Oliver Griffiths

Cycling to Africa

This posting is a little different from my others - but I only really have one thing on my mind at the moment.

Trade routes have always exchanged more than goods. You visit Venice and see the architectural influences of the east. There are also serendipitous effects from trade. For example all modern varieties of apples can be traced back to one region of Kazakhstan, through which the Silk Route ran. Seeds from apples stuffed in pockets or left in manure slowly spread the fruit to Europe. There is an excellent chapter on this in Roger Deakin's seductively mellow book Wildwood.

But trade also has less benign effects. The Black Death in fourteenth century Europe, which killed up to 60% of the population, was brought in along the caravan routes from Asia. And within Africa over the past generation HIV/AIDS spread down trade corridors, with devastating impacts on communities.

On Saturday morning, Simon Shercliff, a friend and fellow Embassy blogger, started a 1,000 mile bike ride from Washington to Africa ... Africa, Indiana, that is ... to raise money for a community in Southern Tanzania badly hit by HIV/AIDS. We have set up a website, which provides lots more information about the ride and our charity, Orphans In The Wild. We'll be doing a daily blog of our experiences as we cross Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky, where I will be able to report on the effectiveness of Assos Chamois Cream.

Posted at 00:13 04 May 2009 by Oliver Griffiths  |  Comments[1]