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