Bourem to Timbuktu

[Toecutter]

Hi,
has anyone ridden the track from Bourem to Timbuktu recently? Just arrived in Niamey after 7 days in the Aiir and the edge of the Tènèrè and will head into Mali in another couple of days. I did the trip into the Aiir alone on my XT600 34L; it was fantastic if not a little foolhardy. The guides in Agadez were charging extortionate prices which I couldn't afford, so just went anyway. You can buy fuel in some of the villages in the Aiir(Kreb-Kreb,Timia,Taghmirt,Ifrouane), although they are not reliable sources. Water is also available all the way up to Taghmirt(Zagado valley), then at Kogo, the Tènèrè is before you. Amazing.
Checkpoints at Ifrouane, but not coming out of Agadez from the North; riding medium grade 'Trail-riding' with a few areas of deep sand. But spare fuel and water tanks are a must, particularly at this time of year.
Cheers.

[Chris Scott]

Good for you giving yourself a free tour around the Air - I saw some other bikers doing the same one time out there and wondered how they managed - just fill up and ride out of town I guess!

I did Bourem-Tim years ago on a bike. My recollection is hard work stuck in either one very soft sand rut or the other with no room to get out because of the trees and tussocks. Some tricky route finding but the river is always on the left. It will be harder work than Aïr pistes but its the road to Timbuktu after all.

good luck

Ch

[Theo_]

Hi there,

I've done Burem-Tombouctou in January 2006 on my KTM LC4 Adventure and I have to admitt that I was a little exhausted when arriving at Tombouctou ;-)
Most of the time you have to drive in a winding sandy rut and can't get out of it because of trees and bushes, as described by Chris. And watch out for oncoming traffic in these passages! I guess there's not more then 1 or 2 vehicles per day, but sometimes one is enough ;-)
The track offers a few fantastic views on the river but I'd say that 90% of the time you can't see the Niger.

In Burem there's a "gas station" opposite of the mosque.

Have fun
Theo

[Toecutter]

Thanks Chris and Theo for your replies.
I'm in Tombouctou now, and yes feel like I've gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson, but it was worth it for the learning curve. Reducing tyre pressures and weighting the pegs makes a huge diference in the ruts though, and the closer you get to Tombouctou, the easier it is to ride in the bush next to the track. Some of the open flat areas are quite exhilirating though once you get out of the sandy ruts, which for anyone who intends to do the route, is badly deep for only about 30 percent of the time at the moment. There are two routes to Tombouctou once you reach Behr; one through the dunes, or if you are tired of that, hang a left at the Poste de Gendarme just out side the village, and you come onto an easy piste near the river into town (about 60kms).
Many thanks Chris for inspiring me and providing good sound advice through your book.
Cheers.