DT May online

Our ride was fairly uneventful from there, despite the rapidly
falling darkness. We made good time, and arrived at home only
four hours after leaving Ntola, and just after dark.
We were all tired, but in comparatively good condition, although
Andy got bitten by so many tsetse that he had a slight bout of
sleeping sickness the next day.
When he ran out of cards there were several people who were
quite disappointed that they didn’t get one, and further saddened
that it will be next year before we are able to return with
more.
When we left, the king’s wife had her radio playing the music
and all of the kids were singing and dancing to it.
I bought a litre and a half of fuel for my bike, and we set about
the return journey. They struggled through the same sand and
rocks, while I struggled to not crash into them, because their
paths zigzagged haphazardly and mine was fairly straight. We
made good time, stopping a couple times for pictures, through
Lusaka, and stopped outside the abandoned village. (Pics
here5)
Some people tried to settle there, built a few houses and started
a village, but they were run off by wildlife, and eventually so
overrun that they all left. There’s still two houses with tin roofs
standing empty, giving it an eerie, ghost town vibe.
From there we rode and didn’t stop until past Messalo, there is
a place where the people have set up a shrine under a tree, and
they leave food for the monkeys, which supposedly brings them
a good harvest. We stopped there, and Andy pulled out some
cookies to lure the monkeys who stay close because of the
frequent free food they are given.
He started out tossing the cookies a few meters away from us,
but as the monkeys got more comfortable, they threw them
closer and closer, until a few were taking them right out of his
hands. Interestingly, the monkeys were all very skittish and
reluctant to come close except for the mothers with babies on
them. The moms were very bold, and quickly were directly approaching
to grab the cookies. We stayed there taking pictures
and video up close of the monkeys for a few more minutes
before we moved on.
The bikes
I was riding a 1996 Yamaha TW200 that we recently acquired,
my dad was riding a 2011 Honda Bushlander AG that he bought
new, and Andy was riding a Lifo XY49-10 that he has souped up
and tinkered with. (Pics here7)
My TW used 6.4 liters of gas, and my dad’s Bushlander drank a
paltry 4.4 liters.
Having spent ten hours aboard the TW200, I thought I’d lend
some impressions of the ride.
First off, it’s a very upright riding position, with a relatively small
rider triangle. This bike is amazing for shorter riders, or for short
commute type rides with taller riders. The gearing is very short,
and it gets up to its cruising speed of 60 km/h very quickly. Ours
has had a pipe fitted, so it’s got a nice deep growl like an angry
bullfrog. The bike has a ton of torque, and can lug out of almost
anything in any gear.
The fat tyres make the ride fairly smooth, and sand a non-event.
The suspension does its job fairly well, and I had no complaints
about it.
For longer, open sections of road, the low gearing is somewhat
frustrating, as you’ll reach for sixth gear, but it isn’t there.
This bike could pull a sixth, and even a seventh gear with ease,
although the wind would make that unpleasant, as you get buffeted
a good deal over 60kph. The seat is wide and plush, and
comfortable enough, although after 8 hours you will find yourself
standing more, which brings me to my one main dislike about
this bike; because the handlebar is so low above the seat, when
you stand up you almost have to bend down to reach it, and it is
not a position that gives you much control.
If you are looking for a good bike for bushwhacking, social rides,
new or short riders, or cruising around town, this bike will do
all of that in style. It is perfectly suited for everything from farm
work to logging roads to beach and dune rides.
As long as you aren’t trying to set any speed records, this bike
will take you anywhere, and when you finally do stop for fuel,
you will be pleasantly surprised by how little it drinks.
This is a great bike, and as it hasn’t been updated since 2001,
and is quite bulletproof, you can confidently shop them on the
used market.