African Marathon Journey of Russian Cyclist

Andrei Tereshchenko, a journalist and traveller from Rostov-on-Don, a regional centre in southern Russia, has set himself the task to traverse the African continent on a bicycle to Cape Town. So far, he has arrived in N'Djamena, the capital of the Republic of Chad.

Organisers of the marathon report that the traveller has already covered about a half of the 20,000-km transcontinental route he has mapped out. The journey launched in November 2001 runs across 9 countries and finishes in the African southernmost city.

The first stage of the route ran through Georgia, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.

Once, Andrei found it tough fighting his bicycle back from the hands of local bandits. He has also had unexpected meetings with Sudanese and people from Chad who once studied in the USSR. They remembered Russia well and welcomed the Russian traveller as a compatriot.

Now Tereshchenko is on his way to Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, which will crown the programme-minimum of the current stage of his marathon journey.