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AFRICA - PREPARATION

Inspiration:
My interest in longdistance motorbiking arose many years ago, perhaps already in my childhood. But before going far afield, I just want to mention that this trip was prompted by the invitation to a wedding in Cape Town, planned for March 2006.

Several weeks before the trip, my contract with a medical service company, which during nearly 10 years I had helped to build up, ended. So I was free and it seemed clear for me that this was the moment to get closer to making a big dream reality: - off to Cape Town, by motorbike to the wedding!

Planning:
That the goal would be Africa was on one hand prompted by the wedding; on the other hand fall is the ideal time for beginning such a trip: still warm enough in Europe and and yet not so hot any more in the Sahara. Also the days are not too short as in winter.

At first I had to get information about the countries and above all: information about the travel routes, and to decide, if it was feasible. Which countries are politically safe, which routes are useable at which time, the possibility of getting provisions for yourself, etc.The next point was to evaluate the organisatory steps and the cost of the whole trip, draft a plan and a rough timetable to see whether 8 weeks of preparation would be enough. They were enough! In fact because of previous knowledge and the availability of most parts of the (already tested) materials, incl. motorbike. It was a lot of work, but it was worth the effort!

Organization:
The list of the so called "To Dos" was long. To some degree the diagramm gives an impression of the sections into which the preparation was divided. Several tough nuts to crack were: giving up the household, establish any insurances, technical checks of the motorbike, organization of visas (sometimes takes up to 5 weeks), and finally making a packing list and getting provisions. Before my departure I also wanted to devote enough time to my girlfriend, family and closest friends. I was lucky enough to have reliable and responsible representatives during my absence: my girlfriend Gerdi and my father. Without them, many things would have been a lot more difficult.

This brings us to the point: on 4 October my flat was ready to be handed over, the many weeks of investigation, preparation and last minute jobs were completed. Suddenly there was just me, the motorbike and the endless streets in front of me...

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