Out of Africa: motorcycling teacher completes epic solo adventure
16th August 2010
A Kent schoolteacher has braved armed bandits, angry villagers and crippling isolation to become the first person to complete a solo circumnavigation of Africa on two wheels.
Spencer Conway, 42, spent nine months on the road during his 37,000-mile trip, shunning the luxuries of breakdown cover, regular petrol stations and marble smooth roads in order to fulfil his dream of motorcycling around the African continent for charity.
Spencer confessed to experiencing a "reverse culture shock" as he returned home after his 37,000-mile trip, which threatened to stretch the terms of his travel insurance on a number of occasions. At different points the plucky Briton was flanked by gunfire in Kenya, stoned by incensed villagers in Egypt and robbed at the Namibia-Angola border.
But despite the tribulations of life on the road, Spencer said the record-breaking experience and the £26,000 he raised for Save the Children was worth the effort and isolation that a solo tour brings.
"It's amazing to be back, although I think I'm experiencing something like reverse culture shock," he said.
"I went 2,000km without seeing another person at one point so it's quite hard to adjust.
"It's absolutely wonderful to be back though. As I neared home a whole load of bikers met me and drove me back to the village where a crowd had gathered to welcome me."
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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