Conclusion - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 338

Chapter 21: Conclusion
Out of Africa
Once I arrived on the tarmac, I photographed my plane and kissed the ground good-
bye (my handlebar bag is in the foreground in the above photo.) I boarded the aircraft and
was directed to my luxury first class seat with enough leg room to pitch a tent. Thankfully,
I had a window seat where I could just stare outside in order to avoid the other passengers
fromseeingmecry.IttrulyfeltsurrealthatIhadjustcompletedthelengthofAfricaonabi-
cycle.Asweliftedoff,IbecameoverwhelmedasIwatchedAfricaunfoldbeneathme.Ihad
over 18 hours of flight time to reflect on the past 14 months: all my blood, sweat and tears;
all the people that I met, prayed with, and prayed for; all the incredible sights and sounds
that made up this diverse continent; all the vegetation and fauna (and lack thereof); and all
those vehicles that drove by without hitting me (save a few).
There were many small anecdotes that were not mentioned in this topic that flashed
beforeme.AsIlookeddownontoAfrica,itseemedsotranquilanddreamlike:aplacewhere
people did not have to struggle to survive, where governments actually shared the nations'
wealth evenly among their citizens and maintained their infrastructures; a place where hu-
man rights were respected and where there were no conflicts. Tragically, I had seen other-
wise.
We flew to Johannesburg and then on to the United States. We stopped to refuel in
the Cape Verde Islands and then continued to New York. I was worried about me knee and
felt that it couldn't take long distances much longer. As a result, I decided to give up my
ticket to Florida and cycle from New York to Toronto.
On the plane, the pilot came down and chatted with the passengers (a first class
thing.) I was dressed like a beach bum so he checked my ticket to make sure I didn't sneak
in. We chatted about my cycling tour, especially about my experiences in South Africa.
Before we landed, I was given two bottles of 1982 South African red wine compliments