Chelmsford to Cape Town

I may one day, in a moment of reflection make reference to that line!

Holla! Waz up Westwood, you not been round me crib for the bike, it needs some of phat pimp juice. Well not no more, it's had a right going to at Ernie's place. Fanks anywayz!

And here she is in all her lovin' glory, won't be doin' that superman seat grab…..

The New Year was seen in, in a slightly drunken state at a house party in Billericay and now draws to a close with me in Benghazi, Libya surrounded by mad drivers and everyone shouting Arabic to each other. Doesn’t mean a thing to me however with a bit of arm waving its surprisingly how well you can get your point across. Which is good as everything here is in Arabic and I have managed to agree transit across the country without a guide sitting on my shoulder. A little bit illegal I understand, but if you don’t tell anyone things should be alright.

Finally, after what felt like a short lifetime I eventually got to travel south again to Cairo after ten days riding East. This was a much welcomed change as the last four days from leaving Libya had been spent in the most horrific storm that I have ever had the pleasure of riding in. When only one mile away from my hotel in Libya where I was to meet my travel agent who would escort me to the border the next day the rain really started and I had to take cover on the road side completely drenched and wait for the storm to pass.

As I sit here writing this latest installment of the trip in Nairobi I am amazed that I even managed to get here at all. It's been the toughest riding of my life for both me and the bike as you will find out.....

After the events of last month the pace has slowed down dramatically as I have only traveled as far as Uganda during April. The majority of the month has been spent exploring what Uganda has to offer for the independent traveler and it has not disappointed. Turning out to be a gem of a country with many exciting adrenalin activities to keep one occupied; this extends further than the obligatory boda-boda rides or dodging live ammo from the open fire in Kampala during the deforestation demonstrations.

On having been in Uganda for so long it was finally time to move on to Rwanda crossing the Equator for the last time until heading home. The route that I decided upon took me across the Virunga volcanoes in the south western part of the country. This was rewarded with some of the most stunning landscapes I’ve so far seen with views across the lakes and terraced hills of the local villages. This was again all off road riding on tough tracks.

Made it!

Encountered my first real breakdown with the bike during the transit of Tanzania from Kenya on the way to Malawi. This was the consequence of picking up a tank full of bad fuel and resulted in a truck ride back to the nearest town. I got to experience first hand why it is that these trucks are seen on their side in the ditch on the side of the road. It was a frightening ride at some speed for something weighing many tons and controlled by someone scarcely old enough to have a driving license.

Heading south and the temperature was starting to get noticeable colder and news was that SA was not any better so the trip headed back to the East coast, crossing over into Zimbabwe to visit Riders. First we had to get supplies due to the problems there; loading up with 50lt of fuel should see us get at least half way through the country before trying to source some on the black market.

Almost in Cape Town, I got the first sign once I crossed over the border into South Africa. Only 679Km a short run down the home straight.

…………..259 day, 18,572 miles, 18 countries, a fuel bill of £827.24 and no GPS just maps I finally get to see my chequered flag. Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa. Unfortunately it was only a mere glimpse as Mother Nature had decided to be cruel on crossing the finish line by shrouding the land mark in substantial cloud cover. A couple of hours later and its raining, my first rain in over a month. Thanks for the memory.