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Group rides are rarely all sweetness and light for all those involved - best with just a couple of good mates and make it up as you go.
… chasing someone who thinks its a race, and to be honest although i could keep up….
Don't rule out those that split the group in to those that ride very quick, compared with those who want to ride at a more leisurely pace.Group rides are rarely all sweetness and light for all those involved - best with just a couple of good mates and make it up as you go.
Grown-ups then?The guy I knew wanted to go with me but his workmates got moody and were going to go home if he didn’t stay with them so he fell on his sword
I didn’t hang around long enough to find out for certain.Grown-ups then?
Vic Falls was a natural funnel for all these overlanders. It was pretty amusing to watch all these 'individuals'.... Most trucks had the collection of people you describe, including a bloke called Tristran who now spent every day searching out the local ganja and wandering around in a hazy cloud, Annabel who was looking for adventure but was now quite clearly pregnant by the truck driver, Emma her mate who wasn't speaking to her anymore plus a few empty seats vacated by those who had succumbed to dread diseases or found other reasons to leave as they were missing Mum.When I rode my bike through Africa in 1995 we would regularly meet overland trucks. The mix of hard drinking ozzies, vegetatian hippies, culture vultures, carnivores, trustafarians and all sorts of loonies made for interesting viewing. Quite often folks seemed to hop off for a bit of respite care on their own, agreeing to meet the truck at a stop in the coming days
I wonder if the big trucks still plough through Africa these days ?
Best job I ever had!Vic Falls was a natural funnel for all these overlanders. It was pretty amusing to watch all these 'individuals'.... Most trucks had the collection of people you describe, including a bloke called Tristran who now spent every day searching out the local ganja and wandering around in a hazy cloud, Annabel who was looking for adventure but was now quite clearly pregnant by the truck driver, Emma her mate who wasn't speaking to her anymore plus a few empty seats vacated by those who had succumbed to dread diseases or found other reasons to leave as they were missing Mum.
The drivers were generally a good laugh though.
Vic Falls was great for limited periods. Most trucks working south of Kenya stopped there so as a driver you would meet up with all the other drivers and raft jockeys amd others and have a couple of days off. Punters went rafting, drivers got to go for free so I've been down the river many times! There was so much activity for punters there we didn't have to do much, just enjoy and drink cheap beer in Drifters.Vic Falls was a natural funnel for all these overlanders. It was pretty amusing to watch all these 'individuals'.... Most trucks had the collection of people you describe, including a bloke called Tristran who now spent every day searching out the local ganja and wandering around in a hazy cloud, Annabel who was looking for adventure but was now quite clearly pregnant by the truck driver, Emma her mate who wasn't speaking to her anymore plus a few empty seats vacated by those who had succumbed to dread diseases or found other reasons to leave as they were missing Mum.
The drivers were generally a good laugh though.
I spent a couple of days at Ma Roches in Nairobi helping a truck driver change some wheel bearings. Can’t remember the company but he’d pretty much lost it with his punters, none of them would help with anything on the truck. All I saw was a couple of sulky blokes with guitars. The driver was desperate to keep the trip on schedule so I guess it was one of the cheaper ones.When I rode my bike through Africa in 1995 we would regularly meet overland trucks. The mix of hard drinking ozzies, vegetatian hippies, culture vultures, carnivores, trustafarians and all sorts of loonies made for interesting viewing. Quite often folks seemed to hop off for a bit of respite care on their own, agreeing to meet the truck at a stop in the coming days
I wonder if the big trucks still plough through Africa these days ?
I'm just back from one of Chris Scotts group tours which start off in Marrakesh, do a circuit south of the High Atlas, then head back in. It started off well, but I left after a couple of days.
Group riding isn't for everyone. All lovely folks of course, but I soon realised I was the kid who'd be the last to get picked for the team. I spent a morning trying to keep up...then thought...fuck it, this is no fun, I'll end up dead off the side of a cliff. Morning of Day 3 I headed back to Marrakesh. Enjoyed that day by myself more that the first two. Learned a lesson...go by myself or with somene whose riding I'm compatible with.
Chris is wonderful by the way. Knowledgeable, supportive, calm and patient.
A company called Economic Expeditions was one of the worst I met. I was offered a job by them, they gave you a truck to build up yourself in the uk then sent you off with punters, didn't matter if you had no experience, one crew only. We did occasionally meet them and help them out.I spent a couple of days at Ma Roches in Nairobi helping a truck driver change some wheel bearings. Can’t remember the company but he’d pretty much lost it with his punters, none of them would help with anything on the truck. All I saw was a couple of sulky blokes with guitars. The driver was desperate to keep the trip on schedule so I guess it was one of the cheaper ones.
On the other hand, we kept meeting up with a truck in Tanzania and Malawi with mostly very loud New Zealand girls on board who seemed to be having a great time.
Yep, that's exactly what I did in the Pyrenees last summer. I had the guy on the RE Himalayan behind me. It wasn't that he couldn't have ridden at our pace, just that his steed struggled on the transit days with him and luggage.group riding , slowest person should be right behind the leader. the fast boys can have fun at the back . you look after the weakest in the pack.