Help me set the First Women’s Record for Cycling the Length of Africa

There is no women’s record for cycling the length of Africa. My name is Tegan Phillips and I am going to try to change that!

In 2015, my family spent a year cycling from Cape Town to Kenya and back, and over the course of a few months I watched multiple male athletes (Keegan Longuiera, Mark Beaumont, The Swift Crew, Jonas Deichmann and Michael Strasser) all take on the epic Cairo to Cape Town speed world record independently. It looked like an epic ride, and—being a keen cyclist myself—I became interested to see what the women’s record was. When I searched, I discovered that there wasn’t one.

I couldn’t believe that such an iconic ride had no women’s representation in the record books, and that nobody had done anything about this. I knew that I wasn’t the world’s fastest or most experienced female endurance cyclist, and I knew that the 11,000km route had a lot of risks (civil conflict, wildlife, traffic)—but I couldn’t stop thinking that this record simply had to exist—partly for showcasing women’s sport in Africa, but mostly for a sense of equality in this record story.

So, after more than six years of training and planning: I am going to attempt this record-setting ride, supported by an amazing team of volunteer friends, starting 17 October 2022.

There’s just one thing: it’s really expensive, and even with support from some amazing people and companies, and all of my savings, we still need a bit of extra funding, So I’m reaching out to the world to ask for support from people who also want this record to exist.

Below are the basic costs of the trip, excluding a lot of equipment etc. that has been sponsored or bought already. Raising this would be a big help in getting to the start line with peace of mind that we can afford to get to the end.

EXPEDITION EXPENSES: R781K (approx $50K)

  • Food (R120pp/pd): R71K ($4,5K)

  • Accommodation (R200pp/pn): R105K ($6,7K)

  • Fuel for 2 support vehicles: R70K ($4,4K)

  • SUV rental in Egypt: R8,5K ($534)

  • Security for Ethiopia border crossing: R13K ($816)

  • Flights to Cairo for me, some crew: R30K ($1,9K)

  • Insurance (vehicle, health, bicycle): R11K ($697)

  • Visas, vaccinations, vehicle papers, PCR tests: R51K ($3,2K)

  • ‘Fixer’ fees (Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia): R24K ($1,5K)

  • Equipment (tents, radios, GPS devices, etc): R52K ($3,3K)

  • Branding: R15K / total ($951)

  • Film and photography: R200K ($12K)

  • Contingency +20%: R50,1K ($3,2K)

We are also looking for a vehicle sponsor for the support vehicles: the current plan is to take my two family cars (a Honda Jazz and a Honda Civic), which should do the trick—but an SUV option would be much better suited to the terrain. If you know of anyone who might have a vehicle we could borrow for 8 weeks, please let me know.

Barring major unforeseen expedition expenses, additional funds raised above the R781,000 will go to Khaltsha Cycles to buy bicycles for women from Khayelitsha, a township in Cape Town, where many girls and women don’t have other means to get to school or work. This trip is meant to empower women through cycling in every way possible, and giving a woman a bike is empowering not only in terms of mobility, but also health and confidence.

With that, a big thank you to everyone who has supported in this so far, and for the continued support as the date to the start-line gets closer. It has been incredible to see how many people have become part of helping to make this happen—you’re the best! I can’t wait to see you all at the finish line.