T2T day 14

T2T Day 14 24-Nov-2011 

Dakhla

Miles covered:  0            T2T miles so far: 2,820               Punctures : 0    

( KP miles unknown )

Evening Meal: Fefte Panini * 2

Road hours : 0

( KP road hours unknown )

Fettling hours : 8

A leisurely start to the day allowed team T2T team to carry on preparing for the journey ahead. The tight schedule with the support vehicle only available for a limited period meant some tough choices had to be made. A hazy plot emerged for a 3 pronged attack on our ultimate destination.

• Team leader Kev plus support to venture into the sands of Northern Mauritania as planned
• Jon will stay on in camp dusty for a day or two before taking a less arduous route on main roads through Mauritania and on into Mali.
• Jas will make it up as he goes along

The team will rendezvous in south/central Mali for the final assault on our hard for prize. Daily txt contact was to be maintained to give all team members an idea of progress. Team Leader, Kev’s Dakar was prepared and ready to go by 3pm – A few last minute adjustments and wiring repairs. The chain was degreased and dry lubed – A big thanks to BRANDEDBIKER.COM for their generous bits of kit specifically provided for the job.

Jas and Jon bid Kev and the Latvians a fond au-revoir and bon voyage.

Jas continued to fettle until his GS achieved showroom condition while trying to put on a brave face and not getting too down hearted at missing out on the off road sections. Thankfully there were no more problems discovered

Jas fettling

T2T Day 13

T2T Day 13 23-Nov-2011  “Dead calm …”

Dakhla

Mileage: 0         T2T miles so far: 2,820

Evening Meal: Tagine

Jas and team leader Kev went into town in the optimistic search for an alleged motorcycle mechanic/shop that might have spares for our completely alien BMW F650 GS Dakar bikes. Unsurprisingly no spares were to be found although a very helpful and well stocked motorcycle shop was.

Options? The possibilities were quickly reduced by a process of elimination to shipping the offending article in from the UK having found a second hand calliper on the internet. A best case scenario was 3-5 day delivery – as darkness finally descended on a long and unproductive day the T2T team was faced with it’s first major set back.

A half hearted effort to prepare the bikes for off road was begun. The changing of tyres was being more problematic than it should as chief tyre changer Jon was not on top form after the long ride. A sheared inner-tube valve was the proverbial final straw and the team called it a day and went off for dinner.

Dinner was sombre affair with the blessing of fellow team mates, team leader Kev proposed to push on into the desert section with the Baltic backup division (See photo).

After 4,000 miles on the road from Latvia, the T2T support vehicle was showing signs of some wear & tear.

T2T Day 12

T2T Day 12 22-Nov-2011  “Where the sand meets the sea …”

Lauyonne to Dakhla

Miles covered:  346        T2T miles so far: 2,820               Punctures : 0    

Evening Meal: Tagine * 3

Road hours : 08:00 – 17:45

Southerly winds gently pushed the T2T team toward the Mauritanian border which made a refreshing change from fighting a savage cross wind. The on coming lorries were all flashing at the team but Jas figured they might be friendly and promptly waved to all – the returning waves from hardened desert truckers confirmed their friendly intent.

We chuckled at the cyclist warning signs but then overtook 2 separate bold (or insane) individuals cycling our route. The happy vibes continued with more waves as we sped past the masochistic peddle powered guys.

The scenery changed form small dunes to scrub and then to a wind eroded plateau that the road meandered through, time for a spot of lunch. Back on the road and back to the rocky and arid landscape that briefly came within sight of the coast.

The T2T team were plugged into their mp3 players and cruising, eating up the miles with consummate ease (Ahem, ahem….was it really like that?)

Dakhla is situated at the end of a small peninsula and the sight of the turn-off was a sight for sore eyes. The wind picked up but the scenery changed to a dramatic sand meets sea panorama with a ribbon of tarmac threading its way through it.

Undeniably pleasant though this stage was Jon commented that the combination of the encouragement of pedestrians and motorists and the over-sized T2T luggage made him feel as though he were running the London marathon in a comedy Rhinoceros costume.

The campsite was an easy find for once and the team set about making camp. Vilis and Maruda were waiting and greeted the T2T team as we rode in.

Jas following the tradition of looking after his steed before organising himself started bemoaning the state of his front brake pads that had all but disappeared. Ever the perfectionist he set about finding the reason behind the excessive wear by dismantling the front calliper. Nothing obvious but the master piston wasn’t sliding as smoothly as it should, too late to investigate thoroughly but it had cast a small shadow of doubt on T2T’s next move.   

T2T Day 11

T2T Day 11 21-Nov-2011  “Camel Lights”

Tan Tan to Lauyonne

Miles covered:  238        T2T miles so far: 2,574               Punctures : 0    

Evening Meal: Instant noodles, Tuna

Road hours : 09:00 – 16:00

T2T motos were released from the overnight lockup and we were set for another day on the road.  First port of call was the filling station then onto the glorious Western Sahara highway ( imagine driving on the A6 from Bedford to Reykjavik and you’ll have some idea of the task ahead … ).  The early stretches of this road bordered the Atlantic breakers crashing easily on the coast – most sublime.  Team leader Kev had promised flamingos and an easy day ahead of the big push to Dakhla the day after.  T2T stopped for provisions and later lunch at a nature reserve where flamingos frolicked ( or whatever they do ) and Jas took some splendid photos of the landscape and wild-life. Once again T2T was greeted by cheery officialdom with an uncertain but relaxed role in the parking area.

Back on the road Jon decided to pull over for an impromptu photo of the shoreline and promptly buried the front wheel in 12 inches of soft sand whilst the other two members watched this disaster unfold in slow motion before their eyes “Nooooooo !”.   Inevitably Jon dropped his bike triggering the Dakar’s quick release filler cap ™ and jettisoning 3 litres of fuel before the team managed to right the bike. 

Further down the road the need for the ‘Camels crossing’ sign became evident.  Frantic attempts at snapping these gracious beautiful animals strolling across the highway ( ’like they owned the place’ ) proved fruitless though they were snapped once across the road.

As T2T rolled along we approached the critical 4pm meaning it’s time to start looking for tonight’s accommodation.  Team leader Kev had a note about a campsite South of the military town of Lauyonne.  We found the location, a beautiful Oasis, with slight difficulty only to find it locked up and seemingly deserted.  Jon was asked to interrogate a couple of locals ( Mother & Son ) who indicated the locked gates behind us and then demanded recompense for this indispensable advice by screeching and ullalating.  Jas meanwhile invoked the universal African language of the motor horn to attract attention.  For a brief period this little piece of paradise descended into a noisy farce.  Resigned to having to ‘wild camp’ T2T started scratching around in the dust like hi-vis chickens.  Then the doors opened to the Oasis de la Msaid which proved to be the find of the trip so far.  Many photos were taken and the initially abandoned oasis sprang into life when our host escorted around our stupendous overnight accommodation.  In an uncharacteristic burst of organisation a video of this experience exists …

Our Motos were tucked under palm trees and we were seated in a Berber tent whilst our excellent host Mohammed who expertly prepared green tea by decanting from one glass into another until satisfied the required quality had been achieved.

The obligatory visit of the gendarmes added spice to the evening interrupting team leader Kev’s noodle & tuna master-class.  As darkness descended onto the Oasis a trio of interesting looking characters arrived through the foliage.  A short, stout gentleman in Khaki fatigues wearing spectacles, a younger gentleman with a splendid moustache and wearing an Adidas tracksuit ( usually the boss ) and another, larger gentleman wearing traditional Jelhaba.  We all adjourned to the kitchen, now in almost complete darkness. By (head)torch light the chief meticulously transposed ALL of the details from ALL of the fiches onto paper spotting an error in Kev’s fiche!  Jas and Jon’s fiches showed the correct date of entry ( 15-Nov-11 ) Kev’s mysteriously showed 16-Nov-11.  This we feared is exactly the sort of discrepancy our inquisitors relish.  The chief speculated on the reasons behind this error and then eventually persuaded himself Kev had crossed at 00:01 on 16-Nov.  As T2T has seen many times before and since in this leg of the trip, once the officials are satisfied with paper-work we are offered an unequivocal and warm welcome with hearty handshakes and best wishes of ‘Bonne route’.

Having bade farewell to our new gendarme friends T2T tucked into supper, sharing with our young host.  The excitement and rigours of the day plus full tummies ( in Arabic ‘she ban’ ) prompted an early retirement and so it was at 10.15pm that Jas was distracted from his Kindle by another official visit.  This time the gendarmes sported different uniforms and were reduced to two in number.  Jas was very gracious with our new guests, greeting them warmly in his 2^nd language ‘Spanglais’. Team leader Kev did his best to ignore and Jon too pretended to slumber until beckoned.  So irate was Jon at this 2^nd interruption he stomped out of his tent sans chemise and exposed the startled officers to the truly unholy site that is a middle-aged biker in boxer shorts.  Tackling such a visual assault is clearly not in the Gendarmarie Royale hand-book and the terrified young officers performed the briefest of checks and sputtered an apology before scuttling off.

T2T Day 10

T2T Day 10 20-Nov-2011  “Bungal, George and Zippy”

Miles covered: 225         T2T miles so far: 2,336               Punctures : 0    

Evening Meal: Tagine (chicken) * 3

Road hours : 09.30 - 16.30

Another day another single road mountain pass for T2T.  The landscape has changed noticeably as we enter the edges of the Western Sahara, leaving the tranquillity of the Med-like coastline behind us, we approach the long road to the Southern Morrocan border with Mauritania. The heavy overnight rain still lingered and we had to drive through a couple of heavy downpours.

Towns start to get few and far between as we head into Western Sahara, so we needed to secure some more local currency and photocopy more fiches at our morning coffee stop. Jas and Kev also took the opportunity to top up their Scotoilers, improvising with an empty water bottle.

The team decided to break with tradition and partake in an Alfresco lunch of bread, tinned tuna, amalou (a local speciality of ground argan nuts and honey….sort of like peanut butter) and peanuts.

Suitably refreshed the team hit the somewhat formal looking town of Tan Tan on what used to be Morocco’s former border. Here they managed to ensconce themselves into a cheap but suitably clean hotel with secure parking.

T2T Day 9

T2T Day 9 19-Nov-2011  “(Dead) Dog Days”

Miles covered: 100         T2T miles so far: 2,111               Punctures : 0    

Evening Meal: Filet au Dover sole avec sauce marie rose,  pomme Dauphinoise. Crepe au Citron et sucre.  Vin Guerrouane Rouge

Road hours : 11.30-15.30

Essaouria contained the essence of Morocco. A walled medina with narrow streets and packed with people strolling along. Shops full of colourful clothes and shoes, intricate wood work and metal work and lots of leather. Spices piled into conical shapes and giving off aromatic wafts, strange fruit and foods on show and even a few carpet stalls were all part of the exotic setting.

The T2T team took 5 and had a heart to heart in a café. Taking stock of the monumental drive so far and laying bare our worries and fears for the road ahead. The team’s stalwart attitude was not found wanting although a consensus for a few relaxed days was agreed by all.

Locals were friendly and helpful but not overwhelming or in your face. The food was excellent and the cafes relaxed. T2T could have stayed for longer but we are servants to the schedule. It was the perfect place to kick back and reflect and also look forward.

Team T2T seemed to soak up the laid back atmosphere of Essaouira and after only an 80 mile stretch stopped for photos taken by some lovely French folks who admired the bikes and reminded the team about the dread STOP sign in Tan Tan. 

T2T decided on a standard photo for today – will wonders never cease?

Naughty local police have apparently staked out the first roundabout in Tan Tan and put a STOP sign in an unusual place.  The game is to entrap the hapless European tourists and slap then with a 700 dirham fine ( about €70 ) .. T2T has been warned.  Shortly after our impromptu photo shoot T2T stopped for lunch in a wind-blown village for more tuck.  As we sat down three mini Tagines were placed before us and T2T dived in.  Happy moments passed before we asked for the bill and were presented with a staggering and extortionate 176 dirham chitty !!  The waiter’s Ray Bans should have been a warning sign. 

Local and national elections have meant a plethora of pick-ups full of people throwing paper with electoral details out on to the street. Unfortunately a slow precession was heading out into the hills with delicious mountain curves wanting to seduce the GS’s into ever increasing speed and leaning. Jas took off determined to make the most of the roads and using the traffic as mobile chicanes. One pick up plastered with posters and people waving printed sheets offered some to the eager motorcyclist. They were so friendly a cunning overtake close enough to snatch a flyer was required. Job done and Jas was waving the flyer in the air, the crowd went wild!

Soon after the lunch and Jas’ flyer stunt T2T found the most gorgeous stretch of Mediterranean-like coast.   Camels cantered on the beach and families sunbathed as T2T sped by and wished we had a moment to ride the bikes onto the sand for photo-op 2.  Then the unthinkable happened; Jas spotted a camping sign and indicated interest ( and it wasn’t even dark ) .

Jon who was following seconded this and after a brief discussion T2T checked in at camp Terre d’ocean just outside Agadir.  Though strictly against convention, team leader Kev over-looked the transgression and T2T booked a room for 3 for a reasonable 250 dirhams. 

Jon hit the bed and immediately crashed out ( 4pm ) Jas announced he was going to have a power nap and slept for 3 hours …

Dinner followed … with wine !!! ( see tonight’s menu )  T2T is not suffering from lack of nourishment.

T2T day 8

T2T Day 8 18-Nov-2011  “The windy road to Essaouira”

Kenitra to Essaouira

Miles covered: 316         T2T miles so far: 2,011               Punctures : 0    

Evening Meal: Tagine : Kefte & egg, Lamb, dates and almonds  !

Road hours : 09:00 – 18:30

A relatively early start at the café l’equitation again, a look at the map and a decision to go by minor roads to see the real Morocco.

The motorway was crawling with very smart police in white uniforms and lots of speed cameras, luckily the GS’s are not that fast.

The weather warmed up and the miles slipped away and the smart policemen waved us on and waved to us – very nice bunch, which goes for Moroccans in general.

Onto the N1 south to Essaouira. The turn off for the dual carriageway was closed on the right hand side and we were directed up the wrongside of the dualcarriageway – T2T was a little disconcerted at the idea until a truck turned into the aforementioned road – T2T quickly followed using the truck as a shield. The road works were only for a few hundred metres and then crossed over.

We took a sustainable pace of 50-60mph giving us chance to cover the miles while still looking around and waving to the locals as we passed by. The roads were very good and not too busy, coming into towns was pandemonium with carts, pedestrians, goats, dogs and buses all milling around.

The bikes were going well and the sun was shining and we were all having a great time.

A lunch stop at a town by the unlikely name of Sidi Smail revealed the best Tagine team leader Kev has ever tasted.  T2T became the focus of a little unwanted attention outside the restaurant.  Almost everywhere the trio of T2T bikes has parked they’ve been minded by a hi-vis official and today was no exception, aided & abetted by some plucky young chaps who agreed to pose for the photo below :

Re-fuelled T2T set off once more and a few miles down the road lay a purpose-built playground for curve-meister Jas.  To watch Jas take a succession of bends at high speed is a beautiful thing, especially if you are at a safe distance.  T2T wove its way down to the sea-side town of Essaouira in time to find darkness descended and the camp-site temporarily elusive.

Camp setup T2T set off into the medina for more Tagines and the potential lure of a bottle of beer !

Tagines were acquired but sadly no beers …  To reinforce our 21^st Century traveller credentials T2T attended to the blog and skype called partners ( or some did )

T2T day 7

T2T Day 7 17-Nov-2011  “Mr Coffee”

Rabat day 2

Miles covered: 68           T2T miles so far: 1,695               Punctures : 0    

Evening Meal: Roast chicken, Frites, omelette fromage

Road hours : 11:00 – 12:00 ( then a return 17:00 – 18:00 )

Having spent 2 days in the same place for reasons of acquiring visas for onward destination team T2T had the unusual luxury of time on hands.  We awoke at a more civilized 08:30 then set off for our local café for coffee and breakfast … and wi-fi.

So many devices on charge were connected to the café l’equitation mains supply Team leader Kev swore he saw the lights dim.  Life on the road in 2011 ladies and gentlemen.  Netbook, ipods, smartphones, digital cameras, head cam … all requiring a ready supply of electricity and an obliging host.  Happily for T2T the staff at l’equitation are happy to oblige.

First task of the day was posting the blog for day 6 and correcting an error on our map widget on the website.  Team leader Kev set at this task with his customary zeal and total focus.  Even the local TV channel mysteriously playing lift music on a loop in our café failed to throw him off the scent and eventually he cracked it as we knew he would. 

T2T needed to return to the Mauritanian embassy to collect the visa for which we submitted our forms yesterday.  We were advised to arrive early to ensure a good place in the queue.  We arrived 30 mins later than intended and were the first in line.

This was still a record for team member Jas who has very rarely been early for anything  Tales from the road, rumours of embassy opening time and war stories were exchanged in the queue with our fellow travellers which included local Moroccans, our new best friends from Latvia, some zany Dutch chaps and a smattering of Scandinavians and Herman the German who sported dyed pink hair and enough facial metal to supply a smelting plant for a few days.  T2T was once again on a tight schedule which wasn’t helped by that fact that the visas were meant to be available from 3pm, at 4pm the office finally opened and we managed to fend off the resulting rugby scrum for the door. Jas was pushed (shoved) forward into the breach protected by body armour of his (repaired) jacket. Had he had a helmet he could have done little more.  

We needed to retrieve our passports with visa stamps from the Mauritanian officials and hot foot (in heavy, inflexible motocross boots) up to the Mali embassy to submit our passports and ( we were reassured ) retrieve passports the same day !

As luck would have it we managed to get T2T passports returned and run the 100metres to the Mali embassy. A titanic sprint at (no where near) Olympic pace in time ( just ) to meet a Malian official just as he was preparing to go home ( 4.15pm ). Initially they had decided they were closed and it was a dejected team outside of the embassy. An eleventh hour u-turn by the officials -   “Welcome to Africa my friends – would you like to join me in some coffee?” 

After an interesting preamble about time and collecting visas on Monday, we agreed to join our Malian friend in some coffee in another office. We were introduced to an exotic looking lady who kindly accepted our donations for the coffee but didn’t actually offer any ... 

“Oh Mr Coffee, you’re so frothy !”

Most importantly we have two valuable stamps in our passports, against the odds T2T had prevailed once more Hurrah !

As an added bonus T2T were accosted by two young ladies who insisted on vogueing on Jas’ motorcycle

Jas had to choose which was to go ; luggage or ladies

T2T Day 6

T2T Day 6 16-Nov-2011  “The road to Rabat, the queue at the Mauritanian embassy”

Larache ( Northern Morocco ) to Rabat

Miles covered: 141         T2T miles so far: 1,627               Punctures : 0    

Evening Meal: Roast chicken and frites  …

Road hours : 07:00 – 14:00 ( with a 3 hour interval for visa application )

Having enjoyed sunshine, and endured gale force winds, torrential rain it was perhaps no surprise that 70 mile or so journey to Rabat was mostly obscured by thick fog, limiting speeds to a maximum 50 mph………….not good when we needed to submit our documentation to the Mauritanian Embassy by 10am to get our visas the next day or have to sit it out in Rabat until Monday.  To everyone’s amazement we made it in time and spent the next hour scrabbling with about 30 others (most of whom had camped outside the embassy the night before) filling in the paperwork and handing over yet more money ( 340 Dirhams each = €30 each ).

It was outside the embassy that we met up with Vilis and Maruda the Latvian couple who will be accompanying us through Mauritania. In return for our company they are kindly carrying reserves of fuel and water through the remoter parts of the desert.

Having successfully lodged our applications and left passports with the Mauritanian staff we set off with our new Latvian friends for a camp-site in nearby Kenitra.  T2T was re-invigorated on the journey through Rabat to Kenitra by the warm welcome our three fully laden warhorses received by motorists and pedestrians alike. While waiting at lights the cars all around were chatting and waving. Others were agog and stared in amazement (?)/ wonder(?) at the three amigos on their motorcycles.  T2T gives the good people of Rabat and Kenitra a big thumbs up for their kind-heartedness and well-wishing on our journey ahead. 

T2T Jon managed a very impressive impersonation of the pied piper of Hamblin ( except in jeans, no pipe and in morocco – but otherwise the spitting image). Here you can see he has them dancing up a tree and ready to throw themselves into the melee of traffic below. Luckily he was feeling benevolent and let the children dance away.

Jas is quickly discovering that they don’t do Jas sized portions and is having to revert to hobbit style multiple meals. He also has yet a new hobby of sewing, as the seams of his new jacket slowly unravel.

Team T2T retired to its first official camp for a well earned rest.

T2T Day 5

T2T Day 5 15-Nov-2011  “Sac magique”

Jerez ( Southern Spain ) to Larache ( Northern Morocco )

Miles covered: 163         T2T miles so far: 1,486               Punctures : 0    

Evening Meal: Pizza, frites, Charwarma

Road hours : 09:00 – 22:30 …

We departed the secure parking facilities offered by excellent Nova Centro Hotel in Jerez sans breakfast, sans coffee tired perhaps but with determination in our hearts to reach the port of Algeciras to take our Ferry to Morocco and to begin our African adventure proper.

Algeciras being only 106km down the road, no problems were anticipated.  A modest shower doused T2T outriders but the sun shone intermittently and our spirits brightened as Algeciras loomed.  On arrival team leader Kev made contact with a local ticket agent and set off with Jas to confirm Ferry times and prices.  Jon remained standing guard over the bikes and to stretching aching muscles.  Time alone with the bike is an excellent opportunity to fettle and faff with machine and kit and it was during this brief interval that the terrible truth dawned on T2T Jon – Jas had forgotten his head torch!!! Having just arrived, at speed from Jerez Jon valiantly offered to return to collect the torch (and his own wallet and backpack which happened to also have been forgotten… ).  Not only did this impose an immediate return journey in the direction from which he’d just come but worse still there would be a delay to the murderous T2T schedule … dark moments indeed for T2T.  Having broken the news to flabbergasted but resigned team mates Jon set off to return 3.5 hours later this time with the elusive head-torch and backpack.

Re-united once again the team acquired ferry tickets and boarded the 4pm to the recently re-furbished passenger port of Tangiers with the promise of a speedy pass-through and on the road to Morocco’s capital city of Rabat from where onward visas are to be sourced.

On arrival to Tangiers team T2T were fast-tracked through immigration and passport control in an unbelievable 3 hours ( and were a collective €180 lighter for ‘vehicle insurance’.  This insurance which is mandatory provides cover for any 3^rd party T2T collides with, not the T2T rider nor his machine … )

A brief but eventful ride to the nearby town of Larache where weary T2T team mates were welcomed like lost sons.  A brief round of soft drinks and a plate of frites for the ever-hungry Jas and the team retired in preparation for a 6am start the following day …

T2T Day4

T2T Day 4 14-Nov-2011  “Hard yards – harder miles”

Duenas (Northern Spain ) to Jerez ( Southern Spain )

Miles covered: 456         T2T miles so far: 1,323               Punctures : 0    

Evening Meal: Tapas ( followed by paellas Valenciana and Mixta )

Road hours : 09:00 – 19:30

07:00 alarm calls roused T2T from standard and camp beds.  All team members rendezvoused for the daily ritual of fixing of luggage onto our sturdy Thumpers.  Team leader Kev led by example, unlocking the bikes and loading first.  Jon and Jas joined from their respective berths and surveyed the lead grey skies suspiciously. The weather forecast from the previous night had indicated 70-80kph winds and rain - oh joy !

The journey began on the high plains of the Castilla Y Leon with cross-wind induced wobbles expressed by Jon who, maddened by sudden invisible forces driving him to the hard shoulder sought solace in a service station to collect himself.  Testing moments these for team T2T … Kev and Jas waited patiently and rescued the situation by proposing a 60mph limit through the treacherous winds … Before too long Jon had mastered the winds and all was well [ top T2T tip for coping with naughty cross-winds : let the wind take you for a moment then squeeze the throttle thus regaining traction ] … and then it rained, and rained and rained some more.  T2T resolve was such that all members ploughed through approaching speeds of 80mph.  Bonus points were scored for the driving rain cleaning French insects off T2T visors.  Sadly points were deducted for Jas’ ripped jacket (see below), Jon’s solitary pair of (rain-soaked) gloves and Kev’s tactical error in tucking trousers into boots resulted in the excellent Sidi Adventure boots resulted in water soaked seal skinz socks !!   

Regardless, in an elongated day’s riding a T2T personal best was set ( 456 miles hurrah ! )

Footnote: the day began with the horror of high speeds winds whipping across the plain but ended in the tranquillity of Sandlawood, Cypress and Pine trees lining the route to Jerez – T2T likes a happy ending !

Product review: New Jacket –  Jas wants to like his jacket but some serious flaws leaves his decision in limbo: A quick once over before heading into forecasted torrential rain and the new jacket had a gaping hole in the shoulder/arm pit seam and join. In need of a good night sleep but needs must – out came the sewing kit (a special thanks to mum). ¾ of an hour later and repaired seams. Judgment day and the jacket held up well to the rigors of the weather. Some wet love-handles but that could be down to user error. But managed to rip the neoprene cuff from the lining! What next?

On going review but so far – Design 9/10, construction 3/10 – will it last the trip? Will Jas have enough Nylon?

Neowell Desert Trousers are about as waterproof as a Tetley Tea Bag!! However Chris Scott’s “Desert Riders”, Aerostich Darien Jacket resisted all the weather could throw at it. 

Future product reviews to include Asda pants vs. Tesco pants vs Primark pyjama trousers. Stay tuned …

* Reference to ‘Thumpers’, please see Watership Down

Testing the Camel back hydration systems before we hit the desert…

T2T Day 3

T2T Day 3 13-Nov-2011  “Windy passage. (a meteorological reference – please behave ! ), The wind in Spain blows mainly everywhere!”

Bordeaux to Duenas ( Northern Spain )

Miles covered: 346         T2T miles so far: 867                  Punctures : 0    

Evening Meal: Chorizo frito (appetiser), Steak & chips * 2 / Complete roast chicken & chips , vino tinto * 3

Road hours : 10:00 – 17:30

Who’d have thought it would be windy on the North Western tip of Spain where the Pyrenees meets the Atlantic … in November …  Cross winds on the descent from France into Spain had a major impact on 1/3 of team T2T with the result average speed plummeted and tempers frayed ( a little ).  Nevertheless all members arrived at destination in one piece – minus one windscreen. 

To demonstrate how small our world is, on fuel stop #3 T2T bumped into two ladies previously encountered at the excellent Horizons Unlimited event in Ripley, Derbyshire last June.  Such an unlikely event prompted an impromptu photo call … Wishes were wished and Joanne and Helen set off for Catalonia driving impressive looking vans whilst T2T ventured once more into the treacherous winds.

The team managed to do some bird watching en route: Black kites, buzzards, falcon / kestrels, magpies, storks and some unidentified LBJ’s.

The expected freezing temperatures have so far been replaced by a balmy 17C. 5 thermal layers were reduced to 3 and replacing winter gloves with motocross gloves. The T2T team have had mixed success with our in helmet entertainment. Radio was abandoned before Jas was driven insane by some sort of feedback.

Las Draco was our hostess for the evening at the hotel remained (surprisingly, amazingly even) impervious to T2T charm offensive. Jas didn’t help by deciding to camp behind the hotel.

Footnote : ‘Las Draco’ thawed a little with the friendly telling off of one member of T2T who foolishly left behind in the bar his man bag containing cash, keys and personal effects.  T2T cultural exchange ensured that “OMG!” is forever a part of England bequeathed to the Basque country.

T2T Day 2

Caen to Bordeaux

Miles covered : 400      T2T miles so far : 523               Punctures : 0   

 

Evening Meal : Bavette Steak & chips / Half a roast chicken & chips

Having disembarked the excellent Brittany Ferries' Mont St Michel the team busied itself fine tuning autocom systems and breaking the only helmet cam holder.

Having taken in a quick tour of Caen centre ville the team joined the ring road in search of signs to Le Mans.  Our major highlight from this phase was passing a burning vehicle on the hard shoulder of the Caen peripherique.  Sadly there is no photographic evidence of this spectacular event.

Petrol lights illuminated T2T called into the nearest garage for re-fuel, coffee and forecasting the day ahead. Wrapped in several layers of thermals and natural and synthetic fibres T2T was astonished to see clear skies and sunshine by 10.00 and best of all dry roads.  South of Poitiers the team passed the world famous ; Futurscope, Planete des crocodiles and the awe-inspiring 'vallee des singes' ( ou est le singe ? you may ask )

Shortly after passing through toll gate #1 T2T member Jon was persuaded by Jason that his chain was slightly tight.  Sufficiently concerned at this school-boy error ( chain at rest does not equal chain with 250kg on board ).  Jon requested an impromptu pitstop to remedy the problem.  This was also an irrestible opportunity to put to use the WW2 issue ammunition box bolted to the sump guard of Jon’s T2T Dakar

At the next tollgate Jason became very animated and complained of screeching feedback in his [autocom] ears as a result of forces unknown, but suspected to be military in origin ( or Kev’s singing ). 

Our last petrol stop of the day required one especially tired member of T2T to have an emergency nap.  Fully re-charged T2T set off in search of cheap hotel accommodation in the Bordeaux area.

Hotel Formule 1 was booked, luggage removed, bikes locked together by 17.30.  A cosy room for three awaits … €29 room rate !

The team concluded the evening with a lively debate on the naming of our trusty teutonic thumpers…

T2T Day 1

Toddington to Portsmouth docks

Miles covered : 123                  T2T miles so far : 123               Punctures : 0

Evening Meal : Chips/Baked Potatoes & Sausages

The Oddfellows Arms, Toddington Bedfordshire

The team was assembled in the presence of supporters, friends and family for the launch of T2T.  Team T2T would like to thank everyone who turned out on the chilly November evening

The trio setoff at 7.30pm to great fanfare with outriders from Ampthill, Maulden & district who accompanied them to junction 12 on M1 and Rickmansworth on the M25 – Thanks chaps your company was much appreciated.

A special mention must be made of the dedication & commitment of one fellow biker who journeyed to Portsmouth to wave off only to find that the team had already boarded (sorry).

D-Day!

Less than 5 hours to go............I still haven't finished packing!!

Big thanks to Charley at John Lee Motorcycles in Higham Ferrars for donating a pin from his own helmet to replace the one that now lives under my floorboards.....long story.

Second Radio Interview in a week

On Monday Kev had a brief radio interview on the Roberto Perrone show on BBC 3 counties and on Saturday Jon featured on the Gaz Wesley show.

Both shows are still available on i-player. Kev's is 1hour 42minutes in, Jon's is 1 hour 9 minutes in.

All good publicity!

Two weeks to go

Two weeks tomorrow until departure.

We managed to get a plug on BBC 3 Counties Radio on Monday night, and Jon is doing a live interview with them at 10am Saturday morning. They are also interested in doing a remote broadcast from Toddington on the 11th.  All good publicity.

My bike went in to DBC Dunstable today for some last minute bits; new front brake pads, new flexible front indicators fitted and side switch diabled. The battery proved to be a bit dodgy so that was replaced as well.  Thanks again to Martin and Steve at DBC for their continued support, we really do appreciate it.

The Sidi Adventurer boots that Jon and myself recently got (again from DBC) were featured in a review in the Adventure Bike Rider magazine this week and got 10/10. Jason is hoping he might get a pair as an early Christmas present.

Jason is having an Autocom system fitted to his bike this week.

We're hoping to get together next week with all the kit to make sure we've got everything we need.

Kev

Website Update

With just under 3 weeks to go we have made some changes to the website. In addition to the Twitter feed we have added;- a feed from the blog, a "Where on Earth are we?" map to show our followers exactly where we are and a feed from our Just Giving page showing our current fund raising total.

We have so far raised £2300 for the L&D NICU appeal.  You can now donate using your mobile simply Text ACMH98 £1 to 70070.

Chris Scott's Darien Jacket Rides Again!

During a fit of madness at the Ted Simon Foundation launch two weeks again I found myself bidding on and winning (for an undisclosed sum!) the Aerostich Darien jacket worn by Chris Scott in the Desert Riders video.

How cool, I thought, to wear this on our trip and take it back out to the Sahara.  Unfortunately, the jacket didn't have the original protective armour in and as I know from experience it hurts bad enough if you come off with it let alone without. After an email to the company in the States they have come up trumps and a set of there TF pads should be wining there way to me across the Atlantic.

Thanks Aerostich, really appreciated and it will be fantastic to be able to use the jacket.

Kev and Jon have now got heavier duty sump guards, and we're sourcing the final parts and bits of kit.

Less than 4 weeks to go!!!!!!

5 Weeks on Friday!

After a manic summer, we managed to sort a meet up of the three of us on Monday. We've booked the ferry from Portsmouth to Caen which some how all makes it seem a bit more real.  We've identified the last remaining bits of kit that need to be aquired.

Put the road tyres back on today and Jon and Kev paid a visit to the Oddfellows in Toddington.  Just to confirm that the pub is definately hosting a beer festival the weekend of our departure................typical we won't be there to appreciated it!

Tomorrow I'm representing us at the Ted Simon Foundation launch at the Coventry Motor Museum.

The pace will certainly pick up over the next few weeks and I'm sure the next 36 days will go by in no time at all......don't blink.

Kev

Baptism of Mud, Sand, Air and Spills!

Picked up the bike from Martin at Torque Racing last night all prepped with new progressive springs and Barkbuster hand guards so what better than to put it through it's paces?

At last I finally managed to get a whole day of off roading in.  Chris at Ride Any Road had very generously offered to take all of us out trail riding, unfortunately we couldn't get all three of us together on one day but Chris was able to take me out today and Jason and Jon will sort out another day with him later on.

What a day!! We pretty much covered everything as we seeked out the byways of Beds and Herts;- grass, mud, puddles, ruts, ascents, descents, jumps and even sand.  Excellent preparation for just about all we're likely to encounter (apart from dunes) and some.

I finally got to see what both the bike any myself was capable of.  Needless to say the bike was more capable than me........I'm certainly gonna be a bit sore in the morning!!    The new Hyperpro springs felt great even when getting a bit of air under both wheels.

All in all fantastic preparation for what we are about to embark on, all at a steady pace gradually progressing in difficulty throughout the day.  I can't recommended it highly enough for anyone who's considering taking their bike off road.

Thanks again Chris