Wannabe rider seeks advise for a week+ off coming soon
 

Hello all, I would need some advise or ideas on what to do with a week off I have coming up soon. I would definitely like to use them to get back to motorcycle riding after about 5 years of inactivity, and as a test prior to buying a bike. Browsing the web & magazines I came across several guided tours, bike rentals and some training courses. Guided tours sound fun but there are schedule constraints unless in groups and I am not sure if I would keep up with the pace even
on easy tours. Reading through several topics on this forum I've seen great advise and definitely lots of experience, so I trust you could help me decide on whether to go for solo rental, basic training, tours or a combination of the above.

My specs are below:

Place of residence: Lagos, Nigeria.
Nationality: Argentine.
Licences held: Argentine car & bike licence + Nigerian car & bike international licence
Bike experience: several 50 - 80 ccs scooters, mopeds, mini enduro, some quad rentals on the beach and 1 hour on board my dad's 81' Kawa400 just before he sold it.
When & where: I will be at either South Africa or anywhere in Europe from March 26th to April 3rd, 2005.

Thanks in advance. lepium.

Hi and welcome.

A week isn't much to travel so far. In Europe Spring is only just starting and with you living in Nigeria I guess you don't fancy cold and wet, right? http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif That somewhat narrows down your choice of where to go.

Outside summer I recommend you stay close to the Mediterranean coast, but no too close.

As to what kind of trip to take I think you have to make up your own mind.

If you are capable of riding a scooter through Lagos then you won't have any trouble travelling with a guided tour. Remember: you do this trip to enjoy yourself and see something, so you don't have to ride IN the group. Get a map (if the operator doesn't provide one, which she should), know the meeting places and ride at your own pace. Whether you can find a guided tour in your language at a suitable time is a different matter.

For renting in France I know of one outfit, although I have never used them: http://www.holiday-bikes.com/accueil/main_us.htm

I should also put in a shameless plug here for "our" region: we do live in the bikers' paradise here. Spring is starting right now, the flowers are coming out and temperatures in the last two days have shot up to about 20°C.

Make sure you bring your own bike gear, helmet, boots, etc. as you won't be able to rent it.
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Salut from Southern France, the bikers' paradise,

Peter.

[This message has been edited by beddhist (edited 16 March 2005).]

There are lots of operators running off road trips in Spain & Morocco. Most will supply the bikes (usually Honda XR400 or KTM 400EXC or Suzuki DR400) and all the riding kit. It is better to take your own riding kit if possible as you know that it fits and is comfortable.

If you are heading for South Africa then get hold of Cherry Adventures (+27 413 675 377 www.cherryadventures.co.za) or Alfie Cox (+27 317 821 779 http://www.alfiecox.co.za/adventure_...re_tours.htm). Both of these do adventure tours in the Transkei wilderness. Cherry Adventures use Suzuki DR400's and Alfie Cox (being a KTM factory rider in Dakar) runs his tours on KTM.

One of the outfits in Marocco is Wilderness wheels (www.wildernesswheels.com).

From a quick search on google.com I found Moto Adventures - a tour operator in Spain (http://www.motoaventures.com/trans-spain/?m0=1&lang=0)

Have a chat with the tour operators. I'm sure you will be able to slot in with a group of similar riding ability. If you are hoping to improve your riding this would be a good way to go about it as the tour leader would be able to give you lots of advice on how to tackle the terrain. Also they know the routes so would be able to set a manageable pace, perwarn you about tricky or dangerous hot spots and know where to stop for a bite to eat etc. Added to this they supply all the mechanical backup & carry all your kit for you leaving you to enjoy the riding without having to lug around your tent, stove, toolkit, spares.

With only a week available to you I think you will get the most out of it by using the experience & support a guided tour will offer you.

[This message has been edited by tifua (edited 16 March 2005).]

Thanks for the great advise. I have browsed the contact sites and am leaning more towards some 2 - 3 day enduro guided tour in SA (several factors involved, from the fact that I've not been to SA before to flights availabilities and overall costs). I've sent a couple of enquiries to find out availability and suitability and hope to finalize soon.

Just to clarify, I am not currently riding a scooter around Lagos; I just drive cars here (at least for the time being, until I get a bike). My scooter experience was in Argentina. Scooter riding in Lagos is an extreme "sport", some Nigerians do it for a living (carrying passengers and all types of cargo, no helmets involved whatsoever) and judging by accidents frequency it is a very dangerous "sport".