This all really started with a nucleus of a few brave (or foolhardy) cyclists based at the Medical Research Council's unit at Fajara in The Gambia — Nana Tawiah, Peter Noble and Terry Bishop — who were accustomed to risk the wayward traffic and occasionally sandy and potholed roads for weekend rides.
Actually (traffic aside) The Gambia has quite reasonable roads for cycling, and if they don't suit you, there's plenty of opportunity for mountain biking (but no mountains), especially on off-road tracks through the bush. Or you can start out at Cape Point, on the south bank of the river mouth, and ride 60 km on the splendid sandy beaches at low tide all the way to the southern border with Senegal.
But the MRC has an 'up country' site at Basse Santa Su, a tantalising 370 km from its unit at Fajara – too long for a Saturday spin, but maybe OK for a two-day trip, especially as the South Bank road was constantly being improved.
So that became the target — not just for the (relatively) hard core but for a larger group. And of course in the hope that it would provide a focus for some much-needed charitable fundraising.
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