Page 25 - African Safaris eBrochure by Bushtracks
P. 25
MY CYCLING SAFARI BECAME CYCLING FOR A CAUSE
When your father is David Tett, Bushtracks president and co-founder, Africa is in your blood, and biking is a way of life.
Here, David’s 13 year old son Porter, shares his impressions on biking safaris in Africa with his dad, and how that experience
inspired him to fundraise for World Bicycle Relief, an organization providing specially designed, locally assembled bicycles
to entrepreneurs, students and healthcare workers across rural Africa.
How much biking do you do regularly? When you spot something you can get a lot closer on a
I go out on about three to four, two-hour rides a week, bike. You can also get out on trails that a landrover can’t,
on both road and mountain bikes. and when you want to stop and take a closer look – like
at a big snake our guide showed us in Mashatu – you can
How many times have you been to Africa? take as long as you like, you don’t have to worry about
I’m not sure, but I think about five. My first trip was getting out of the way for the next landrover.
when I was three years old, and we were in South
Africa last winter. Bikes empower students to attend school.
Where have you been mountain biking in Africa? Who is World Bicycle Relief and what are you doing
I’ve been to Mount Anderson in South Africa, Mashatu to help them?
in Botswana, and Motopos in Zimbabwe. After we got home from Africa last year I was looking for
a service project of interest to me, and I learned that by
How does biking in Africa differ from biking at getting friends and family to sponsor me on a bike ride,
home in California? I could raise money toward a bike for someone in Africa,
The places in Africa I’ve visited are each very different, and really change someone’s life. With a new bike, a kid
so it’s hard to say. But generally, there aren’t as many could go to school more, or an entrepreneur could get
trees compared to California, the hills aren’t as steep to the market more. So I did two sponsored rides, and I
and gnarly and it’s a lot drier. I think mountain biking raised enough money for three bikes.
is much bigger in Africa – everyone does it, more than
here. The biggest difference is when you are out biking Did your biking experience in Africa influence your
in the bush you need to be able to change your tire decision to help World Bicycle Relief?
– and make any repairs – yourself. You don’t want to Definitely it did. I know how far distances between places
be out there with a broken bike. Also, we always have can be in Africa, how difficult the terrain can be, and I can
guides with GPS with us in Africa. picture the kids and people these bikes are helping.
Which location was your favorite, and why? To learn more about World Bicycle Relief visit:
Motopos really stands out for me. It was really www.worldbicyclerelief.org
challenging and we rode for eight hours – riding
on huge rocks and more technical stuff. We had an
amazing view over the valley. We also got to ride
through villages – even through someone’s garden –
and the kids we met were so excited to see us.
How is it different seeing wildlife on a bike versus
in a jeep?
It changes everything knowing that a lion or an
elephant might be out there with you! It’s definitely
a thrill not knowing what’s out there, and it’s pretty
exciting getting up close to an elephant when you’re
on a bike and there’s no car between you and him.
23
When your father is David Tett, Bushtracks president and co-founder, Africa is in your blood, and biking is a way of life.
Here, David’s 13 year old son Porter, shares his impressions on biking safaris in Africa with his dad, and how that experience
inspired him to fundraise for World Bicycle Relief, an organization providing specially designed, locally assembled bicycles
to entrepreneurs, students and healthcare workers across rural Africa.
How much biking do you do regularly? When you spot something you can get a lot closer on a
I go out on about three to four, two-hour rides a week, bike. You can also get out on trails that a landrover can’t,
on both road and mountain bikes. and when you want to stop and take a closer look – like
at a big snake our guide showed us in Mashatu – you can
How many times have you been to Africa? take as long as you like, you don’t have to worry about
I’m not sure, but I think about five. My first trip was getting out of the way for the next landrover.
when I was three years old, and we were in South
Africa last winter. Bikes empower students to attend school.
Where have you been mountain biking in Africa? Who is World Bicycle Relief and what are you doing
I’ve been to Mount Anderson in South Africa, Mashatu to help them?
in Botswana, and Motopos in Zimbabwe. After we got home from Africa last year I was looking for
a service project of interest to me, and I learned that by
How does biking in Africa differ from biking at getting friends and family to sponsor me on a bike ride,
home in California? I could raise money toward a bike for someone in Africa,
The places in Africa I’ve visited are each very different, and really change someone’s life. With a new bike, a kid
so it’s hard to say. But generally, there aren’t as many could go to school more, or an entrepreneur could get
trees compared to California, the hills aren’t as steep to the market more. So I did two sponsored rides, and I
and gnarly and it’s a lot drier. I think mountain biking raised enough money for three bikes.
is much bigger in Africa – everyone does it, more than
here. The biggest difference is when you are out biking Did your biking experience in Africa influence your
in the bush you need to be able to change your tire decision to help World Bicycle Relief?
– and make any repairs – yourself. You don’t want to Definitely it did. I know how far distances between places
be out there with a broken bike. Also, we always have can be in Africa, how difficult the terrain can be, and I can
guides with GPS with us in Africa. picture the kids and people these bikes are helping.
Which location was your favorite, and why? To learn more about World Bicycle Relief visit:
Motopos really stands out for me. It was really www.worldbicyclerelief.org
challenging and we rode for eight hours – riding
on huge rocks and more technical stuff. We had an
amazing view over the valley. We also got to ride
through villages – even through someone’s garden –
and the kids we met were so excited to see us.
How is it different seeing wildlife on a bike versus
in a jeep?
It changes everything knowing that a lion or an
elephant might be out there with you! It’s definitely
a thrill not knowing what’s out there, and it’s pretty
exciting getting up close to an elephant when you’re
on a bike and there’s no car between you and him.
23
