Now what is all this about?

During an internship in Kitgum, Uganda with Denis.

Presentation

“The Sun in Us” is a long time in the making. Since 2013-2014 riding a bicycle across Africa has been a dream of mine, with the western half of the African continent being the main goal. The start of the inspiration came from the privilege I had to assist an EPFL team studying the savanna in Burkina Faso back in 2010. Since then, I have been back to Burkina a total of four times, both for the project and to see friends. That first experience in Burkina Faso was instrumental to my future, as my goal ever since has been to work and live on the continent to some capacity, and understand the complex historical, environmental, and socio-political dynamics across the continent. Participating in two small projects from a Swiss NGO in both Guinea Conakry and Uganda made me discover a side of both West Africa that was completely different from what I knew, and East Africa which was also so distinctive. It was also a first glance into the world of development, and I’ll write more in detail about these first experiences at some point in the next year. All three countries (Burkina, Guinea and Uganda) had their own history and socio-political concerns that were fascinating, and literature and media from these countries (alongside other literature from the continent, “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe should be taught in English classes around the world) gave me new perspectives of these places and others. The countries and landscapes being able to “speak for themselves”, and not be another account of travels by someone from North America or Western Europe is powerful, as shown in the TED talk by Chimamanda Adichie “The danger of the single story”.

My path first took me to environmental engineering, but that ended up being a monumental failure. The concentration on very physical aspects of environmental processes and the “mechanical” way of viewing the world was slightly alienating for me. Moving to the University of Lausanne, I went into geosciences and then did a master’s degree in “Development and Environment”, during which I spent five months in Uganda doing an internship and then my field work on the dynamics between gender and charcoal production in a village on the South Sudanese border. This linked my interest for environmental concerns with the social side of science which is more qualitative than quantitative. The master’s, but the experience in Uganda in particular, was unbelievably interesting and cemented my interest in political ecology (power relations regarding natural resources), feminism, and post-colonialism.

Cycling in Donegal, Ireland.

Back in 2012 I had envisioned a “trip” through west Africa but without thinking necessarily about how it would be done. I thought maybe with public transport or by motorcycle, and mentioned this in passing to a friend who said, “why not by bicycle”? I looked up a few websites with people recounting their travels, and found FreeWheely’s website, which is incredibly detailed, and found that such a trip was more than possible. I bought a bicycle in 2017 with the idea that someday, I would ride it down Africa.

But before that, I had to finish university and do smaller trips, such as crossing through the Alps twice and a ride from Switzerland to Ireland, where I did an Erasmus. I also rode 1000kms across Burkina Faso in 2018. I loved the simplicity of travel by bike. You’re very vulnerable and need to engage with people, and it sparks many discussions with people along the road or trails. It also allows for time to appreciate the landscape that you are in, whilst also being able to move along at a reasonable pace. The physical aspect is also nice, and the feeling of finally making it up to a high pass in the Alps or to some faraway place (Appenzell) is extremely rewarding. I don’t think its necessarily the best way for everyone to travel, but for me it is close to perfect.

En route to Appenzell via the hardest climbs.

The concept

Having completed my master’s and having (most) of the material I needed to do a journey on a bicycle, the time was right to begin the trip. One thing I do not know how to do properly, and which I will hopefully figure out along the way, is how to write and keep a proper “blog”. By this I mean I like the idea of a blog as a way to relay photos experiences and discussions I may have on this trip, but I don’t like the self-promotional side of it at all. On one hand, I know friends and family want to hear about what I have done from my point of view, but on the other hand many people have done this before, on far better websites than I could ever hope to have. Furthermore, I don’t want to become an “egotourist” or instagram clout chaser (famous last words), so what I thought was best was to concentrate on the stories and realities of the people who I meet along my trip. In this, I refer again to Chimamanda Adichie and “The danger of the single story”, where Africa is spoken about to people in Western Europe and North America from the mouths of people from those countries. This is problematic in many ways, as the experiences, world views and cultures can already change drastically between places within one country such as Switzerland, and those different world views shape how we perceive our own experiences. This means that someone from Switzerland for example will go somewhere with a certain mindset which values certain things in certain ways and will recount those experiences back in Switzerland solidifying certain preconceived notions of what “Africa” is like. Having been to the continent a few times, I can say with certainty that I have no idea what Africa is like. I can say that I have some notions of what some small parts of some countries are like, and that notion is skewed by my own inherent biases. If someone is asked “what is Europe like?” the answers would all be different depending on where you were thinking about, and all answers would be biased by each person’s own process of valuation. As Chinua Achebe writes in “Africa’s Tarnished Name”, hearing Africa speak for itself rather than be spoken about by others is a process that humanises the area which has been silenced for a long time. In this blog I will sometimes write about my experiences but will always try to keep in mind that I come with my biases and preconceived notions as well, and that speaking to people who I meet along the way and having them tell their stories is the best way for those who read this blog to understand the places I go through.

Egotourist and the Eiger.

While I don’t want this blog to be a vanity project, the idea of doing a bicycle trip like this is in and of itself a vanity project to a certain extent. This is something that I want to do, and I’ve decided to do it, though I will be critical of my own choice. I do not think in any way that the trip, nor the format of the blog, will be novel or unique. Basically, I’m going to do something that is wrought in various levels of unequal power relations and use my many privileges to do something that may have problematic consequences, but I’m doing it anyway and will just try to be the least amount of “asshole” that I can be. I don’t think the trip is particularly special, aside from that it is something that I’m passionate about.

The stories that I’ll try to seek out will likely delve into my interests, such as environmental management, resource use, feminism and intersectionality, development, and post-colonialism. If I’m able to convince somebody reading to think about Africa differently, or at least to recognize that their conceptions of what Africa is are skewed by decades (centuries) of narratives written by colonialists, then I would be happy. Again, that’s not to say that I know more than anybody else, just that I’m open to accepting that I don’t know anything. It is also important to think about why we perceive something a certain way, and question that perception.

Rwenzori, Uganda.

Of course, highlighting issues and notably my own position within this trip is bound to come with consequences as I engage in tricky subjects, and insensitivity by my part is bound to occur. If anyone reading feels as if I haven’t talked about a subject in a decent way, or if I have forgotten something important, or that there is a certain subject that they think I should talk about, then don’t hesitate to tell me!

There are many pitfalls that I may come across, even with the best intentions. Exoticism, for example, is a topic that I’m sure that I’ll fall prey to. It is also a subject that I find fascinating and am exited to talk about on this blog. I’m also a white, heterosexual male from the upper middle class from Western Europe, and as such am privileged in many ways. Whilst I try to recognize these privileges as much as possible, they may manifest in ways in which I do not expect, and pointing them out to me would be enlightening.

The trip

Hard at work in northern Uganda with Denis.

The trip from Lausanne to Cape Town, if I’m able to get there without problems linked to covid or visa issues, should take around a year and two months, +/- two months (famous last words). I will try to go through rural areas as much as possible, and as many mountainous areas as I can find (being from Switzerland I have a certain affection for those areas). I don’t know exactly which countries I’ll go through, but ideally, they’ll include France, Spain, and all countries which touch the Atlantic Ocean (minus Equatorial Guinea). If anyone reading knows anybody living in these places, please let me know! I’ll post maps of where I cycled once I’ve gone through a country.

On the website, I’ll place under “stories” the subjects which interest me, and under “countries” a brief overview of my time in each place alongside the maps of where I’ve cycled. A map detailing where I spend the night will be updated daily at https://share.garmin.com/PFSKD.

I’m really looking forward to this trip, even though it will start with multiple posts which will criticize it and my motivations…