The rearview mirror

On my last adventure motorcycle ride my rearview mirrors both broke off within the first day (yes it was a KTM) which meant I wasn't distracted by what was behind me.  It reminded me of driving in New Delhi, the most exciting urban environment I've ever driven in.  I used to borrow a friend's car, it was a Maruti 800, an Indian made Suzuki that was perfect for New Delhi's schizophrenogenic traffic.  The car had no wing mirrors or review mirror, and Olivia, the car's proud owner, explained that this made it possible for her to drive in Delhi where you have to concentrate on what is going on in front of you and let those behind you worry about what you are doing in front of them.  If you had rearview mirrors you would be rendered immobile by the amount of information assaulting your senses and overloading your brain.  It was like being in a computer game - a Super Mario Brothers for the real world.

Tonight we will have our last sleep before flying to Cape Town tomorrow.  My bags are packed, I have an old Ortlieb roll bag, a veteran of countless motorcycle journeys, with my tent, mattress, sleeping bag, a small camping pillow (if you have a pillow you can sleep anywhere), our first aid kit and a box of British Army MREs.  This bag will be strapped to the back of my bike and hold my home for 6 weeks of travel.  The other bag looks quite scary, its a big hold-all and carries my boots, my riding trousers and jacket, as well as the bare minimum of clothing for the trip.  The jacket, trousers and boots weigh a ton but they will keep me warm, dry and safe.  I keep on thinking through what else we need to take - camp stove, spare parts, fuel... and mentally packing my pannier boxes.  How will it all fit in?

In all the excitement of getting things ready, and this trip now coming together, I've been a bit distracted by the rearview mirror of life (my iPhoto library) and reminiscing about past road trips.  How did Tanja and I manage to pack everything when we went two-up motorcycle touring for weeks on end?  Our trip around Scotland on our little Honda CB500 where our mood swung between "please stop raining" and "please let it rain" as the dryer weather brought out midges in their millions, getting into helmet, hair and nostrils.  And our trip from London to Barcelona on the behemoth BMW where we carried all we needed for 3 weeks on the road, complete with hiking gear.

Life on a bike - Scotland July 2003

Pyranees  September 2004

As I've been packing this week I've been listening to the hype building up around the Brazil World Cup which has transported me back to my last big Southern Africa road trip.  In 2010 with South Africa hosting the football World Cup I felt it was only fit to drive from Kenya to South Africa to join in the festivities.  It was a perfect road trip, rattling old Landrover Defender, herds of elephants, bungie jumping the Vic Falls and joining the flow of vehicles of all shapes and sizes, mostly painted orange, and driven by crazy Dutch football fans.

Can't wait to see what awaits us on this adventure!