Tour d’Afrique, organiser of the eponymous 12,000km (7,500 mile) four-month riding odyssey from Cairo to Cape Town, seem to have the whole epic bike-tour thing locked down. It has just announced that registration’s open for a Trans-India tour, due to depart from the Taj Mahal in Agra in January 2011.
The tour wends its way 3,300km (2,050 miles) over 37 riding days through Rajasthan to Mumbai, then through Goa to end in Kanyakumari in the south. Participants can choose either to do  the full tour, or 2,100 or 1,600km versions. It’s the first of the company’s ‘Dream Rides’, where members of the public suggest a ride and Tour d’Afrique then devises a route and takes care of logistics when a critical mass of participants sign up. A €100 deposit secures a saddle – more details here!
The company also runs a Silk Route ride across Asia, an Orient Express ride from Paris to Instanbul and the Vuelta Sudamericana, all open to the public.
If you get the chance, be sure to peep Where Are You Go, a stunning documentary of the Tour d’Afrique that is currently making its way around the world with the Bicycle Film Festival.
