Around Africa on my bike...

No, not me! I have just finished reading the most amazing book, Around Africa on My Bicycle, by Riaan Manser. He's a fairly average South African who gets a bee in his bonnet and sets off alone to cycle around Africa in a year - no support team, no company, very little funding. Well over two years later, he finally gets back to Cape Town after some hair-raising and inspiring adventures. Along the way he makes some powerful observations about life and Africa.

One of the comments in the foreword by Jean-Jaques Cornish puts it very well: "... we can never tire of illustrations of the triumph of the human spirit — particularly by a compatriot who makes us very, very proud South Africans".

This is one of the most gripping and inspiring books I have read, and is highly recommended (even for non-cyclists — the cycling aspect is somewhat incidental to the story).

The book is available from Kalahari.net:
Around Africa on My Bicycle