amaferanga

Sort your brakes before you get to Ethiopia Flic or you'll probably die in the Blue Nile Gorge

Hope your having fun.

Cave

Wow, fantastic!

No, that will slow you down, but if you need to stop it won't work.

You need to make sure your front brakes are well-adjusted and in good condition at all times. Don't ride if your front brake dosen't work.

The rear brake - well, ideally that one needs to be perfect too, but I guess you can improvise with that one until you get the right parts. Don't leave it too long, though. I remember seeing mountainbikes on the streets in Egypt, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a shop with parts.

mudskipper99

Hey Flic, When are you going to show us a picture of Edward? Have you been taking pictures? Can you show a picture of what the road looks like, or some of the smaller towns. Im curious as to what it looks like around Egypt.

Flic

I'll try and stop being so slack and sort out pictures asap. The raods are usually really good! Though I rode through a freshly made road the other day and it was wet which probably wasnt good for the tyres, and the bike is covered in a lot of tar and so am i... it wont come out! But its all good appart from that... am having the right parts for my breaks sent out to Khartoum for me... even tho there are some mountain bikes here, I havnt been able to find ones that fit for me like... and small compact pumps appear to be non-existant. Everythings going reallyt well tho... it only took like 5 hours to ride 110km the other day, which included the part where I got stuck in the fresh road... tho I had this monster breakfast which helped... anyway i'm rambling... hope everyones having fun cycling. I'm stoked! Like cycle touring is so much fun!

G. Hoffman

Just wait until the head winds start. That's when the fun REALLY starts!




Seriously, though, way to go so far. I'm a bit jealous.


Gabriel

Dahon.Steve

I get the feeling Flic would have been much better off riding a 3 speed bicycle with a Sturmey Archer hub and a coaster brake. A setup like this would have resolved most of her problems.

Flic

just letting you guys know I'm In Khartoum, having used a combination of bike and bus. For anyone who knows the route I cycled Wadi Halfa to Abri, bussed Abri to Dongola, biked Dongola to Abu Dom, and then bussed Abu Dom to Khartoum. I was **** scared at the begining and it was pretty bloody lonely. I'm having a break now to decide what I want to do. The cycling was tough I guess, but not too bad. I got chased by a guy at the begining which was scarey, and my water bottles kept getting holes in them which wasn't good. But hey, apparently a couple of cyclists have almost died on this route according to a lady I met (like been found on the side of the road, passed out, no water) and at least that didn't happen to me! I came no where near dying! So I'm kinda proud of myself too.

Mzungu

cool. Please post on your website.

You know that in Ethiopia you will get hassled alot in small towns. Just get mentally prepared is all.

erik

Flic

www.wanderingword.com/nucleus/rad.php - been a tad lazy with the updates... will try and take care of that. And yeah... kinda worried about Ethiopia...

ibimus

Wow! Sounds like you're having quite the adventure.

Good luck on the rest of your trip!

Cave

And you thought I was being paranoid about water...

Well done, good luck with the rest of it.

Flic

spent ages today cleaning my bike... I gotta stop riding through like fresh made roads. And oh yeah yesterday I put on new break pads on the front to replace the one that got cracked up in Egypt. So yeah I guess everythings ready to go. It still really grinds through the gears and doesn't always change, but I'm just gunna let that go for now... dunno how to fix it, and its workin, so yeah... And tommorow morning I'm leaving Khartoum, heading towards Ethiopia. I'm really excited! Man its so exciting isn't it?! I'm riding off towards Ethiopia! There's gunna be cool landscape and maybe I'll be seeing some animals this month! yeahhhhhhhh! :-) and yeah see how it goes right...

G. Hoffman

How often are you lubricating your chain? That's probably not the only issue you're having, but it's probably part of the problem. If your riding 100+ kilometer days, you should be cleaning and lubricating it fairly often.


Gabriel

Cave

If you can't find any chain lube/cleaner, you can use some kerosene to degrease the chain (drip on, backpedal a bit, wipe off, repeat until the result is no longer black) and then some car transmission fluid or engine oil to lube the chain. It will get pretty scungy in all the dust, though, so if you are going to try this you have to do it regularly. Most types of "real" lube are better than oil for dry conditions.

Just wiping off your chain, gears and derailleur wheels with a rag and a bit of solvent will help a little, it will get rid of some of the crusted-on grime.

There are cable adjusters and high/low limit adjusters for your gears, but don't fiddle if you're not sure what you're doing. You could always just leave it in a good gear, then change (by hand if necessary) if you come to a big hill.

greenstork

Dunno if anyone is interested but I was curious so I checked Flic's blog and she indeed still alive (she posted yesterday) and presently in the Republic of Congo. And we thought she'd be abducted by now or broken down after two weeks with a hunk of scrap metal to sell for parts... shows what we know

IronMac

I haven't looked at her blog in months but from what I can tell she's doing a lot more busing than actually riding.

avatarworf

If I were you, I'd start looking at used bikes. You'll get much better value for your money. Try and find an older mountain bike at a garage sale or a Salvation Army store. Maybe you can find a friend who knows more about bikes to help you? Or someone from a local bike club who might come hunting with you or ask the club members if they have any old but decently built bikes to sell? Look for a steel frame so you can get it welded if it breaks.

I would definitely not go the supermarket route for a bicycle because you'll just end up with total trash.

Although the "easy" way to get set up for touring is to spend lots of money on top notch gear (that's what we did!) you don't have to have a lot to tour, as long as you are prepared to stop and fix things along the way and you may end up buying a few bikes along the way -- possibly an argument to up your budget slightly since you will save in repairs later on. I believe Alastair Humphreys did his RTW trip on four different bikes costing about $400 each.

NoReg

"I believe Alastair Humphreys did his RTW trip on four different bikes costing about $400 each."

So the real issue is finacing not cost-a 1600 dollar bike can be pretty nice, like a surly with upgraded wheels hubs and saddle.

Cave

Don't be such a sourpuss! I have looked at her blog, and from what I can tell she's doing plenty of riding; so what if she dosen't cycle every inch, that was never her intent.

IronMac

First off, I resent the implication that I haven't read her blog ok? From what I can tell, she's doing a lot of busing too or did you miss her five straight days of busing from Addis Ababa to Nairobi? Oh wait, I'm sorry, three of those days were on top of a truck.

Second, what was her intent? Seems pretty clear to me.

bhchdh 

Hey it's her adventure, what ever form of transport she chooses. At least she's out there living it, not sitting here like me wishing I were anywhere but here.

Tom Stormcrowe

Her intent was to "tour" Africa. Her adventure and her trip, Bro! I could care less if she rides a bike, bus, train or lion drawn chariot....I just hope she continues to enjoy her adventure!

jibi

I agree with Tom
Flic is out there living it. and I have enjoyed reading her blog.
sounds like quite an adventure she is having.

george

Tom Stormcrowe

Ya know, George, all sarcasm aside, the Lion drawn chariot sounds fun!

<Note to self: Acquire a matched pair of lions and a chariot!>

IronMac

Really? Pray tell what forum this is? It seems to include the words "Bike" and "Touring".

Hey, glad that she's having fun and all but what she is doing is the loosiest goosey definition of "bike touring" I've ever seen.