Up and Down With A Baboon Frown… Enjoying Those Big Climbs While Cycling
Swooosh, the steepest descent since leaving the Dali Llama’s Himalaya hill top months ago is beneath my smoking wheels. Literally, my back wheel rim is practically smoking, too hot to touch. The break seizes and the rubber brake pad wears thin. My front break, disabled for some [...]
Just a Traveler on a Bicycle
While pedaling the serpentine hills of Ethiopia, I find myself pedaling with a man from Germany who I have affectionately nicknamed Stat. Stat comes equipped with maps of every country he has cycled. The entire map series from Germany to Ethiopia fills his 6 panniers, [...]
Earning Your Tassels While Graduating From Hassles…Tips On Avoiding Scams While Travelling
While cycling into the tourist town of Bahrir Dir, touts abound with promises of boat trips to monasteries and transportation to the local Blue Nile Falls. I park Pandemic The Magic Bicycle in a $3USD guest house, which is cheaper than the campground, and continue [...]
Stick To What Rocks…Why You Should Bicycle Tour in Ethiopia
What the….? The infamous Ethiopia is in sight. The border is a medley of mayhem, merchants, touts, money changers and self appointed guides. The wonderful thing about a magic bicycle is, it also serves as a getaway vehicle. A remarkable easy way to politely turn [...]
Could You Tap That?
The parched hills of the Sudan/Ethiopia border region are a pleasant distraction from my own thirst. Dehydrated river banks lead into arid stream beds as the region is parched for a water source. Daily activities of tending to cattle have forced a nomadic lifestyle of [...]
What Are The Best Roads For Cycling?
“Neehow”, the little boy waves hello from the side of the road, “Neehow” I think to myself is not Arabic, the Sudanese language or English, “Neehow” is Chinese. The newly updated road surface here in Sudan is a familiar delightful site. A road built for [...]
Gritty Grin of Grime
My thoughts are orbiting the sandy keyboard, the noise from the storm outside ricochets from the dirt and cement blue and yellow walls. Wooden window blinds are hardly a barricade from the banging of the wild wind. The palm roof is secured by make shift [...]
Serendipitous Sunshine
As I make my way through the final 250km into Aswan, Egypt to catch the ferry boat into Sudan, my smile is sizzling with intrepid anticipation and 40degree temperatures. I have not seen smiles like this since Thailand, which is coined the land of smiles. [...]
Girl Grateful…Dealing With Check Points in Egypt
As I crouch down in the Sahara desert sand next to an old building just to the side of the road near Beni Suez, I catch a peek of a truck load of police who drive by looking for me. They insist on driving/escorting me [...]
Big Mac Attack…What To Eat On A Bicycle Tour
As I wander through the streets of Nicosia, Cyprus, I am distracted not by beautiful mosques or historic Venetian city walls but by the fact that I am ridiculously hungry and nothing is open. The damp, dark, after rain soaked, dimly light streets are asleep, [...]