Cape Town First Impressions vA 167
(Melkbosstrand, South Africa) - I've got a flat tire, guys. Oh, my God. What the hell? Just at the end. Come on! Hello! Oh! - Hello. - Hello! - We're gonna go just in a small little gate here. - Okay. - I hope this thing is gonna fit in there.
- Oh, through the small gate? - Yes. - I mean, without the bags, then we can flip it, but if... There is no way to go through a bigger gate or...?
- With that, there's... There are other things for tortoises. It's like a little fence. - Ah? Okay. - A quite interesting bike, yeah? - Yeah. I got a flat tire just now. - Ah, there's a lot of thorns here in front. - Yeah, I rode just there. I guess I got it just here. - Oh, there's a lot of... I'll show you what it is like. It's quite wide.
It's quite wide. - Oh, there is a step also. - Yeah. - I'll need to remove all the bags first. - Okay. - And then if you can help me... - Yeah, yeah. - ...we can bring it... - Yeah, yeah. - ...and flip it. - Yeah. - So do you want me to remove the bags now or...? What do I do?
Okay, okay. It's okay. - Let's go. Just here. Can we...? Can I help you with the... ?
- I'll just remove the... I'll remove the bags first. - Yeah. - And then we'll bring it from... - All right. - Okay? - Yes, all right. - It's fine? - Yes, yes. Shall I show you everything first? - Yeah, let's... Okay. Yeah, yeah. - Let me show you this. - Let's do it.
So, guys, last day I spotted the freaking thorn for the puncture. What the hell? Last day. You see my bags are all here now. Bags are all here. That's not a braai. That's a chimney. I don't know how you call it. I've got a whole very, very nice living room.
Let's go straight this way. I've got a nice bathroom. Incredible. I've got... I've got one bedroom, which looks very, very nice. I've got a whole kitchen. I've got something to cook. A stove. A whole kitchen here.
This one, I'm not gonna use it, but it's a secondary bedroom. All this for... I don't know. I don't know how much I paid here, like just maybe $30-35 for an entire apartment. With the sea view basically, so... Incredible. South Africa is incredible. Well, see you in two days for me, for the last, the real last, ride to Cape Town.
Morning, my friends, from Melkbos. And today is the day, the greatest day so far for me. There's a little tortoise here. Don't go outside. So it's just 30 km to Cape Town today, guys. It's completely flat. Well, I'm going through a big South African city, so I have my pepper spray. That's my only weapon. I have my pepper spray here.
But... Oh, my God! That's the... Let's go to Cape Town, guys. - Hello. - Hello! - How is it?
- Good, good. How is it? That's the South African greeting. Hello! Hello! - Hello, man. - Hello, hello! - Hello. - Hello! So today, I'm gonna take it very easy, just enjoy the ride, and also be careful about my safety.
That's the main goal: stay safe and enjoy. I go on the cycle lane. Thank you! Fancy car. And it's all foggy. We can't see the Table Mountains. Oh, my God! - Hello! - Oh, I think that's Robben Island, guys. The island where Nelson Mandela was jailed. Hello!
I don't know what it's called in English: the para... Look! Paragliding with an engine. Sometimes, I thought I should do the same journey with this kind of thing. Hello! There are so many cyclists around here.
Hello! - Hi! - How are you? - Good. Thanks. Where are you going? - Cape Town. Not far. - I think I follow you on Facebook, on YouTube. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - I'm happy to see you face to face. - Great! Yeah. - Well, thank you. All the best! - Thank you very much! Yeah. - Danki. Bye! - Have a good day, man!
And like always, that's always the issue with the freaking... cycle lanes. They always... They never finish in a good way. And then you end up on the sidewalk.
And I cannot go down the sidewalk now. Oh, freaking hell. I'm French. I complain, guys. That's the way it is. - How are you? - Very good! - Okay. Is it you? You are on TikTok… - Yes. - …that. - Yes, it's me.
- Yo, I'm lucky to see you. - You're very lucky. Yeah. - Yeah, I used to see you most. - That's good. Yeah. You're lucky you're... Yeah, you... - Yeah, let me take a pic. Yeah, yeah, yeah. - No worries.
- Haibo! Yaaaay! - Yeah! I'm arriving in Cape Town. - Yeah. I hope I'll be there also. - Yeah, hopefully. Yeah, it's not far now. - Yeah. All right. Thank you. - Have a good day, man! Yeah. - Safety then on the road. - You've seen me on the internet. Yeah. - Well, I've seen the clips.
I'm Arthur by the way. - Ah? - I'm Arthur by the way. Yo! - Arthur. I'm Yves. - Oh, nice to meet you, brother. - Nice to meet you. Yeah. - I've seen your clips. I was like, "Ah!" Well, you were like... Not this side, but not in this country. - The last ones were in Botswana.
- In Botswana. Right. - Yeah, because there is some delay. Yeah. - Ah, you've been pushing, I think by now you are fit. - Yeah, I'm fit. Yeah. - Yes, yes. How many days has it taken? - Three years.
- Three good years?! - Yes. - Yes, yes. No, but damn. I can't disturb you, man. - It's okay. - Continue. Enjoy your way! - You too. Have a good day, man! - Thank you! - So you see we are in the northern suburbs.
So these are high-security kind of compounds. Look at that! Some surfers. And just behind — Cape Town. And sorry to those who wanted to join me for my arrival, who contacted me about that. I like being alone. I like my loneliness. I like... So I like to enjoy my arrival alone, and with the random people I meet on the road. That's the way I like it. Sorry for that!
I prefer trying to stay kind of incognito even though... Well, it doesn't work at all, but... Yeah, I have to stay true to myself. So the main issue so far for me is to find a place to pee, because there are a few public toilets, but there are always people who look a bit dodgy around the toilets, so...
Oh, man. Big success. I managed to pee, and a dodgy guy was getting close to my bike. The guy was approaching my bike just when I finished.
Hello! Oh, shit. Okay, so now I'm back on the main road, and I should not leave the main road until I arrive at the waterfront, because there are... There is a cycle lane that goes through the city, but apparently, it's...
It's the best way to get mugged and to get your bike robbed. So now, no cycle lane in Cape Town — only big roads. And as the sky is slowly, slowly clearing up, we can start to distinguish the Table Mountain. I think there is a market there. Yeah, I think that's the famous flea market, that we might visit one day. I think they're waiting for me.
- Hey, hey! - Hello! - We saw you on YouTube. How are you doing? - Oh, yeah. - Are you doing well? - I'm arriving in Cape Town. - Fantastic! - Yeah. Bye! - Bye! - And here we are on the highway.
But it's the only safe route. And the Table Mountain reveals itself. F\\*ing hell. I have to go right. Ah, it is hard. Okay, I have to go full speed. Look at this wonder! Just for my arrival. Oh, man!
Oh, my God. And I passed all the danger. Fancy car. Oh, my God. This is a big... What the f\\* is this sound? Oh, man. It's been a very, very long time since I've seen such a developed city. I think it's the most developed city I cycled across on this journey actually. It's way more developed than anywhere I've been to in Italy, Slovenia. Yeah.
And maybe Switzerland. Yeah, I passed through Lausanne. So maybe it goes second after Lausanne, after Switzerland. So of course, I made a wrong turn. I'm not used to doing navigation anymore. Yes. Fancy, fancy. So there are ships around. So I guess the water must...
Look at those ships. The water must not be far. Now I have to find my way to my arrival point. I wanna take my photo with the Table Mountains. It's unreal. Oh, my God. Here is the dry dock here. Fancy, fancy buildings again.
So this is the arrival point for me. Will I be able to reach it? Look at that. I won't be able to reach it. That's funny. So what do I do? I feel a bit lost. That's it. I've reached the arrival. I'm here.
Oh, my God. That's it. Now I'll have no purpose in my life for several months. How are you? Can I continue cycling this way? - Yeah, you can pass here.
- I can pass here on the side? - Yes. - Thank you very much! I just saw the sign "Cycling route". Yes, I can climb to my arrival. I can reach the waterfront at least. Oh là là là là, la vie est belle. Life is beautiful. Hello! Hello! Good, good. That's it.
I managed to make it to the waterfront. With the Table... Wow! Table Mountains behind. The rhinos. - Hey! - Hello! - Hello! How are you? - Good. How are you? - I'm good. - And there is a xylophone.
I think the xylophone is an instrument that comes from here, from South Africa. - Oh, hey, man! Have you experienced...? - Good. How are you? - Check here. Nice albums. Yeah. - Nice albums? - Yeah, great CDs. For 200 Rand, you get 40 songs. - 200 Rand? - Yeah, man. It's a great experience, man. - Yeah, but I don't even have a... - A CD player? - Oh, this is to download it. You don't...
- Yeah, you can put it on the... - No, but it's... - ...device. - It's okay, it's okay. Thank you. - All right. Okay. Cool, man. Have a nice day! - Thank you! - Yeah, you can leave something for the guys.
- Yeah, I'll leave you something. - Okay. Cool, man. We've got a nice donation box here. - Yes. - Thanks, man. Where are you coming from? - France. - France? With this bike? - With this bike. Yes.
- Oh, this guy. Thanks, man. - There you go. - I appreciate it. - No worries. - Have a nice day! Have a nice day! - Good luck to you, man. - Have a nice day, man! You have a nice bike there. - Yeah. It's a nice bike, yeah? - Yeah, man. Are you enjoying it? - I enjoy it very much. - Okay. Did you build it yourself? - Ah? - Did you build it? - No, no, you can buy it like this. Yeah.
- You can buy it like this. - Yes. - So you take like a... I don't call it a ride. You take a... You said you started from... - From France. - From France? - Yes. - To Cape Town? - To Cape Town. Yes. Three years. - Have a nice day. - Boss, boss, boss, boss. - Three years and three months. - Sure, man. - Good luck, guys! Hello.
Oh, my photo. I cannot get to my photo. There are some stairs again. Hello! - Hello! - That's my moment of glory. Hello! - Hi, sir! - Hi! - Where did you...? [A woman speaking in Afrikaans] - Ah? - Where did you come from with this? - From France. - From where? - From France. - France? From France with this? - From France? - Yes.
- From France with this? - With this. Yes. - So you started where? iI Morocco. - In France. - In France? - Yes. - For how many...? How long? - Three years. - How?
- Three years. - From there to here? - Yes. - Three years?! - Yes. - So from here, where are you going to? - That's my arrival. I'm… - Did you arrive now here? - Yes, I just arrived now. - Yes, yes [applauding]. - Yeah!!! - Thank you! - Shap shap. - Have a good day, guys. Thank you very much! Yeah. - You too. Enjoy, man! Enjoy! Enjoy your day! - Thank you! I'm enjoying it very much. - I love it. I like it. I don't like it.
I love it a lot. - I love it a lot also. Thank you! I don't know what I'm doing. Oh, there is another photo thing. Maybe I'm gonna get my photo. Hello, hello! - All right? - Yes, yes. - All right. - Another xylophone group. And I go this way. - Hi, brother. How is it? - Good, good.
How is it? - Yeah, good, good. - Yes, brother. - Nice. - Hey, man. - I think I know you. - Hello, bro. - Good? I'm fine. And you? - Sorry, sir. - Yes? - Where did you come from? - France. - France?
- Yes. - [French] How are you? - I am fine. Yes. - My name is Sya. And you? - What's your name? - I am fine. - Ah? I am fine?! - Sya. - Sya? - Yeah. - My name is Yves. - Yeah, I am fine. - Nice to meet you. - Those are tubeless, no? - Ah? No, no, it's... Yesterday I repaired it.
I had two punctures here and five on the left one. So it's... - So you come from France. - From France with this. - And then you take it France and then to where? Did you fly? - With this? - No, I cycled all the way. - From France? - Yes. - To here? - Across Europe, the Middle East. And from Egypt. - Okay. - With this bike? - Yes. - No. You took flights, man. - No. - How many years?
- Three years. - Three years?! Ah, you're fit now really. - Yeah, I'm fit now. Yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. - Where will you sleep? At the hotel or...? - Yeah, I have a place to stay for tonight.
I just enjoy the waterfront. I enjoy my arrival for some time. - Let's come and play then. - I don't know. I'm a disaster at music. I don't understand music, so... Well, my body doesn't want to understand music, so...
- Yeah, you'll understand today. - [French] How are you? - The camera. - This is a 360 camera. - Camera? - Yeah. The same as this. Where are you from? - Here. - Oh, here? Okay. - Cape Town. - So you speak a bit of French for the tourists.
- Yeah. I was in France, Marseille. - Marseille? - Yeah. - Oh, okay. Nice. - Do you know Marseille? - I lived in Marseille for a few years. Yeah. - All right. Marseille and Nice and Cannes. - And Nice and Cannes. Nice.
Okay, I enjoy my arrival. I go around. - Yeah, you must come around... - Yes. Have a good day, guys. Good luck to you, guys. - The same to you, man. - Okay, what do I do? I guess I'm gonna take a photo with the Table Mountains not at the official photo [spot] because I don't wanna queue for a photo. This is unreal. Totally unreal. Oh, shit. I have the train. - Hey, man! - Yes. - Did you take a flight?
- No, I never... I took flights to go back to see my family. But no, I did all the way with the bicycle. Not riding all the time, but riding 90% of the time. But overland all the way. - So like... - I just skipped the parts where there was war or where there was... Because this is electric... Or when it was too long distance without electricity.
But I did everything overland. Yeah. Just a small bit by ship. But a very, very small part. - Oh, yeah. - Those are gonna be the last surprise reactions for quite a while, guys — hello — because... Well, I won't be cycling with all my bags, for quite some time.
- Yes, sir. And then turn and come... - Yes, I'll come. I'll come to you. Wait. - Okay. - Now you... You're relaxing now. And can you sleep in it? - Yeah, I can take a rest and... - Yeah, and just autopilot. - And take a nap. - What speed can it go on? - Like 18-20 km/h on flat. - On flat? - Yeah, 18-20. - And when it's going down? - Oh, it can go fast. It's very heavy.
So it goes very fast. Yeah. - Oh, yeah. - Well, it goes to 60-70. - When it's going down? - Yeah. If it's steep, yeah, it goes to 60-70. - During night, day? Night? - No, night I don't ride. - Yeah, it's...
- It's dangerous at night. - It's dangerous. Yeah. Because if people don't see me, then it's... It can be dangerous. Yes. - Yeah, they'll run over you. - Yeah. Oh, it's got that one also. - Ah? - Oh, it's speed... - It's electric. Yeah. Yeah, this is a speedometer.
Yeah. - Yeah. - This is the speed. - Oh, this one… - The distance... - This bike is electric. - Yes, so it's assisted. - So sometimes you switch on to the... - No, you have to pedal all the time. The motor, the electric motor, helps a little bit, makes it a bit easier.
So basically for me, it kind of compensates for all the bags I have. So it's as if I was riding a normal bicycle without the bags. So it's easier. - It's easier. But you didn't get people on the way that wanted to rob you or something? - Take you... - Yeah, at the beginning, I was worried. Then not so much because... Then you realize... - A nice helicopter flight. - In big cities, it can happen.
But in the countryside, in most places, it's very safe. - Yeah, in the countryside, yeah, I know it's... - You know, in the small cities, in the villages, everyone knows each other. So, this is kind of obvious. - Yeah.
- If someone steals it, then the person cannot sell it. Because the whole village knows... - Yeah, yeah, this is your bike. - ...this is my bike. Nobody came with this bike anywhere before this. - Yeah. - So it's... - There's no bike like that. - It's not that dangerous. - It's the only one. - No, it's not...
- Only in big cities, you have to be a bit more careful. - Yeah, yeah, in big cities, people... - Yeah. - They're not good. - So, what's here? - This is the motor. - The motor for the...
- So you can use the motor also. - Yeah. No, you have to pedal all the time. - You have to pedal. - It's an assistance. It has... - France to here — three years. - ...to be easier, not heavy. - Yeah. - Three years. Amadiba, you will die.
- So you're doing this sponsored or you just do solo? - No, just for myself. Yeah. - Just for yourself. - For yourself. - But I make videos on YouTube. So then I get money from YouTube, but I don't have sponsors. I make my money on my own. Well, with YouTube. - Oh, with YouTube.
But it gets... You get money on YouTube. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I can do what I like. - Yeah. - And I make a living from what I like. - Do you wanna do a helicopter? - Helicopter? - Yeah. - Where? Here? - Yeah, yeah. You fly, you know? - I don't... You sell helicopter tours?
- Yeah, yeah. - Yes. - Give me your paper. In case I want to do it, then I'll do it with you at least. - Yes, yeah. - That's a new one, the latest one — the Airbus. Airbus. - Airbus? - The Airbus. Yeah, Airbus. - The French ones? - Yes. - The French ones. Yeah. Ah, did you see this? It's a squirrel.
The front part looks like a squirrel. - Squirrel? - It looks like a squirrel, like a squirrel. - Oh, it looks like a squirrel. Yeah.
- So, after, from Cape Town, where are you going to? - I'll stay here. That's my arrival. I'll probably go to... I'll go at least to Cape Point, to the Cape of Good Hope. - Yeah. - Maybe I'll go to L'Agulhas cuz it's the southernmost point of Africa so I'll finish the way. - You'll finish there. - But I'm not sure.
I'll see. Yeah. But yeah, basically my arrival is here. - So you stay here. So you say you're not going back. - For me, the arrival point is here. Yeah. - Oh, you're coming from Egypt? - Yeah. - Cairo, then...? - It's like... The road is Cairo to Cape Town.
So for me, once you reach Cape Town, you reach the... That's the finish line. - [Both] Yeah. - So you're staying... - My finish line is here. - So you're staying now here. You're not going back. - No, I'll stay here. And after some time, I'll ride back. I'm gonna ride back via West Africa.
- You're gonna ride back? - Yes, West Africa. Three more years. - But how long is it gonna take you? Another three years? - Three more years. Yeah. - Yo!!! - So your trip — all in all six years? It must be six years.
- Yeah. In Africa, six years. Yeah. - Then you'll go to Asia? - Then to? - Asia. - No, then I will... Well, then I'll ride back to Europe. So then I will be back in Europe. Yeah. Then I'll go to Asia. Yes, you... Yeah.
Yeah. - And make another three years. - And make another many years. Yeah, yeah. - Many years. Cool. - I make a living now since my... I like what I do. So yeah. - It's a job. It's a job more. Yeah. - It's now your job. You make a living. - But it's true. I plan to go to Asia actually after Europe. Yeah. - So do you have a lot of followers on YouTube? - Yeah, quite some.
I have like 240,000. - 240,000. Guys, do you wanna soar the helicopter? - Well, you have a lovely time here in Cape Town. - Yeah. Thank you! Yeah, I hope I'll enjoy it. - You must come and make a turn again, bro. - I'll come to see you, guys, again. Yeah. - Yeah, but even… - Yeah, yeah, yeah. We are your big fans. - You're always here, no? - [Both] We're always here. - I'll come back to you, guys, because...
- Yeah. - Yeah. - If you don't find us here, we are down here. - Yeah. - Okay. - On those boxes. - Oh, yeah. - So we support you. - …the Facebook, you have traveled a long way. - Yes.
I traveled a long way. Yeah. - A long way. Yeah. Long, long. - Danki. - Ciao. This is unreal. It's funny: when I was a student, I dreamed of becoming someone who lit the street lights, because back in the day, someone had to go all around the city... Well, many people had to go all around the city, and light physically the street lights, because electricity did not exist and you had to light the candles.
And I always thought I wanted to do this job. That sounded like a fun job. And I guess at my own pace, in my own way, that's what I became somehow. I put my small light into the world. I bring my small light to the world now. A small candle.
2025-03-12 22:04
