From Brussels to Cape Town: 4 Months Cycling Toward the Horizon

On the first day of September 2026, as summer gently withdrew from the Belgian sky, I will set off southward on my bicycle with a goal as clear as it is dizzying: to reach the city of Cape Town in South Africa. A journey powered by the strength of my legs, stretching more than 14,000 kilometers through cities, countryside, deserts, mountains, and ocean shores.

September – Crossing Western Europe

The journey will begin with a gentle ride through Belgian and French roads. Paris will be the first major stop, followed by Tours, Poitiers, and Royan. The salty wind of the Atlantic and coastal villages will accompany my route into Spain, where Madrid will bring the first sensation of Mediterranean warmth. Then comes Andalusia, arid and radiant, before finally reaching Tarifa, at the very end of Europe. And there, after nearly 3,000 km of pedaling, Africa will be just a tiny hour’s ferry away.

October – West Africa as Compass

Along the ocean, Morocco will unfurl its white cities and endless beaches. And if my prayers are answered, the desert wind will push me southward. Western Sahara, then Mauritania, with their arid landscapes and desert solitude, will no doubt become a logistical and human challenge. Nouakchott will mark the halfway point before reaching Saint-Louis and then Dakar, the vibrant capital of Senegal. Europe will feel far away; the first great loop coming to its end.

November – Immersion in Tropical Africa

The journey will slide eastward, leaving the dunes behind to enter a greener, denser, wetter Africa; the Sahel transforming into savanna, then into forest. Welcome to Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ghana, in the heart of a mosaic of cultures, languages, and smiles. Rain will become more frequent, and the roads more chaotic. In Lomé, after thousands of kilometers and three months of travel, and to avoid crossing the heart of Central Africa, a flight to Windhoek will carry me to Namibia, where I will resume the road southward.

December – The Final Meridian, the Last Breath

The last part of this wild journey will be the most austere: 2,000 km through a Southern Africa as harsh as it is magnificent. After Namibia, with its lunar landscapes, vast silent expanses, endless skies, and long straight lines crossing the Namib Desert and sun-scorched canyons, South Africa will appear, with its mountains, vineyards, and more familiar terrain.

On December 25th, after 4 months of effort, solitude, encounters, and sunburns, my bicycle will come to a stop in the city of Cape Town—precisely where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean, where the land ends.