My 'Mother' of a Solo ride to Namibia

[BMWPE]

:salut:
great report
thank you

 

[Stanley from Oz]

You photos are very good. You have set a high standard for others to follow.
When you rode from Ai-Ais down and around to Rosh Pinah, did you alter your tyre pressure from dirt to sand. For the dirt what pressure were you using and how low did you go with the sand. I'll be riding with a similar weight and bike to you on this section in September so would be very interested to know.

 

[mother]

You photos are very good. You have set a high standard for others to follow.
When you rode from Ai-Ais down and around to Rosh Pinah, did you alter your tyre pressure from dirt to sand. For the dirt what pressure were you using and how low did you go with the sand. I'll be riding with a similar weight and bike to you on this section in September so would be very interested to know.

thanks i just took lots of pics as i had the time....

im a bit of a lazy rider ....fortunately been riding sand for years so i very seldom drop the tyre pressure....i just ride with the bike a bit snaky also the rate the road goes from gravel to sand and back to gravel is so often i would rather not have pressure punctures......anyway that was my logic

as for the tyre pressure i was riding 2.2 in front and 2.8 at the rear and was using TKC tyres

 

[ClimbingTurtle]

Hi Mother…..am about to do a short trip to Namibia….and I will take the C13 from Ausengher to Luderitz…..can you remember the condition of the C13 …. are there any sand areas on this road. i am not experienced in sand and am going solo, so would not like a sandy surprise on this route….would really appreciate your assessment of this stretch…….

hi i found the C13 between Aus and Helmeringhausen to be no too bad....the worst section with corrugations and patches of sand was as the midway point between Helmeringhausen and Betta on the C27

as i said earlier ....generally i found the roads in worse condition than i ever did before....so brushing up on the sand riding is not a bad thing

The sand on the C13 is OK - just keep your wits about you and you will be fine. Watch out for the "driffies" (sand drifts in the water wash-aways) across the road - every drift has sand in it, but they are normally no more han 4 or so meters across - easy at 60kmh. Take your time getting used to the road conditions and you will love it!!

 

[Red-J]

Mother, I resize my pictures using the default Mac preview program. I copy the pics I want to post into a folder, select them all and open with Preview. Then using the Tools drop down tab you can select Adjust Size - Custom. I normally use 1280 x 768. Once resized, close the program and it will automatically save the files with the new size.

Hope this helps.

Great pics and RR by the way!

 

[mother]

Mother, I resize my pictures using the default Mac preview program. I copy the pics I want to post into a folder, select them all and open with Preview. Then using the Tools drop down tab you can select Adjust Size - Custom. I normally use 1280 x 768. Once resized, close the program and it will automatically save the files with the new size.

Hope this helps.

Great pics and RR by the way!

Thanks for the tip appreciate Red-J

 

[Wayne Duck]

Very good trip and trip report Mother, Thanks!

Besides being up north and in Angola during 1982/3 during my national service, I also moved to and lived in Windhoek from 1996 to 2001 - was a great five years and managed to get out and see a lot of the country, although not on a bike (had a very young family then!).
I'm planning a long trip through Nam (probably leave next year) so your's, and all the other ride reports like Vis Arend's, are being saved and used as the basis for my plans  :thumleft:

Would you mind putting up some info like distances between fuel availability along the route that you took? My bike would need more frequent re-fueling than yours!

Cheers
Wayne

 

[mother]

Very good trip and trip report Mother, Thanks!

Besides being up north and in Angola during 1982/3 during my national service, I also moved to and lived in Windhoek from 1996 to 2001 - was a great five years and managed to get out and see a lot of the country, although not on a bike (had a very young family then!).
I'm planning a long trip through Nam (probably leave next year) so your's, and all the other ride reports like Vis Arend's, are being saved and used as the basis for my plans  :thumleft:

Would you mind putting up some info like distances between fuel availability along the route that you took? My bike would need more frequent re-fueling than yours!

Cheers
Wayne

Hi sorry for delay been bit busy
If u have 200 km range u should be good in most of the places...there is petrol... but i would then carry 5 litres back up....having said this the problem area of the route i took for u is going to be the Henties to Palmwag section through the Skeleton coast park
See attached pic and the other area is from Opuwa to Epupa and back to Ruacana over 400 km and i did this on a tank....there is petrol available in Epupa on black market around 18 bucks a litre hope this helps u with planning your ride
Good luck and enjoy

 

[Wayne Duck]

Thank you for the info  :thumleft:

 

[Gee eS]

Great Report Mother. Thanks for sharing.
I did a little bit of Nam last year to the Nam Bash and went solo from Ais Ais via Warm baths and Onseepkaans. Since then I have had this yearning to do a proper Namibia trip. Your report has now made it a burning desire. :ricky:

 

[mother]

Great Report Mother. Thanks for sharing.
I did a little bit of Nam last year to the Nam Bash and went solo from Ais Ais via Warm baths and Onseepkaans. Since then I have had this yearning to do a proper Namibia trip. Your report has now made it a burning desire. :ricky:

Hehehe glad i could awaken that flame again...enjoy

 

[TVB]

Baie nice trip, ek het dit nou geniet!

 

[tankgirl]

brilliant! just one trip and i'm also hooked on namibia ;D

 

[mother]

brilliant! just one trip and i'm also hooked on namibia ;D

It's an addiction a nice one to have...

 

[Poena]

Nice reading

 

[Black_Hawk]

Thank you for all the time and effort that you've put into this RR. Very well written and nice photo's.  :thumleft:

 

[Noneking]

Lekker hieraan gelees!

 

[Warren Ellwood]

I've really enjoyed this, thank you for taking the time to write it and also post all the awesome photos.

Got to get there, it's becoming a big itch, and all the great RR's on here like this one do nothing but make it more itchy.

 

[ClimbingTurtle]

Just reread the whole RR instead of working - cannot wait to get back - leaving in 10 weeks tomorrow, unfortunately not on the bike this time, but with my wife unlike last time!!

Great read - best you go on another trip so that you can write another RR!!

:thumleft:

 

[mother]

:thumleft:f

Always nice to read that folks enjoyed following the RR

Namibia is truely a great biking experience and for sure you will be richer for the experience... Enjoy and be safe