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    The Boy Who Biked the World: On the Road to Africa
    The Boy Who Biked the World: On the Road to Africa
    The Boy Who Biked the World: On the Road to Africa
    Ebook119 pages1 hour

    The Boy Who Biked the World: On the Road to Africa

    By Alastair Humphreys and Tom Morgan-Jones

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    About this ebook

    Discover Africa by bicycle in book one of a delightful children's adaptation of Alastair Humphrey's journey around the world

    In this charming caricature of Alastair Humphreys’ infamous circumnavigation of the world on his bike, children are swept along with the character of Tom, an adventurous boy who feels there must be more to life than school. The first part of The Boy Who Biked the World follows Tom leaving England, cycling through Europe and all the way through Africa to the tip of South Africa. Along the way, young readers are introduced not only to the various fascinating landscapes he passes through, but also to the various people who so happily embrace him as he traveled on his journey. With engaging illustrations, postcards, and journal entries throughout, this book provides an immersive experience for any young adventurer.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEye Books
    Release dateJan 5, 2012
    ISBN9781908646330
    The Boy Who Biked the World: On the Road to Africa

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      Book preview

      The Boy Who Biked the World - Alastair Humphreys

      The Maasai are Massive

      Tom forced himself to keep smiling as the chief handed him a bowl of steaming blood and milk. Circled around him, on the hard red earth, in the shade of a thorny African tree, sat ten tall Maasai warriors, dressed in red robes and dangling earrings. In their hands they held long, sharp spears. They were looking at Tom with dark, shining eyes. Tom’s blue eyes looked back at them. He was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. His clothes had faded in the African sun and were very dirty. The spears glinted in the hot sunshine.

      Tom looked away from the men and down at the carved wooden bowl. The mixture of cow’s blood and milk was warm and, as the disgusting smell of the blood reached Tom’s nose, he had to fight his stomach not to be sick.

      Pretend it’s strawberry milkshake! he pleaded silently to his stomach with his smile super-glued to his face. Just pretend it’s milkshake….

      And with that he gulped down the whole pink bowlful in one go. The men raised their spears in the air and cheered. Tom put down the bowl and wiped his chin.

      As the grinning chief patted Tom on the back, Tom sighed with relief. This short ceremony meant that Tom was now welcome in the Maasai village. He would be safe here and everyone would look after him and make him feel welcome.

      That wasn’t so bad after all! he thought to himself. Still, I should be used to swallowing weird food and drink by now.

      The welcome ceremony was over. That’s a funny sort of welcome, thought Tom. Remind me never to be unwelcome here! The men stood up and guided Tom back through the village. Their bare arms rippled with muscles. They walked together past huts built with branches, twigs, grass, and mud. Chickens scratched the dusty earth, searching for food. Tiny children stared in amazement at Tom, the strange new visitor to their village. The sun beat down. The men were all laughing and chattering together about Tom’s performance drinking the traditional bowl of milk and blood. Tom could not understand their language but he saw that they were happy.

      They led Tom to a flat piece of ground where he could set up his tent for the night. He felt happy. He was tired after another long day’s ride. But he had made new friends in this village, and he had a good place to put his tent for the night. Plus, he was having a real adventure.

      Tom thought of his friends back home, wondering what they were doing right now. What would they think if they knew that Tom had ridden his bicycle all the way to Africa? He didn’t think that they would believe him. Would you believe that someone could ride their bike all the way to Africa? But it was true, all true. Tom finished putting up his tent and unrolled his sleeping bag. Then he thought back to how all this began….

      Daydreams of Adventure

      Sitting at his desk at school Tom always used to stare out of the window and dream of adventure. He didn’t want to be at school. He wanted to be an explorer! He daydreamed about the wonderful places in the world that he had read about in books or seen on TV or on the Internet. How exciting it would be to stand on the Great Wall of China and stare out towards the wilds of Mongolia. It would be brilliant to watch grizzly bears fishing for salmon in Alaskan rivers. He wanted to eat Chinese food in China, noisily slurping noodles with chopsticks. Think of a country in the world - any country - and you can be sure that Tom had dreamed about it. Tom wanted to go to every single country in the world. And as there are around 200 countries in the world he knew that he had to get started soon.

      Tom was gazing out of the classroom window. He could hear birds singing. He could not hear the teacher any more. How lovely! Undisturbed dreaming…. Gradually, though, Tom noticed that the room had gone quiet. Too quiet. With a burst of embarrassment he suddenly realised that the whole class was looking at him. He jumped in his seat. No longer was he battling through the rainforest. He was back in his Maths lesson. And the teacher was waiting for an answer. Oh dear! Tom didn’t even know what the question was. So he definitely did not know the answer.

      Erm… I don’t know. Tom mumbled, blushing.

      You don’t even know what the question was, Tom, do you? demanded Tom’s teacher. He was fed up with Tom’s daydreaming.

      No, I don’t know what the question was. Sorry! apologised Tom.

      He liked Mr Field and didn’t

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