Africa A withutism
To
Picking up the bike in Alexandria was thankfully made easier as biker groups took us under their wing and helped...
We were both in awe of the scenery in Ethiopia. And whilst the 3rd gear was giving me some problems, the bike seemed to be coping well with the heavy load up steep mountian passes. All was going extremely well. Until we broke down, on the road to Addis Ababa. Out of the curious crowd that gathered around us came help and that very night we were loaded onto a truck and taken on a 700km ride to the capital of Ethiopia, and the only mechanic. Sadly the bikes were a different model and spares had to be brought over from the UK, flown over by a willing volunteer. The gods smiled on me when our mechanic in the UK offered to be the mule and stay a few days to fix the bike.
We only had 5 days to make it to the border before our visas ran out. It was an intense 3 days, and with no time for testing the bike thoroughly, we set off early on the 4th day making a run for the border. By the end of that day however, it was clear something wasn't quite right. The second and third day of the border run, there was definitely something amiss, we broke down again. On the 5th and final day of our visa, we managed to find a truck to take us to the border and with 2 hours to spare, checked out of Ethiopia.
In somewhat comical fashion, we were pushed across the border into Kenya. Another truck and another capital city beckoned. The bike issues were actually fairly straight forward this time, but sadly took a month to fix!
Desperate to leave Nairobi, a city that was starting to feel like a spider’s web, we set off for Tanzania. But we were not to be spared further problems with the bike. This time it was the loss of a structural bolt, the weight of the luggage locked on the 2 wheel drive making it un-drivable. Somehow a fix was made, and in another frantic dash before visas ran out, we finally crossed the border to Zambia where the biker network was waiting with some much needed support and help.
Today we are in Lusaka, Zambia, and for the first time feeling relatively relaxed and optimistic since our first break down in Ethiopia. The Zambezi Bikers have made a huge effort on our behalf and raised an astounding $1000 USD to help with the costs of the recovery and mechanical work that we have needed since our arrival. We have been met with such a warm welcome in Zambia and tremendous support for what we are doing. As we are now more than half way through our journey, and with the problems we have had to deal with, this has made a tremendous difference to our morale and fortitude in continuing our journey to East London, South Africa.
OC MelanieCowpland(Class of 1991) The Old Cornelian SUMMER 2016 9
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