Nov 4, 2010: 2 Women with Balls

Metaphorical, not literal, balls.
In 1934, Theresa Wallach and Florence Blenkiron, rode a motorcycle from London to Cape Town, South Africa.
Let that sink in a moment... 1934... motorcycle... Africa... the long way.

I'm amazed that in Africa in the 1930s, there was an even enough distribution of gas stations that they were able to refill their tanks. That's even assuming they had several spare tanks in their trailer.

I imagine the first leg, from London to north Africa was a little wet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spudcon I imagine the first leg, from London to north Africa was a little wet.

I've often wondered whether it would be possible to drive from here on the east coast US, down to the bottom tip of South America. And at what point would I need to be rescued...

Google Maps claims there's no road through a section of Panama, but surely the locals get around somehow...

I read a book about a guy who did that drive in a pickup truck with his friend. They put the truck in a shipping container to get down to the southern end, and they drove north. I think in Panama they had to do a ferry ride somewhere to get around that section of jungle. And the only trouble they had the whole trip was some corrupt cops who stopped them in Mexico. Once they hit the US southern border, they traveled to the tip of Alaska in just like 3 days, which was how long it would take them to go a few hundred miles through some parts of the jungle.

Edit: Road Fever by Tim Cahill

Quote:

Originally Posted by Undertoad I've often wondered whether it would be possible to drive from here on the east coast US, down to the bottom tip of South America. And at what point would I need to be rescued... Google Maps claims there's no road through a section of Panama, but surely the locals get around somehow...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Undertoad I've often wondered whether it would be possible to drive from here on the east coast US, down to the bottom tip of South America. And at what point would I need to be rescued... Google Maps claims there's no road through a section of Panama, but surely the locals get around somehow...

One of the local school's shop teachers had his class modify a BMW on/off bike, which he then rode from here in south central KY, to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and then from Prudhoe Bay, to Key West, Florida, and then back home to KY.

In 1999 we spent a few weeks driving through Sweden and Norway. The roads in parts of Norway are very steep, and our Citroen CX found it a bit challenging at times. One day we passed a 50cc step through scooter with Danish number plates, and the rider looked like Santa Claus in civvies. There was camping gear strapped to the back of it, as well as a couple of 2L PET bottles with petrol. The next day we met him at a roadside stop (we were taking lots of side trips off the main road) and I just had to talk to him. He said he did this every year, always on a scooter. He told us how in his wild youth he had ridden from Denmark to India and back (TWICE!) and regretted wasting the trips by spending the whole time in India just smoking lots of dope rather than travelling around there. He said he has went to the Arctic Circle once, "but of course I didn't do that alone, that would be too hard, so I went with my brother..." (ah, we thought, so you could carry more warm gear on the back of two bikes) "...and we took it in turns driving".

Yeah, Sandy, "they" are out there, I used to see them once is a while when I was doing a lot of traveling. They just stand out no matter where you see them, always looking out of place. A little strange, a little mysterious, although not in a threatening way, and they cause me to instantly form a million questions in my mind. They make me smile, and silently wish them well... maybe with a hint of envy.

Well, I, uh, rode my motorcycle to work this morning.

It was really cold (about 23°).

I guess that doesn't quite compare, does it?

I read about a couple who rode motorcycles to the bottom of S. America. They have a detailed blog about it somewhere on the web. Most interesting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HungLikeJesus Well, I, uh, rode my motorcycle to work this morning. It was really cold (about 23°). I guess that doesn't quite compare, does it?