London- Dakar on 3 XR400s

[firstimeflyer]

Hi there,

After a week of should I/Shouldn't I and researching everywhere I have decided that I am going ahead with the atlantic route to Dakar next July/August... if I don't do it now there will be very little chance in the future for me and my colleagues to attempt something on this scale, so we've decided to take part in life and have a go.

Clearly heading into the interior during the summer is foolish and unwise, so we'll be taking the sealed route through the western sahara via laayoune and dakhla. Currently I see this purely as means to travel between the real off road experience of morocco and mauri, but within this period of travelling ( and it clearly makes up a substantial part of the trip!) is there much to experience other than miles of nice asphalt?! Although I may be begging for it in morocco, the question I'm asking is whether travel down the coast is boring? And how long should I allocate to it considering three XR400s not in a hurry?

Once we get to Nouadhibou, based on conditions at the time our intention is to follow the piste east to Choum and then to nouakchott and, as suggested, with the help of a support vehicle. Based on this, how easy ( and how much ) is it to hire a guy with a truck in Nouadhibou to accompany us on this section? Moreover, will the three XRs be able to stand the heat?!

Thanks again,
Tom

[sonjagael]

The atlantic route is long and boring especially through Western Sahara as the scenery is pretty static. No dunes, lots of shrubs and rocks, some sand. Although there are lots of camels and the ocean is quite pretty at times. The last 150km before the mauri border has some interesting rock formations and some curves!

We did it on two XT225s in Feb and it got very hot, 45ish once we crossed over into Mauritania. With the heat and the distances you are covering, I'm worried about how enjoyable it will be although it will add to the experience. Bring plenty of water and make sure to stop for water breaks, you don't realize how quickly the heat takes the water out of you and it dries your sweat right up so you don't notice it. We drank 6 liters plus that day and that was in Feb.

Regardless, it will be a fun adventure and your XRs will be able to go a lot faster than our XTs. We took our time and went from Agadir to St. Louis in about 5 days. With the heat, you might want to give yourself that much time and just start really early and quit early too. You can check out our site for some pics of the crossing and our stops.

Let us know if you have questions and have a good time!

Gael

[Tim Cullis]

Noel Coward had it right,

In tropical climes there are certain times of day
When all the citizens retire,
to tear their clothes off and perspire.
It's one of those rules that the biggest fools obey,
Because the sun is much too sultry and one must avoid
its ultry-violet ray --
The natives grieve when the white men leave their huts,
Because they're obviously, absolutely nuts --
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun

YouTube - Noel Coward MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN (1955)

It's not just the 45-50c air temperatures but the strength of the sun itself which makes it the equivalent of something like 60c. You can try to avoid this by starting before dawn when the air temperature might be only 30c, but it quickly heats up. The air gets so hot that you can't have your helmet visor up, it's cooler with it down.

You need to carry sufficient water in case of breakdowns (eight litres would be an absolute minimum for me at that time of year), you should read up on the signs of dehydration and heat exhaustion and what to do if they occur. It was 43c when I was in southern Morocco last October and I drank five litres of water by 2pm. But you then need to be aware of the danger of flushing out all the body's salts with all the water you are drinking.

I did my trip to Dakar in Jan 2008. Personally I found the coastal route quite interesting as far as the Mauri border, though I really noticed the temperature increase every time the road took an inland loop. Senegal was more expensive than I had imagined and, with the exception of Saint-Louis, not particularly interesting. I wouldn't bother to do Senegal again when there is so much to explore in Morocco.

Some Morocco info in my signature, my blog to Dakar is at There and Back Again. Chris Scott has a book of Moroccan pistes coming out early next year, see Morocco Overland.
Tim

[Brian E]

Right i'm not going to be as diplomatic as everybody else has been.

The Sahara in summer is a place people die in.

Dehydration is a real problem at midday sitting down in shade you will be losing more liquid through sweat than you can consume never mind doing some excersise like riding a bike I would also suggest you will find it difficult carring enough water on bikes for a summer run.

I would suggest you would need a vehicle back up for the entire trip in Africa to assist with the carring enough fluids and mineral/salt replacement's and to use as a base to hold up at during the daytime.

I'm not suggesting the run can't be done it definatley can be but you need some contingency plans in place for the trip.

[Stephano]

Originally Posted by firstimeflyer

how feasible is it to travel from somewhere such as Ain Ben Tilli via Zouerat

BBC NEWS | Africa | Troops die in Mauritania ambush

[tourdeforce]

Hey Tom,

Good on you mate for all your research.

I did the Nouadhibou to Choum route twice last winter in a 16 ton 4WD truck ( I was a driver for an overland company). We had an excellent guide, who knows that route well and would be well worth getting in touch with.

Let me know if you want more details

Cheers

[JMo (& piglet)]

Originally Posted by DougieB

to be honest there are plenty of 8 week biking challenges, without putting yourself in the Sahara during the summer.

I have to agree, and with Brian E and Tim Cullis above too...

Without meaning to sounding condescending, why do you guys want to go to Dakar anyway? sure it's a great destination and you would see a lot of fantastic stuff on the way... but 8 weeks isn't really enough time to ride there and back (not if you want to spend any time doing anything other than sitting in a saddle), and the costs of shipping your bikes back would surely be better spent on having a good time somewhere else?

If you want to ride sand dunes (presuming you never have before) then seriously the Chebbi and Chegga dunes in Morocco have more than enough 'proper' sand, especially after the 100th time you've dropped your loaded bike and need to pick it up... to be faced with another 400Kms in front of you could possibly be too much to bare (remember Matt Hall in Race to Dakar?)

As Tim says, even Morocco is seriously hot in summer - I was in Ouzazate in July and it was already 47°C plus, it was hard enough picking up a glass of in the midday sun, never mind a laden bike!

If this is your first big trip, then my suggestion would be use Morocco as the destination itself, and spend more of your time (and money) exploring that country - the Atlas mountains are fantastic, and there is more than enough exciting and diverse off-road riding to keep you entertained for as long as you like... plus enjoy Europe on the way down and the ride back too.

Surely there is no point in killing yourselves and your machines on a punishing schedule, just so you can say you've done it? Personally I'd much rather have a hundred different stories about the people I met and the places I actually visited... not just passed though?

xxx

[banano1]

Hi Tom;
a friend and I will be attempting something similar in late march/early april. we plan to start in paris and end up in dakar along the atlantic route, spending about 2 weeks in morocco. I'd love to be in touch about planning and logistics via email as we will be encountering similar challenges!
thanks.