Expedition Report
The main aim of the expedition, undertaken by 5 Imperial undergraduates, was to cycle, carrying all the necessary gear on the bicycle, from Paris to Dakar. Peripheral aims of the expedition were to document the trip with emphasis on the cultures and sites encountered, through photography and video, and to raise awareness and money for the charity Action Against Hunger, who were working to stop the on-going food crisis in the Sahel region of West Africa.
The Exploration Board agreed to only support the expedition for the Paris to Gibraltar leg of their journey because at the time of their application and journey, the advice from the UK Foreign Office was not to travel to the Western Sahara and Mauritania.
The stops on the European part included Orlean, Tours, Poitiers, Cognac, Bordeaux, Castets, and Biarritz. Then through the Pyrenees to Pamplona, Logrono, Briviesca, Burgos, Palencia, Tordesillas, Salamanca, Placensia, Caceres, Alemandrejalo, Monesterio, Seville, Puerto de Santa Maria, Terifa and Gibraltar. This part of the journey was completed in 29 days, including 5 rest days, from mid-July 2012 to mid-August, and in this period the group mainly camped or stayed in Youth Hostels. The distance travelled through France was 930km, whilst the distance covered through Spain was 1,420km, resulting in a total cycling distance of 2,350km to reach Gibraltar.
Difficulties the team had to overcome included the weather and having to cycle into headwinds, the occasional fall and accident whilst cycling, and also having to endure the gruelling uphill leg through the Pyrenees. The team did eventually reach Dakar, some by cycling, others using other forms of transport, from where they flew back.
