Two years after leaving Mexico on a bicycle, Mexican adventurer Gustavo Vuela Tercott has turned the world into his open road, his classroom and his proving ground one pedal stroke at a time.
Currently traversing the African continent on his bicycle, Gustavo is midway through what he calls the Vagabundo del Mundo project. It’s a rolling testament to endurance, curiosity and courage. His journey has already traced the entire West African coastline from Morocco to Namibia, a ribbon of tarmac and dust stitched together by determination.
The Mother City became his latest milestone on Monday, 26 January 2026. It wasn’t just any day. Gustavo rolled into Cape Town on his birthday, after leaving Langebaan and sleeping over in Melkbosstrand, the final kilometres ticking over like the closing metres of a long stage.
He was welcomed not with fanfare, but with something far more meaningful – a homemade birthday cake, presented by Eugene Dryding, one of the many strangers-turned-friends his journey has gifted him. Gustavo is currently staying with the Dryding family in Heathfield, in the Southern Suburbs, giving both rider and bike a brief recovery window.
That moment of celebration had its roots far north, deep in Namibia.
On Sunday, 28 September 2025, Cape Town couples Keith and Bridget Linderoth and Eugene and Audrey Dryding were midway through a six-week road trip through Namibia. Having departed from Khowarib Lodge in the Kunene Region, they were heading towards Palmwag Lodge when they noticed a lone cyclist moving steadily against the vastness of the landscape.
They stopped.
Water, cold drinks and food were offered, simple gestures that often mean everything on a long ride. Eugene took down Gustavo’s details, and what began as a roadside pause turned into an ongoing connection via Instagram and WhatsApp, a digital lifeline stretching across borders and months.
Keith Linderoth, Gustavo Vuela Tercott and Eugene Dryding when they met on the road in Namibia Photo:Bridget Linderoth
That thread finally led to Cape Town, and a birthday welcome that symbolised the quiet kindness Gustavo says defines his journey.
The ride itself began two years ago when he fulfilled a childhood dream that demanded movement rather than comfort. Since then, Gustavo has crossed more than 20 countries, discovering that the road is both unforgiving and generous.
It has tested him severely.
Five bouts of malaria forced him off the saddle. Typhoid fever threatened to end everything. Each illness was a brutal climb, but none proved steep enough to stop him.
Along the way, he has seen empty spaces of luxury, glossy but hollow, and places of deep poverty overflowing with happiness. More than once, he admits, he lost himself, only to rediscover who he was further down the road, often with help from people he never expected to meet.
But when asked about fear, Gustavo’s answer surprises many.
It was not disease, danger or desolation that shook him most.
It was the moment he crossed the Strait of Gibraltar.
That narrow ribbon of water marked the true beginning of his journey, the point where comfort zones were shredded like worn tyres and the unknown loomed large.
That crossing, as he approached the Moroccan shore, was when he truly left home behind.
Since then, every turn of the crank has been an act of faith. It’s proof that the world opens up not to those who rush, but to those willing to move forward slowly, bravely, and on their own power.
