Cycling through Africa (what you need to know)

Africa has been on a lot of people's bucket list for cycle touring, but there's a lot of misunderstandings and misconceptions out there, especially concerning our Western brothers and sisters. I figured let me try to maybe explain a few things to hopefully cover those fears and misunderstandings. Last year, I cycled from Cape to Cairo, meaning from the bottom point of Africa to the top point (12,000+ km, which is like 7,460 miles). During this time, I learned quite a few things that could help someone out there achieve the same goal in a similar environment.

WEATHER AND CLIMATE
Africa is huuuuuuge! That means even though for most parts you have a similar climate and recognizable weather patterns, there are also other weather patterns and seasons. I started my journey in August. In Zambia, August is mostly a windy season, the type of wind that raises up dust and stuff, all the way up to September. Then we have October to November, which is the hot dry season (this is the season that will cook you up even as a Black African, haha). Then from late November to somewhere in early to mid-March, it's rainy season. April and May are sort of relaxed and things are drying up. June and July are cold seasons, and I mean so cold your teeth ought to be shaking. Someone once thought because we don't have snow then the coldness here wouldn't be that extreme, and boy, did they learn the hard way lol.
If you are planning for a cycling trip, I'd recommend anywhere between April to October or November, unless you want to experience some rain.

THE PEOPLE
This is gonna sound racist but it's not, and I'm in no way degrading anyone—especially my fellow Black people, but Africans love white people. Like seriously, contrary to what you may have heard, Africans are more friendly to white people than even other Black people lol. It's sort of the unwritten/unspoken rule. I don't mean they love them in a weird way; it's just in a much more friendly way. Like if you are white and don't have any friends? Chances are your best friend is in Africa. But here is the problem:

A lot of white tourists assume when an African engages them in a conversation then they probably want to rob them. I'm telling you, there are more chances of me as a Black African being robbed by them than them robbing you as a white person. And there are a few reasons for that: first of all, most believe you are being watched 24/7 and so if they attack you, then your governments might come for them.

That being said, there are also some Africans who see your color and see money. That does not mean they want to rob you; if anything, they will either straight up beg you for money or just ask that you give them a job so that they work for the money. So please know the difference: some just wanna be friends with you and others just wanna hear stories of your childhood and stuff lol.

FOOD
I'll divide this into two parts:
1. Food in Africa
2. Food you can eat while cycling (easier to carry and easier to cook)

A). Food in Africa:
In Africa, most countries have what's called a staple food, a kind of food that is constantly eaten with something on the side. They farm it, manufacture it, etc. So don't be surprised when you go to a place and find there is one item being served with a side of something. For example, in Zambia our staple food is maize powder; we call it mealie meal and this is also in other African countries. Others use yam and others cassava, etc. But once this is cooked, it can be served with relish, could be beef, sausage, vegetables, eggs, whatever you name it, but it can't go with something like rice because they sort of fall in the same category.

B). Food for cycling in Africa:
This is kind of like a personal observation and recommendation, not necessarily a rule. When I was cycling Africa, I knew I needed food I could carry easily and cook faster without wasting time. You don't wanna spend too much time cooking after a long day of cycling, right? So here are a few food items you might want to try out:

1. Rice (obviously lol)
2. Spaghetti and macaroni
3. Soya chunks (now a lot of you might get confused on this because you probably never heard of these, but soya chunks, also known as soya pieces, are sort of a vegan type food made from soybeans which is meant to mimic the taste of meat like chicken or beef. These are well manufactured and packaged in nice little packs and take just a few minutes to cook. I find that they taste perfect when paired with rice.)
4. Cooking oil
5. Salt
6. Peanut butter (because it doesn't melt)
7. Sugar (now this one is very, very important for energy)
8. Powdered milk sachets (these cost about K2 Zambian Kwacha, which is like $0.10)
9. Coffee or cocoa (good for afternoons)
10. Canned beans and canned fish
    Bonus: Add some vitamin supplement tablets and energy capsules

WILDLIFE
One of the most common misconceptions is the wildlife part. A lot of people just assume African wildlife animals just roam around looking for the next victim to attack. Quite the contrary. For starters, wild animals don't like to be anywhere around people and vice versa, so African countries created game park reserves and put fences around them to protect both the animals and the people. You will never see a lion or buffalo just running around out of the reserve. Think of it like a massive zoo enclosure, except it's a large piece of Savannah lands.
What about insects?

Insects do exist in Africa just like any other part of the world, but this is not Australia lol (no offense to my Australian friends). In Africa, insects don't even count for what could kill you. Most of them are harmless, not even a bite or sting, and the ones that sting? They are not easily found; you'd have to go deep in the bush to find those. Matter of fact, we don't really have many jungles; it's bushes and Savannah lands at best lol. So no! Insects won't come crawling in your tent unless you give them a reason to, and even if they do, it's probably just for the food bits you dropped in there. Eating cookies in a tent will invite some ants maybe, that's all. I camped almost throughout the journey and I never had any problem with insects.
What about snakes?

Yes, we do have snakes, but then again this is not the Amazon as the media makes it sound like. Quite the contrary. Africa is vast, and that means everything has its own place. Let me tell you something about how Africa evolved from a local's perspective lol: here we have people that make food out of anything, and I mean anything, so even animals evolved to know that hahaha. They know if I pass by this place, I'm probably gonna end up in soup or just plain old dead!

Here we kill any animal that is not where it's supposed to be, not to be eaten, but just killed for the sake of killing that animal (not people, I'm talking about animals, and I say "we" because I'm African also, not that I kill things for fun; it's a blanket statement to make the narration easier). So you can't put a tent on flat ground and expect a snake to pop out of nowhere just to come and bite you. Snakes hate people; they don't even want to be around people. They bite out of convenience and security for themselves, so they don't go around looking for trouble.

CONCLUSION
I think I've covered a few topics and if I think of more I'll come back and say them.

If you have other questions, let me know in the comments and I will answer them.