Do it yourself

TRAVEL

Cyclist flew with Ethiopian Airlines to the capital city Addis Ababa, before an internal flight of around an hour to Mekele, the main city of the northern province of Tigray. From there it is around a two-to-three hour drive to Adigrat. Ethiopian Airlines (ethiopianairlines. com) flies daily from London Heathrow to Mekele via Addis Ababa. Return fares start from £627. Bike carriage costs £75 for the return journey if transported as part of Ethiopian’s two-piece 46kg baggage allowance.

ACCOMMODATION

The night before the ride we stayed at the Agoro Lodge (agorolodge.com), about 4km from the start point in Adigrat. Nestled in a hillside up a steep gravel track, the lodge has simple, comfortable rooms and great views, and we were the only guests at the time of our trip. In Axum, at the end of the ride, we stayed at the Yared Zema hotel, a high-quality and modern hotel (although apparently not modern enough to have a website). Find out more on its Facebook page at @ yaredzemainternationalhotel. In Addis Ababa, Cyclist stayed at the upmarket Golden Tulip Hotel (goldentulip.com).

THANKS

Many thanks to Richard Nerurkar of Tadele Travel for making the arrangements and looking after us in his one-time home of Ethiopia. Tadele Travel (tadeletravel.com) offers three eight-day cycling itineraries in Ethiopia for different levels of cyclist. Prices start from £1,965 per person (two sharing) including accommodation in three and four-star hotels, three meals a day, transfers and both local and international cycling guides. Flights are not included, however.

Also thanks to Abebe Baye for acting as our guide, Kalayu Haiku for driving the support vehicle so patiently, and Afewerki Hadush and Haftom Yemane of APF Cycling Club for joining us on the ride (and the occasional push on the hills).

Finally, thanks to the Tigray Tourism Bureau for helping to facilitate the trip. For more on Tigray, see tigraitourism.com.