Cape to Kapp: Facing The Pandemic in the Middle of a Solo Tour

About 147 weeks ago, Teresie Hommersand began her solo bike tour from Capetown, South Africa. Her destination is Kapp, Norway (thus Cape to Kapp). Of course with all these types of endeavors, the journey is more important than any destination. Wish her well and learn more about her 13,700 km ride going from South Africa to Norway and her charity crowdfunding campaign on her Facebook page and Instagram.  The last time we posted one of her travel stories she was just leaving Africa by crossing the Suez Canal. Thru 2019 and this year she has gone thru Turkey, Greece, and is in Europe now. This is her account of touring thru Austria and Germany in the midst of nation-mandated security measures to slow the spread of Covid-19.

Unforseen Challenge

Amongst the many challenges I thought I might face cycling solo from South Africa to Norway on my Soma Saga, a pandemic was never one of them. None of us saw this coming, but now it's affecting our lives in various ways and to various degrees.

Teresie's Soma Saga in front of a blocked off bicycle bridge in Austria.

Uncertainty

I was in Austria when the first regulations intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19 came into force. The plan was to stay a little bit longer in the country, but with all the uncertainty and the possibility that I would not be allowed to cross the border to Germany next, I sped up to avoid getting stuck. As I approached Salzburg, the border city, I got news that the next day the German chancellor was going to give an update on the situation in Germany and possibly implement even stricter rules. I then decided it was best to cross the next day. But how?

Strategy and Butterflies

All the borders were already being checked by the police, and only goods and commuters were allowed to cross. You were only allowed to travel, if you had a darn good reason. Does what I do fall into that category? I looked into other options. Finding places I could cross that was still not controlled. I found a walking path through a neighborhood. Friends told me about small bicycle bridges across the river that borders Austria and Germany in this area. Others said I could cycle through the forest at night. I just had to make sure I didn't stray into the military area nearby. In the end I decided to cross at a police checkpoint, after I learned that it was illegal and you could risk high fines, if you tried to cross the border in any other way. I had butterflies in my stomach. It would be one thing to be told I couldn't cross, but it would be another thing to be told me I had to get on a plane and fly back home. After all my two and a half year tour across continents was to avoid flying because of climate change.

Border Crossing

I arrived at the border. 'Hi!'. They were nice. 'What you're doing is certainly unusual and a bit tricky to categorize'. 'Is there any ways that you can get on a train?'. 'I'd rather not'. After about 10 minutes of the police trying to understand my situation and them thinking long and hard about if it qualifies as a transit or not, they said it was ok. 

'You can continue'. 

Woo-hooo!!!!!!! What a relief. So happy. 

I had the biggest smile as I took my first pedal strokes in Germany. Not long after I came past the mentioned bicycle bridges I considered cycling across to avoid the police check point. They were completely blocked and the Austrian army was even patroling this normally sleepy riverbank in their army vehicles. So surreal, and so glad I crossed the border in a legal fashion.

Shut-Down

However, now the real challenge began. With everything closed, I had limited access to water, food was ok, but finding a place to charge my phone was problematic. I've spent a lot of time in churches lately, charging my phone, as this is the only place that's open. Because of the charging situation I've also reduced the usage of my phone to pure navigation and absolute minimal communication with others. Pretty much all toilets are closed which is not a problem in itself if it wasn't for that this part of the world hardly has any wild nature, only wide open farmland or people.

It has been more of a challenge to find places to set up camp for the night.

Unlucky

I was hit hard by a cold spell and the illegal camping was made worse because of minus degrees and frost. Wild camping is not allowed in Germany so I had to pack up first thing in the morning so no-one would see me - before my sleeping bag and tent had a chance to dry. You can also forget about breakfast. It's too cold to stand around and eat. Before the coronavirus I used to stay with people, camp in their gardens and have the most amazing time together. Now at night I've been hiding out in bird lookout towers, behind tool sheds, at closed campsites and next to unfinished buildings. The enjoyment is to a large extent gone.

Sadness

I'm cycling through a new country but I'm not learning anything about it. I'm not engaging with people, only observing limited life in public. I didn't have a proper, meaningful conversation or connection with a fellow human being for a whole week. It makes me really sad. I've long ago realized that I could never cycle from South Africa to Norway without truly connecting with people along the way. I might be physically strong, but if I'm not happy, if my heart is not in the right place, I could not manage this.

The importance of people

I've learned this through countless, beautiful and most precious experiences along the 20,000 kilometers I've cycled to date spread out over two and a half years. But now, for the first time, I'm also learning it through not having this anymore. Because of social distancing. I am genuinely and deeply mourning the loss of these beautiful meetings with fellow human beings. When it boils down to it, they are what has kept me going this whole time.

In Slovenia, she rarely had to camp outside as locals invited
her into their homes.

Safe haven and the way forward

Right now I'm so thankful for finally having reached a good friend and to be staying under her loving and caring roof. Going forward, I'm preparing myself for rougher days. For longer periods of only cycling with a few select 'safe havens' (friends) along the way up to Denmark.

I know other people have it way worse than me during these times, but this is how I'm currently experiencing cycling from South Africa to Norway on my Soma Saga. 

Decompressing and Reflection After Months of Letting the Road Lead the Journey

Bill Heimann is a veteran tourer and retired bike shop owner. Every time he goes out he sends back a few paragraphs via e-mails to his friends and family whenever he reaches a new town and has some rest time. No public Instagram. No Facebook journal either (even though he participates on Facebook cycling groups.).
This most recent tour was to pedal from Athens, Greece to Norkapp, Norway with no clearly defined route. That is how he likes to do things. This was a particularly tough and significant adventure: learning how to ride big mountain hills agains, failing to finish a climb with 15% grades and having to go back down and find an alternate route, and turning 75 along the way.

This is his final entry of the tour written from the comforts of home after returning to Ashland, Oregon.

This morning I got up and made coffee.  Standing in the center of the front window of the humble abode enjoying the steaming cup, I viewed a doe, a fawn and a buck, an unusual site to see such a family.  But the viewing from my favorite morning place was also unusual for me.  It has been over 3 months since I last stood in this place.  A very good 3 ½ month journey has ended and another chapter has begun.

All my journeys have chosen their own paths and their own times.  I seem to have little say in the matter.  When I found myself in the very small Greek village with a broken bike I had no desire to return to the island of Evia, but the trip had its own idea of where I was to go.  After the repair and a stop in a cell phone store to talk with island born young man, I spent another, almost 2 weeks on the island.

My original trip plan was to try to find a way to cycle to Norkapp in Norway but the road would not have that plan.  Brussels and the Tour de France became the destination.  A wonderful hostess in Brussels, a friend in Prague, a meeting with a family from Tanzania at the Tour, all combined to show me the end of this journey.

As I sit here at my home computer talking with you, flashes of this journey come into my vision. The first days with John visiting an old touring friend in Phoenix, cycling to Bisbee, AZ through the Sonora desert and camping on Lake Pleasant for a farewell to John and the US. 
The first days of cycling, out of Athens in heavy traffic and up the steep hills to find a campground that had burned down in their version of the fires of our west, comes to my eyes.  The long, yet short ride to Thessaloniki that I thought would mark the end of Greece but again the road had other ideas.  A night with a wine producer added another day to my stay in the country before the final crossing into North Macedonia and the bringing of a new country to my tires.   
The meeting of a missionary family in the Skopje, the capital, a food tour and enjoying the old bazaar, where my hotel was located added 3 days to my stay in Macedonia.  Then Serbia, a country I had heard a lot of negative about, most of which turned out to be untrue.  The wonderful mountains with their great climbs, the friendly people and good food left me with a whole new picture of what is Serbia.

An unplanned short stay in Croatia, because I followed the river the wrong way did not give me enough time to really appreciate what I was finding to be amazing people.  Leaving the town of Mitrovica, I followed the Ibar NW instead of NE, forcing me to turn north into Hungary much earlier than planned, producing another example of the road leading the journey.

Budapest, Hungary brought the beginning of the end.  Now I was headed to Brussels and the Tour. 
Next, Munich instead of Passau due to a train mix up.  I wonderful mix up as I met a Spaniard living in Munich, Mixx.  How more appropriate could that have been.  We spent 2 great days together enjoying Munich and its beer gardens.  It is always great when what appears to be a problem shows itself to be a wonderful opportunity. 

Then to Karlsruhe, Germany, the home of a long ago friend I could not find, and back to cycling.  Up the Rhine River to the Saar and then along the Mosselle River and into Luxemburg, trying to be in Brussels by the 5th of July.  Good riding along the rivers with paved bikeways, no climbs or motor vehicles. Soon the bikeways became a little boring, just pedaling along though the little changing scenery – not really why I tour but great for making time.  One hundred kilometer plus days are easy.  I finally pedaled off the rivers into Luxemburg, back into the mountains and their ever changing views. 
My hostess in Brussels and I had been talking using What’s App and she suggested that I find my way to Wiltx, Luxemburg and pick up a ravel (pronounced havel) a rails to trails facility and follow it to Bastogne. Then another ravel to Libramont-Chevigny, Belgium to catch a train to Brussels as my time had run out.  No matter how tight my schedule is, I try not to miss the opportunities of meeting the locals and learning about their lives. So, extra delays always appear on my agenda. 

Marilyn is a great hostess.  She met me at the Brussels train station and we cycled to her narrow 5 story, 100 year old downtown home.  From then on we toured Brussels, watched the Wimbledon finals, ate good meals, worked on her 8 bikes, her son’s commuter and enjoyed each other’s company. 

The Tour de France was exciting and fun.  We walked around the Fan Zone buying once in a life time items, seeing the riders, talking with the sponsors and soaking up the atmosphere on Friday.  Then on Saturday during the Grand Depart I stood on the starting line.  While seeing the wonderful backs of all the taller folks in front of me I watched the start on the big screen in the Royal Plaz.  Sunday brought the Team Time Trial, with a great viewing place within touchable distance of the teams as they flashed by.  It also gave me the opportunity to meet a wonderful family from Tanzania there for the race.  The son is studying architecture in China, the daughter is studying in a Brussels high school and the mother and father work and live in Tanzania.   It was fun sharing with them how the race worked and learning about their very unusual lives.

Oh, you are talking to an international bike mechanic.  I went to visit a friend in Prague, leaving Marilyn with some instructions on getting parts for her son’s bike.  While in Prague she texted me asking what had to be done with the parts.  After a couple of texts back and forth we got the problem solved.  Think about that process, an American bike mechanic in Prague working on a bike in Brussels.

The trip to Prague was very nice.  To meet an old traveling friend, share a wonderful city with a food tour and learn about the culture while staying with a local, how much more can I say?

The road brought me to all I have seen and experienced on this journey.  Over many years letting it decide and direct my travels has always been my way.  I say that like I have a choice, I do not.  I hope the road continues to guide me the rest of my life and maybe beyond. 

Cape to Kapp: Cycling from the Southernmost Part of Africa to the Northernmost Part of Europe

Teresie Hommersand grew up near Stavanger, a city known as the oil capital of Norway. She remembers eating supper every evening off plates with the logo of the national oil and gas company on them. Somehow she became the "green sheep" of the family. She has lived in Uganda, Oregon, and Australia. She currently resides in South Africa. We did not sponsor her the Soma Saga DC she is riding, but will be donating to the charities she is trying to bring awareness to.Learn more about her 13,700 km ride going from South Africa to Norway and her charity crowdfunding campaign on her Facebook page and Instagram. We will be posting some of her experiences here on the blog. She is already in Malawi at the time of this post.



I'm Teresie, a 31 year old Norwegian girl, and I'm cycling solo from South Africa to Norway! From the most southern point on the African continent to the most northern point in Europe!! All on my Soma Saga.

I love people's reactions when they see me. There's no limit to hooting, waving and thumbs up from passing cars and trucks. I've had people clap, blow me kisses, ask for my autograph and even say gravely that I'm going to die. While some propose, others become speechless. But above all, EVERYONE is so interested, excited and enthusiastic! Cycling becomes a dream with all of this support!

Your mode of transport really influences what you experience along the way, who you meet and how you interact. For instance, one late afternoon as the sun was about to set, I found myself on a dirt road in the Klein Karoo in South Africa. A dry farm country with hills and mountains and great distances between farms. I was getting a bit uneasy. I didn't feel like camping out in minus degrees. I had become an expert at being invited in to random people's homes after a whole day of cycling. However, there were no signs of human activity except for the corrugated and rocky road I was on. I raced the setting sun.

After climbing an uphill, I finally saw a farm gate! It looked decent. Well maintained. Let me try! I cycled down this road, looking for houses. Nothing. I was in the middle of nowhere. Then I saw something that looked like really big cows. I cycled a bit closer. They turned out to be buffalos! Luckily there was a fence between us. I cycled on. A house! Hurray! There were absolutely no one there. I started to mentally prepare myself for a cold night. Then I heard voices. It came from the farmworkers' quarters further ahead. Ok! At least I'll have company! As I cycled towards them I became aware of a group of trees. There was something amongst those threes. A building? Is that a road? Are those cars? I suddenly found myself in the farmer's driveway! A green oasis in the otherwise dry and dusty yet stunning landscape. There was even a braai (barbecue) area and a swimming pool! And there was the farmer, wondering who on earth had pulled up infront of his house on a heavily loaded bicycle. When I asked if I could pitch my tent in their garden, he said 'Are you mad? Come in!'.

As I was shown to my own room, I was informed that all the farmers in the area was also about to arrive for their monthly catch-up! Not only did I get to meet everyone in the whole area, but had I knocked on the door of any other farmer that evening, no one would have been home! I was so welcomed, so included and so full of the heartiest 'afrikaaner delights' that evening.

The Cape of Africa: Start of the journey

The next morning, as I was fastening my panniers to my bicycle, Wessel (the farmer) asked me 'Don't you wanna go for a private game drive on the farm?' I was already in cycling mode and had to take five minutes to reboot before saying YES! How often do I have this opportunity? We spent the whole day out together, in the best outdoor classroom, getting up close with and learning about the Impalas, Sable Antelopes, Rooi Hartebeests, Oryx, Ostriches, Elands, Water Buffalos and many more. Wessel knew all about the areas flora and fauna. It's geology. How the drought is affecting the area and the farmers. He and his son Izak even challenged me to a round of bokdrol. A poo spitting competition! Apparently, dry Impala dung is the poo of choice for this game. We only had Kudu poo. I lost.

I was made to feel so at home by the whole family that when they invited me to stay a third day, I almost did. For two months I cycled through South Africa. I only camped twice, and that was my own choice. The rest of the time I was invited into the homes of everyone I asked if I could pitch my tent in their garden. I am sure that a lot of this happened just because I rocked up on a bicycle❤️

Follow the journey on Instagram: teresiehommersand and Facebook: Cape to Kapp

When I asked if I could pitch my tent in their garden,
he said 'Are you mad? Come in!'.

Jim's Saga Disc Build

Jim's Saga disc build.

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