Africa by Motorcycle
Distance 350km
Today has been a great bike riding experience it started with some straight forward good straight tarmac for high speed and burning kilometers. Then came some of the worst roads imaginable where the tarmac was either pot holed or missing for several kilometers at a time. I spent a lot of the time riding on the dirt beside the road rather than dancing around pot holes on the road. Finally I was back on good tarmac through fantastic hilly scenery with long sweeping bends.
This morning I only had a kilometer to go to the village where I needed to get my passport stamped. Right from the outset the steering did not feel right. It was notchy when turning rather than smooth. Ok when going straight and fast but very difficult when going slow and using the steering to help balance.
Distance: 380km
I started the day unsure of where I would finish. The Michelin paper map showed an unpaved road between Bougoni in Mali and Kankan in Guinnea but neither Google Maps not Openstreetmaps said it was a complete road. They showed a gap and no route through. Internet searches gave no mention of a border post there. I decided to get to Bougouni and ask a local. If no joy then I would have to take a much longer route and stop overnight in Bomako, Mali.
Opposite the hotel in Bobo was a bike repair shop so first thing I wandered across to ask about them helping do an oil change (they do the mucky bits of a service) we agreed a price and layer I came across with the bike. While he did the oil, I checked the plug, cleaned the air filter etc. Half hour later the bike was serviced.
Distance 350km
Last night I went to sleep with the sounds of a big thunderstorm. Lighting flashes were almost continual as was the rumble of thunder. I definitely made the right choice of not camping. I got a very good 9 hours of sleep and woke to a very different world to the one I left the night before.
After two consecutive days riding for 11 hours, a lot of it on dirt roads, and a sleepless night in a hot and humid tent, I am exhausted. I managed to get to the last small town before the Hamile border post and find a cheap hotel. It has a shower and a bed and sometimes power. There is a thunder storm outside which may account for the 3 consecutive power cuts in 5 minutes.
Distance: 450km
I am on the road again at last. I left Accra at 8am and headed North West. I entered Ghana on the East side so am travelling up the West side of the river Volta to leave by different scenery. So far I am not disappointed.
STOP PANICKING MUM! I was not the patient!
I had a call from Hussain at 5.30am. He wanted me to get a taxi to his place and we would go together to pick up the bike. Why so early? His wife was sick and had gone to hospital. I tried to persuade him to forget about me and focus on his wife but he said he had everything in hand and after she had gone to hospital she would go to her mother’s and I could take Hussain there on the bike.
After saying goodbye to Amy amd the boys at Cardiff, the flights were uneventful. It was nice flying over Spain and Africa and seeing the same scenery I had seen at ground level. When i get home i want to do a side by side gallery of shots i have from both air and ground.
Having spent the last few days relaxing at home with my future wife Amy, it is with mixed feelings that I start my journey back to Ghana to pick up my bike.