Tour d'Afrique, an operator of cycling expeditions, will participate in three international exhibitions dedicated to adventure cycling -- in September, EuroBike in Germany and Adventure Sports Fair in Brazil, and in October, BikeMotion Benelux 2010 in Holland. The company will exhibit details of Tour d'Afrique's cycling tours that span Africa, Europe, Asia, India and South America. Also on display will be details of three new tours planned for 2011 in Namibia and North and South America. Cycling enthusiasts can also learn more about participating in the company's DreamTour (www.tourdafrique.com/dreamtours) program that encourages similarly adventurous create-your-own itineraries in tandem with staff support and then crowd-sourced through the Tour d'Afrique cycling community.
The first show is Eurobike 2010, held Sept. 1 to 4 in Friedrichshafen, Germany (www.eurobike-show.de). Show organizers anticipate 40,000 trade visitors from 75 countries, 20,000 cycling enthusiasts plus an estimated 1,600 journalists from 36 countries. Tour d'Afrique will exhibit in the 'Holiday on Bike' section throughout the public day on Sept. 4 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. A day ticket is 13 euros and reduced day ticket 9 euros for ages 6 to 16, disabled military and social service conscripts and senior citizens. Admission is free for under age 6. Manning the booth for Tour d'Afrique will be company founder Henry Gold along with Tour d'Afrique veteran Daniel Ludwig.
Tour d'Afrique will exhibit at the 12th annual Adventure Sports Fair in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sept. 23 to 26, one of the largest adventure sports and tourism events in Latin America (www.adventurefair.com.br/novo/eng). The event takes place at the Anhembi Exhibition Center from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday, noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday. An estimated 52,300 visitors are expected to attend the weekend show where people can learn about new adventure destinations, test the latest in sporting products and equipment, gather information about tours and the industry, and, participate in interactive sporting exhibitions. Tour d'Afrique can be found at Booth 146 where founder Henry Gold and Cristiano Wernick will be present to answer questions and offer information on upcoming tours.
The final show is Bike Motion Benelux 2010 (www.bikemotionbenelux.nl), Oct. 22 to 25 in Jaarbeurs Utrecht, Holland, which expects 30,000 visitors with at least 10 percent of these seeking cycling holidays. Tour d'Afrique will exhibit in the bike tourism section at booth BO 47. Visitors to Tour d'Afrique's booth will be greeted by company founder Henry Gold, Dirk van Asselt, Arthur Rijk and various Dutch veterans of past Tour d'Afrique expeditions. Dirk van Asselt will share his Vuelta Sudamericana experiences with visitors while also promoting and signing his book "Volg je hart -- 12.000 km door Zuid Amerika" ("Follow your heart -- 12,000 kilometers through South America"). Bike Motion has grown to be the second-biggest bike show in Europe after Eurobike. In total, 29,942 people visited the show in 2009, an increase of up to 20 percent from the previous record year 2008 (24,762 visitors).
Tour d'Afrique is named for its 2003 flagship cycling tour that annually traverses the African continent from Cairo to Cape Town (7,500 miles in four months). Directly and indirectly, Tour d'Afrique benefits third world countries by organizing and staging transcontinental bicycle tours and races lasting 10 days to four months, today traversing all or part of four continents and over 30 countries. Other trans-continental tours include; the Amber Route (1,864 miles/42 days, St. Petersburg to Venice); the Orient Express (2,500 miles/50 days) the Vuelta Sudamericana (3,730 miles/80 days, Buenos Aires to Lima); and An Indian Adventure (2,050 miles/46 days from the Taj Mahal in Agra to Kanyakumari at the southern tip of the Indian sub continent). Tour d'Afrique's mission is to create cycling events that appeal to amateurs and professionals alike. Participants range from ages 18 to 75 and the common thread is a spirit of high adventure and a desire for truly transformational travel experiences.
The company's new DreamTour (www.tourdafrique.com/dreamtours) web 2.0 concept encourages individuals to submit their own trip of a lifetime that will then be crowd-sourced to other riders who may want to join in. A Tour d'Afrique Foundation promotes giving back to the communities touched by the tours and raises consciousness about the many benefits of bicycles as a means of sustainable transportation. For more information, call 416-364-8255, email [email protected] or visit www.tourdafrique.com.
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