January 2009. Adeline Reynouard 24 years old and Olivier Godin, 27, left Paris, in France, by tandem bicycle. Their aim : riding all the way South to Cape Town, in South Africa.
Fourteen months later, the French couple reached Victoria Falls, in Zimbabwe. “So far, we’ve crossed 15 countries and done almost 16,500 kilometres” they said. A lot of obstacles were on the way, especially bad weather conditions. “We faced tropical rains, sand storm and very high temperatures reaching more than 50 degrees centigrade. Dirt roads, mud, mechanical problems slowed us down”. In Burkina Faso, Olivier got malaria. In Ethiopia, the couple was frequently targeted by children throwing stones. In North Kenya, the cyclists were threatened by bandit attacks. “Two cars were hijacked in front of us. We had to take a truck and a military escort to get through that risky area” they explain.
But Adeline and Olivier prefer to keep in mind the positive aspect of their journey. “Along the way we met very friendly and interesting people. We shared their way of life, learned a bout their culture and tasted their food. Despite the poverty, generosity was almost everywhere. We’ve learned a lot about Africa and about us”.

A trip focused on biodiversity
During this adventure, the two globe trotters met organizations focused on biodiversity conservation. In Ethiopia, they followed wolves footprints, in Kenya they paid visits to organizations dealing with the protection of cheetahs and black rhinos. In Zambia, they met the Chimfunshi wildlife orphanage’s team who keep chimps away from poachers. “Our aim is to promote these organizations through reports and video published on our web site. We’re also in touch with different media in France and plan to write a book when we’re back”. Next step, a project dealing with painted dogs, close to Hwange National Park.

The power of football
As Adeline and Olivier live in Clairefontaine, the training pitch of the French national football team, they plan to attend the world cup in South Africa to support “Les Bleus”. “With our partner Eco-Sys Action, we believe in the power of sport. Everywhere during our trip, we saw kids playing football. Sport is a good way to deliver positive messages for the future. Despite the financial issue, we hope that this world cup will be an opportunity for Africa”.
The French couple plan to reach Cape Town around mid-may. The tournament will start on the 11 of June.

Looking for a cargo ship
After a ride of 20,000 kilometres, Adeline and Olivier wish to come back to France by cargo ship. “By boat the way to Europe is about 20 days. Enough time to think over our experience. Taking a plane, would be too brutal. It’s a way to minimize our impact on the environment, as well.” The globe-trotters are still looking for a ship. Help is most welcome.



Technical issues :

-Kilometres: 20,000 (12,500 miles) (16,300 km / 10,100 miles so far)
-Countries crossed: 17 (15 already crossed)
-Kilometres per day: between 80 and 180 km (50 to 110 miles)
-Luggage: 60 Kg
-Highest speed: 79 KPH (50 mph)
-Lowest and highest temperatures: -13°C in France and +63°C (directly in the sun) in Mali
-Highest quantity of water drunk in a day: 18 litres
-Puncture count: 18
-Fall count: 4

About food and accommodation
Adeline and Olivier carry their own tent. Most of the time, they install it in a village after asking the inhabitants. In the cities, the cyclists usually sleep in backpackers or a cheap guesthouse.
But they also spent the night in some amazing places: stores, garages, police stations, abandoned shelters, huts…
The globe-trotters are used to eat local food as maize flour, cooked banana, rice and sauce but some time they tasted some really unexpected meal like a caterpillar sandwich in Burkina-Faso.

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