2K5 Africa Charity Motorcycle Ride 05/04/05

Tuesday 05/04/05 London, England

Departure Day! We wanted to leave at about 09:30 from my house, but ended up getting away at about 11:30 to go to Honda Chiswick to collect the part for Doug’s bike that we had ordered on Friday. We then popped in to the Hole in the Wall for a quick photo shoot and to say good-bye to Lucy who has been fantastic to us all through our stay at their pub’s garage. Thanks also to Jason and the rest of the crew at the Hole in the Wall who have put up with us for the last few months. After the photo’s it was one final stop to get some spare keys cut and then it was straight to Dover along the M20. Our first stop also saw our first casualty at the Maidstone Services. Jason and I went to get some food while Doug was watching the bikes and by the time we had got back with coffee and burgers, Doug had dropped his bike breaking the windscreen in 2 and only just managing to catch my AT which was knocked over by his bike, but he also managed to drop not just his helmet, but my brand spanking new 1 day old helmet. Luckily it wasn’t too serious and both helmets only received a few scratches and neither should be too seriously damaged. We will have to think twice about allowing Doug too much responsibility like looking after the bikes! (Just kidding). Then it was back on the road for Dover where we spent a very pleasant evening camping in a site just outside of Dover in a village called Martin Mill.


Wednesday 06/04/05 Dover, England

We woke early very excited to be leaving England and catching the ferry over to Calais. We got bumped around on the ferries as the Sea France guys were striking or something and had to be moved to a P&O ferry which meant a slight delay but actually turned out to be quite a big delay, about 1,5 hours. Nothing in the big picture really, especially as we were already a few days behind schedule. Loads of people came up to ask asking us about the trip as the bikes look fantastic and they generate loads of interest wherever we seem to go. Once we arrived in France, it was our intention to get as far from Calais as was possible to start the journey and generally get away from the port. We made it about 2 hours south to a small town called Blangy where we set up our first night’s camp. Pretty good really, and super cheap, but the weather was starting to turn and we could tell we were in for a spot of rain.

2K5 Africa Charity Motorcycle Ride Continued

Saturday 02/04/05 London, England

None of us slept a wink on Friday night, as we were all so keen to get the bikes and were far too excited to see what Ernie had done for all the money that we had paid him. We were up at the crack of dawn and were out the door in Doug’s van to collect his bike and ride the two AT’s back to the Hole in the Wall pub, the venue for our launch party. Ernie had advised that we could only collect them after 10:00 and we were due to be at the launch party for 12:00 so it would be fine as Ernie is based in Sheerness, at least a 90 min ride. Still, we shot down to him as fast as we could and he didn’t disappoint. The bikes were fantastic and it was amazing to see what he had done. We collected the bikes and settled the bill and were back in Chiswick for 13:00 to find that a load of bikers and overland travellers had turned up to see us off. Unfortunately we couldn’t depart as we were still waiting for Doug’s part, and instead a great party was had by all.

Sunday 03/04/05 London, England

Sunday was spent finalizing the packing of the bikes and making sure that the weight was evenly distributed on the bikes. They are all unbelievably heavy and we have totally over packed them, but we would rather have too much and be in a position to ditch equipment, than not have something and want to use it. The bikes are all running smoothly and we have made the decision not to replace the seal on the XL600 until it actually goes, as it seems not to be leaking any oil.

Monday 04/04/05 London, England

Monday was a day to finish off the remaining few things that always seam to pop up at the last minute. None of us could sleep at all and the excitement levels had completely shot off the scale. We ended the day by packing the bikes with absolutely everything we could think off that might be needed and listing all the contents of our panniers on the insides of the pannier lids. This should help us to identify what is in each pannier and ultimately identify what we will throw away from each pannier as we travel on and start to get rid of extra weight.

2K5 Africa Charity Motorcycle Ride

Here is a story for all adventure nuts interested in a trans Africa motorcycle trip. In an earlier posting I wrote about Mark Kirby a seasoned adventure rider who is about to embark on another ambitious journey the Enfields to India Challenge.

In 2005 Mark & Jason managed to ride from London to Cape Town in just over 4 months. I have been lucky enough to get my hands on the journal for their Africa adventure. Over the next few weeks I will be posting a day to day rundown of what went on in his own words. I will be starting out a day before they were due to depart.



Friday 01/04/05 London, England

The day before we are due to depart and the day started with 3 very excited guys frantically trying to get all our paperwork sorted and the final few things that we needed all in order. At about midday we got a phone call from Overland Solutions (the company modifying the bikes) saying that Doug’s bike, the XL600, had a perished oil seal at the output shaft and that the bike probably wasn’t in good enough condition to go to Africa. The advice was that it might make a couple of thousand miles, but that it wouldn’t go all the way as it was leaking oil at a rapid rate. Major panic from all sides as we are just about at the final hurdle and now one of us may be in deep water. Not to be daunted, we made a few frantic phone calls to various mechanics and suppliers and ordered a part which was due to arrive on Tuesday from the Honda parts department in Brussels. This of course meant that we had to wait for this part and postpone our departure. At 23:30 Friday night, we got the call that the 2 Africa Twins (AT’s) were ready for collection and that the XL600 could be collected, but that it was advisable to replace the part.


Watch out for my next post to find out what happened next:)

Gravel Roads: London To Cape Town

Two mates, Dean and Erich, have taken six months out from their hectic lives to ride down Africa on their trusty motorcycles. They set off on the 3rd of September aiming to reach Cape Town around March 2011. They are riding to raise money for the charity Born Free.
Take a look at their website. It makes for good reading.






These two guys planned and organised their trip on a relatively tight budget with a little help from friends and family. While I am writing this they are in Mali. Good luck guys!

Sites of interest
http://randrtravels.co.uk/1.html
http://www.f650.co.uk/
http://www.africa-overland.net/

What is needed for an African Motorcycle adventure?

Have you ever been scared off by the logistics of organising an overland motorcycle adventure? I was about five years ago. I thought it was almost impossible for an average Joe like me to pull it off, but after a lot of research I found out that it is not as difficult as it seems if you plan it correctly.

There are a few points that need to be taken into consideration and NOT over looked e.g. weather, route, terrain and clothing to name a few. There are a lot of websites that have some really good tips on offer for the basic preparation e.g. http://www.bigearth.co.uk/experts.html . These websites are brilliant but they don’t really get down to the nuts and bolts of the trip. What people seem to do is try and scrimp on things like tyres, spares, tools etc. These are some of the most important items you will need to complete your journey and make the difference between an enjoyable trip or a logistical nightmare. I have listed one of the reasons below.

The best motorcycle to take to Africa

Have you ever thought of what would be the best bike to take to Africa?
There are quite a few bikes that could be used on a long haul adventure in Africa. A lot of people think that they have to go out and buy a brand new bike to go on an African adventure which invariably puts them off due to the cost. In my eyes this is not the case. If you have a good understanding of the bike’s workings and make the correct choices in preparation for the trip you could use almost any bike you want.

In my opinion, it doesn’t matter if you have latest BMW R1200GSA or a Yamaha XT660, you can still complete your trip. Each bike has its pros and cons. For example, the BMW has all the modern equipment such as electronic suspension, ABS and traction control which makes it more stable and comfortable, but they are heavy and not as easy to work on.
On the other hand,the Yamaha XT660 is an older bike without all the modern electronics so it is easier to work on and lighter but it’s not as comfortable. It all comes down to your own preference.

Over my next few blogs, I'll be thinking about the considerations anyone should make when planning a motorcycle adventure.

We welcome your comments and opinions on this. What bike would you take to Africa?

Check out these links:

• http://www.visordown.com/
• http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/touring.html
• http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/bikereviews/searchresults/Bike-Reviews/BMW/BMW-R1200GS-Adventure-2010-current/
• The Africa Overland Network