My Journey

On January 16th, I will embark on the Tour d’Afrique–a four month bike race that traverses the African continent from Cairo to Cape Town.  I will race a total of 7,500 miles, around 75 miles a day, on paved roads, gravel roads, sand roads and no roads, ending in Cape Town on May 15th.  I’ll miss my home in Brooklyn, my friends and family and my pups, but I cannot wait to take a much-needed break from New York corporate law to rediscover the majesty of the African countryside.

This is not my first experience globe-trotting. I lived in Nairobi my first summer of law school, spent two years in Armenia with the Peace Corps, and have backpacked through the other continents as well (except Antarctica–that’ll be next!), so I am comfortable in locales where plumbing is optional and well versed in the use of charades as a supplement to (or replacement for) oral communication.

While I am becoming a dedicated cyclist and spandex enthusiast, I’m not going to lie, I can’t keep up with Contador . . . YET. But I am still determined to finish the Tour, even if I’m the last one across the finish line. Slow and steady, that’s my pace.

This blog will be my diary on this grand adventure.

Competing in the Tour d’Afrique is a once in a lifetime opportunity.  In addition to challenging myself to finish the race, I am also challenging myself to raise $2 for every mile I ride–a total of $15,000 for the Global Fund for Women.  Please visit my fundraising page at http://www.firstgiving.com/catonabike to donate to this worthy cause and help me meet my goal.