 I just can't stop smiling, this is so incredible, I've never quite experienced anything like this. Hello my friends, Ryan Banduzer here, and I just got back from an absolutely incredible trip to Rwanda. How did this all happen? Well back in January, I got an email from a PR company working for the Rwanda Tourism Board and they said, hey Ryan, we found your channel, we love your videos, we want to invite you over to help us promote cycling in Rwanda. And of course, I said yes, this was an absolute dream come true. I'd never been to Africa before and after many, many long flights, I finally made it to Rwanda. I just landed in Kigali, Rwanda, Africa, I can't believe it. And for the next ten days, the Tourism Board took us all around the country. And it wasn't just me, there were three other journalists there as well. Go team! We are Dorky and we love it, at least I am. The highlight for me, the absolute number one highlight was seeing the mountain gorillas and I'll have to make a separate video all about the mountain gorillas but being able to see them and to be within ten feet of them was absolutely a highlight of my life. I also got to go on a typical African safari where I got to see all of the animals that I'd only ever seen on the Discovery Channel. We're going to find some rhinos, right? Rhinos. Rhinos. Chubby unicorns, as they say. Chubby unicorns. I believe in fish. And of course, we rode bikes. That was the whole point of this trip and we had an amazing guide named Kalist. He was so much fun to ride bikes with. Hey, Lyon, how are you? How you doing? Nice to meet you, man. Nice to meet you. Alright. So what are you going to be doing with us all week? We are going to ride a mountain bike across the country. We're going to be going down hills, up hills, in forest, on roads, gravel roads everywhere. I love it. Alright. Yeah. Can't wait to see you on trails, man. And something that I realized very quickly and I don't quite think I was prepared for this but foreigners on bikes cause quite a commotion. Everywhere we went it was like we were celebrities. It was absolutely insane. Amakuru. Amakuru. Amakuru. Amakuru. Amakuru. Amakuru. Amakuru. Amakuru. Amakuru. Amakuru. And you know, bike culture is pretty big in Rwanda and it's obviously getting more popular. You know, some African countries really love soccer but Rwanda really loves bikes and there's a great documentary that was out in like 2012 called Rising From Ashes. And it's about the rise of the Rwanda National Cycling Team. So if you're looking for a really inspirational documentary to watch, check that one out. We've been riding bicycles since we were boys, you know, it's part of the culture. So you'd go to school on a bike, you'd go to market on a bike, you'd go to fetch water or fields on a bike. Oh and if you ever see me complaining about the weight of my bike packing bags, you can tell me to be quiet because it's nothing in comparison with what some of these people put on their bikes. It's absolutely incredible. I saw guys out there with probably two to 300 pounds of bananas and potatoes or whatever it is and it's really cool. They use these bikes to move goods around the country and to markets. They're really going all in by investing in the future of cycling in Rwanda and it's not just aimed at tourists. They're also getting the young people involved and we even visited the country's very first pump track. So tell me about the only pump track in Rwanda in this whole area, what the goal is? So the goal of this pump track is to help the young kids here in Rwanda to raise up their dreams of being a good rider. Oh yeah, oh I love pump tracks. It's hard to come to Rwanda and not learn about its dark history and what I'm talking about is the genocide. In 1994, nearly a million people were murdered in just 100 days and I visited a couple of the memorials and their goal with this is to educate and to put it out there so that something like this will never happen again. And from what I experienced and from the people I met, this country is unified. They are one and they have essentially built a model civilization. There's very low crime. People have a good standard of living. They take care of the environment. They are very focused on conservation and you won't even see trash anywhere. They love their country. And so for 10 days we got to experience the absolute best over Rwanda and every day felt like a dream. Every day I woke up I was like is this real life? Is this really real? I fell in love with the people and the culture and especially the landscapes. This country is stunningly beautiful and when the trip was over I decided to stay about a week later so that I could ride the Congo Nile Trail and that's what the bulk of these videos is going to be about my experience on the Congo Nile Trail. I would like to add that the tourism board did not pay me although they did cover all of my expenses and they pretty much said come here and make your videos the way you make your videos and so that is what you're going to see. And most importantly I looked at this as a great opportunity to be a good ambassador for my country and for cycling and for goofballs everywhere. You know I love to spread smiles. And since I'm sitting here I might as well talk about my Patreon. If you love my videos, if they bring value to your life please consider joining my Patreon. You will get early release videos, videos with no ads and some other fun goodies. I will link it down below and your help will definitely keep this channel moving forward. But as always, no pressure. So here we go, it's adventure time. Hello my friends and welcome to the shores of Lake Kivu here in Wawanda. I am in a town called Gesenye and this is the start of the Congo Nile Trail. As you can see it is raining, it is the rainy season, it rains almost every day. So I'm not going to stand out here too long. So tomorrow I will get on the Congo Nile Trail. It is 150 miles long but I'm not riding alone this time like I usually do. I have a guide and not just any guide, a cool guide named Kalist and he is the one who developed the Congo Nile Trail and he's going to be with me the entire time. I've never ridden a bikepacking route with a guide so I'm looking forward to it. It's always nice to have a local with you who can help out. And listen to these birds. Everybody's happy in Wawanda, even the birds are. When it's raining they keep on singing. I'm so excited to show you all the best of this country. But first I'm going to go inside and warm up and hopefully this rain will stop soon. See you in a bit. Alright, now I'm nice and dry and inside my very cool room. I'll show it to you in a second. The only bummer about this trip is that I sent out a priority 600X, my beloved bike ahead of time. And it's been sitting in customs for two weeks. I don't know why they haven't released it but I don't have my bike. But that's okay. I'm not really a bike snob. Of course I would love to be on my bike but I can ride anything and the tourism board hooked me up. With this bike right here which will do the job, it is a hard tail with some front suspension. And I'm just grateful that I have a bicycle. This is my room. I've got a mosquito net, a nice big bed, you know, plenty of space. My favorite part are the windows. I have lots of light. And I'll actually be staying in lodges the entire time. I won't be camping which is very cool so I get to ride light. I don't have to carry all my gear and they're going to look like this. I think I haven't been out there yet but they're pretty simple. They're very nice. They're comfortable. This one here is $70 and it comes with breakfast. And I think they all come with breakfast. That's kind of the style here. So you know what they call this country? The land of a thousand hills. So even though this route is only 150 miles, it's probably going to take between four and five days. There's going to be a lot of elevation gain and it's the rainy season. So the roads are going to be washed out, rutted out, rough. The moving is going to be slow, which is actually okay because the slower I go, the more I'm able to connect with wherever I am. And from what I've experienced this past week here in Mwanda, there are people everywhere, especially kids. And the slower we're going, we're going to be able to connect with these people. The kids love saying hi to the white guy. So it's going to be a great four or five days and I'm really, really just grateful to be here. I mean, I'm just laying in this bed probably unable to sleep because it feels like Christmas Eve. Tomorrow we start and it's going to be absolutely incredible. You see my feet? They're doing a happy dance too. They're pretty excited to be here. Look at that view out my window. That is not something that I see in Colorado. It is so tropical and green and beautiful here. Good morning. It's time to start the Congo Nile Trail and it's not raining. It is breakfast time and check this out. I have a vegetarian omelet. I have little pancakes. I have a bowl of fruit and some butter and jam and toast. And my favorite thing here is the African tea, which is usually milk and ginger and some sort of flavor of tea. I've been really loving this breakfast every morning. Pretty much anywhere you go serve something like this. I've got all my stuff packed up, even a packed lunch. I feel like it's the first day of school and check this out. It might just look like a paper bag, which it is. But what it isn't is a single-use plastic bag. Those are outlawed here in Rwanda. They are very environmentally focused. All of their bags and packing materials are always paper-based. More countries need to follow suit. There he is, my friends, Kalist. How are you doing, brother? Good morning, brother. Good morning. Are we ready to go? Yeah, yeah. I'm ready to go. This is a super day. Yeah. It's cool. It's not sunny. It's not raining. We're going to do the Conroy Trail. So before I start every ride, I say something that brings good luck. And it's a little silly. And I go, no flaties, no crashes, no whammies. Definitely. So every morning we can say it, if you want to say it with me. No flaties. No flaties. No crashes. No crashes. No whammies. No whammies. No whammy is just anything unexpected and bad. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we're going to have a great day. Yeah, yeah. I'm excited. And let's go do it, brother. So let's push pedals. Let's push some pedals. Yes. And you're probably wondering where all my gear is. Usually I have bags holding my clothes and everything. Callie told me that we actually have a support vehicle. So all my stuff is going to be in this car with our awesome driver. Peter, hello, Peter. Hello. Hello. So I am riding in style, a nice light bike, and look at that. No rain in the sky, at least not right now. Here we go. Thank you. Ah, the air feels so fresh. It was raining all day yesterday. It smells good. It smells clean. We're going to ride some pavement now for a little bit and then hit the dirt. This is the Common Night Trail signage. This is always our starting point of both trails. Common Night Trail is one of the projects that we work on to channel the tourism revenues, benefits, tourism interests through communities. So we have Common Night Biking Trail and the Common Night Hiking Trail. This signage was made for Common Night Hiking Trail, which is not the one we are going to today, but goes parallel with the hiking trail that we are doing today. Hello, my friend. Hi. Hi. Okay, so we're at the official start, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So tell me about these signs. This sign shows four kinds of information. It first tells you where you are. We chose that you are in Ibusoro village and you are coming from Gisenyi to Kinunu. The sign on your left shows you the way to go. If you're going to Kinunu, you go that way. If you are coming from Kinunu the other way around to Gisenyi, this shows you where to go. You go this way. But sometimes you might wish to see what the lake shows look like. Now we follow that one, which takes you to Kivu lecture. This is what the combination of all these signages tell you. And there's signs everywhere? You can't get lost? Of course. You can't get lost. We have the signages all the way on 287 kilometers. We have the signages like this that tells you where you are and where you are going. Hello. It only takes a few seconds of standing around for a crowd to gather. And you know what's funny, when I was reading the root description on bikepacking.com it said, if you don't like kids, this might not be your root. But you know me, I love kids and look at them. Hello. I just said good morning. They're cracking up. I've been able to flip the screen around on the camera so they can see themselves and they think that's pretty entertaining. And it definitely is. I love it too. What are you buying? I'm buying chain oil. Chain oil. Yes. Because it has been raining, the chain goes dry. So you need to add on some oil. Yes. As you all know, I don't usually ride with the chain. I have the carbon belt dry, which never needs to be lured. But my loaner bike has a regular chain. And yes, definitely the mud is getting to it. All the grit. Bye, bye, buddy. Bye, bye. Or maybe not bye, bye. They're coming with me. This is amazing, Kali. We've only been riding for five kilometers and I love it. I love your country. Let's go. Let's go. It really just warms my heart to be around this type of smiley, positive energy. All the kids just light up when you acknowledge them. And I've learned a few words here. And it definitely helps when you can speak a word or two of their language. So the words that I've learned so far this past week are amakuru, which means how are you. Nyanamutsi, which means good morning. And then what else? Murakasa, how much? Murakose. Murakose means thank you. Yego means yes. So you're going to be hearing me say those words a lot. Nyanamutsi. Nyanamutsi. Good morning. Good morning. It is a good, good day to be riding a bike, which is every day, but especially today, because I'm exploring a new country, new culture, new language, new everything. And it's been a long time. I haven't done a lot of international travel apart from Mexico the past few years. And this is just lighten up my soul. There's another sign. It's incredible how well signed this trail is. I don't think you could ever get lost, right? You could never get lost. You can't get lost. As I told you in the beginning, we have two parallel trails. The biking trail and hiking trail. So on this sign shows you that at some point they meet. This one has been damaged by the kids, but it's okay. You're going to be sorry. You're going to replace it with another one. This is the hiking trail that shows you that your next destination is called the Kimbili. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. These trails are very slippery. Good morning. There we go. It's amazing how warm it gets when the sun peeks out of the clouds. I am sweating like crazy and I'm not usually a big sweater, but I'm in a very humid land and I am just drippin', drippin' right into my eyes. It's blinding me. Oh wow, what a day. So this is a shade of green that I have not seen in a long time. Colorado is a pretty dry state so it's not often Colorado gets this green. Man, I love it. It's just, it's so vibrant. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. I feel like I've been a parade. I love these kids. Good morning. Good morning. Okay. Okay, I've just done one of the 1,000 hills. Only 999 left. Was that a dorky dad joke? It might've been. That's all right. Even though I'm not a dad, I'm of the age. Not a mootie. Morning. Look at this little hangout spot. There's even bike racks. So this is the place where we constructed as a facility to facilitate the break. To stop, it's a stopover. We have benches. You can sit down. We have tables. You can have your lunch on it. And here behind you're gonna see where we have also prepared for the communities to sell fruits and vegetables. If one needs some bananas. So this is where the people will come and sell fruit and stuff. Yes. Wow, it looks brand new. Down here, this house here will be a canteen, whereby people might be able to buy some drinks, some food, some brochets, stuff like that. And those bangeros, those are where people will be able to sit. It is built just for tourists, but it doesn't exclude the communities also to come and chill from here. People living in the surroundings will be maybe coming in evenings to share a bottle of beer here, a glass. So those bangeros are for people who might come here just to enjoy their evening like that. And can you camp there? Of course you can camp here. We're gonna slash all these grasses and make a very good place to set a tent. And look at this view. Imagine camping right here with that view all night. This is a five-star hotel, man. And we are gonna enjoy some chips, french fries. So this is a place to relax like this. It's a picnic place on the train. It's perfect. Yeah, it's time to go now. All right, let's do it. We've taken our party lunch, we've taken something to drink. So now it's over. It's over. Let's go. There's more good stuff to see. Yes, let's hit the pedals again. Good morning. Good morning. How are you? You are never alone in Rwanda. There's usually always a little kid chasing you. Ha ha ha. Hello. You sound beautiful. I think we've got a crew now. His buddy, this guy here recruited some people. Ha ha. Good morning. Nice bike. So I've seen these bikes everywhere in Rwanda. Everybody has the same exact one. I've been told by Kali that they're $80 and they're made in China and they use them for absolutely everything. How are you doing, my brother Kali? Very good. Yes, me too. I love it. What did we find? As I said earlier, this is a place where people grow coffee. This is a coffee production area. And down here you can see a coffee and the smell is amazing here. You can feel the smell of the coffee here that is being processed. You know, I'm not a coffee drinker at all. I've never had coffee really. But I might have to change my ways. Smells pretty darn good. And all my friends back home were like, Ryan, bring back Rwanda and coffee. It's world famous, so we'll see. I love how this trail, this route just goes right through the middle of so many little villages and you get to peek into what life is like here. A little hike a bike here. We've got a bridge that's out. We're gonna make our way across the river. We've got a little helper here. Thank you. I don't speak Rwandan, but those kids I think we're saying, don't go that way. Go this way. How's the water feel? It's cold. Oh man. It's cold? Yeah. Woo, that feels good. Oh yeah. So here the bridge has been taken away by the flood, by water. Here we had to step in the water. In your country, you're stepping in snow. Yes, definitely snow in Colorado. All right. Well, when you come and visit me in Colorado, you're gonna walk in some snow. How's that sound? Cool. I've never stepped in the snow, so I'm gonna try in your country. Sounds good. All right. Oh, look at that. I can't even imagine how heavy that bike is. It's gotta be 100 pounds at least with all the coffee beans on it. I am good. How are you? Anytime you start to feel tired, some cute little kid says, how are you? And then you get your energy back. Gives you a little boost. Mamakuro. They keep calling me Zungu, white guy. I don't blame him, I am a white guy. Mamakuro. Do we have some lunch? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's have some sandwich. And here's the packed lunch. A cheese and tomato sandwich, packed in tin foil. So good. Cheers, buddy. So good. So good, huh? I am soaking wet with sweat. Look at this. I usually don't sweat through my shirts, but I'm usually not riding in tropical countries either. We're heading down, down, down to the edge of the lake to find our guest house. Nice job, high five. Thank you for an amazing first day. Here we are. Now our destination, Kinuno, here we are. Yes. So this place has rooms and deluxe rooms and tents. So I'm choosing to stay in a tent. Wow, look at this. This is nicer than most hotel rooms I've stayed in. This is amazing, and there's a kitchen over here. Look at that. Wow, this is so amazing. Shower and a toilet. When you said tent, I thought you meant like just a simple little tent. Wow, look at that. I have a princess bed. I don't think it's meant to be for princesses. This is a mosquito net, but it sure looks like it. There's a shower in my tent, which is crazy in and of itself, but you know what I mean. I like jumping in bodies of water to cool off. This really is the best way to end any day on a bike. You get to wash off that stickiness. And this water is perfect temperature, not even cold. I'm used to swimming in like mountain frigid water in Colorado. I'm feeling good. Don't need a shower. Just the lake water, that does the trick. And Calle just told me that we can go next door and check out the coffee plantation. So that's where we're headed now. There they are. So the red ones are the ripe ones? Yeah, yeah. This is the red for harvesting. The ripe one is ready for harvesting. When we're doing the harvesting, we pick the red one by hands. We engage the farmer and then they pick them like this. And how long will a coffee tree last? Maybe it's seven years. Seven years? Seven years coffee trees become the old, that's what make revise. And then you cut them down, but not take the roots out and then it grows again? Yeah, yeah. This is the drying table for drying this. This coffee is drying. After 24 days, the coffee is ready for the dried and then we move from here and then we put it on the warehouse. And I put it here on the plate. All right, I'm gonna try some quinoa new coffee. Look at that, here we go. Oh, that's pretty good. Yeah, I added a lot of sugar to make it. The reason why I don't love coffee is because it's just so bitter. I don't love the taste. And when I was a little kid, I was diagnosed with very high blood pressure. So the doctor said, stay away from caffeine. So that's why I just never got into coffee, but this is pretty good. All right, thank you, bye. Oh, this was really cool. Mostly because I liked hanging out with Fisto, really good guy. And I've learned a little bit about coffee and I have lots of presents. I'm really excited that I get to fall asleep to the sounds of all these fun bugs outside. It's pretty cool. This is such a dream come true. I keep on saying that, but man, this is so cool. You can do it. They have been easier just to walk through the river. Hey there, my friends, check it out. I wrote a book and I'm really proud of it. It's called The Long Way Home and it chronicles my very first bike adventure from Honduras to Boulder and how that journey led to a life of being an adventure storyteller. I'm really excited to let you know that it is for sale now at dozerbook.com. Also, I printed this in my beloved hometown of Boulder, Colorado in the most eco-friendly way possible. No trees were cut down to make this book and check it out. If you don't like all the words, there's even photos. So go on over to dozerbook.com and pick yourself up a copy. I promise you it'll put a smile on your face.