I'm Nikki Ray and between August 2018 and May 2019 I cycled solo, carrying all my belongings (including a ukulele), from Santander in Spain to Accra in Ghana covering 10,000km in total. I wanted to arrive in Ghana before my 30th birthday using my own leg power...and I did! The last few years before starting…
My cone spanner quest was finally over and my wobbly axel days behind me. The Morrocan guys I was staying with in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) sought one out for me through their contacts; and a guy came and delivered the cone spanner to outside the flat. The rainy season was now slowly creeping over the…
I set off on the 550km or so from Man to Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire's economic capital) trying to feel positive as my bike was definately 100% more productive than before (after unclogging the freewheel mechanism). However I was still feeling anxious about the wobbly axel (and therefore wheel) that I did not have the tools…
As I was leaving to embark on my solo cycle to Ghana various bike mechanic friends were giving me all kinds of advice about what tools to bring. I decided to bring a minimal tool set composed of: an adjustable spanner, a 12 piece multi tool (including a spoke key), tyre levers and a pump.…
One of my first impressions of Sierra Leone was how good and wide (which unfortunately meant no shade) it's road was after crossing the Guinea border post at Kamalap. It was the middle of March 2019, which is apparently the hotest time of the year and my was I feeling it. So after my stay…
I arrived in Sierra Leone pretty dehydrated and in dire need of a shower. On the map I saw a huge river at the village of Mange and headed straight for it. I had a lovely experience swimming with a group of little girls down by the river and in the end someone offered me…
Recent events have made me realise the different ways in which people are cycle touring through Africa. Each to their own, but this realisation has made me feel content and even proud of the way that I and friends such as Farah and Yassin are travelling by bicycle. I will expand on this later. I…
It was probably a combination of season change plus going further south, but I'm convinced that when I crossed the border between Senegal and Guinea Bissau on 23rd February that things got markedly hotter. I had a great time riding through Gambia and the south of Senegal (Casamance region). The dryness of northern Senegal was…
Whilst I was waiting on the island of Fadiouth in Senegal, a car free island where the pathways are covered with shells, I had a lot of time to use my paper maps and think about the next section of my journey. I was waiting for my phone to get fixed after dropping it and…
I wrote a song with this title when things didn't quite go to plan and I had to stop cycling for a while. I entered Senegal on 7th January 2019. It is not the biggest country and has Gambia wedged in the middle of it. However it was only on 24th February that I finally…
