London to Banjul - GS650 Dakar

Who	Craig Carey-Clinch ~ email ~ website
Profession	Motorcycle Lobbyist
Born 1964	Nationality British
Previous travel experience	Lots of Europe, Morocco, US
Previous bike travels	Lots of Europe, Morocco, US Mid West

This trip	London to Banjul, The Gambia
Departure date	Nov 05
Number in group	2 (3 on return trip)
Trip duration	6 weeks
Distance covered	10-11,000km
Cost of trip (not incl. bike)	4,000 Euro

Best day	Kaolack to Dakar, relaxed day, good riding, lots seen, quality time with wife and early finish (for once)
Worst/ hardest day	Worst Day; Gib to Madrid on way back -- Freezing! and journey mostly over Hardest Day; Nouadhibou to Noakchott on way down Fuel and insurance agro before setting off and two hours delay due to dehydration
Favourite place	Hmm tough one Either Essaouira, Morocco or Zebrabar campsite, nr St Louis, Senegal
Biggest headache	Dealing with imaginary headfucks and demons
Biggest mistake	Keeping spare key for bike in locked top box -- and then losing main bike key and the key for the top box!
Most pleasant surprise	The nature of Mauritanians (and Zebrabar!)
Any illness	None
Other trips planned	London to Shanghai 2007
One travel tip	Use rehydration salts in drinking water -- dehydration creeps up on you!

Bike Model	BMW GS650 Dakar, sponsored by BMW Motorrad
Age/ mileage on departure	New 800 miles
Modifications	Metal Mule boxes, Touratech engine and radiator guards, Scottoiler for chain, bike mounted vid camera and radios
Mods you wish you'd done	Fairing bars
Type of baggage	Metal Mule
Tyres used	Factory supplied
Number of punctures	1 (my traveling companion)

Bike's weak point	None for this kind of trip
Bike's strong point	Rugged durability Ability to carry huge loads
Bike problems	None
Number of accidents	None
Same bike again?	Yes, though I missed the extra power of 1200GS
One biking tip	Start at first light, don't ride after dark