Two men, two motorbikes and a 2,500km ride through South Africa. No it’s not the latest Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor Long Way Down sequel but a charity challenge by two bike-mad Guernseymen, as Suzanne Heneghan reports FORGET the rhinos, snakes and croc-infested rivers, nothing was going to get in the way of Alan Le Page and Peter Norman’s epic South African bike ride challenge.
While the journey - in aid of African charity Riders for Health - was at times a bumpy one for some of its 100 entrants, all went smoothly for Guernsey’s very own Ewan and Charley.
Like their TV biker counterparts in the BBC series, Long Way Down, these two get along like a house on fire.
The mates, who are also brothers-in-law, share a driving passion for motorbikes.
Both have long been involved with the island’s hill climb and local trial biking. Which is why they decided to swap the comfort of their Guernsey homes for a gruelling 14-day trek through some of the most extreme terrain in the world.
Organised by Enduroafrica (a name to set instant alarm bells ringing for most of us), the incredible journey took them over steep mountains, through ancient tribal areas and across five game reserves in wild South Africa.
The aim of the ride from Durban to Port Elizabeth was to provide motorbikes to help health workers reach remote African settlements. With four-wheel-drives often unable to access villages, doctors and nurses need the bikes to help save the lives of some of the country’s poorest people, from malaria patients to pregnant mums.
The scheme works by the riders paying £4,500 to take part, including bike hire. All the bikes used are then donated to the charity at the end of the trip.
After reading about the challenge in the March edition of Motorcyle News, Alan and Peter couldn’t resist the call of the wilds. They managed to come up with the travel expenses portion of the money themselves and raised the remaining cash through local sponsorship. Among the fund-raising events was a gourmet evening at the Rocquettes Hotel and a 70s night.
‘We’d wanted to do something extreme like this for a long time,’ said Alan. ‘And it was a chance to help a really good cause.’
So why not pick a slightly comfier Top Gear-like challenge by car, I ask?
‘You’ve never ridden a bike, have you?’ asks Peter, patiently. ‘It’s just not the same. When you’re riding a bike you feel part of it. Bikers call cars ﾓcagesﾔ.’
Ah, right then.
The good news is that these two are no strangers to bike rides: sometimes even taking their wives along.
But this time it was definitely a boys-only road trip - although apparently there wasn’t a lot of road.
Most of the route was off the beaten track, steered via sat nav. Thanks to their trial biking skills, they were ready for the hills and rocks they met along the way.
‘We were pretty well prepared,’ said Alan. ‘Guernsey’s unique coast and landscape had provided us with an ideal, natural place to practise.’
Around 100 bikers had signed up for the African ride.
Our boys were in the ‘grey team’ along with nine other riders.
All were presented with a Honda 200cc four-stroke motorcycle. The company provides the bikes at a reduced cost. It also makes good any repairs free of charge at the end of the journey before they are donated to health workers throughout the whole of Africa.
The Honda Bushlander ‘dirt bikes’ were designed for Australian sheep farmers.
Both Alan and Peter had ridden similar ones before and found them easy to adjust to.
What was more demanding was carrying around their waterpacks and backpacks which allowed little room for personal items. Despite the soaring temperatures, each rider was kitted out in full biker body armour and boots for their protection.
It was also a demanding schedule. Each day began with breakfast at 6.30am. All the bikes would be on the road by 7.30 with a 10-hour stint stretching ahead. Sometimes off-road speeds had to be down to 10mph or 15mph, making progress slow.
Support vehicles were stationed at prearranged points, though the final stop was not until their evening meal.
On the plus side, the accommodation was far better than they had expected. Clean, comfortable chalets with showers were dotted along the route.
Honda provided a couple of mechanics and there was RAC back-up, though the boys tended to clean up their own bikes, do their own oil changes and they even carried their own spare tyre inner tubes.
The worst day of the trip was a 14-hour trek through hail, thunderbolts and lightning.
‘It was tough at times, certainly,’ said Alan. ‘But strangely, that was part of the fun.
‘Another time we had to take the bikes across a deep stream. The wheels were churning up mud from the riverbed and getting stuck. It was a scorching 30C and we were in full biker gear. That was memorable.’
Pete’s most demanding moment was at the end of another long day.
‘We had a sheer rockface to get the bikes over when suddenly the skies opened and it threw it down. Yet you’ve just got to keep on going, that’s the only way.’
One of their main highlights was crossing a deep river after a routing error saw them end up on the wrong side.
‘We didn’t have enough fuel to drive all the way around it. But we found a derelict boat and used our initiative,’ said Alan.
‘With a few heave-hoes and a lot of effort we managed to get 24 motorcycles in the boat and ferry them across. It was touch and go at times and the boat nearly tipped over, but we made it.’
It was these kinds of dilemma, said Pete, that made it all such a real adventure.
‘Whatever it threw at you, you just had to pick yourself up and get back on your bike.
It was a bit like one of those team-bonding exercises.’
But it was a challenge that didn’t suit everyone. Seven people failed to finish the ride. One was airlifted out with a fracture by medics on the standby helicopter.
Injuries aside, some were just less used to getting their hands dirty than engineer Alan and builder Pete.
‘We were lapping it up because we loved the challenge,’ said Pete.
But it wasn’t until he finished the ride that Alan realised he wasn’t all that invincible - he had broken an ankle along the way.
‘I hadn’t noticed because I had my boots on most of the time.
I just thought it was bruised when it went black and blue. I’m glad I didn’t know and that I carried on.’
Not only were they oblivious to broken ankles, the Guernsey pair appeared not even remotely scared about any dangers that might have been ahead.
‘We were part of a group of more than 60 big, hairy bikers in body armour, so we felt pretty safe,’ laughed Alan.
‘I think the locals were more scared of us.’
Peter did admit to the terrifying moment he discovered a snake wrapped around his handlebars.
‘I’d thought it was a cable on the bike but it was a python that had crawled up. It must have been there for four hours.’
As well as hitch-hiking snakes, the riders came across their fair share of wild tortoises.
They also ventured through game reserves displaying worrying signs such as: ‘Danger - do not leave your vehicle.’
‘That was a little bit of a concern when you’re sat on a bike,’ laughed Alan.
‘We were watched by rhinos and buffaloes - not to mention these lions in the bushes.
But luckily they didn’t seem interested - they were very well fed.’
Fortunately the people were not at all intimidating. Just as in the TV show, they were curious but very friendly.’The people were wonderful,’ said Peter. ‘We stopped in a lot of villages and the kids would come out to look at these strange 50 or 60 bikers going past their homes.’
The riders also got to see three schools that had been built with money raised by the charity.
‘Some kids walked 10 miles a day to that school because they loved it,’ said Peter.
‘They were all spotlessly turned out and smart.
‘We saw the women washing their clothes in the muddy river and drying them outside the wattle huts but somehow the clothes were all amazingly clean.
‘They were very happy and welcoming people. And you never knew when you would meet someone.
‘You could be riding through the wilderness with no houses for miles, then suddenly children would appear from nowhere out of the bushes.
‘I will never forget the time I was going down a really rocky hill covered in boulders when a little kid popped his head out from behind a cactus and waved.’
Despite the itinerary, it wasn’t all hard work and no play. The riders did treat themselves to a few beers every evening and enjoyed sampling African specialities such as biltong, locally cured meat.
But most nights the shattered bikers opted to be tucked up in bed by 9pm.
Neither Guernseyman ever entertained the thought they might not make it.
‘We always knew we would get the bikes through,’ said Alan.
‘Some people came close to giving up at times, including the only female rider in the group. But we generally led our pack and would go back and encourage or help anyone having trouble.’
Ages ranged from 18 to a grandfather of 70, who fell off three times while crossing the river but kept going.
Most entrants were aged between 35 and 40.
‘I think some of that is to do with finding the money and having the wherewithal to go and do it,’ said Alan.
‘I suppose there is also a certain amount of biker syndrome involved, too. For me it was a case of being in my 50s and thinking, if I don’t do it now, I may never do it.’
Although their African adventure is over, the grey team has stayed in touch.
‘We made some good friends and met some real characters,’ said Peter and Alan, who are already thinking of attempting another ride next year.
Many people they met on the trip had been inspired by Ewan and Charley’s road shows.
Alan and Peter were fans, too, although they preferred the first series in which the boys took the ‘long way round’, horizontally navigating the globe.
‘We do envy them that one,’ they said. ‘They covered a hell of a lot of ground. But we reckon we could do that. After all, they did have a whole film crew.’
Move over Ewan and Charley. Sounds as if these two are already revving up for their next challenge.
* Alan and Peter would like to thank everyone who helped them with sponsorship.
Article posted on 12th January, 2008 - 12.00am
Loading ...
Most Commented: