Tiffany, face to face with a Masai Warrior
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February 21, 2005 GMT
And then there was one...
Twenty four hours later and Tobi's bike went in the luggage compartment of a bus from Laayoune to Tangiers (about 1500 kms) he also took a bus, while I rode on through torrential rain -the frst rain I had seen since setting off six weeks ago, it turned some of the desert road into a qugmire of mud, the following day I ws hit by vicious sandstorms, then the bolt on the broken shock absorber snapped - whoops! In Marrakesh, another bike traveller (Sam) helped me to pack old rubber bits around the spring on the shock absorber to try and make the ride a bit safer, everyone seems a bit shocked at the state of the suspension. Posted by tiffanycoates at 03:13 PM GMT
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February 10, 2005 GMT
Ethel to the Rescue
For several days now it has been Ethel to the rescue as first Tobi ran out of fuel and then got a puncture. The upshot is that I ended up TOWING Tobi on his R100GS (that’s a big 1000 cc bike for those of you not in the know) for 125 kms - it wasn't much fun as I had my nearly bald desert tyre on the rear and NO suspension, and naturally the desert winds were blowing as well. Posted by tiffanycoates at 03:23 PM GMT
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February 07, 2005 GMT
Plan X
Plan X The next morning I set off with some trepidation - 450 kms to cover to reach tarmac and Morocco - with a dodgy battery and no suspension. Thirty miles into the desert we realised that the battery was leaking, and so I have put a sanitary towel on it. It seems to be slowing the acid leakage, Tobi has now taken to rolling his eyes whenever I say I have got an idea. We crossed the last of the sand and entered back into Morocco – the last country before Europe. Posted by tiffanycoates at 03:08 PM GMT
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February 03, 2005 GMT
Homeward-bound in Mauritania
I am in Nouakchott and the sand storms are blowing. it's like being in thick fog but more painful. Ethel and I limped into Mauritania from Mali -her suspension has gone - Ooooh yes, just 300 kms south of Timbuctoo so it has been a painful ride over hundreds of kms of corrugated dirt tracks and as for the sand - trying to steer though it while the bike is like a bucking bronco is almost impossible at times. reached Nouakchott and relative sanity (as well as cold beer courtesy of the chinese restaurant- getting quite a liking for this rice beer) We returned to the hostel where they have been storing my jerry cans for the next bit of desert crossing. There have been a few ups and downs.... There is not a lot I can do about the suspension, so I am concentrating on the chain - meeting everyone's expectations I have been abusing it badly (as I only have experience of shaft driven bikes) and it has fallen off a few times - usually at a dicey moment. I knew it was time to change it and yes, I DO have a spare with me. A German bloke called Herbert staying at the hostel has tools and know-how and so helped me with it, all was going well until he took the angle grinder to the old chain (assuring me that is how they are removed) there was suddenly a loud pop noise and the battery exploded- luckily both Ethel and the various spectators are OK. Other parts of the bike are safely duck taped on; and we are going to set off early in the morning for the final bit of desert - actually I should re-phrase that as the final bit of "sandy desert " as there is tarmac in Western Sahara - whilst Mauritania is a country with just 4 tarmac roads. The good news is that the bike dropping tally now stands at: so I'm not doing too badly. Posted by tiffanycoates at 05:32 PM GMT
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January 26, 2005 GMT
I've reached Timbuctoo!!
We finally wearily rode into town last night at 10 pm having had to negotiate the final 70 kms in the dark due to having been delayed by various problems - my chain jumping off the sprocket at one point, and something simple like trying to find a solid piece of ground to do repairs in the desert is not easy. As we reached the welcocome to Timbuctoo sign, we expected to see the lights of the town twinkling in the dark, however, all that was visible was a large expanse of water - nobody told me there was a big river to cross- I thought this was the desert. It feels great to have got here- and they even serve cold beer. Time to rest, watch the camels and then think about coming home. MORE...Posted by tiffanycoates at 05:19 PM GMT
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