Cycling in Africa

CATSEYES8787

Hi all,

I have in mind to discover Africa next year (I don't know yet which country, hence the post;-) ) and I would love to do so by bike.
So I'm looking to hear from personal, similar experiences:
which country did you visit, how did you organise it, did you go on your own, what was the itinerary, how long did you go for, cost of the trip etc... Basically as many useful information as possible!

Regards:)

blorg

http://crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=rzyi&doc_id=3134&v=Ct

Clubmate of mine. One thing I would think, maybe, though, is that many countries in Africa may be extremely "difficult." I am just finishing crossing India, and it was certainly tough... many places in Africa I am sure would be harder; I am not sure I'd suggest it as a first tour. I built up to the horror by riding across Europe and the Middle East, and things changed gradually; I really don't know how I would have reacted if I had just started here.

If you can stick the hard bits though I am sure it would be an amazing experience. You really experience a country by bike in a way you never could be train/bus, and the bike is always an introduction to the locals.

Ole Rodrigo

If money isn't a concern, putting it mildly , there's the
Tourdafrique. Some of the blogs are a great read.

Looking forward to reading about India Blorg

Canis Lupus

I'm starting in June and should hit Morocco Mid August (just in time for ramadan wahaaaaa..... oh ) I'm a total beginner If I fail miserably I'll just get on a plane to Thailand and fake my blog :P

Here's a quick couple of African ones:

Permacyclists

Take on Africa

Big Africa Cycle

Also, just came across this blog of people about to do South America but I really like the super extensive gear list (bear in mind they've bought some top end gear, the tent alone is a £680 job, compare and contrast with other gear lists but this is nice to get an idea of sorta stuff you'll need) The extensive excel list is linked in the first paragraph. LIST

TinyExplosions

Canis Lupus wrote: »

Also, just came across this blog of people about to do South America but I really like the super extensive gear list (bear in mind they've bought some top end gear, the tent alone is a £680 job, compare and contrast with other gear lists but this is nice to get an idea of sorta stuff you'll need) The extensive excel list is linked in the first paragraph. LIST

If only one had an unlimited budget with which to get stuff, it'd be great!

What tent are you taking btw, or is it still undecided? I'm looking at this one, or if I am f lush with cash, this. They both seem to get decent reviews and are quite light

smacl

Canis Lupus wrote: »

I'm starting in June and should hit Morocco Mid August

Now you're just making us jealous. Been hiking in Morocco in August, very hot by day and cold by night, but really great scenery and lovely people, would go back in a flash. One thing to pack is plenty of dioralyte, out of 15 of us, 13 got a stomach bug at one point or another over a 3 week trek.

Canis Lupus

TinyExplosions wrote: »

If only one had an unlimited budget with which to get stuff, it'd be great!

What tent are you taking btw, or is it still undecided? I'm looking at this one, or if I am f lush with cash, this. They both seem to get decent reviews and are quite light

I went for the MSR Hubba Hubba HUBBA HUBBA after seeing it mentioned in a few blogs. I've used it once so far and it's simple to setup/use. Downside is the luminous yellow fly which shoul make stealth camping a challenge. I should have waited as this years model comes with a green fly

smacl wrote: »

Now you're just making us jealous. Been hiking in Morocco in August, very hot by day and cold by night, but really great scenery and lovely people, would go back in a flash. One thing to pack is plenty of dioralyte, out of 15 of us, 13 got a stomach bug at one point or another over a 3 week trek.

I am a bit concerned about the heat although Spain should have toughened me up. I may just dawdle a bit more to arrive in Oct so it's not quite so bad and that I won't catch as much of ramadan.

TinyExplosions

Canis Lupus wrote: »

I went for the MSR Hubba Hubba HUBBA HUBBA after seeing it mentioned in a few blogs. I've used it once so far and it's simple to setup/use. Downside is the luminous yellow fly which shoul make stealth camping a challenge. I should have waited as this years model comes with a green fly

I was looking at that too, but hadn't seen it below 300 stg, so cheers for the link!

Canis Lupus

TinyExplosions wrote: »

I was looking at that too, but hadn't seen it below 300 stg, so cheers for the link!

The price amazon has it at for example is hilarious £365. Around £230 is the avg price for the hubba hubba 2010 model. Although it was sales time I got a lot of stuff from The Outdoor Shop Got some awesome xmas deals on the tent, mat and stove.

FROOGLE was a massive help finding sites that sold at reasonable prices.

I haven't bought from the link I gave above, I just found anything with hubba hubba. I did however buy stuff from CheapTents which has the hubba hubba at £234.

Enjoy.

westerlywonder

http://theslowwayhome.blogspot.com/ the map in this blog might give you some ideas

I met this guy in Colombia he's from Ireland and this blog is fantastic. By that stage he had gone down through europe, the entire length of africa and come back up through south america.

I wouldn't limit yourself to one country, nor would i be fearful of ramadan, when in different countries there is a tremendous opportunity to understand different cultures and traditions.

Best of luck eitherway, i am heading there without a bike in a few weeks trying to travel the continent using public transport, very exciting times

blorg

Canis Lupus wrote: »

Also, just came across this blog of people about to do South America but I really like the super extensive gear list (bear in mind they've bought some top end gear, the tent alone is a £680 job, compare and contrast with other gear lists but this is nice to get an idea of sorta stuff you'll need) The extensive excel list is linked in the first paragraph. LIST

I would say, I don't think you need to buy lots of super expensive stuff. I think you can figure out what is important by going touring... if you are planning a very long trip I think it is a good idea to do a short one first, it will really help you figure out what you need.

I basically went with what I had; my only specific purchase was a EUR70 lightweight (1kg) singleskin tent (I didn't plan on really cold or wet weather.) I put on a new rear wheel and some new tyres (Schwalbe Marathon Duremes 700x35c) but I needed these anyway.

I met a guy in Oman who has done over 500,000km all over the world, and he was very much into the make do with what you have, and repair, patch, stitch and fix anything until it literally can't be fixed before considering replacing it.

I was at the point of trying to work out where I could buy new panniers then. Could I get them shipped from home to somewhere in India, or something, it was going to be very difficult and maybe involve a lot of waiting around.

I had been hit by a motorbike in Iran and my left pannier damaged... The mounting system was broken and over the next 1,000km or so ending with jiggling over unsurfaced wadis up the mountains in Oman it ripped off the bag; I also had ripped the straps off and put a big hole in it.

So on his encouragement I decided to fix it rather than replace- someone I had met in Iran had tied back up the mounting system with steel wire while I used zip-ties and a twig as a temporary fix in Oman to get it back onto the bag and bungee cord around to keep them stable on the rack.

On arrival in Mumbai I was able to apply a more permanent fix at a metal workshop who were able to put a nut and bolt on to attach it back onto the bag. The strap and hole I got stitched by a street-side cobbler and it has all been rock solid since.

IF you don't have a bike already, unquestionably get something with Schrader valves and 26" wheels. Much more common than 700c. But you can live with the latter, just bring plenty of tubes and patch, patch patch before you ever use one. I even met another cyclist who replaced his front 700x35c wheel with a wide-tyred 26" MTB wheel to cross a desert and just lived without his front brakes! Not ideal, but you can make do and improvise to get you there.

I would also put on wide tyres- 35mm are fine but I would go wider, for comfort/damage resistance (to the wheels/bike) /sand flotation, if I was doing it again.

For a long trip, at least one spare tyre (in case you rip the sidewall) and a good few spare spokes (plus the means to change them, which means a spoke key but also something to get the cassette off) are pretty much essential. For a shorter trip I never bothered. A frame pump is a very good idea, I think I would have got a plane home by now if I only had a mini pump.

Zorba

Blorg do u have a blog of your travels or maybe someone here has a link to it ?

TinyExplosions

Zorba wrote: »

Blorg do u have a blog of your travels or maybe someone here has a link to it ?

The leg to Istanbul is here -after that, he's been too lazy to update

Zorba

blorg wrote: »

http://crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=rzyi&doc_id=3134&v=Ct

Clubmate of mine.

Ok sorry about being a bit stupid here (even if i'm not being stupid i'm feeling it) but, is blorg crazyguyonabike or is he just using his clubmates blog ?

Hail 2 Da Thief

crazyguyonabike is a site where people can blog their own cycling trips. There's loads of different blogs on it.

kenmc

blorg is A crazyguyonabike, but there are many just like him. its a site for them, and each has their own section

Zorba

Ok so african adventure is blorg's trip ?

Hail 2 Da Thief

One of Blorgs clubmates.

Zorba

Hail 2 Da Thief wrote: »

One of Blorgs clubmates.

Yes i finally figured it all out have blorg's blog now (Ireland to Istanbul) looking forward to reading it.