London to Dakar 1986

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Chris S
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Re: London to Dakar 1986

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Chris S
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Algeria 1987

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Part 2 is up:
Over the Tassili N'Ajjer plateau to Djanet oasis.
One of the World's Great Motorcycle Rides – or your money back!

https://adventure-motorcycling.com/2021 ... 00-part-2/
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daveuprite
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Re: London to Dakar 1986

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A really good read. Thanks again Chris. Just shows the advantages and pitfalls of having your own transport in the desert. When I crossed Algeria I was limited by the lifts I could get and my route was often decided by that alone. I knew roughly where I wanted to end up, but had no idea from one lift to the next exactly how things would turn out. If I had had a bike I would have liked to branch out across to the Tassili to explore there.

What I really wanted to find was someone who would cross into Mali from Tamanrasset (heading west) on the Tin Zautine / Tessalit route, so that I could get to Timbuktu across country but nobody in Tam was interested and some told me I was mad to even think about it. Instead I had to cross the Niger border in the usual way and go via Niamey, which was interesting in itself but was basically Sahel travel, not desert adventure. Again, if I'd had a bike with enough fuel carrying capacity I might have tried it via Tessalit (and might not be here to talk about any of it!). Have you ever tried that route Chris?

Another Q for you Chris? Did you ever ride/drive the Reggane route? Always looked like an intriguing alternative to In Salah - Tam, although much more featureless desert by the look of the Michelin map.
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Chris S
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Re: London to Dakar 1986

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We did the track to Bordj Moktar the following year with the 101, then up to Reggane, by which time everyone was going a bit troppo.
Most of Desert Travels is about that trip.
(It's the area Thatcher got lost in 1982).

And the year after, we carried on into Mali, Timbuktu and Mauritania. That one didn't end well either.
A year later the Swiss bloke I was with got his Landcruiser pinched near Tam.
Came out from under his car changing his oil and found an AK47 in his face.
Amazingly, he was insured!
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Re: London to Dakar 1986

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Chris S wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 9:21 pm We did the track to Bordj Moktar the following year with the 101, then up to Reggane, by which time everyone was going a bit troppo.
Most of Desert Travels is about that trip.
(It's the area Thatcher got lost in 1982).

And the year after, we carried on into Mali, Timbuktu and Mauritania. That one didn't end well either.
A year later the Swiss bloke I was with got his Landcruiser pinched near Tam.
Came out from under his car changing his oil and found an AK47 in his face.
Amazingly, he was insured!
Thanks Chris. I'm going to have to get hold of your books and have a good read. It's been so many years since i crossed the Sahara but it still fascinates me now. I can easily waste a couple of hours zooming in and out of google earth hovering over Algeria/Mali/Mauretania etc.
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Re: London to Dakar 1986

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Try Bing Aerial - I don't get the interface (or am too used to Google) but the difference in resolution is amazing when you zoom right in.
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Re: London to Dakar 1986

Post by daveuprite »

Chris S wrote: Thu Mar 18, 2021 8:33 am Try Bing Aerial - I don't get the interface (or am too used to Google) but the difference in resolution is amazing when you zoom right in.
OK, I'll try that, cheers.
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