Obtaining my entry stamp into Senegal from a bare footed policeman stretched across a lounger yesterday afternoon, with Bob Marley’s "We’re Jamming" blaring from the hut's speakers, I knew that I’d finally arrived in West Africa! The sensory bombardment of negotiating the St Louis rush hour that followed provided a stark contrast to the long monotonous days of desert riding, where camel sightings, cardboard biscuit breaks and the occasional face wash, supplied the highlights of the day. Despite this, Morocco and Mauritania provided beautiful and challenging landscapes to cycle through with great opportunities to discover new cuisine and cultures along the way.

Following on from ”Lessons from the road Part I: Europe”, I feel that it is only fair that I impart some of my new found North African cycle touring knowledge so that others can learn from my mistakes:

• Having established a relationship with your bike (see Part I for 'how to'), do not get upset when other men gaze longingly at her frame or try to squeeze her hooter. This was less of a problem in Europe where sleek thin framed models are all the rage but here in Africa where big boned women with lots of carrying capacity and durability are extremely sought after Bertha has received a great deal of unwanted attention. 
• To maintain a healthy relationship with your bike, spend some time apart - climb a mountain, explore a city, go for a massage - but whatever you do make sure she is under lock and key.  
• To eat on a budget, buy soup (50p) and fill up on the free bread, also carry plenty of pate, jam and fish for delicious and nutritious sandwiches. Supplement this diet with dried apricots and figs, as required, to keep things running smoothly. Please note this is a high risk diet - do not expect to be able eat a whole bag of sugared dates and suffer no side effects! Indeed other side effects include chronic weight loss and insufferable food envy that can damage friendships and destabilise international relations.
• If you dislike bananas, bread or biscuits from the previous decade do not even consider embarking on a cycle tour of North Africa.
• Play street food roulette but don’t gamble everything on your first spin of the medina, take things slowly, enjoy the experience and build your tolerance.
• Despite the French colonial legacy, the cakes and patisseries are much closer in quality to the palate numbing Spanish brand of baking. Don’t set yourself up for repeated disappointments.  
• Finding accommodation on a budget is relatively easy, frequently included in the price are moving sheets and a range of the previous occupant’s short and curlies adorning the mattress. It is advised not to investigate stains too closely!
• Unfortunately the sound of a sweet horn is just not enough for Moroccan kids who demand gifts off Westerners. Don’t perpetuate the problem unless you have fallen for some local biscuits or cakes you want to offload - be aware however, that even the street kids will reject these products and you may have to get rid of them by throwing them at chasing dogs.
• Don’t be drawn in by the shovelling hand gesture or heckling, unfortunately you will be seen as a walking euro and every man and his donkey will want to 'just talk my friend'.
• When you find yourself pondering why camels don’t have three humps and you have self analysed every relationship in you life to the point that you are questioning whether you spent enough time with your first pet, seek companionship urgently.
• Always carry an emergency Malt Loaf, not only can it double up as a    pillow but it also makes an excellent quintessentially English gift to give to hosts. Just as Doritos are the friendship chip of the crisp world, Malt loaf is rapidly becoming the sharing loaf of the baking world - so long as it’s not my last one!

  
Most of all, expect to have a fantastically real travelling experience. I was treated to some amazing Muslim hospitality, often from the poorest people, including the peasant farmers who took me in and cooked me up some fried chicken and chips, the Berber farmer who gave me apples, the truckie who gave me a bag of clementines, the calamari fisherman who cooked me up a fish feast and the countless villagers throughout the Western Sahara who fixed me up with water or invited me in for the traditional 3 rounds of intensely sweet tea.

Thanks should also go to Roman, Mariamme and Gui who have been forced to endure my company just as I was beginning to lose sanity in the desert. They’ve been great fun to hang out with and share in the side effects of camel tagine!
 
Anyway bring on the touring experience of West Africa, already the effervescent football mad Senegal has been quite an experience and it’s nice to be able to reflect at the end of the day with a beer in hand! Thanks for the support and to everyone who has donated, keep it coming in!