Pass test, ride to Africa…
Passing your bike test is the start of an adventure that could lead anywhere. Even to Africa… and as soon as you pass
NOT EVERYONE WOULD take a Direct Access course and immediately set out to ride to the Sahara – but that’s exactly what James Whittle and Tom Caulfield did in January. They’re a marketing and motivational team called The Tempest Two, taking on challenges to show what normal people can achieve if they put their minds to it. After rowing across the Atlantic, riding to the desert may have seemed fairly straightforward, except neither of them could ride…
How little experience did you have?
James: We’d done our CBTS back in 2015 but not touched a bike since. Tom: The DAS instructors looked nervous when they had to remind us which way to move the lever to change gear. Did you find learning easy?
James: I actually failed Mod One and had to re-do it. That was nerve-wracking. I passed the day before doing Mod Two. Failing that wasn’t an option.
Tom: There were a couple of days of nervy riding – and the test was far harder than a car test.
James: It was definitely the right way to do it, though. The short time-frame really helped focus on learning to ride.
How was the first ride after passing?
Tom: That was down to Portsmouth, to get the ferry to Spain. We’d learnt on nimble little bikes and this was on Triumph Tiger 800s with fully loaded panniers. It was daunting at first but actually within a few miles riding without the instructor was liberating.
James: I was amazed how quickly we got comfortable on the bikes. It went from daunting to fun in about ten minutes.
Was anything harder than expected?
James: We rode in some savage wind across Spain. We hadn’t encountered that when learning and it was really hard.
Tom: We weren’t ready for just how demanding riding a long way can be. You have to concentrate so hard it’s draining.
What was the best bit of the trip?
James: The Sahara – absolutely. We sailed from Almeria to Nador in Morocco. It was a battle to cross the border, but the beauty of the country and the hospitality of its people were unbelievable.
Tom: The riding in the desert. With hindsight, I wish we’d had the right tyres to try riding on the sand.
Would you suggest anyone does this kind of trip – even a new rider?
Tom: Absolutely. You don’t need experience to do a trip like this. Just a willingness to try.
James: Yes, 100 per cent. Passing the test felt like getting a vote of confidence to go and ride – but actually we really learnt to ride on the trip.