Cycling across Africa | God's World News
Cycling across Africa
Jet Balloon
Posted: November 01, 2022
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    Lucas Ledezma, Leandro Blanco Pighi, and Silvio Gatti have been bicycling across the continent of Africa! (Courtesy of Todo a Pedal)
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    Follow the cyclists’ journey on a map of Africa.
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    The cyclists carried everything they needed on their bicycles. (Courtesy of Todo a Pedal)
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    Ledezma, Pighi, and Gatti enjoyed meeting new people along the way. Here they are with some new friends in Tanzania. (Courtesy of Todo a Pedal)
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    Mr. Ledezma, Mr. Pighi, and Mr. Gatti enjoyed meeting new people along the way. Here they are with some new friends in Tanzania. (Courtesy of Todo a Pedal)
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What do three Argentinians do when they want to see the world’s most famous soccer games? They hop on bikes and pedal . . . for thousands of miles!

The three friends on wheels are Lucas Ledezma, Leandro Blanco Pighi, and Silvio Gatti. They want to show support for their country’s players in the World Cup. They started their long ride to the soccer matches in Cape Town, South Africa, on May 15. Their journey will end in Doha, Qatar. (Can you find South Africa and Qatar on a map? A map will also tell you why they didn’t start in their home country. They would have to bike across an ocean!)

The FIFA World Cup starts on November 20. People come from all over the world every four years to see it. Many Argentinians, like these three, love their national team.

The cyclists hope the team will read about their travels on social media. They also plan to make a documentary about their trip. They’ll even plant a tree in Argentina for each kilometer they cycle. A kilometer is a bit more than half a mile. In the end, they may end up planting more than 8,000 trees.

There’s nothing like a bike ride with your best friends. But what about this kind of bike ride? Mr. Ledezma, Mr. Pighi, and Mr. Gatti cycle up to 80 miles each day. They sleep in tents or at the homes of people they meet along the way. They play lots of soccer with these new acquaintances. A few other cyclists have joined them for parts of the journey. Imagine if these friends stopped at your house on their way across a continent. What questions would you ask them? And would you let them borrow your bed for the night?

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers. — Hebrews 13:2

Why? Traveling can teach us about God’s world and the people who live in it. Trace this journey on a map to see just how big Africa is!