Thunder's Road - Calum's Road 2010

2-2-2010 Horse and Donkey Compound

A leisurely morning was had by all, no where to go and nothing to do for the first time in nearly four weeks. :drool

The bikes had riders but thankfully not us!

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Dave and myself were awaiting the arrival of our partners, communication was limited but we knew they had left Banjul just after 6 that morning and all being well should arrive in the afternoon. To pass the time we joined Gert and Mike to try and get one of the trusts vehicles going.

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The driver told us there was no fire in the engine, we borrowed the battery from the only other vehicle a Toyota Hi Lux pick up (which was going be used to pick up the girls from the river later that day) adn tried to add fire with a set of jump leads. Still no fire! :blast

We put the battery back in the Toyota, guess what, it had no fire now either!!! :(

It turned out that this was a common problem, the local terrain limited the speed of the vehicles and they never got the chance to charge the batteries form the alternators, it's something we have promised to look into now we are back, but on the day we tried everything to get the pick up going including borrowing one of the heavy duty batteries from the solar installation at the trust's lab.

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Still no fire in the engine!!!! :tears

We retired to the common room to discuss our options and Dave demonstrated how to enjoy a frozen beer :ymca

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At this point we got word that the girls had arrived (thank gawd!) so with no landie or pick up we reverted to hitching up one of the trust's carts, Dave jumped on his bike and I hitched a lift on a 125 Yamaha to meet them.

An hour later the Ms Cheek's arrived in style.

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bringing with her a litre of Mr Smirnoff's finest :bounce1:bounce1

We spent the rest of the day catching up and chilling, no pictures but you can imagine the rest :D

TBC
 
4-2-2010

Back on the bikes - The Road to Banjul

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The time had come to leave the compound and the fantastic people of Sambel Kunda and head to Banjul to finalise the arrangements for getting ourselves and the bikes back home. Not knowing whether we would in fact travel through Mauitiania until we got there meant we had not booked our return flights but thanks to Redcoat Travel and Lloyd Burroghs ( co-incidentally a member of this parish) we had been given a lot of flexibility for our return.

Sid intended to ride but the the rest of us had to make arrangements for the following week so we had arranged to meet Lloyd in Banjul that evening to sort things out.

Having said our farewells we headed off on to the sand track again heading for the main "road", the partners would be following us later in the day and the intention was to meet up in Banjul when we found a hotel to stay in.

After a few more drops in the sand for some we made it to the road and headed off on the South road with the intention of saving 80 odd miles if we went for the more user friendly North Road.

The South Road had a reputation for pot holes and rough tracks but we decided to risk it. Suprise suprise it was in the middle of a serious renovation and while we spent most of the ride on the old sections we could see the new road under construction to out left.

Turned out to be a great ride but still some hairy moments, I hit a massive pothole, there was a massive bang and I actually saw the front mudguard over the bikes screen for the first time ever. Spent the next few minutes checking the front of the bike as I rode, it was only when we stopped I found the right hand pannier had popped off and nearly taken out the following group :eek:

Having said that some of the dirt sections gave us the chance to get some memorable pictures.:augie

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and even some footage on the helmet cam, if you've got 10 minutes spare have a look. :D

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TBC :thumb
 
Well, I thought I’d have a quick look at this thread, to waste a bit of time while I’m working today:augie.

Two hours later, I emerge from the PC screen, absolutely in awe. Like the best Novels, I just had to keep reading. What an adventure.
:clap:bow

:Motomartin
 
4-2-2010 (continued)

Arriving in Soma we pulled into the only petrol station to top off the tanks for the final time, stretch legs, chat with the locals and an English guy who was working for one of the companies building the new South Road. He recommended we keep on the road all the way to Banjul as it was much improved and the tarmac was now 60 kms out from Banjul. As we wanted to be on the South side of Banjul for the airport and this would avoid having to use the infamous Barra ferry we decided to give it a go and headed off on what could be our final leg.

As we joined the main road again we found that the road was as we had been told in pretty decent shape if dusty but every mile or so it was diverted into the ditch to allow work to be carried out on the main road. As we went into the second of these diversions I was following Mike and saw his bike starting to weave, we had hit more of the dreaded sand. :eek:

Sid came off in a cloud of dust, he was OK but took a knock to the shoulder so when we found we had taken the wrong junction and ended up at the Soma ferry we decided someone up there was trying to tell us something and returned to our original plan of heading to the North Road. :blast

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A relatively uneventful ride on the North Road soon found us pulling into Barra for the 45 minute crossing to Banjul. We had reservations about the ferry as it was always busy and the girls had waited for 3 hours and had to bribe one of the officials to get on when they had used it on the Tuesday so were pleasantly suprised when the officials pulled the barrier back and waived us straight in and to the front of the queue. :bounce1

We still had to wait while Mike worked his magic at the ticket desk but about an hour after our arrival we were boarding. :bounce1

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The ferry was packed, as were we! :augie

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They don't half pack you in!!!

Off the ferry we stopped for emergency repairs to John's rear tyre, he'd got a puncture but as it was a slow one a couple of air cylinders had him back on the road for the run to our intended destination the Ocean Bay Hotel.

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It was only a bloody five star!!!

Room rates negotiated and as darkness fell we unpacked the bikes, headed for our rooms to ditch the gear before adjourning to the bar and await the arrival of Katherine and Linda who had left the compound about 1.30 that afternoon.

Over a few beers and voddies we met with Lloyd from Redcoat to sort the transport home, it was fortunate he was in Banjul that week and was available to make the arrangements. Things were coming to an end. :tears

TBC :thumb
 
5th to the 8th of February 2010 - Banjul

Having arranged for the flights home and that the bikes would be taken to the Redcoat compound at the airport to be prepped for the journey on the Saturday we settled down to relax for a few days. It had been dark when we had got to our rooms the previous night so the view from the window when I pulled back the curtains was a bit of a suprise.

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With no agenda and no need to be anywhere we spent the time on the beach, beside the pool or exploring the area which meant having to contend with the local bumsters who attached themselves to you as soon as you left the hotel area. :(

The local brew was sipped

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snacks were eaten by the pool

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and Gert teased the local wildlife

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Friday evening we dressed for dinner

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and headed off to The Clay Oven an Indian restaurant that came highly recommended and with good reason, it had to be one of the best Indian meals I've ever had. As the drink flowed and the owner rang his wife to tell her to order that new Mercedes we talked bollox before finishing the evening with a courtesy drink, well a bottle actually. :jager

Jaggermeister!!! :jager

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Gert had spotted it earlier behind the bar and it seemed an appropriate way to end the evening. Our host sent the bottle over as a small thank you for our patronage, it seemed only right to finish it!

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Saturday morning, time to take the bikes to the airport. :tears

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The bikes had to be drained of fuel, have the batteries disconnected and be ready for inspection prior to loading them on to pallets for the flight home. Gert, Mike, Dave and myself were flying on Monday to Manchester (hopefully as Mike and Dave were on standby) while Glen and John were flying to Gatwick on the Tuesday. Sid was riding home but joined us for lured by the chance of free fuel. :augie

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My old Airhead was easy to sort, tank off pour out fuel, disconnect battery sorted, Glen's 1150 was similar but the 1200's took a bit longer as removing the tanks was complicated. Luckily Glen had a spare quick release connector for the fuel line so it was possible to drain them (apart from John's who had to ride round until the tank was empty) using the fuel pump.


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TBC
 
On the Sunday evening we had arranged our last meal in The Gambia (turns out in nearly was, but more of that later) and were to be joined by Heather and Anna from the Horse and Donkey Trust who found Gert, Glen, Linda and myself having a pre-dinner drink in the hotel bar.

During the general chat Heather mentioned they had a virtually new motorcycle ambulance at the trusts house near the hotel but a local English mechanic had been checking it out, told them it was a death trap and not worth fixing. Three Tossers missing their bikes exchanged glances and we headed round for a look and a fiddle.

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It had 72 miles on the clock, was professionally built and we could not understand what the problem was.

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Fuel in the tank but a totally dead battery, still it had a kickstart

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but no signs of life. :blast

We decided to remove the battery, put it on charge overnight and try agaain in the morning.

The Butchers Shop was calling so we answered the call.

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Food and drink eaten and drunk Dave sorted out the bill

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when I say sorted I mean collected what was due from the group before handing it over to the waiter, with the largest note being 100, credit cards not being welcome there is no way he could have carried sufficient cash in his sporran. :flag

I'd gone out to change some 220 Euros earlier that day and the money changer gave me a 3inch thick wad of the local stuff, he'd only got 50's. As I was wearing shorts and the bulge in my pocket was causing strange looks from passers by I had to go back to the hotel to lighten my load! :eek:

Returning to the hotel for a nightcap we relaxed and reflected on the trip so far, some of us were so relaxed they had to go to bed.

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Monday morning saw us back with the motorcycle ambulance where Gert installed the freshly charged battery

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2nd kick it squeaked into life

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Gert volunteered to be the patient

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and we went for a test ride

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it was fine :bounce1

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so Gert had a go with Heather as the patient

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then Mike who went solo, he couldn't find a volunteer :augie :D

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We returned to the hotel to get our gear and head to the airport. It turned out we could have done with the ambulance as Dave was feeling particularly:blast unwell and had spent a restless night with Banjul belly :blast

Saying our goodbyes we left John and Glen who were flying the following day to Gatwick and Sid who was riding back, Dave and Mike were on standby for the Manchester flight but we needed to get the bikes loaded on to pallets for the flight home.

TBC
 
At the airport the bikes where searched and checked by security

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all were cleared but there was a problem. Thomas Cook had sent the wrong pallets! Rather than flat pallets which we easily load the bikes on and strap them down they sent 2 general pallets which were boxes and 2 bikes in each would be a tight squeeze and difficult to secure. :blast

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It was not made easier the fact the pallets were on wheeled bogies but with help from the staff we managed to lift the bikes in and get them strapped down. Waving them a tearful farewell we headed to the terminal to get checked in.

Gert, Kathryn, Linda and myself got checked in and were told to go through to departures. Dave and Mike had to wait and see if they could get on the flight. Things were tense as the departure time got closer, then with 5 minutes to go we saw them coming through the gate, we were on our way.

Dave was still feeling pretty rough but glad to be on the way home. During the flight Linda succumbed to the dreaded Banjul Belly as did Gert :blast It seemed like The Butchers Shop was an apt name for the restaurant where we had our final meal.

Arriving in Manchester with some pretty sick individuals we gathered our gear and headed to a Premier Inn for an overnight stop before Linda and Kathryn flying home the following day and the rest of us heading off to find the bikes and prep them for our ride home. It was freezing and after our time in the heat of Africa we were all feeling it. :eek:

About 2 in the morning I woke feeling distinctly unwell, I'd succumbed to the dreaded Banjul Belly :tears

Linda headed off about 4.30 for her flight, I stayed in bed sweating and running for the bathroom.

Heading down to meet the rest of the guys as arranged at 8.30 we had a general moan and discussion over the likely cause of our upset stomachs before calling airline to see what was required to get the bikes back. Turned out we needed to appoint a registered import agent to clear them into the UK, the nice man gave a me a couple of phone numbers of companies near by and one phone call later we had sorted everything out with a company near to the hotel (can't remember the name but I'm sure someone will add it later) and walked over to complete the paperwork and pay the fee.

BY the time we got there they had everything soted, paperwork signed, fee paid we headed down to get the bikes. Very helpful people in the clearance agents, knowing that the bikes were drained of fuel one of the guys offered to lend us a petrol can and take Dave to the nearest garage to fill it up and then drop him at the bonded warehouse. Talk about great service. :clap

We found the warehouse and presented our paperwork, 5 minutes later a fork lift brought out the containers. With quite a bit of apprehension we opened the flap.

They were all fine! :bounce1

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We unloaded the bikes and started reconnecting batteries and packing gear. Dave put fuel in his bike first and started shuttling 5 litres of fuel between the petrol station and the warehouse until all four bikes were ready for the off.

Having left the petrol can back with the clearance agent we called in at the petrol station to top up the tanks before heading off on the journey home, Gert, Dave and Mike were heading for Scotia while I intended to head up to see Neil 23 and kill some time before heading to the Birkenhead ferry that night.

As we headed North on the motorway we were all freezing and I started to feel particularly unwell being plagued with the dreaded Banjul belly, but then things got worse. We lost Gert! :blast

Pulling into the inside lane and dropping to a crawl we waited to see if he would appear, we had agreed at the start of the trip that in a situation like this we would pull off at the next junction, and as we approached we saw the gleam of a bikes HIDed lights and fogs, it was Gert safe and sound.

We pulled off anyway at the junction with the M63. Turned out Gert had been riding along merrily when he noticed his tank bag was not where it had been for the past 6 weeks, ie on the tank, he'd left it on top of his spare tyres at the bonded warehouse and had to pull over. Luckily it was still there so properly attached he headed off to catch us up.

In a way it was quite fortunate because at this point I was starting to feel extremely unwell and decided to part company from the group and head straight to Birkenhead.

As I waved them a fond farewell (two fingers alternated with the Tosser salute) I called Neil to let him know what was happening. Getting ready to get back on the bike the world started spinning, next thing I know I'm on my back in the bushes of the car park gazing at the sky with a couple of woman standing over me asking if I was alright. :blast

Turned out I'd passed out and they had seen me go down (quiet at the back there this is a serious report :augie) so I took a break and let my head clear before heading back on the road.

Arriving at the docks 7 hours early I parked the bike at the front of the queue (well there was no queue but it was where the queue would be) and settled down to wait. I had to stay outside as going inside the terminal made me nauseous so it was a long wait. To pass the time I took pictures of the bike on my phone, made the occasional phone call and played Bejeweled in between running to the washrooms to answer natures call. It was a long day!

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I eventually made it on board the ferry and headed straight to my cabin without hitting the bar for my normal dose of Mr Smirnoff's finest, the purser was annoyed as he had seen my name on the passenger list and got in extra supplies specially, but I just was not up to it.

Falling asleep as soon as my feet hit the pillow I did;nt stir until the wake up call at 5.30 the next morning.

Heading off the ferry to a cold and damp Belfast it started to hit me that Calum's Road was nearly over, over but certainly not forgotten,

Thanks for your patience in waiting for me to finish this report, it's a very general, high level impression of the trip, and it's a trip that I'll remember for a very, very long time (unlike the name of the clearance agent in Manchester :blast :D)

TTFN :thumb
 
I waited to the very end to say anything, but now I can say what a great write up and well done to you all. :beerjug:

Bob
 
An epic adventure............... and write up.
A classic that will be read and reread many times. Thank you :clap:clap

Arch
 
Just finished reading report, mixed emotions for me as I should have been there, but complete admiration for all who went knowing what they knew and conditions at the time, it was difficult enough getting from my house !

Great ride report Roger, look forward to others too !

Great effort in raising such a amount of money, it will truly change peoples lives !

Well Done !

:bow:bow:bow
 
What a great report, a great ride and all for a great cause. :clap Big kudos to you all! :bow

I know all the money raised went to charity and that you all funded your own part of the trip, but might I ask a highly personal question??

How much did the trip individually cost?

In 2012 I'm planning to ride from Nottingham into North Africa (Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Algeria, Tunisia, etc) and then back again, but I have NO IDEA how to budget for such an adventure???

How much does fuel cost? How much for a hotel? ferries? Visas, etc???

Cheers, MB
 
Hmmm ...

... I think you need to do a little more research on here before setting off; basically once you're in Morocco & Mauritania you can't cross any borders to the East. To get into Algeria you'd have to return to Europe and cross from there, it's mainly a political thing :nenau

All the info you'll need is in the Morocco Database but crudely, things are cheaper than in Europe, but you can't get everything you might desire.
 
WOW!

Thats about all I can say, what a journey! :bow

Ive spent the last 4 odd hours reading this and totally ignored the wife, mind you thats normal! :augie
 
After reading this epic adventure I lay in bed last night and one thing entered my mind.......did Sid get home, and if so how long did that take him?

Maybe Sid could update us on his adventure home!
 


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