Rob

Without any question, the last 7 months have been the best of my life. Before any of this happened, I had always considered myself to be one of the luckiest people in the world. Now, after 10,000 miles on a bike, I'd go as far as to say that I am not only one of the luckiest, I am in fact the luckiest person alive!

When Nick first proposed the idea, my reaction was one of immediate and ecstatic enthusiasm. I wish that I could say that this was because I regarded the challenge of cycling the full distance from Cape Town to London as the perfect means by which to raise funds for a great cause. Indeed, I wish that I could at least say that the idea of spending hours and hours glued to a hard saddle was a thoroughly painful prospect and one which seemed to me entirely worthy of sponsorship. This was certainly the way that Nick and Becks felt about it and the reason that so many wonderful people were prepared to contribute so generously to our cause.

Ashamedly, however, this was not the case for me.

The truth is that I love an adventure. I love seeing new places, I love meeting new people, I love discovering new cultures and for me, the harder something is, the more I tend to enjoy it.

Thus covering the entire distance from Cape Town to London on bicycles, a repulsive (if exciting) notion to the average human being, was to me, from the outset, a thoroughly appealing idea.

Africa represents the ultimate arena for adventure. Wild animals, extreme terrain and rubbish roads certainly make for an interesting bike ride. Heat, disease and a lack of clean water only add to the excitement.

Our experiences out there fulfilled and surpassed all my expectations. From the beautiful beaches in Mozambique to the stunning mountains of Ethiopia, Africa constantly astonished me. Whether we were seeing lions on our bikes in Tanzania or playing in the mud on the infamous bandit road, there was never the danger of boredom.

Travelling by bicycle, despite all its obvious disadvantages, has got to be one of the best ways to see the world. The very nature of our trip (being primarily a charity fund-raiser) meant that we were constantly pushed for time and low on cash, but the fact that the bicycles limited us to a maximum of a hundred miles a day allowed us to see parts of Africa that we'd never otherwise have seen.

The bicycles also provided us with a leveller. Regardless of what people thought of the Mzungu, it was very rare for them to witness one, let alone three, bereft of the latest Land-Cruiser, and instead pedalling through their villages. Bikes are big in Africa and, though ours were slightly shinier than many of their African counterparts, the fact that they still relied solely on the energy of the rider proved to be an immediate source of both amusement and respect.

The amazing reaction we received from those we encountered was doubtless the most remarkable feature of our trip. Wherever we went, we were continuously astonished by the wonderful hospitality and incredible generosity of our African hosts. In a continent so full of variety, it was only the warmth of its peoples that remained a constant wherever we went.

It was in the Transkye when we were first cheered along as if competing in a rather African version of le Tour. In Mozambique we would rarely pass through a village without rousing its entire population. Women would dance for us, children would run and cheer alongside us while men would often challenge us to bicycle duals. Wherever we were, challengers would surreptitiously overtake us without so much as a glance while pedalling so frantically that their legs were all-a-blur and their bicycles squealed with displeasure. If we eventually managed eye contact, they could rarely resist a grin, in which case all pretence of innocent nonchalance was shattered and the race really began.

From Sweet like Chocolate and Julius Caesar on Lake Malawi to Lucas and James in Dar; from the distinctive YOU,YOU,YOUs of Ethiopia to the world-renowned hospitality of the wonderful Sudanese, it was the people who made this journey the fantastic 6 months it proved to be. As I said before, all my high expectations of Africa were completely outstripped. This was due, almost exclusively, to the Africans themselves.

My expectations of Africa were not the only ones to be surpassed. With the idea of the trip being so appealing to me in the first place; with the reality of the trip proving far more appealing than the idea, I had never expected to feel the immense sense of fulfilment and achievement that engulfed me on the HMS President. For me the cycling, though tough at times, was a source of continual enjoyment. I may well have hated the wind, but the sight of a hair-pinning uphill or the introduction of thick mud, deep sand, sharp rocks, dust and corrugations was for me a genuinely exciting prospect. Cycling almost 10,000 miles is obviously a great achievement but for me it could never have been a source of real pride. I always knew I could do it and knew I would love it- I never expected, once it was done, that I'd feel so overwhelmingly fulfilled.

This unexpected sense of accomplishment owes itself not to the difficulties of cycling, not to the hardships of Africa but rather to the performance of our incredible team and to the success of our work for Anti-Slavery International, whose importance was so well demonstrated by both our research and our experiences en route.

We chose Anti-Slavery International on Becks' advice and felt safe in the knowledge that regardless of how much money we made, we would certainly play our part in raising awareness of a tragic issue too often ignored or forgotten in the modern world. It was not an easy charity to attract funds for. People tend to give towards the causes that they can relate to. Modern slavery is something that most people in England find difficult to comprehend- it clearly is not an issue that seems to affect their lives and as a result not something to which one would expect a generous response. Even I, as a purported crusader for the cause, was not entirely sure of the facts and found it difficult to understand how the money we raised could be used by Anti-Slavery International to combat such a difficult issue.

In light of all this, the generous response we received again defied all my expectations. The inspiring people we met throughout Africa, whether victims of slavery themselves or those campaigning for their freedom (especially James Aguer in Khartoum), immediately helped me recognise the importance of the charity's work. The money we raised ourselves could be essential to the continuation and expansion of many of these fantastic initiatives and this makes me very happy. Cycling may have been easy for me, but sitting in front of a computer, composing letters and hassling people over the phone are not my thing. The three weeks we spent in England prior to our party were for me the hardest of them all- fundraising was the aspect of the trip that I found toughest and our success in this area, as demonstrated on 20th March 2004, fills me with pride.

But very little of this pride is reserved for me. It is the team that deserves all the credit and it is to Nick, Becks, Jonny and Jonno that all my thanks for the best 7 months of my life are owed. Every day we would achieve our targets as a team, every day arguments would be resolved and new ones would emerge, every day we would laugh. It feels so special to have shared such an amazing journey with such amazing friends. I don't think I could ever thank them enough.

Nick is incredible. His all-round abilities would be enough to make anyone sick. He was responsible for the vast, vast majority of this trip's organisation and success, and patiently put up with the comparative inefficiency and irritation of a twat like me. The trip was his idea- it was he who single-handedly transformed the five of us into a relatively professional looking organisation, he who gave us all our credibility, he who chose the wonderful route, he who was the brains and effort behind the vast majority of the fund-raising and he who invited me to have the time of my life and to undeservedly share some of the credit. On top of all this, he still swears that the cycling was frequently shear hell for him- anyone who can direct that much effort towards something that they do not even enjoy deserves limitless respect. It is to Nick that I owe the most- thank you, mate!

Jonny Polonsky, Jonny Polonsky, Jonny Polonsky. A best friend before the trip, an even better one after it, Jonny is ace. I was impressed by the dedication he showed towards the filming, the commitment he showed towards the venture and more than anything by his ability to be funny for 6 continuous months. People (me included) did not make life easy for Jonny- my expectations of him were low and my pre-judgments sometimes totally unfair. He managed to prove me wrong in all but a couple of my predictions- I always knew that he'd be funny and generous, and I always knew that I'd be eternally grateful for his great company and wonderful friendship over the 6 months that we were away. Thank you, Jonny- I hope we can do it again some time.

Jonno- what a find he proved to be. I remember telling him during our first week on the road that he was without a doubt our biggest break, our best asset. After more than 15,000 miles in 42 year old Monts, those words couldn't seem truer. He brought with him mountains of experience, a wicked personality, a little (a very little) maturity, amazing contacts, a fantastically efficient mother, an astounding vocabulary, a delicious Christmas dinner, a hilarious temper and a great friendship. On top of all that, he performed his job to perfection and did it all for nothing. Jonno- you're an absolute legend.

Becks is an angel. I don't want to get soppy and have it haunt me every time I look at our website so I'll try to be restrained. If ever there has been a test of a couple's commitment to marriage, surely a 10,000 mile bike ride would fulfil its criteria. Out of everyone, it was Becks who annoyed me least, it was Becks who impressed me most- her passion for people was totally infectious, her determination on the bike sometimes awe-inspiring, her ability to survive so long without any sort of female company absolutely astonishing. I love her now more than ever and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with her.

One final note….

For me, almost as important as the cause itself, is this venture's potential to encourage others to do similar things. Nick may be a freakish all-rounder, Becks may be exceptionally dedicated to helping others and I may well be psychotically keen on exercise, but the point is that none of us are professional; none of us had any real experience of this sort before setting out on this mission. Essentially we are just normal people with open minds.

It is my belief that the more people who do this type of thing and come back with no regrets, the more people will realise that popular misconceptions are indeed misconceptions, that Africa is not a dangerous and bloody place full of primitive tribes with which we have little in common, but in fact is a place full of the most generous people I have ever met. The more people travel, the smaller the world will become and the more people will realise that what happens in a seemingly distant corner of the globe to seemingly different people could well happen on our own doorstep to us, to our neighbour or to our friends. The more people realise this, the less we will be able to ignore the world's problems; the more people do this sort of thing, the more money will be raised to overcome these problems. Slavery is just one of the world's hideous issues- it feels great to have done a little to fight it.

A Eulogy of my Bicycle

I love you, Tuff Trax,
My beautiful bike,
All silver and shiny-
Just what I like.

I love your pedals,
I love your frame,
I love you, Tuff Trax
And I promise you fame.

I love your cogs,
I love your gears.
I love your saddle,
(fertility fears)

I don't like lycras-
I'm not a gimp (!!?)
But I love you tuff trax
(you make me limp)

Ten thousand miles,
And not a squeal,
Thirteen countries-
No buckled wheel

I love you Tuff Trax,
My beautiful bike,
All silver and shiny-
Just what I like.

By Robert Hadman