Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze-Zimpapers Sports Hub
AT the age of four, Johane Nyagura boarded a bus alone and travelled more than 10 kilometres from his home in Nyanga.
He did not know where the bus was going. Nor did he care.
He simply wanted to experience the excitement of being on it.
More than five decades later, that restless little boy is still chasing the road.
Now 60, Nyagura left Harare on Friday morning for the most ambitious journey of his life, a 25 000-kilometre motorcycle expedition through at least eight African countries, with Ghana as his final destination.
The trip will keep him away from home for three months and comes two years after he rode 9 000 kilometres across Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda to take part in the 52nd Africa Concours d’Elegance in Nairobi.
His wife Phyllis, mother-in-law and fellow members of the biking community gathered at the Harare Exhibition Park to see him off.
A convoy of motorcycles rumbled into the parking area at Greenfields Shopping Complex, drawing curious glances as riders in black jackets and helmets waved Zimbabwean flags.
At the centre of it all was Nyagura, affectionately known as Jo-1, preparing to begin the longest ride of his life.
“This time I am riding 25 000 kilometres, and for a whole year I have been preparing and saving for it,” he said.
“Finally, the departure day is here, and I am happy that my family and friends are seeing me off.
“For three months, I will be on the road, with at least 25 days set aside for rest during the journey.
“In the process, I am also promoting Zimbabwe as a tourism destination and inviting fellow bikers to visit the country one day.”
A “medical practitioner” by profession, Nyagura has carried that appetite for adventure throughout his life.
When he boarded the bus as a child, the conductor discovered that he was travelling alone and asked an elderly passenger to look after him while his family was traced.
It took days for him to be reunited with his parents.
“That day, I did not mind where I was going. I just wanted to be on the bus,” he said with a chuckle.
“I believe that is how it all started. I was a fearless boy who could do anything just to experience what something felt like.”
By the age of 15, his attention had shifted from buses to motorcycles.
An agricultural extension officer regularly visited his father’s shop in Nyanga, and Nyagura watched closely whenever he arrived on his bike.
The officer noticed the boy’s interest and eventually taught him how to ride.
He would later send Nyagura on errands, giving him more time on the bike.
“People would be surprised to see me riding,” Nyagura recalled.
“I had so much confidence at that age.”
After completing his Ordinary Level studies, he moved to Kadoma to live with his maternal grandparents while training as a nurse.
A few months after he started working, he bought his first motorcycle.
Its size and condition convinced his family that it would be used only for short trips around Kadoma.
Nyagura had other plans.
One day, he announced that he intended to ride the 411 kilometres from Kadoma to Nyanga.
His grandfather tried to stop him and even threatened to disown him, but Nyagura refused to change his mind.
“Just after Harare, the bike started overheating and I broke down,” he said.
“Because the agricultural extension officer had taught me a few things about repairs and maintenance, I fixed it and continued with the journey.
“When I arrived, my father was perplexed, but surprisingly, he gave me a pat on the back.”
A few months later, he made a bet with his uncle and walked from Kadoma to Kwekwe without telling his grandmother the full extent of his plan.
“It was a long, agonising journey,” he said. “I reached Kwekwe at dusk, and my aunt was not amused when she saw me, but I did not pay attention to all that.”
His love for motorcycles eventually led him to the Zim Free Riders, a 53-member club that also supports charity initiatives, including raising funds for Chinotimba Old People’s Home. It was also through biking that Nyagura met his wife, Phyllis.
The couple ride together on some long-distance Zim Free Riders expeditions and shorter trips closer to home.
Those journeys have helped Phyllis understand the long hours, uncertainty and occasional silence that come with life on the road.
“Locally, I ride with him sometimes, and it has helped me understand life on the road,” she said.
“Now I do not panic as much when he is on his trips.
“At times, he may lose network signal and fail to check in with me. I understand that, and his family now understands him too.”
For close to a year, Phyllis helped her husband prepare for the trip to Ghana.
While Nyagura worked on his fitness and familiarised himself with his new motorcycle, she made sure he had protective clothing, a tent, medication and toiletries.
She also packed his small gas stove and enough ingredients for him to make coffee, one of the comforts of home he will carry with him across the continent.
While he is away, Phyllis will oversee operations at their medical facility in Kadoma.
Before Nyagura left the Harare Exhibition Park, he held his wife in a long embrace, pulled on his helmet and climbed onto the bike. He waved one last time before joining the waiting convoy.
Sixty years after he climbed onto a bus without knowing where it would take him, Nyagura was on the move again.
