I passed!!!

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Yes I passed the motorbike course... finally! It’s been a week of ups and downs, one up being that we got a new instructor, Sal. Sal had this crazy forward thinking approach of actually giving instructions and a bit of advice as to how one should ride a motorbike as opposed to just letting us ride around a field for days on end trying to work it out for ourselves. So by Wednesday we were ready to have a go on the road. Unfortunately Chris didn’t quite make it to this. After falling off for the 4th time she finally admitted her limits, or at least the limits of her poor bruised legs. She’s fine thankfully but has decided that there must be other ways of getting about the schools of Soama. That was a bit of a blow for our little group. So were our attempts at battling through the traffic, riding down steep hills and through the sand on the beach. Our confidence not high we finished the day very despondent and dreading the off road training that would follow the next day.

Last night I dreamt of motorbike crashes; several of them. However, today has proven to be much better. Driving through the bush was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. We drove through everything; sand, mud, water, pot holes, balancing on narrow ledges, you name it. The first half of the day I hated it but by the second half I was enjoying it... I think. I think I’ve managed to get the hang of riding through sand. Going slow in 2nd gear seems to be the trick as opposed to just revving full throttle and hoping for the best.

The day was filled with plenty of laughter, mainly courtesy of Suki who fell off 5 times! Fortunately if you’re driving through thick sand at 10 miles an hour you just bounce back up again, if you’ve got someone nice to pull your bike off you. At one point Liam and Sal had zoomed off ahead leaving me to judge how to get across a huge puddle on my own. I had a choice of water, thick mud or a narrow dry bumpy patch with sharp sticks sticking out of it. I stopped to take it all in but Zakia riding up behind me had better ideas. She drove straight into the mud, full throttle only to get stuck in the middle of it. While she was up to her knees I braved the narrow path. Suki was soon behind me with Suliman. As he waded in to rescue Zakia Suki attempted the narrow path only to fall into the bushes. You had to laugh at that point. Suliman certainly saw the funny side.

Suki rounded off her series of falls nicely by ploughing into the middle of a large puddle and toppling off in the middle of it. Sal chose this point to tell us that we should always go around the side of water rather than through the middle of it. I don’t think Suki will need telling twice. I’m sorry to say I didn’t bring my camera on the trip so no photos, though I think having her pictures taken might have been a step too far for poor Suki.

Despite all of this we ended the day on a high feeling like we’d really achieved something in the last week or so. We can all ride our motorbikes with at least some degree of competence. I might seek out a few extra lessons in Basse though before I venture into the bush on my own.

All this means that we are on course to go up country on Saturday. Tomorrow I have to go shopping for enough tinned food to last me till Christmas and then I’ll be packing up. We’re all then meeting at the beach for a swim and a drink and to make the most of the relative luxuries of the Kombos.

I think I’m looking forward to seeing Basse. I’m curious to see it after hearing so much about it. Will I be able to stand the infamous heat? I’ll miss my new mates though and the comfort of having a group around you going through the same things. Hopefully I’ll have some new ones waiting for me when I get there.

To Basse and beyond!

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Comments

[Mary]

Go Sarah of Basse!
Well done Sarah, another string to your bow. Take care and wear gloves AT ALL TIMES on the bike xx