Surfboards & Motorbikes

Fancy a trans-Africa trip on a motorbike?  Fancy taking your surfboard and strapping it to your bike as part of the adventure?

GaryUnguided recently posted on The Hubb asking for company for his adventure across Africa with his surfboard.  His posting reminded me of David Visagie's trip back in 2009 when a German, called Martin, headed South from Germany to Cape Town with his surfboard.

David Visagie was driving his modified Land Rover when he met Martin in Cameroon.  The mud was proving pretty difficult, as you can see from the various YouTube screen shots.  Watch the video for more footage.

Good luck to Gary (bugsonmyboard) with his upcoming adventure...

Bugs on my Board

Hopefully he won't be in a position like Martin was:

More surfing overland trips:
Film Review: Thirty Thousand

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.

The Rugged Road by Theresa Wallach

"You are going WHERE? - You'll never get there."

Not very encouraging comments for any overlander, let alone in 1934 when you are planning on using a motorbike with a sidecar!
Theresa Wallach and her friend Florence Blenkiron did what no man had yet achieved - and that was to ride a motorbike from London to Cape Town.

Extracts from the book: 
The Rugged Road by Theresa Wallach

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/

Enfields to India challenge

Ever fancied buying a classic Royal Enfield Bullet motorbike and heading to India?
Here are four guys that are undertaking an awesome challenge. They are riding four classic Royal Enfield Bullet Motorcycles on a 10000 mile journey from London to India.
See the website Enfields to India for more information
The expedition leader Mark Kirby is not a stranger to the adventure riding scene. Mark and a mate rode two 1998 Honda Africa Twin from London to Cape Town in 2005. The photo below was taken in Sudan. It just goes to shows that you don't need a brand new bike to go on an awesome adventure.



Recommended Reading:
Living in the past: sampling the Royal Enfield Bullet 500 Classic ES. (Ridden & Rated).: An article from: Rider

New Trip Added... Global Gallivanting

New trip added - Global Gallivanting - overland on a motorbike - http://bit.ly/6AE9CA

Lois on the Loose

Just met Lois Pryce - inspirational lady. Check out 'Lois on the Loose' - http://bit.ly/45H3hL