Sunday 2017-10-08 @ Agadir, Morocco
OK now let’s try this! Like most of you have already seen in social media the Sahara desert is officially behind me – and this post will be an attempt for this blog’s first ever Q&A. As I have no idea how these things are usually done, the plan (as always) is simply so make things up and learn as I go.
First lesson is already learnt though…
‘Answer them all in this Sunday’s blog post..?’
After receiving well over 200 questions on Instagram and Facebook (what the..?) I’m afraid I’ll need to break this promise before we even get started. For your sake as much as for mine, lol.
For now – let’s get going with 20 or so of your most asked questions on my Sahara crossing. (No – I didn’t carry water for 2 000 km all in one go.) Please leave a comment to let me know if you like this sort of thing. And if so – what themes would be fun and interesting to dig into next.
Enough of that. Let’s go!
Prashant Kumar: What was your route? How many days did it take?
Oh gosh..! I’m feeling burnt out from this Q&A thing already. Please, let me be lazy on this one and I’ll do better with the other questions – OK?
My route covered something like 2 000 km. Took me something like 30 days. And looked something like this:
@pampinogreen: Was this your most challenging portion of your world bike tour? How did it compare to other remote sections you rode through?
Setting out – I was expecting Sahara to be just this. Though while bits of the foreseen challenges did live up to the expectations, Sahara actually turned out to be the no. 1 easiest desert crossing I’ve ever done. A test of patience – for sure. Though not much more than that.
@inbikewetrust: How did you work with water and food supply?
Crossing the Sahara along the coastal main road you’re never more than a day’s ride off the next village or settlement. Even at speeds of avg. 10 kmph. A few times I was carrying 10L of water but usually not more than a few liters at a time. Food is an absolute non issue.
@greengeo32: Where did you sleep? Did you feel safe?
As always each evening brings a new story. Though because of the security situation in Mauritania (with al-Qaida & Daesh on the loose) and because of the hysterical protection (control) of foreigners in Western Sahara / South Morocco I rarely found myself falling asleep more than an arms length from the nearest gendarmerie officer. The only time in my life someone has kept me safer was probably while I was still hanging out in my mother’s belly.
Elisabeth Cooper: Was there any other traffic? Or were you completely alone the whole time?
While most of the Sahara is absolutely desolate – the main road is far from that. Don’t think I ever spent more than 20 minutes between 2 passing cars.
@npistora: How do they keep the roads free of sand? Aren’t they getting buried?
While some dunes were creeping in onto the roads in Mauritania – the Moroccans use massive sweepers to keep their roads sand free.
@riggert.anderson: Headwind – all the time?
The prevailing winds of the Sahara move from north to south in direct opposite of my direction. So apart from the occasional turn of the road I was going right into it. I was blessed with one rainfall (bringing a two day wind change with it) but apart from that – yes.
Chris Jones: How did the winds compare to Patagonia? And did you think about cycling at night and resting in the day?
They didn’t come close to some days in Tierra del Fuego. The tricky thing though was that they didn’t follow any real daily rhythm and even early mornings could mean full force. For security reasons (same as above) escaping wind and heat by cycling at night unfortunately wasn’t an option.
@perga: What was the warmest and coldest temperature?
Can’t measure it. On what was probably my hottest day a Mauritanian man giving me water from his car window told me we had 44°C. Coldest camp night was just cool enough for me to bring out my sleeping bag.
@southernbikeboxhire: Did you experience any dust storms?
Thankfully no.
@andreibadearo: How did your bike & chain endure the harsh Saharan environment? What did you do for maintenance?
I’ve never spent more chain oil nor WD40 spray than in the Sahara. Apart from keeping moving parts from getting too dry / sandy I didn’t do anymore than usual to take care of my bike.
David Ekman: How did you manage not to get sand everywhere on you and Mr. Bike?
I didn’t. Because you can’t.
@martinf54: Any flat tyre in the desert? How many spare tyre und inner tubes are you carrying with you?
I carried a couple of tubes and no spare tyre. After months of almost daily flats the new Schwalbe Landcruisers I managed to find in Gambia took me through it flat free.
@auldbar: Biggest dangers/challenges?
Though some things might feel dangerous, the actual risks are usually ones that we don’t think too much about. Biggest danger: Traffic. Always traffic. Biggest challenge: Embracing down to 7-8 kmph speeds at a 2000 km route.
@auldbar: Greatest joy?
Sunrise mornings in Mauritania, riding alongside roaming nomads herding their camels. Before the winds. Before the heat. And before realising that that daily dose of magic had already passed.
@loecknitzpaddler: What do you listen to on these stages?
A few audiobooks, a million podcasts and offline Spotify playlists I should have been tired of already years ago.
Susanne van Aardenne: What was your most enjoyable and surprising encounter with people on the way?
Definitely a crew of Ghanian telecom workers that randomly became my literal partners for in crime for a couple of absurd days in Nouadhibou, Mauritania. Whoever needs the knowhow of how to get way too drunk in (the officially alcohol free) Mauritania, shoot me an email. Or by all means – don’t.
@wambogyIts: What languages do you speak and how was it dealing with language barriers?
My Arabic is non existent. My French is quite horrible. And English is generally about as useful as Swedish in the Saharan villages. People were great though, making communication very much of a non issue. In Western Sahara I was happy to find loads of people speaking excellent Spanish.
Suzanne Stannard: Did you encounter any hassles with men?
Not any more or less than in other parts of the world. Although I think I’ve hit a new PR in received marriage proposals..! Haha.
@kitta41: Alone in your tent at night? Aren’t you scared? Do you sleep at all?
I feel like I could write a whole book about fear. And about our over the top fear of feeling fear. Until then: Yes. No. Yes.
@r_s_w: What gets you through on the tough days?
Music. Thoughts of loved ones. Subtle color changes in the sand. And the realisation of that these kilometers are literally saving lives. Who could ever need more motivation than that?
@thehappywalk: Would you do it again?
One day I need to get back to the Sahara. Though next time I won’t watch it from the road. Next time I’ll be in it.
Alright! This Sunday was a little different than usual. What do you think? Let me know if this is something we should do again – and if so how you’d like it :-)
Sahara is now officially a closed chapter – and I literally can’t wait to open the next one.
Until next time,
Fredrika
