as far as the eye can see. Very beautiful but also a bit boring. For the last three stages the Tour-organization prepared a very nice program: we left the tarmac in order to ride in three days over unpaved roads to Noordoewer on the Orange-river. The route went straight through the Fish River Canyon National Park, also knows as the African Grand Canyon. The last stage of 174 km, of which 128 on off-road conditions, and with a 20 km climb and a headwind on the last 40 km, generated some anxiety amongst the riders. Especially since a lot of people are in the goodbye-mood, thinking that the worst was over.
Finally everybody got at camp in time, impressed by the beautiful landscape we saw along the road. For me it was one of the most beautiful stages of the whole Tour d’Afrique.
The approaching finish-line is now the main subject of conversation. Especially the finish ceremony and reception in Capetown on may 10 is talked about a lot.
For me, the end of the Tour d’Afrique is right on time: I enjoyed every moment of it, but 4 months is very long. Helene, Guus and Lieke are in South Africa already, and are exploring Capetown and surroundings. On may 10 they will be waiting for me on the finish line, a moment I have experienced in my mind a lot of times already. Let’s go to Capetown!

Namibia

* Cities have a North American look
* Mercedesses and BMW’s on the road
* Three languages are used. There are straten, strassen and roads.
* Very sparsely populated
* A very popular holiday-place for South Africans
* Big farms
* Quivertrees
* Baaie Dank!