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January 11th, 2010 | Africa

The Countdown continues…

Lift Off is only a short 7 weeks away !!

The last few weeks have been rather frustrating, as here in South Africa, most companies close their doors in Mid-December, and finally shake off the Holiday Fever today, the 11th of January… There are so many things I still need to do and today I have to get myself into top gear, and start ticking things off the long “to do” list I have scribbled on various bits of paper…

Getting all the documentary stuff out of the way, will probably take up most of my time, as I have most of the hardware I require for my trip already sorted… I have bolted as much onto the bike as I believe I need to, I have 80% of the riding gear and clothing that I will be able to carry with me… I am in the process of deciding which of my camping gear needs replacing, and have bought most of the electrical gadgets that I will need over the course of the next few years…

When sorting through all my “wants and needs”, I had to make a few difficult choices… I eventually decided to break things down into two basic categories:

  1. Things I must have with me from the very beginning, and
  2. Things I can always purchase along the way…

This has made things a lot simpler, and stopped me from worrying about stuff I will be able to buy later…

Most of the research I have done over the past few months, using various websites, reading books and blogs written by bikers who have ridden through or over various sections of the planet, and drawing on my own experience of long distance riding, has indicated that most riders set off carrying far more than they will need, and end up ditching kit as they go along. I wasted an awfull lot of space carrying far too much clothing on my first major ride…

When I first made contact with Chris Hanschuh, owner of the Jungle Junction in Nairobi, to arrange for a service for the Big Fella before I rode the North African deserts to Cairo, he gave me some simple advice:

“Ronnie, a quick word of advice before you hit the road….leave half of what you intend to take with you at home…you won’t need it!!”

I have used his advice as best I could, reasoning that by the time I get to Kenya, I will have travelled  well over 15 000 kms , and by then, I am pretty sure I will have a list of the kit I will have to send home, before I tackle the run to Cairo ! I will no doubt, even though I have whittled down my list of “needs” already, be making a visit to the offices of DHL from time to time !!

It’s a difficult decision to make, when you have to discard an item from your list, which has been there from the beginning, and was deemed “most vital” at the onset of your planning, but once I had decided which items I could do without initially by planning to get them along the way, things got a lot less complicated !!

The next few weeks should see me rejecting a few more things from my list, and once I begin the actual packing and loading of the bike, no doubt the list will be shortened again…

Many of the bikers whose books or blogs I have read, indicated that the preparation for such a journey was far more stressful than the journey itself… They also indicated that the preparations were in some instances as exciting as the ride they had planned to undertake.

I have found the latter to be true already, and hopefully will experience the former in due course !!

Taken on a recent roadtrip... The message is clear !!!

Pauli Massyn of GPS4Africa supplied me with the above T-shirt which says it all !! More on Pauli and the assistance he has provided me with in future postings…

6 comments to The Countdown continues…

  • Antonia Leth

    We just stumbled upon your pages….
    So bloody happy your doing this bike ride…wish i could…
    I haven’t had your email….
    Life here not too good as my youngest daughter was in a car accident, she is now doing well, still in hospital and will be for several months…
    Have a wonderful (safe) magical journey/adventure…
    Will keep checking in…
    Lots of love from us both
    Antonia xx

  • Hi Ronnie

    Loved your website. C u 4 some off road bike training in the next few weeks. If you need any wordpress assistance I may be able to help you out.

    Regards

    Steve Eilertsen
    African Long Distance off road riding academy

  • Lady Leth !
    Great to hear from you ! Stay tuned and hope you enjoy the journey through my eyes…

    Ronnie

    [WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ‘0 which is not a hashcash value.

  • Great seeing you again Steve !! Will let you know if I can’t sort through some of the WordPress stuff, thank you ! See you in a few weeks !
    Ronnie

    [WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ‘0 which is not a hashcash value.

  • Debbie

    Looks good so far…. Keep it rolling !!!

  • Carnivore

    Hullo Ronnie,
    well, here I am, on your tail… This is going to be what I am reading, nightly, or as often as you post. So, having briefly corresponded with you a few mintes ago…. looking forward you having you under my roof on the weekend.
    (Nice to see Steve’s comments – hi Steve.. hope you are well!)

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