acknowledgments

A couple of early acknowledgements are in order for the RideAfrica2015 trip.

As with all of our previous adventures, we value the support of a team people and organisations who contribute in various ways to the complicated logistics required for this type of travel.

James and Carina Salmon have been kind enough to store the bikes at their property in Carcassonne for the past twelve months; ensuring that the bikes are dry, secure, and ready to go within hours of our arrival in France early next year.

Of course, the bikes did not arrive in France by magic, and we have relied (as always) on Ivan Smoljko and the team at Bikes Abroad to be able to deliver the bikes anywhere on the planet.  The Bikes Abroad freight forwarding  service makes this process completely hassle free.

Paul at Liquid Containment has kindly assisted with the fuel and water bladders that will be required to cross some parts of the Sahara safely.  Specifically designed for motorcycles, these will be stored in the bottom of our panniers and only used when absolutely necessary.

Maps.Me have been brilliantly responsive to Ty's requests for additional functionality in the app and for full integration with the Bad Elf gps receiver.  It will now help to keep us accurately positioned once we are 'off the grid'.

Jeff from Pilpel Print has again kindly offered to handle printing of the ride cards and document fiches that seem to be required at every checkpoint in western Africa.

Last but not least, thanks again to Petra and the team at Motorrad Garage.  No sponsorship has been required from these guys for the past few years - simply because their gear does not break.  It's a testament to their products that we have not had a single gear failure from the Motorrad Garage kit, despite several years of gruelling use.

why?

A couple of people have asked recently "why are you going to Africa, what is there to see".  Based on this image of the Western Sahara, the answer is "not much" - but perhaps that is the real attraction anyway.

Arouan, Sahara Desert

As avid motorcycle adventure travellers and adrenalin junkies; we have raced jet boats, flown helicopters, surfed a volcano in Nicaragua, barrelled down an Olympic bobsled track in Latvia, shivered through a Russian winter, stayed as the guest of an African king, and visited more than sixty countries over the past two decades.

Our travels have taken us over the Himalayas, through war torn El Salvador, and into deadly delicious day spas in Thailand.  Our original master plan involved circumnavigating the globe east/west and north/south; however day jobs, booking flights whilst under the influence, and a number of wives have made this a somewhat patchwork expedition.

The recurrent theme in our travels (apart from alcohol and motorcycles) has been amazing interactions with the people that we encounter.  Casual encounters that change the way we think about the world.

Perhaps that is the real attraction with this year's trip. A previous visit to Zambia and Zimbabwe only just scratched the surface and offered a powerful incentive to try and get deeper under the skin of Africa.  Quite counter to the 'western' view of Africa as a dark and dangerous place, the previous visit was one of great food, wonderful people and random madcap experiences.

Rural town in Zimbabwe

Chance meeting with Ban Ki Moon (UN Secretary General) in Lusaka, Zambia

the dangers of over-coping

Ride photo from 2014 trip (Andorra)

We are all looking forward to a radical change of scenery and temperature this year after 2014's freezing alpine conditions.  No matter how awe inspiring the scenery, and how twisty the roads, riding a motorcycle in subzero air is always a challenge.  Fogged visors, snotsicles, and a perpetual nagging headache occasionally take the edge off the enjoyment.

This is one of the reasons that we have decided to bypass the magnificent Pyrenees in 2015, instead hugging the east coast of Spain enroute to Africa.  Barcelona to Valencia, Alicante, Almeria and Gibraltar will all occur over a fast four day period; ensuring that we have the maximum possible time available to cross the Western Sahara.

We will need to suffer through a period of tortilla's for breakfast, gazpacho for lunch and paella for dinner (building our protein reserves for Africa, of course).  It will be an absolute chore, and I am sure that we will need copious quantities of mahou negra beer to cope.  The real difficulty might lie in preventing Ty from 'over-coping' as he did in Grenada, Nicaragua.  By the time Gary and I rescued him, his eyeballs were rolling around in his head, and it was only due to the kindness of the streetside bar staff (who had wedged him into a corner) that he had not toppled over altogether.  Sharing a hostel room with him later that night was one of life's more regrettable experiences.

The route from southern Morocco through to Mauritania's border looks to be the most 'interesting' leg of our journey, with Smarttraveller noting:

Travel advisory from Smarttraveller.gov.au

Even the relentlessly upbeat Lonely Planet offers this commentary about the region:
"Ask any Moroccan about the status of the Western Sahara and they will insist it belongs to their country, yet the UN is clear that this is still under dispute. Local maps may show this region as a seamless continuation of the hammada around Tarfaya, but many outside Morocco disagree.

This area largely comprises the former colonies of Spanish Sahara and part of the Tarfaya Strip. Crossing the vast tracts of desert here, one does marvel at the dispute. The towns are merely administrative centres, and the terrain stretching away from the N1 is featureless, arid, inhospitable and uninviting. 

It’s one of the world’s most sparsely populated territories, and despite the 1991 ceasefire in the war between Morocco and the separatist Polisario Front, the Moroccan military sometimes seems to outnumber civilians."  Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/morocco/western-sahara#ixzz3MRRrnS1b

It's funny how the more damning the travel advisories make a destination sound, the nicer and more hospitable the people end up being.  If we had listened to all of the good advice (from people who had never been there) then we wouldn't have seen many of the wonderful locations that we have been privileged to visit so far.

the madness begins again ...

So, the madness begins again.

The last couple of years have seen Ty, Gary and I ride bikes though Thailand, Malaysia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama, United States, England, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Italy, Andorra, Monaco, Belgium and the Netherlands.

We would like to thank the more than 17,000 individual readers who have followed our travels over the past few years, and hope that you will join us again for the 2015 adventure.

This year's ride has us flying into the castle city of Carcassonne in the south of France.  Our bikes have been stored here for the past 12 months awaiting our return.  A long time friend (James) kindly agreed to store the bikes in a barn nearby to the french manor house that he and his wife have been painstakingly restoring over the past year or so.  When we left last year, it was possible to see the grandeur of this residence showing through, but there was still an enormous amount of work to do.  Both contractors and family (aka free contractors) were swarming all over the place at the time when we left, so we are all excited to see the final result.

Our group of three has swelled its ranks to include a new recruit.  James Salmon is a long time friend and ex business colleague who is now based in the south of France.  His generous offer to store the bikes after our European circuit has inspired him to join us for the remainder of the ride through to Capetown in South Africa.  With decades of riding experience behind him, and a similarly disturbed sense of humour, he will be a welcome addition to the team.

James has purchased a Honda Africa Twin and is furiously trying to prepare the bike in time for this journey.  After so many countries and so many adventures, the existing Kawasaki KLRs are well and truly battle tested now, so it is interesting to see how James is approaching the myriad of technical modifications and accessories required to prepare a bike for travel like this.  We hope that he is giving the same amount of attention to his personal preparation, as this year's ride promises to be a gruelling one.

James' travel bike - the sturdy Honda Africa Twin

A complete engine rebuild in preparation for years on the road

The Ebola scare continues to have us a bit worried.  Our initial plan had been to travel all the way through to Cameroon this year; via Senegal, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Cote D'Ivoire, Benin, Togo and Nigeria - but we are simply not prepared to risk entering an active Ebola zone.  This is important due to our style of travel, sleeping quite rough, and usually eating roadside.  Health management is always front of mind on the road, and Ebola represents an extra unwanted challenge.

As a consequence, we have pulled back on the mileage this year, and will leave the bikes in Nouakchott, Mauritania.  Ty has found safe and secure lodgings for the bikes in Nouakchott, and this will allow us to return and travel onwards in 2016.  Good reliable storage is particularly valued because we will need to ship in tyres and spares to continue the journey.