Summary, Reflections, Technical, What worked etc.
Summary.
This trip came about because other plans fell through and I had a spare 6 weeks from mid October till the beginning of December and going south was the only option with winter approaching. Dakar seemed a good destination because of it's strong association with motorbikes and was about the right distance to provide a challenge and practical in the time available. The Tuareg symbol used by the Dakar rally is a popular sticker on the panniers of overland bikers, including mine, and by going to Dakar I could now justify wearing Dakar sticker. I initially put the trip on hold when a case of ebola occurred in Dakar in August, but the patient, from Guinea, recovered and the trip was on again. So I bought the maps, ordered the GPS maps, researched the visa requirements and had the jabs and started to get excited. I read as much info on the web as possible, about the route, the borders, where to stay, what to see. Of course reading the Foreign Office guidance for Mauritania was not encouraging, in fact the guidance said not to go there and this was echoed by the US State Department. It was suggested I should avoid Mauritania, which of course is not possible as the alternative route would be through Algeria. What ever the concerns about Mauritania it was the only practical option, and the research I had done reading information from recent travellers indicated I should be OK on the coast road. I knew the borders into and out of Mauritania were going to present a bit of a challenge but I suspected they would not be as bad as had been reported.
The route down through Spain and Morocco went smoothly and entering Morocco was fine, as was the ride down to Agadir. The early highpoint was the evening in Ricks Bar in Casablanca listening to the pianist and living in a fantasy world for a few hours. Leaving Agadir I had a sense of the landscape changing but it was looking at the sign showing 1,000km to Dakhla, south of Gulmim, when I began to fully appreciate that the Sahara stretched out 2000km(1,200 miles) in front of me. This thought was a bit daunting but I set myself daily targets, how far to go and where to stop that night. This daily approach seemed to work, so I focussed on making sure I had petrol in the bike and enough water to drink and some basic food. Thankfully the bike never missed a beat, but I wonder now, what may have happened if I had a major mechanical problem with the bike in the desert. I'm sure I'd have been offered help, and got it sorted somehow, but it's a situation I'm glad I didn't have to face. On my trip to Turkey last year, which had gone without a hitch, I was a little disappointed at the end that there were no significant problems to overcome, maybe this experience influenced my choice of a more challenging itinerary this year.
The ride through the desert in Western Sahara was OK and I was pleased to find I was not overawed by riding alone through the desert. Of course I was not entirely alone as I met up with 5 Irish Land Cruisers which became my support crew for a few hours and I was to meet up with them later in Mauritania and Senegal. The first tough bit of the trip was the riding no-mans-land at the Mauritanian frontier in high temperatures. The ride through Mauritania going south was helped by the company of the Irish Lads again in the Land Cruisers, though I did end up riding on my own in the dark for a while. There was even petrol in the service station this time.
The Rosso border is known as the worst frontier in Africa and it lived up to it's reputation proving even worse than I feared. Arriving at Zebrabar in Senegal was a welcome relief and it was a good place to rest and recover after the desert and the borders. I spent a few easy days birdwatching, swimming, taking boat trips etc. I also visited St Louis, a local village school and some local families with charity workers from Belgium. It was great to see how local people live and how the school functions with the support of the Belgian charity. I have since been in touch with the charity and hope to support their work.
Before I left Zebrabar the Irish lads turned up and we shared a couple of days together but on leaving we went our separate ways as a bike with five 4x4s in the dust and heat does not really work. They are great lads and made me very welcome but it was time to do our own thing. My thing was to go to Dakar, as it was an objective, but having reached Dakar I was soon on my way to Gambia for one of the most interesting days of the trip, crossing the Gambia estuary on the crowded ferry to Banjul. I found an apartment in Serekunda and spent a relaxed time and even got my return Mauritanian visa sorted. As an old English colony Gambia felt at times like a distant county of England with better weather. The short stay at a wild life reserve further down the river was enjoyable and relaxing too and set me up for one of the most strenuous days riding as I returned north to Dakar via Farafenni. In my 2nd stay at Dakar I did not have to share the accommodation with a large rat, so I stayed a couple of days and visited the slave island in the bay, Ile de Goree. After loading up my wallet with Euros in Dakar I returned to Zebrabar and found it as enjoyable as the first visit, meeting interesting people and enjoying the wildlife and fitting in another visit to St Louis where I met my first European bikers, from Spain, and we shared a coffee and experiences.
While I was enjoying my time at Zebrabar I knew the Rosso border and the desert had to be negotiated soon as it was the only way back north. This time Rosso proved less expensive but was still a trial. The day I left in Zebrabar was particularly memorable, as it included the Rosso crossing, riding through most of Mauritania and ended at the mid-way service station, which this time had no petrol. Next day's ride to the Western Sahara border was at a fuel-saving pace and included an easier ride back through no-mans-land. Although there was still a lot of desert ahead I felt relieved to be back in Moroccan controlled territory and noticed I was more relaxed. The rest of the desert crossing was fine but in cooler temperatures and soon after I arrived in Agadir a storm erupted, heralding the wet weather which was with me till I got home. The change in the weather discouraged me from exploring some of the mountain roads up to Marrakesh as I was hearing many travellers were being stranded in villages caused by serious flooding. Some of the roads I had used south of Agadir remained closed for well over a week with roads and bridges being washed away.
So I took the motorway up to Marrakesh and the major drama at the end of the trip was being parted from my passport. With the passport loss and the wet weather my stay in Marrakesh was not as I had planned, but I still enjoyed the main square which is one of the wonders of Africa, wet or dry. Crossing the frontier at Tangier Med before catching a ferry to Spain was very easy, even with my temporary passport. Riding up to through Spain, mostly in heavy rain was a bit of a slog, so it was good to park the bike on the ferry car park at Santander having checked in. Was it really 6 weeks since I arrived here on the ferry from Portsmouth?
Reflections
This was the biggest bike trip I have done by far and covered 6,400 miles. Last year I did a solo trip to Turkey, which was almost the same distance, but I did not have the Sahara to cross and the difficult borders or roads. Although I did a lot of planning I had not fully appreciated what the Sahara crossing would entail, how hot it would be (40C+), how much I would be on my own and how great the distances between the service stations would be. I knew there was a chance the service station in Mauritania would not have petrol but it was a shock when I turned up and there was none. That night I worried about 2 things which did not prove to be a problem, not having enough petrol to get to the border and being short of, fiches for the police checks. As it happened I had sufficient quantities of both which shows me I sometimes worry unnecessarily. Also my advance planning was focussed on getting to Senegal and Dakar and did not give enough thought to getting back. It was only when I got to Senegal I fully took on board that I had to do it all again in reverse. Once I had got my head around the return journey, realising it was just a repeat of what I had done already, I was able to relax and enjoy Senegal and even go further into Gambia.
I have speculated how far I could have got if I had carried on south for 3 more weeks and shipped my bike back. There would have been the border closures and avoiding the ebola countries but it made me wonder.
This trip was a good test of travelling solo which means you are alone quite a lot and it is important this suits your personality. It seems to suit me. I find one of the advantages of being solo is you are encouraged to seek company and therefore you meet more people. If you travel in a group you can be self sufficient and miss chances to engage with other travellers and locals. The big plus for travelling solo is you make your own decisions.
For anyone considering doing this trip I would think seriously whether to do it solo or with company and on balance I would suggest doing this trip with at least one other person. It can of course be done on your own but it may be a more relaxed trip with company through the desert and at the borders. However, like me you may chose to face these issues alone and hopefully this report will show this is perfectly possible. In my case I had a totally reliable bike and which had the added advantage of staying upright for the whole trip, so as long as I did not do anything stupid there were no dramas on the road. The borders, well Rosso, I would not wish to pass through alone again. I'd probably only go through Rosso again as part of a longer one way trip.
Before setting off I considered taking a tracking device, like the Spot GPS tracker but I thought I was being melodramatic and decided against the idea. This would allow friends and family to monitor your progress and also has the ability to send messages and if necessary transmit a distress call. Some Italian guys I met in the desert had one and I now think it may have been a good idea. So I would take one next time but there would still be the sense of being monitored which somehow goes against the idea of travelling solo and being an independent spirit.
Overall it was a great trip and I'm glad it was difficult at times because that was when I learned about myself, what I could cope with and what I found hard, where were my limits. Mostly I learned I could function beyond what I thought were my limits, both physically and emotionally which makes me wonder what the next riding challenge will be.
I know I raced through the countries, particularly Mauritania and it would have been better to spend longer getting to know the people. I have been left with a better sense of these countries and certainly hope to go back, at least to Senegal and perhaps revisit that school, but travelling by air.
I will do a few conventional holidays next year but I still have two overland bikes in the garage and have not given up on the idea of another challenging trip maybe to the east, but how far?
Thanks for following the story, it was good to feel I had company.
TECHNICAL SECTION
The section below will probably only be of interest if you are a biker who goes on long distance trips.
The bike: –
BMW G650 XCountry, 2007, 652cc, 52ps, 155kg dry.
Modifications -
Jacugar lowered front and rear suspension, Accelerator module, Brisk plugs, Touratech oiled foam air filter, large bashplate, centre-stand, lowered seat and sheepskin buttpad. Isotta screen with Touratech screen extender. TKC 80 tyres, strengthened aluminium rear subframe. BMW engine protectors. Fold back gear lever. Grip Puppies, Handlebar deflectors, 2 piece jump leads. Battery charger socket showing battery voltage. Throttle paddle. TT screen extender. TT chain guide. KTM domed aluminium wheel nuts. Stainless steel wheel spacers.
Lights
Zen Overland H4 LED headlight bulb, Twin 10w LED spots.
Luggage
TT Zega 37L and 29L Aluminium Panniers with Inner bags, Hepco and Becker pannier frames, Trex rear rack and topbox(with cigarette lighter socket for charging), Polo Q-bag waterproof rollbag, small TT tankbag, Wunderlich handlebar bag(with cigarette lighter socket), tool box on bash plate.
Bike Comms -
Garmin Zumo 550, Autocom, Amplirider Amp.
Fuel -
Auxiliary Acerbis tank linked to main tank breather to automatically replenish the tank. In addition, a 3L and 2L TT petrol container on panniers and a 1L cainster in a tool tube. Total capacity = 20.5L (Supplemented for Mauratania with 2.5L in Fanta bottles). Range 300 - 400+ miles depending on speed.
Spares -
2 x inner tubes, plugs, Autocom headset, tyre seal spray cans, bulbs, jubilee clips, duct tape, self amalgamating tape, spare set of keys
Photography and Computing -
Lumix TZ35 compact camera, Drift Ghost S Headcam with remote, Samsung 8 ins Tablet, and HTC smartphone plus spare phone.
Cigarette socket inside handle bag and topbox allowed simultaneous charging of phones, Tab and Drift battery while travelling.
Tools -
Halfords professional sockets and spanners, Torx set, Zen Overland wheel nut removal tool. Tool roll. Tyre levers, Slime tyre pump, petrol syphon hose.
Camping -
Go-Outdoors Higear Ion2 tent, fleece sleeping bag and Hyalite self-inflating air bed. Helinox camping chair. Gas stove.
WHAT WORKED.
BMW G650 XCountry, which was 100% reliable, carried luggage well, economical, and a joy to ride.
Taking a new TKC 80 rear tyre with me and having it fitted in Agadir just before I entered the desert. This ensured I had a good tyre thread on the rear when dealing with poor roads and sufficient tread right to the end of the trip.
Throttle paddle. Using this little device allows the throttle to be kept open, maintaining speed, by applying pressure with the palm of the hand while the fingers can be flexed and relaxed.
The TT screen extender was great for giving additional wind protection when cruising. It allowed me to have the visor open at 70 mph with little buffeting. I removed it however on poor roads and sand so I could get a better view.
Zumo 550 GPS with, Morrocco SD card Maps and T4A maps covering Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia.
Ion2 tent, OK for light use, fitted in the bottom of the 29L TT pannier, cheap(£18) so could have been discarded to save space.
Using booking.com to find and book hotels for accommodation. Worked in all the countries I travelled through, not expensive and reasonable standard. Can be helpful if the hotel location is already in the GPS.
Autocom audio systems, with helmet speakers for GPS audio and MP3 music. Just remember to load enough music on the Zumo SD cards.
Touratech Zega Panniers, Trax topbox, Polo waterproof bag. The top opening roolbag was great as did not have a fixed capacity and proved to be waterproof at the end of the trip.
My Camelback water bag was essential for maintaining hydration particularly when the temperature went over 40C. I mounted it this time to the side of the tank, on top of the Acerbis tank. Having it on my back can be hot and is an unnecessary weight to carry.
Cobber body cooling neck wrap - A tube of material containing little poly-crystal balls which soak up water. Needs to be soaked for an hour or so before use and will keep wet all day helping to keep you cool. A present from Australia.
The Wunderlich handlebar bag is great for small things, fiches for police checks, allen/torx set, sweets to eat as you ride, etc. and was waterproof. With the cigarette lighter socket was also handy to charge phones as I rode along.
Fanta bottles as extra fuel carriers.
Keeping a stock of Cereal snack bars and a small Lifeventure coffee flask(Blacks) for a snack for those stops in the desert where there are no cafes.
BMW Ralley 2 jacket with Goretex, coped with most of the weather and gives allows ventilation in the heat, as long as travelling at a reasonable speed.
Lumix TZ35 compact digital camera for stills and Drift head-cam for action photos. The Drift can of course take videos but I prefer stills and had a remote switch in the handlebars to trigger the Drift to take a still without taking the hands off the handlebars. The Drift with the remote can also be used for selfies, like the one riding in the desert.
A mini electric kettle was great for coffee in the room and also to fill a flask in the morning.
Having a photocopy of all important documents, spare photo ID's, spare keys and a spare credit card tucked away on the bike. The photocopies were very important on this trip for visa application and when my passport went missing.
DID NOT WORK(so well)
Did not need the Helinox chair this time as little camping and it was too expensive to discard.
Should have taken a sleep sheet as the sleeping bag was too warm some nights.
The Acerbis fuel tank syphon system was problematic at the start but seemed to improve when sealed better and with pressing on the side of the main tank to prime the tube.