Riding around the world... on an inappropriate bike!
Discussion
No photos to add is data is expensive in Ivory Coast.... so err yeah. I'm in Ivory Coast 
Since the last update in Sierra Leone we stayed at a school for the hearing impaired ran by some nuns. It was a really nice experience to see the children being given options and education to help them integrate into society where perhaps they wouldn't be in more rural areas. The money we spent on the room and dinner I'm told helps to fund the school and the childrens education.
From here we had a bit of a disaster... we visited some waterfalls in the North of the country and had things stolen though we didn't notice until the next morning! We contacted the police and retraced our steps, offered a reward and then spoke to a different load of police a few days later who made arrests but to no avail.
Thankfully it wasn't an aggresive theft, they just pinched stuff in the 5 minutes we were away from the bikes and it could have been worse but I still lost nearly 3tb of footage (not just this trip but old projects too...yes I know I'm stupid for not having mutliple back ups but thats by the by) my laptop charger was taken, my headtorch, Lauren's custom ear plugs and a small amount of cash.
It was gutting and frustrating and really soured the experience of Sierra Leone but nevertheless, the wheels have to keep turning.
To console ourselves we visited Bureh Beach in the south. It was just what we needed! Beautiful golden sandy beaches with palm trees lining the shores - gorgeous sunsets each night and an overall, very chilled vibe. Fresh coconuts (simply the best I've ever tasted) and local foods cooked expertly and a peanut sauce that I'll remember forever all helped us begin to get over the loss.
We spent too long in SL and so sped through Liberia as rainy season seems to be making an early appearance which is a shame as Liberia was beautiful and very welcoming in our limited experience. In the last 4 days we've had 3 mega rain bursts generally at night and the lightning displays have been almost otherworldly, certainly far beyond anything I've ever experienced in the UK
So now I need to leave Man in the East and I think we'll head South East towards Abidjan as we've a parcel to collect.
Thankfully I have replaced the laptop charger and I've begun editing the 2nd video... again and hoping to have it out by the end of the month but as I'm beginning to learn, this African adventure rarely goes to plan or stays on schedule!
Since the last update in Sierra Leone we stayed at a school for the hearing impaired ran by some nuns. It was a really nice experience to see the children being given options and education to help them integrate into society where perhaps they wouldn't be in more rural areas. The money we spent on the room and dinner I'm told helps to fund the school and the childrens education.
From here we had a bit of a disaster... we visited some waterfalls in the North of the country and had things stolen though we didn't notice until the next morning! We contacted the police and retraced our steps, offered a reward and then spoke to a different load of police a few days later who made arrests but to no avail.
Thankfully it wasn't an aggresive theft, they just pinched stuff in the 5 minutes we were away from the bikes and it could have been worse but I still lost nearly 3tb of footage (not just this trip but old projects too...yes I know I'm stupid for not having mutliple back ups but thats by the by) my laptop charger was taken, my headtorch, Lauren's custom ear plugs and a small amount of cash.
It was gutting and frustrating and really soured the experience of Sierra Leone but nevertheless, the wheels have to keep turning.
To console ourselves we visited Bureh Beach in the south. It was just what we needed! Beautiful golden sandy beaches with palm trees lining the shores - gorgeous sunsets each night and an overall, very chilled vibe. Fresh coconuts (simply the best I've ever tasted) and local foods cooked expertly and a peanut sauce that I'll remember forever all helped us begin to get over the loss.
We spent too long in SL and so sped through Liberia as rainy season seems to be making an early appearance which is a shame as Liberia was beautiful and very welcoming in our limited experience. In the last 4 days we've had 3 mega rain bursts generally at night and the lightning displays have been almost otherworldly, certainly far beyond anything I've ever experienced in the UK
So now I need to leave Man in the East and I think we'll head South East towards Abidjan as we've a parcel to collect.
Thankfully I have replaced the laptop charger and I've begun editing the 2nd video... again
and hoping to have it out by the end of the month but as I'm beginning to learn, this African adventure rarely goes to plan or stays on schedule! 
Our time in Ivory Coast has been short but lovely
Adopted by the biker club in Abidjan, stayed on some beautiful beaches and met lots of lovely folk. Will be in Ghana tomorrow most likely so making the most of the wifi in the apartment for this update as data is running low
Managed to finish the next video in the series. Explains more about the theft and follows us through Spain and into Morocco!
Adopted by the biker club in Abidjan, stayed on some beautiful beaches and met lots of lovely folk. Will be in Ghana tomorrow most likely so making the most of the wifi in the apartment for this update as data is running low
Managed to finish the next video in the series. Explains more about the theft and follows us through Spain and into Morocco!
About time for an update! Crossed about 5 countries since the last time I posted!
We had a great time in Ivory Coast and passed almost trouble free into Ghana. My rear wheel having already had some challenges decided to pop the circlip that holds the sprocket onto the rear hub. The casting had broken but we managed a few hundred miles with cable ties holding it successfully
Not a joke.. this is what got me to a mechanic!
Ghana was great for a lot of reasons but somewhat underwhelming, we slightly expected more but it did have beautiful coast line and some friendly people.
Togo and Benin passed without a hitch and Togo especially in the west was stunning! The Togolese mountains were incredible and thankfully didn't get ourselves into any bother after visiting some Voodoo areas in Benin... then the big one. Nigeria.
I'm sure many of you have watched the video or at least heard about Itchy Boots travelling through and having issues. We had too and so were somewhat tentative. In the 1300-ish miles in the country I think we only stopped at 5 checkpoints (from 100s) and only showed our passport once.
The whole country gets a bad rap but we met some of the most friendly people - managed to blag our way onto a national radio station, have hand made clothes made for us overnight.. tailormade too! As well as some of the best hospitality. Dr Kingsley for one paid for some of our hotel costs when he overheard it was over budget.
Sinmi centre, who made our clothes
The ride from Nigeria through the moutains north of Gembu into Cameroon was simply some of the best roads in the whole trip so far.
Over 200km of dirt roads, some sections far harder than others
The views before we made it to the dirt. Reminded me of alpine areas of Austria!
We didn't love Cameroon, we expected more but it didn't seem friendly at all, at least, the least friendly Francophone country and the infrastructure somewhat lacking and prices very high all around! Had some nice views though
Lauren and her custom helmet (painted in a mall in Ghana for about £18) overlooking a lovely spot in West Cameroon
We've now officially crossed the equator and made it down through the Republic of Congo and are waiting for our Democratic Republic of Congo visa by the beach
Could be worse!
Running low on cash so drumming up ideas to keep the dream alive and get us around the world as the first couple on 125cc bikes to do so. I'm still confident that UK to South Africa as a couple by 125cc is a world's first too as I can't find any proof of any other couple daft enough to do so!
In approximately 4 or 5 weeks we'll make it to South Africa. It depends how distracted we get along the way, hah!
We had a great time in Ivory Coast and passed almost trouble free into Ghana. My rear wheel having already had some challenges decided to pop the circlip that holds the sprocket onto the rear hub. The casting had broken but we managed a few hundred miles with cable ties holding it successfully
Not a joke.. this is what got me to a mechanic!
Ghana was great for a lot of reasons but somewhat underwhelming, we slightly expected more but it did have beautiful coast line and some friendly people.
Togo and Benin passed without a hitch and Togo especially in the west was stunning! The Togolese mountains were incredible and thankfully didn't get ourselves into any bother after visiting some Voodoo areas in Benin... then the big one. Nigeria.
I'm sure many of you have watched the video or at least heard about Itchy Boots travelling through and having issues. We had too and so were somewhat tentative. In the 1300-ish miles in the country I think we only stopped at 5 checkpoints (from 100s) and only showed our passport once.
The whole country gets a bad rap but we met some of the most friendly people - managed to blag our way onto a national radio station, have hand made clothes made for us overnight.. tailormade too! As well as some of the best hospitality. Dr Kingsley for one paid for some of our hotel costs when he overheard it was over budget.
Sinmi centre, who made our clothes
The ride from Nigeria through the moutains north of Gembu into Cameroon was simply some of the best roads in the whole trip so far.
Over 200km of dirt roads, some sections far harder than others
The views before we made it to the dirt. Reminded me of alpine areas of Austria!
We didn't love Cameroon, we expected more but it didn't seem friendly at all, at least, the least friendly Francophone country and the infrastructure somewhat lacking and prices very high all around! Had some nice views though
Lauren and her custom helmet (painted in a mall in Ghana for about £18) overlooking a lovely spot in West Cameroon
We've now officially crossed the equator and made it down through the Republic of Congo and are waiting for our Democratic Republic of Congo visa by the beach
Could be worse!
Running low on cash so drumming up ideas to keep the dream alive and get us around the world as the first couple on 125cc bikes to do so. I'm still confident that UK to South Africa as a couple by 125cc is a world's first too as I can't find any proof of any other couple daft enough to do so!
In approximately 4 or 5 weeks we'll make it to South Africa. It depends how distracted we get along the way, hah!
Steve Bass said:
Fantastic!! And excellent improv with the bush repairs...
Keep going, keep safe and keep the updates...
And as for the route to SA, are you thinking of coming down the western side of Africa through Namibia or cutting across into Malawi/Mozambique?
You have to do what you can. TIA after all.. Keep going, keep safe and keep the updates...
And as for the route to SA, are you thinking of coming down the western side of Africa through Namibia or cutting across into Malawi/Mozambique?
Cheers Steve, planning to visit Botswana too so not sure if we'll enter via the West or more east. We're hoping to go up to Kenya afterwards so plan to visit Malawi and Mozambique then
I was meaning to drop you a PM at some point as the bikes could do with some TLC in ZA so any info about who to use or where to go would be awesome
Ilikemotorbikes said:
Steve Bass said:
Fantastic!! And excellent improv with the bush repairs...
Keep going, keep safe and keep the updates...
And as for the route to SA, are you thinking of coming down the western side of Africa through Namibia or cutting across into Malawi/Mozambique?
You have to do what you can. TIA after all.. Keep going, keep safe and keep the updates...
And as for the route to SA, are you thinking of coming down the western side of Africa through Namibia or cutting across into Malawi/Mozambique?
Cheers Steve, planning to visit Botswana too so not sure if we'll enter via the West or more east. We're hoping to go up to Kenya afterwards so plan to visit Malawi and Mozambique then
I was meaning to drop you a PM at some point as the bikes could do with some TLC in ZA so any info about who to use or where to go would be awesome
During my time in SA (2007 to 2021) i travelled quite extensively through Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana and Tanzania.... Some good, some less so but always amazing...
Problem would be picking which route as eithe rthe East or Western sides have amazing things going for them.... Nice choices to have tho
Steve Bass said:
Feel free whenever you want..
During my time in SA (2007 to 2021) i travelled quite extensively through Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana and Tanzania.... Some good, some less so but always amazing...
Problem would be picking which route as eithe rthe East or Western sides have amazing things going for them.... Nice choices to have tho
I'll do it now before I forget, hah! During my time in SA (2007 to 2021) i travelled quite extensively through Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana and Tanzania.... Some good, some less so but always amazing...
Problem would be picking which route as eithe rthe East or Western sides have amazing things going for them.... Nice choices to have tho
In an ideal world, we'll go both east and west but we can't possibly do it all.. there's worse prolems to have eh? We may head towards Jo'burg direction from Botswana before heading back west and then following coast around to the East but its all to be decided later down the line
Condi said:
Good thread, like the updates.
Cheers Condi! Glad you're liking thingsGassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff