On 26 June 1955, some three thousand delegates gathered on a dusty open field in Kliptown, one of the oldest settlements of what became Soweto, for the Congress of the People. Police surrounded the meeting on its second day, but not before the crowd had adopted the Freedom Charter, the document that opens with the words that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white. Its ideas went on to shape the country's post-apartheid constitution. The field is now Walter Sisulu Square, named after the anti-apartheid leader and mentor of Nelson Mandela, and the charter's clauses are carved into stone around a monument at its centre.
The square is a big, open civic space, with a conical brick tower, markets and a hotel, and it can feel a little empty on a quiet weekday. Its value lies in what happened here and in what surrounds it. Kliptown itself remains poor, with informal housing close by, and the contrast between monument and neighbourhood is part of the lesson.
A short ride away, in Orlando West, Vilakazi Street is the only street in the world where two Nobel Peace Prize winners lived, Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Mandela's old house is a museum. Nearby, the Hector Pieterson Memorial marks the student uprising of 16 June 1976, when police opened fire on schoolchildren protesting against being taught in Afrikaans. It is a powerful, sobering place.
Riding in Johannesburg is about traffic and awareness rather than scenery. Roads are wide and fast, but minibus taxis stop and swerve without warning, potholes appear suddenly, and traffic lights, known locally as robots, are often out of action during power cuts. The city sits high on the Highveld at around seventeen hundred metres, and summer afternoons bring violent thunderstorms with hail, while winter days are dry, sunny and cold in the mornings. Personal security is a real concern: ride in daylight, keep your bike in sight or in guarded parking, and consider visiting Soweto with a local guide, which also makes the experience much richer.
Fuel is everywhere in Soweto and Johannesburg, with attendants filling the tank for you. For lunch try a kota, a quarter-loaf of bread stuffed with chips, sauce and meat, or grilled meat at a shisa nyama, eaten outside with friends and loud music.