E P I L O G U E
Having tasted the thrill of off-piste riding,
corrugations just aren't so much fun anymore.
The Route
Not surprisingly our actual route did not match our plans. Nothing new there. I'm never sure but Oued Samene Canyon had never been traversed except possibly by a guy on an unloaded TT6 - cars have not managed it. One day I'd like to go back there on an unloaded machine and explore upstream - or nose up from the south to the watershed and see if there really was a bike-proof cliff up there...
It was in Oued Samene - our famous four kilometre day - that the reality of riding 250kg slugs-on-stilts hit us. But, it was also our first cross-country ('off piste') ride down to the North Rim and it underlined the thrill of finding one's own way over new terrain - exploration: you can't beat it!
Tarat - not on our original itinerary - was a classic piste. I've long wanted to do this one and I'd do it again. Water became a problem for us; the soak at Imirhou village was nearly dry, and then the route south to Dider (the cover of the dvd) became extremely rocky right up to the last couple of km. Don't normally say this but it was a relief to get back to the road and on to Djanet.
Here we decided we could not be arsed with the 1500-km run to Tam and back for Niger visas, so we took on the Lost Tree Excursion instead. Out of town, amazingly we covered the 300km to the Erg Killian fuel dump in one glorious day - all off-piste through beautiful country - wonderful after the rock bashing and bike hauling of the previous week.
From
the Killian fuel dump to the Tree was across truly wild country
- some tricky hills around the Alg-Niger frontier where we
installed the DRP Monument - and then out into the Tenere:
butt-numbing endurance. We were illegal and way out there,
but I at least felt pretty safe as dodgy encounters or all
three bikes croaking at once was very unlikely. We saw no one
for 4-5 days.
Next day on to the Tree and all the back to Killian we did a stonking 450 kms - a ride to remember. Then on back north from the dump to Bordj on the Djanet road - another great ride until Andy got puncture fever and DNFed (with tyre troubles all the way home. Read his story here).
So Jon and I took the regular route to Tam as we were keen to have a closer look at Telertheba mountain. We rode up as close as we could over the rubble and Jon trekked right up to the base of the cliffs. But climbing this jagged ridge (it's been done) would be tricky and as usual we were low on water and food.
By the time we got to Tam we felt a bit unsatisfied. Having tasted the thrill of off-piste riding, corrugations just aren't so much fun anymore.
Jon and I parked up in Tam for a few days (it was Tabaski Festival) when a Dutch KTM - a guy I met last year on the Med ferry - turned up with a couple of German mates heading for Djanet (via Killian as it happens, but with pick-up support). About ten days later they all got abducted in the Oued Samene region (along with 29 other tourists in various groups). Arjen and his 3 mates were released 6 months later and several stone lighter. One woman died of the heat on the plateau.
So Jon and I set off through the Hoggar, our XRLs cutting through the hairpins like half-sunk canoes. Still, a cracking ride even if the rough western descent took it out on our panniers.
And from there we were heading up the easy Amguid piste to climb Garet el Djenoun - another of my all time "want to dos" and on to another fuel dump near the Amguid Crater for which we did not hold out much hope on our radical untried canyon approach.
Then this
happened so that will all have to wait for another time
- and with the abductions that time may not be too
soon. Me, I'm just pleased I packed in all the Algeria I
could in the last four years. The DIY party is over
there now.
The fuel is still there, waiting for next time. (Actually, we picked it up in November 2005 during another visit. A bit of evaporation but 90% there after 3 hot summers on a rock). And in November 2007 I got to the amazing Amguid Crater on foot.
The Bikes
Despite early reservations in Nefta (it's always the way on your first fully loaded ride) the bikes made a good alternative to a KTM.
What we liked:
Decent suspension (but see below)
Economy (but Andy's was mysteriously 15% down on ours)
Clutch and gearbox took the hammering well
Engine never baulked at crap fuel
Despite low bhp, it was never lacking
Very accurate speedo/odo
What we didn't like:
Too high and top heavy with that giant tank
Sternwheeler steering (due to oversprung front end)
Rough riding with alloy pans - smaller and softer next time
Accurately measuring the oil level
Skinny subframe
Accessibility for rear spring adjustment
Worthwhile mods/gear:
Tough tank and rack fabrication
Nifty Zipka headtorches
Michelin knobblies
DID gold plate chains
Foam Unifilters
Renthal bars and Acerbis Pros
My Rally screen
Andy's IMO
My tank net
Our bashplates!
Reduced gearing (14/48 - never changed it back after Oued Samene)
I liked my Q/D panniers
RAM mount
My trusty Coleman Dual Fuel 533 stove
Backpack hydrators (but my Platypus bladder leaked)
My Altberg boots - light enough to swing over and to walk in
Darien Light jackets
Bel Ray synthetic oil - didn't do the engine any harm
Thermorest matts (a three-quarter Ultralite was fine)
Hardwiring the GPS
Sub-functional mods/gear
Heavy front springs (without doing the same on the back)
My GSX-R seat (barely better than the Honda plank)
My RK (Tagasako) chain stretched quicker than the DIDs
A few of my rear alt spokes snapped - the others' OEs were OK
Those 10L Ortlieb water bags are hard to use and one leaked from new
MSR stoves - both packed up but not designed for regular fuel anyway
My Renthal grips - as bad as Honda (but I used ordinary gloves)
Canvas tool bag on my bash plate - nice idea but metal would be better
A lower tank with a fuel pump might improve handling and CoG
My car type oil temp gauge never worked
12v cig lighter PTOs - unreliable contact on the move - hardwiring of DINs is best
Enlarged sidestand foot was a not big enough
Equipment failures (not including crashes)
Some of my rear spokes
Andy's rear T63 (rock damage)
Jon's tank bungs
One Orlieb bag
MSR stoves
Subframes found cracked on Jon's and possibly Andy's bike.
Other than that, these XRLs came back running much better than my previous Yamaha Teneres, but then they were new and run on good oil.
I've lately been told that the Desert Riders boots I had custom made by Alt-Berg are now part of their line up. Click the image on the left for more.
Updated October 2008. Also read this from
the 2005 AMH.
