From Cape Town to Nairobi: A ride across Africa

Ask Eric Silverman '10 how he spent his summer vacation, and prepare to be blown away. He and Washington University buddy Aaron Bodansky rode bicycles halfway across the African continent, on a "2X2 Bike Ride" they organized to build more positive media awareness of African people, their cultures and kindnesses. But that's not all. Silverman and Bodansky's challenging ride was also a benefit for Children of South Africa (CHOSA), a grassroots charity where both have been volunteers. CHOSA helps kids in poor and crime-ridden townships.

Over the 70 days of their ride, Silverman and Bodansky faced powerful headwinds, aching hands (and derrieres), damaged Achilles tendons, flat tires, broken bike chains, pounding rain, high mountain passes, hunger, fever, headache, and exhaustion. But they succeeded in riding their whole planned route-2,700 miles from Cape Town in South Africa to Nairobi, Kenya, with stops in Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, and Tanzania. "I had never done anything like this," says Silverman, who like Bodansky, had previously biked only short distances. "It took a while to get used to bicycling every day for six or seven hours, sometimes longer. And with almost 75 pounds of weight on the back of the bicycle, it was pretty grueling at times."

Silverman, a Brooklyn-born Skidmore history major, met Bodansky, a Seattle neuroscience major, while both were studying last year at the University of Cape Town. What motivated them to join forces for the long ride? Sheer frustration with "Western prejudices and popular misconceptions regarding the African continent," they explain in their blog on www.cycleforunderstanding.org. Added Silverman, "Our family and friends thought it was too dangerous to travel around Africa and we would get killed. All they really knew about the continent was through the media, which I feel shows only crime, poverty, corruption, and violence." Their blog explained that "by relying on the support of individuals and communities throughout our journey, we hoped to actively reduce negative stereotypes and promote a positive image of Africa to the West."

To help achieve their ambitious goal, Silverman and Bodansky created the nonprofit Cycle for Understanding, along with Georgetown University student Nick Cericola; Chenai Kadungre of Zimbabwe, who was also a student at the University of Cape Town; and publicist Victor Baatweng, a journalist from Botswana and recent accounting graduate. Their estimated budget of $6,700 covered their two bikes, equipment, spares, sleeping bags, satellite phone, and digital video camera. Two thousand went for food and lodging, and $470 for visas. They set off on June 12, sparking a chain of news stories ranging from The Cape Times of South Africa to Student Life, the American college newspaper. Along the way the boys wrote up a storm about their experiences, taking turns crafting their reports and posting them along with photos on their site. The two peddled into Nairobi on Aug. 20, right on schedule. They now plan to create a 2X2 Bike Ride documentary using the many hours of video footage they shot along the way, and to continue both their fundraising efforts for CHOSA and their Africa-awareness campaign.

Did Silverman and Bodansky find the local support they were counting on in their travels? Absolutely- over and over again. People they met on the road fed and sheltered them, shared the national dish of n'shima with them, repaired their bikes, treated their ailments, tutored them in Tswana, and much more. "The great thing was that the people were very hospitable and kind," says Silverman. "We could not have made it without the help of the local people in each country. We learned this pretty early on when we were stranded on a mountain in freezing rain about 100 miles outside of Cape Town, and we were unable to fix a bicycle problem ourselves. A kind older woman stopped and took us to her house where she gave us hot chocolate and fed us."

You can follow the rest of Silverman and Bodansky's 2X2 Bike Ride adventures?from hair-raising to heart-warming? here.