Preparations

You would think that with no other major commitments, preparing everything for this journey in two months would be no sweat. You would be wrong. The more things I get ready for the trip, the more things I realize I still need to get ready for the trip. It’s a never-ending preparation period for an event that nothing could possibly prepare me for (or so I’ve been warned). I’ll give you a taste of some of the things that need to be accomplished in this short window of time.

Physical

The need for being in the proper physical shape should be obvious, and yet it’s nearly impossible to actually achieve this goal. It’s more realistic to be always working towards it instead. This is especially the case when I’ve only had 2 months to prepare, and things like snow storms tend to interfere with the best plans periodically.

This has been my strategy:

  1. Bike everywhere. This is actually standard practice for me anyway. With no car or regular public transportation to fall back on, it’s hard to let this slip too much.
  2. Weight lifting. I joined a gym and have been doing weight lifting in a class 2-3 times per week to strengthen my core muscles as cross training. The class setting helps keep me from falling into the temptation of finishing early.
  3. Spinning. Another class that I’ve recently added to my routine twice per week. I wish I had discovered the advantages of this earlier. Being in a group, I’m forced to work harder. Ideally I could be doing group rides with a cycling club instead, but those have all closed down for the winter.
  4. Swimming. Sadly, I have let this slip. I do some swimming cross-training, but without the external motivation I find myself swimming with less intensity and going to the pool less often.

Logistics

An expedition of this magnitude clearly has a number of things that need to be taken care of before just heading out the door.

  • Sign up for the trip (and pay for it–ouch).
  • Arrange flights. This is made more difficult by finding airlines that will allow bikes at a reasonable cost. I had to fly from San Francisco instead of Reno to be on a plane large enough to guarantee my bike could be accommodated. I also had to avoid Continental Airlines due to their $500 bike fee (really).
  • Reserve hotel room before and after the event.
  • See a travel doctor. Get lots of vaccinations, plus malaria prophylaxis and other prescriptions. Make sure you have proof of Yellow Fever vaccination.
  • Make sure you have enough visa pages in your passport. I needed to get some added.
  • Get visas. Fortunately only Sudan and Ethiopia require visas to be obtained in advance, but Sudan can be tricky.
  • Get travel insurance. The chances of needing assistance over 120 days of strenuous physical activity in extreme environments necessitates it. Plus, when you factor in the costs for the whole trip, you wouldn’t want to be without. Watch out: many policies specifically exclude athletic events.

The Bike

Most bikes don’t come ready for Africa right out of the box. Over 12,000 km, you can expect some parts to wear out even in the best of conditions. Africa doesn’t present the best of conditions. Deserts of alkaline dust and sand, tropical rains, mud, corrugated roads, sharp rocks, and steep hills take their toll on components. With very few bike shops along the route that might have replacements for broken parts, you’ll have to carry your own spares. It helps to start out with the most durable components you can find, too.

My bike wasn’t ready for this. My bike is usually configured with an Xtracycle extension and weighs around 50 lbs. At times I add a trailer to it as well. Since it gets a lot of use and is exposed to the elements much of the time, many parts had worn out and had to be replaced. Here are some of the things I had to do to get it ready:

  • New rear wheel. My freehub died and the rim was bent, so it was easiest to replace the whole rear wheel assembly at one time.
  • New crankset. The chain rings were getting worn. The style was a bit dated, so finding replacement rings was more difficult and expensive than replacing the whole crankset. One of the crank arms had a stress fracture and would have needed replacing anyway.
  • New cassette and chain. It’s best to replace the rear cogs at the same time so that everything wears together. The same holds true for the the chain. Plus, the new hub could fit an 8-gear cassette so it was an opportunity to add an extra gear and expand my gear ratios a bit.
  • New shifters. In order to use the 8th gear, an eight-gear shifter is required.
  • New bottom bracket. While replacing the crank arm, I found out that the bottom bracket was worn out. It required lots of lube and two people turning the bike around the bracket clamped in a vise in order to get the old one out.
  • New suspension. I usually ride on the road so I never considered the quality of my suspension. A few off-road rides made me realize it would be best to upgrade the front fork and add a suspension seat post.
  • New seat. Fabric was split.
  • New rear brake. Return springs were shot. Pivot surfaces had rusted.
  • New rear derailleur. Better safe than sorry with the very old and worn unit.
  • New handlebar grips. The old ones had been worn out for a long time.
  • Rear rack and trunk bag. I’m not fond of biking with a backpack and without the Xtracycle there’s no place to carry all the spares I need to have (extra water, tire, tubes, tools, …)
  • Buy spares: spokes, bottom bracket, tires, tubes, derailleur hanger, etc. See the gear page for a more complete list.

Other Gear

Camping for 120 days in underdeveloped nations requires a certain amount of gear that isn’t standard for other modes of travel. I already had most gear needed for camping. I also had most of the gear needed for long-distance travel when staying in hostels, hotels, and guesthouses. Here are some things I decided to buy or upgrade for this trip:

  • Portable solar panel and chargers. In order to keep cameras, phone, and flashlight batteries charged, a 12-volt panel with 12-volt chargers was necessary.
  • UV water purifier. I have other ways of purifying water, and I’ll be bringing iodine as a backup, but decided to upgrade because chlorine tablets don’t get everything and it’s easy to overdose on the iodine. With the amount of water I’ll be needing, I don’t want to wait so long each time I need extra water (chemicals and Miox treatment require at least a half-hour before drinking). I don’t want to carry a heavy pump either. The Steripen Adventurer is small, convenient, and quick.

Other

  • Visit the dentist. It’s best to address any potential problems before they crop up.
  • Visit the eye doctor. Same as with the dentist.
  • Do lots of reading. Really, I didn’t know much about servicing bikes beyond fixing tubes. Nor did I know much about bicycle touring. Then there’s a lot about Africa I’d like to know before I go there… I’d hate to miss out on something I really wanted to see because I didn’t consult the travel guides before hand.