Friday 10 March 2006 - What's a Good Trans-Africa route for a Roadbike?

 I've been asked this question a number of times since finishing my trip, so I guess there are a lot of people out there who are interested in seeing Africa on the relative comfort of a roadbike.

Well the good news for you roadbike fans is that, with the exception of two short sections, this is now entirely possible. I will assume that you are planning a north to south route and that you have already gotten yourself as far as Cairo, Egypt (either via Tunisia & Libya or via Turkey & Jordan). The basic routefrom here is south to the Egyptian/Sudanese border at Aswan, where you need to embark on the ferry for Wadi Halfa.

Arrival in Sudan is your first section of off-road and consists of a lot of sand riding. I can't imagine this would be too much fun to do on a Fireblade or sports cruiser. But it's your bike and your adventure. For the more astute road-bikers amongst yo though, you can either put your bike on the train to Atbara or negotiate some space on the back of a truck.

Once you get to Atbara, you have tarred road once again until you hit Ethiopia. When I traversed Ethiopia in 2003 a lot of the roads were still unsealed. Although a friend who travelled through in 2005 tells me that the main roads are now all tarred. In some ways that is a pity because it detracts from the adventure of it all. But that is a selfish opinion and I'm sure one that very few locals would agree with.

Your next section of untarrred road is the approximate 800km from the Ethiopia/Kenya border south to Isiolo. This little stretch of road is not dubbed 'the worst road in Africa' for no reason at all. It is tough and many bikers have known the frustration of seeing their bikes and panniers fall apart around them on this very rough road. My advice to you if you do plan to ride this bit is; get someone else to carry all but your essential luggage for this stretch. Alternately, you can easily negotiate passage on a truck.

From here on down, you're able to stick to tarred road all the way to Cape Town. If you so wish. But my personal opinion on that: Leave your Fireblade at home and invest in a solid single cylinder big trailie. Like a KTM640, BMW F650 or Tenere.

Africa is so much more alive offroad!