fun on atlantic route
 

hi there,

i'm planning to do the atlantic route this winter from the UK to Banjul. This seems to be a somewhat straightforward task now, am i underestimating it?

my concern is that actually it might be too simple and boring, just hours of asphalt. I've always dreamt of crossing the sahara but after doing lots of research on here i'm thinking it might be a sandy version of the M1.

are there any likely diversions on the way that we can take?

We'll be 2 up on an old bmw, so what with fuel, camping gear and particularly water we can't head too far off track, but i definitely want to sleep in the desert proper.

any tips or ideas gratefully received!?

thanks,

ted

Mile for mile it is a bit dull as you say but most nights you can ride as far into the desert as you like. Also, besides southern Morocco's mountains and Western Sahara towns like Layounne, further south in WS the beaches are quite interesting. Lots of modern fishing rubbish but also old bottles and what looked like bits of a wrecked galleon, if you like that sort of stuff - and that's just Morocco/WS...
So, it's as interesting as you make it; slowing down helps

Ch

beach camping
 

thanks Chris, that sounds like the plan then.

looking at the map in your sahara book, it looks like i could ride back up the beach from nouakchott for a nights stay by the sea, is that feasible?

i could ride back up the beach from nouakchott for a nights stay by the sea, is that feasible?

Yes, but 2-up on an old BM you'd want to come back down to NKT and take the road up unless you are feeling brave.

Ch

Any more people?
 

Hey Ted
I am also heading down atlantic route end october. I am going solo so for me to do a "Rambo" stunt in the desert is impossible. But I too want to camp out in the middle of nowhere! So It makes sense to cross parths with another traveller and do a quick desert experience. I started a thread: Atlantic route update? just for that reason, to see what my chances are of meeting someone keen along the way. Perhaps you can reply in that thread and let people know when you are going and what your time frame is?
Orrin

hi orrin, i'll do that now!

thanks for that chris, and all the inspiration!!

ted

By the time you get to Mauri you'll probably have seen as much desert as you want to!
A lot of the time the road runs within a mile or two of the coast and you can pull over and spend as many nights as you want on the cliff tops overlooking the sea. Follow the road down on Google earth and mark up a few gps points.

You can still go from Nouhadibou to Nouakchott via the Banc d'Arguin and ignore the road. The coordinates are in Chris's book, but it might not be a good plan to do this on your own without a fair bit of off road experience

After W.S. road the RIM trans-saharian to NKTT can be a bit monotonous, in the other hand, the old piste can be quite interesting, --not easy for a bike with two--. You can also use both routes, start at the paved road and then, after a while, --you should study the point of departure -- turn right and navigate off piste to the coast (not for a solo rider) with a good map and a gps it can be very nice. In some parts the off piste is easy and you have the fun of riding in a track-less place, and feel the desert.
Be careful in the dunes.

good luck !

Iron Ore Train road
 

Hi everybody!
I,m planing a trip in October from Morocco to Senegal with a friend of mine (2 Bikes) and we decited to take the Atlantic route.
Since we love Africa we want to see more of the sahara and mauritania seems to be the right choice.
we are thinking to load the bikes on the train at Nouadhibou (Is this possible??) and head east to Chum were we plan get off and head south to Atar (is this road good piste??) - T4a says it is - and from there to Chinguetti to go through the Amogjar Pass (can we do that with almost no off-road skills??) and back to Nouakchott through N1.
Any help on this route will be apriciated:thumbup1:

"load the bikes on the train at Nouadhibou"

Well it certainly used to be possible, but I seem to remember someone posting recently that they've stopped doing it. Hopefully somone with up to date info will be along shortly. If you're interested I've put a short piece of video footage taken from the train 2- 3 miles outside Choum on youtube. Search for "choum"

The piste from Choum to Atar is pretty straightforward even without much off road experience. It took us an easy 7 - 8 hrs with frequent stops.
The route to Nouakchott is good tarmac and easily done in a day

Thanks backofbeyond I've already seen your...endless train video and that's
one of the reasons we dont want to miss it.
Beside the road quality is the path (Choum-Atar) clear & safe? I ask you because looking here
www.desert-info.ch :: Thema anzeigen - Minen/Landmines/Des Mines - alle/all/toutes infos I notice that the areas around Choum and around Atar are mined.. is this true?

Re mines, all I'm aware of is the well known area around the WS / RIM border and not to stray north of the railway line if you are taking the piste from Nouhadibou to Choum.

From Choum I'm not aware of any problems with mines but if anyone elso knows different I'd be grateful for an update as I'm down that way at Xmas.

As far as the piste goes I found the first few miles a little confusing (roughly to Aggui) and did it on gps bearings but after that it becomes very clear and easy to follow. You can't really go very wrong as you always have the Adrar cliffs on your left

As mentioned above - this service was reported as ending some time ago, but who knows? These things change and it can't hurt to try.

No. The piste is hellishly corrugated. It's not difficult though and probably much better on a bike where you can pick a line and avoid the worst.
If you're not suffering too much to look up there are some good views approaching the cliffs.


The Amogjar pass is impressive, but VERY rocky with some steep gradients. On a loaded bike with little experience I would be wary.

If you're still keen, I suppose it is short enough that you could turn around at the top of the pass if you didn't fancy the look of it. There is a much easier alternative via the Ebnou(sp?) pass.

Good tar, but watch out for hairy cross winds.

Good luck!

Mauritania
 

Thanks for the tips!
Ok so the train is something we dont want to miss , I guess I'll start a better search right now, there must be some way to make it.
Maybe riding our bikes next to the railway (not the best road from what I,ve read)
The Amogjar pass also, maybe if we let our luggage at the hotel in Atar wil bee easier.. I realy dont wanna miss this.
Do you have any tracks or waypoints recorded from your GPS there, it would be a very big help for us! and and we would be very grateful to you

Thanks in advance
Jim

GPS tracks
 

Richard , backofbeyond,
do you have any GPS tracks or Waypoints??
I would appreciated very much!
Thanks again

Kind Regards
Jim : tsizmo@gmail.com