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Distant Suns : A 3D Jigsaw Puzzle
'He who would travel happily must travel light.'
St. Exupéry
I'm often asked, "Which is the best bike to go travelling on and what spares, documentation and kit should be used?" My answer is to guide people in the direction of the experts. Chris Scott has written invaluable books such as the Adventure Motorcycle Handbook, and the guys at Horizons Unlimited have built their amazing website and produced DVD's that are packed with 'how to' information. To date my books have never had enough space to address these questions with any level of quality or in any depth, so I haven't attempted to do so. But I do have a few thoughts on the subject.
As mentioned in the introduction, my round-the-world travelling was done before the internet became ubiquitous, and before GPS, mobile phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) and miniature lap-top computers were affordably available. Should you take them? In the end, it all depends on how you want your adventure to be, how much you want to spend and how much you want to carry. I like to be out of contact as much as possible. The Paul Theroux quote on the rear cover of Distant Suns says it all for me.
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What bike? Actually, just about any bike will do. Nick Sanders and Sjaak Lucassen have travelled the globe both on and off road on Yamaha R1 supersports bikes; Lois Pryce has done it on a humble little 225cc Serow trailie, Austin Vince on a 350cc Suzuki trailie and Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman have done it on 1150 and 1200 BMW twins. Kevin and Julia Sanders run their trips using BMW GSs and the guys from Gravel Travel use Yamaha XT600s and XTZ660s. 70s pioneers Ted Simon and Paul Pratt both used early days Triumph twins, and I know of people who have travelled very long roads on such bikes as Honda 90s and Simson scooters. Quite simply, if it has two wheels, an engine and is reliable, then you can overland on it. You just have to decide what sort of trip you want to do. If your bike is prepared properly then the chances are that nothing major will go wrong.
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I chose the BMW because it was designed with off road use in mind, had good ground clearance, simple maintenance and a reputation for reliability. It performed really well and dealt perfectly with every riding condition except very soft sand and very deep mud. The bike was comfortable and the riding position suited my height (6' 1") very well. For 95% of the journey I couldn't have wished for a better bike. Actually, my choice was much influenced by two blokes in the pub when I'd just announced my decision to go adventuring on a bike. Their advice was, 'Go for the R80GS - it's bullet-proof, and idiot-proof!' As I write this, Libby is still my only means of transport, so they were right.
It does make sense to ensure that your bike is in tip top condition before you go, and you should look at basic things such as how good the suspension on your bike is. Will it stand up to weeks of being rattled across corrugations? Are your tyres up for the type of journey you have planned? Dual-purpose trail tyres with a deep tread pattern work well for general overlanding use, though a set of road-legal knobblies can make your ride safer and more fun in trickier going, at the expense of a much shorter life. I prefer to use inner tubes in my tyres as you can inflate them yourself if they come off the rim, which is not usually the case with tubeless tyres. However, provided the tyre bead remains in contact with the rim small punctures can be mended much more quickly and easily in a tubeless tyre using a BMW-type tubeless repair kit. I carry heavy duty, motocross inner tubes and find that they last really well. Add a couple of large extra patches from a truck puncture kit to your repair kit.
What spares should you carry? I loaded up with so many spares that I set off looking more like a mobile parts shop than an overlander. The rule for me now is, carry the real basics such as electrical components, filters, and spare cables, and a few of the most important gaskets. Most of the rest of the kit you may need you can get sent out to you if you get stuck, or you can bodge with cable ties, duct tape and silicone. Being innovative is part of the fun isn't it?
The BMW tool kit was excellent but I added a voltmeter, full size tyre levers, a torque wrench, and a very small set of jump leads - I don't have a kick-start. I'm not keen on pencil air pressure gauges, they get blocked up with grit and then become unreliable. My gauge gets used a lot as I change my tyre pressures according to terrain. When riding on soft sand or mud, let approx. 50% of the air out of your tyres, for example from 2 bar to 1 bar (30psi to 15psi). This spreads the tyre over a greater road surface area, which gives you a lot more grip. In some deep sand conditions 50% isn't really enough but unless you have tyre clamps (rim-locks) fitted to your rims then you run the risk of tyre slip. This will eventually rip out the valves. If you do fit rim-locks, you may find that they give you a terrible thumping vibration on the tarmac at high speed. Try to time your journeys for the earlier hours of the day. In the desert the low light makes an amazing difference to what you can see of surface texture changes. The sand is also firmer then as overnight dew holds the sand grains together. Besides that, an early start means an early finish and time to explore before dark.
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Also, look at your fuel range. I think that normally a five hundred kilometre range is more than enough. You can always increase that locally with additional fuel bottles if needed. There is always a big debate about whether to use hard or soft luggage. I prefer aluminium panniers because they suit my style of travelling in just about every way, and they survive the 'two uses' rule. Everything you take should have at least two uses! One of my favourite bits of kit was my sheepskin saddle cover. It was softer and cooler to sit on, and because the surface is never completely smooth it gives your backside a good massage as you ride. Stuff it up the front of your jacket in winter for added warmth, and there you have won the two uses argument, twice. Air seats are also well worth considering - they make great pillows too!
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Looking after yourself is just as important as looking after your bike and kit. The keys are sleep well, eat well, drink enough and stay clean. So, get yourself a tent that is big enough to be a comfortable home, but small and light enough to fit on the bike easily. We use a three-person dome tent with two entrances, a porch and mosquito netting on both doors. Do use a groundsheet - there are a lot of thorns and sharp stones out there. Besides that, there are ants which will eat through an ordinary tent ground sheet. I use a thick clear plastic sheet with the idea that if I ever get stuck in the desert, then I can use it to make a solar still to get water. Half a dozen six-inch nails are a good addition to your tent kit. In many places the ground is so hard that ordinary tent pegs just bend. I started with a 2-season sleeping bag and it wasn't warm enough. There's a lot of altitude in this world of ours and if you get your planning wrong or life gets in the way, you can end up camping is some very chilly weather. And even the hottest deserts are often freezing at night - literally. I now use a 3-4 season bag with a silk liner. This perfect when it's too hot for the bag, adds warmth when the bag isn't enough and it's much easier to wash regularly than your bag. Not being a macho man, I need a comfortable night's sleep. I use a 3/4 length self-inflating mat. It's very comfortable to lie on, it's light and it packs up very small.
A good cooker improves your quality of life and your flexibility. It also saves you money. I use a petrol stove, that way you always have fuel 'on tap' as it were.
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In the desert you'll need to carry at least 10 litres of water but elsewhere, with care, water of sorts can always be found. Mostly I carried five litres and used local plastic bottles when extra was needed. I gave or traded them away when I no longer wanted them. One thing to remember is that you should make a point of drinking, even when you are not thirsty. A nice trick to get a cold drink when you need one is to fix a bottle covered in sacking to one of the front surfaces of your bike. Put a very small hole in the neck of the bottle. As you ride, small quantities of water dribble through the hole, onto the sacking and then the water is whipped away in your slipstream. Result - cold water.
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Still on the subject of staying healthy, I carried a mini hospital - far too much! You should talk to your GP. At least take something for diarrhoea, major pain, paracetamol, antiseptic (dry spray is very good), plasters, a crêpe bandage, sterile dressings, a suture needle and thread, talcum powder (feet and your crotch can cause a lot of grief), small container of fungal cream (Canesten), multi-vitamins, anti-malarials, and anti-histamine for insect bites. Don't forget to take along a sufficient supply of any medication you may personally need. Make sure it is in a properly labelled container (stuffed with cotton wool to stop vibration problems). It's also a good idea to take a prescription for this medication so that you don't have problems with customs at any of the borders.
An insect repellent with a large percentage of 'Deet' should do the trick (but don't spill any on your plastic gear, it'll damage it). The golden rule is to cover up at dusk and in the early hours.
I think that a decent travel insurance policy is vital, but hunt carefully, many companies list biking as being a dangerous sport and won't cover you for a long trip. Odd really...
Your national motoring organisation, such as the RAC in the UK, can do your carnet for you. It has been known for travellers to make the length of Africa without the use of a carnet but to do it now would involve considerable hassle and bribery. Quite simply, it's just not worth being without these temporary importation documents. It's also imperative that the forms are filled out correctly, going in and going out. Two years after leaving Egypt I received a letter from Egyptian customs demanding that I pay my outstanding importation duties. They'd lost my carnet exit details. Happily I'd made sure that they'd been done properly, and I'd kept copies.
However, at time of writing it is possible to travel through most countries in South and Central America without a carnet.
Make sure you have a set of photocopies of all of your documents at home and another set with you. Getting hold of new documents is always faster if you have copies and if you lose something, then you at least have some proof that will normally keep you travelling. At several borders you are required to hand sets over. It's one less hassle in a big hassle situation. The other thing to have is a set of passport photos. You'll need these for visa applications and at some borders.
Nowadays, if you have a yahoo email account it's also worth scanning colour versions of your documents and then saving them as an attachment to a draft in your email. You can then access these or forward them on if that is needed.
I use two cameras - a small 'point and shoot' with a flash, and a digital SLR. I use a 28-80 and a 210 zoom lens. Take along a polarising filter and a skylight filter for each. There's often haze, dust or heat distortion in the sky and these filters not only help protect your lenses, but they cut out a lot of refracted light distortion too. A lens dust brush helps a lot. Your camera bag should be really over padded, and have the ability to keep water and dust out. If you plan to spend time in damp humid conditions put some silica gel sachets in your bag.
As for clothes, I try to go for safety and comfort on the bike, plus the minimum for the rest of the time. The balance that's hard is trying to get your selection right for all temperatures and conditions. Things that hand wash and dry easily are ideal. Cotton is the best natural material for both durability and health. Many man-made materials do not deal with sweat well but you'll find that specialist retailers can help you with some very 'trick' fast drying non-cotton clothing. Remember, the more skin you expose the faster you will dehydrate. Bear than in mind in particular when you are riding.
Tough canvas/denim jeans, with removable kneepads and plenty of pockets work well both on and off the bike. Alternatives include jeans lined with Kevlar, or fabric and leather trousers with removable knee and hip armour.
I started with an open face helmet but now use a full face with a flip-up front. You have more protection, and they are in fact cooler as they keep direct heat away. The flip-up front makes asking directions and making friends much easier. White is an excellent colour as it reflects the worst of the heat and makes you more visible. Don't forget to pack a pair of earplugs. Not only are they a good idea to protect your hearing on long open road days, but also there are some pretty noisy campsites and hotels. In Islamic countries, the call to prayer is a very early wake up call at 4 am.
Other than that, a baseball cap (the sun off your head, and your face in the shade can help you stay well, and deal with a day's hassles), and flip-flops (for general wandering and for use in showers and toilets). If you've been sitting with your feet inside hot boots all day it's important to let your feet 'breathe' and at the same time let your boots dry out.
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One of the beauties of overlanding is that every bike you meet is loaded and kitted-out in its own individual way. There isn't a 'right' way. You can do it your way according to your own priorities, but in the end common sense rules the day. One of the biggest pre-trip tips is to decide what sort of journey you actually want to make. A personal Paris-Dakar? The idea of trying to go where no biker has ever been before? Or an open, 'see what happens' adventure? You'll need to choose your kit accordingly.
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Whatever you do, keep your total weight to a minimum, keep what you do carry as low as possible and make sure that your packing is balanced. A low, even, centre of gravity helps you stay upright. A thought to have in your mind when you are planning your trip is that if you aren't sure that you are going to use it then you probably don't need it. Loading your bike is far more fun than a Rubik's cube. It's an ever-changing 3D jigsaw puzzle!
A final thought. The way you mentally load yourself is just as important as how you deal with your kit and your preparation. Life on the road is full of high points; why else would anybody do it, and keep going back for more? But there are low points where you find parts of yourself, strengths and weaknesses you never knew existed. Paul R. Pratt, the highly experienced motorcycle overlander, says 'The right state of mind allows you to take one thing at a time and cross every bridge when you come to it.' The travellers that seem to enjoy their journeys the most, are the ones who have time, keep an open mind and stay positive whatever they are faced with. The famous round-the-worlder and journalist Ted Simon says 'The interruptions are the journey'. With each adventure, you can make a set of memories worth having. There's always something good going on, whatever the situation.
Sam
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