As the newest member of the team, there has been
a lot of work to do in preparing for the trip. While I have done a lot of
riding in my time, I am entering some unknown territory here in terms of riding
style, terrain and preparation. So I have broken my preparation down into some
phases:
1)
Bike preparation
2)
Gear preparation
3)
Trip preparation
4)
Personal preparation
As Tony has already mentioned, I purchased an
older but well known and highly regarded motorbike - the Africa Twin XRV750
RD07a. It's a model which has a history of Paris to Dakar wins in the late 80's
and 90's, and it is not uncommon to see them running around with 2-300,000 km
on the clock! I bought mine with 100,000 km on the clock and a dodgy output
shaft in the UK, and then rode it down to my house in France.
Bike preparation
Once in France, I decided the best way to learn
about the bike (and fix the output shaft problem), was to strip it down and
rebuild it. Over the next 3 months, the engine was taken out, stripped down to
the transmission and rebuilt with new seals, bearings and piston rings.
Suspension was stripped and checked, new brake disks and pads put on, wiring
checked and sealed, known issues replaced or fixed and so on.
Once this was all done, I added a few extras -
light guards, additional CREE LED lights, RAM mount for GPS Sat Nav and
tracker, some charging points, metal dash, bark busters, etc. Tyre selection
was next, with tyres selected for primarily road (70%) and a little off road
for the first part of the trip. I suspect I will change them for something more
off-road in the second leg.
I can now say with confidence that I know every
inch of the bike inside and out, so I feel well prepared for any eventualities
on that front.
Gear Preparation
After reading Chris Scott's Adventure Rider
manual, and getting a lot of advice from my compadres, I knew I had a lot of
work to do on this. There is very little space on a motorbike, and only
essentials can be taken or the bike gets too heavy to ride and lift when it
falls over. This means finding the smallest possible tent, sleeping bag,
mattress, pillow, food prep gear and so on possible.
I ended up collecting items from a few of
countries, sourcing items from France, UK, US and South Africa. I am fortunate
enough to travel a lot in my job, so I could personally go and locate what I
wanted in each country.
Each item was carefully selected for its size
and weight, and then evenly distributed across the panniers. The top box will
be kept as light as possible with only clothing, an overnight bag and some
personal electronics in it.
Trip Preparation
20 years ago I owned an old agricultural bike -
a Honda 2 stroke 400cc monstrosity that seemed built from iron and virtually
indestructible. I used to take it to the RAAF 4x4 training grounds and muck
about having some fun. But that's the total extent of my off-road training. And
while I now have 25 years of riding under my belt in a huge variety of
countries, the majority of them have been on good to fair roads. Time to learn
some new techniques!
Riding steep ascents is fairly easy - just point
and open the throttle, picking your path upwards. Steep descents are another
matter entirely though - you need to sit as far back as you can go, use engine
breaking and hover your foot over the rear brake, very carefully picking where
your front tyre is going. The rear tyre will wander a bit, and you need to try
not to be too bothered by that.
Sand riding is my next area of techniques to
learn. The tricky bit is finding somewhere to practice where someone can help
dig you out if you get too stuck. Not much good doing it on a beach with a
rising tide; it may add an element of motivation to get it right, but
explaining why I can't go on the trip because the bike is under 3 feet of water
is just a recipe for embarrassment...
Personal Preparation
I've been incredibly fortunate in being able to
spend the last 12 months renovating an old house in France, so I am probably
fitter than I have been in the last 10-15 years of driving a desk. Not enough
though, as I am now back at work and spending a good portion of my day shining
a seat again. I have however, been able to build a small gym in my attic. So
it's up to the gym 4 times a week, and some fast walking through the local
vineyards with my wife and the dog. Probably not nearly enough, but at least
something, and the dog seems amused by it all...
Mentally preparing yourself is just as important
I think, so I have studied the blogs of others, read widely on adventure travel
in Africa (hiking, riding and driving) kept up to date on the HUBB forums and
been involved in the route planning as we go. I know it is only 3 weeks, but I
admit to feeling a little trepidatious at the unknown, and preparation is the
best way to solve that I think.
Whilst in France, I have been slowly learning
French, and as much of the first countries we pass through use French for
administration purposes. I think I can add some value in the communication
process and suspect it may also avail me of some opportunities to have a little
fun at the lads expense...
