Post Mortem

Stats:

Description Plan : Actual

Days 42 : 23
Kms 13.000 : 15.939 - 9.158 = 6.781 km
Crashes 1 : 2
Breakdowns 0 : 0 (Mike)
Repairs 0 : 2 Indicator glass & alu case
Divorces 0 : 0 (So far)


The big question has been, not just with me, but with many of you:

Was the trip a success, or does it feel like a failure?

Well, there is some disappointment we did not reach one of the key attractions - Egypt.
But there is also a positive side, we had much more time to relax and enjoy the trip, rather than have to rush by highway to the next border and country.

We both enjoyed Tunisia and Algeria a lot, and travel was relatively easy. Tunisia well developed, and low risk off road. Algeria, we felt very welcome and the riding was great. Since tourists are not common, we felt genuinely welcome, not just for the money.

So, will there be a next time?
Inshallah!


So, what could we do different next time?
1) Take very warm clothes also...
2) Unless you have lots of time, get the bikes down to the ferry and fly there yourself - racing through over Europe's highways is not that much fun. That applies for both ways.
3) Forget about cooking, food is cheap and plentyful. Just take some dry food for emergencies.
4) Even camping is questionable in several of these countries. Drop the tent?
5) Play a bit in some loose sand with bike and full gear...before you go.
6) Take a small PC, it helps a lot to find hotels, sort out problems, ferry bookings, staying in touch, etc etc. Andre's pc was very very useful.
7) Bigger footrests on bike - standing gives sore feet after about 30 minutes unless you have the full Cross boots.
8) Figure out a good place to keep the maps, so when stopping, you don't have to dig it out all the time.
9) And oh, I forget, take a week to acclimitize before you go back to work... if you want to go back to work that is...