Shipping out of Bamako, Mali?
 

We will be participating in the Budapest to Bamako rally in 2012. At the end of the rally we will need to ship back our Vespas to Norway without having to linger around too long.

What are my options? A few years back I shipped out of Nairobi by DHL - it worked fine and the costs were not too bad.

I don't know however if DHL operate out of Bamako, and if they ship bikes to Norway. I've tried getting in touch with them through South Africa (seems like the only way to get in touch with them), but have not get a reply.

Any ideas?

Any thoughts about the costs?

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Our current plan is to ride back. This may be a very bad plan though. If we can find a truck that need driving back we'll dismantle the peds, load them up and drive that instead - basically playing it by ear when we get there.

Riding back is not an option... I've got a wife and two kids waiting at home, and only so much vacation time. Need to spend some time with them also...

The time constraints are a bit harsh I admit! Have you tried contacting other teams from this years B2 about how they got back?

We are now desperately trying to get the race fees together. Making some progress getting hold of the bikes and the parts we need to overhaul the suspension, modify the frames, add the extra tanks etc etc but it is a big big task....

Are your Vespas all set and ready for the off?

We've got all the scoots. After an overhaul, mine is ready to roll -I did a trip in 2006 and got everything prepped.

The two other guys has bought theirs. One is awaiting delivery of an engine which needs overhauling. The other guy has just given his a lick of paint and is in the process of putting it all together. Both of them need to equip the scoots and are awaiting delivery for parts.

Besides that, we are just about finished compiling a list of spares and consumables that we will order soon - hopefully by the end of the month. It is important to get this out of the way soon as some parts may be out of stock or difficult to source in a short notice.

We have compiled a list of tools and just need to gather them and lock them up so they are not lost. We've got a list of medical stuff that needs to be purchased and the vaccinations gotten out of our way. Probably during this summer.

As for riding equipment, camping equipment and clothing, we can do with what we have, but we will be replacing some of it - hopefully someone will sponsor us.

If everything goes as planned, we will have a test trip by the end of summer and do final adjustments. Again, it is important to get this done early as some mods or part sourcing may take time.

All of this stuff is pretty easy and straight forward if one has done it before.

The difficult bits are:

• Transport of scoots in and out
• Funding and sponsorships. We will be able to pay for this ourselves, but are working on getting sponsorships where we can. it is tedious work with a very low success rate and low pay-out. There are a lot of companies that want to part with stuff you really don't need or want. Parting with money is an entirely different matter.

how are you guys doing?

Having the same tedious sponsorship problems, but with some success. We have been offered the use of a local pub, a nightclub and a bistro for doing race-fee funraising. And Yorkshire Tea have given us free tea, essential prep item for us brits.....

Admittedly most of the cash fundraising is coming from me working 60 hour weeks but as long as we get the funds together that's OK with me. One of the support drivers has vanished off the face off the planet which is a bit of an issue. We've had some great pointers on which bits to swap out and soon we'll be onto the engine rebuilds and the welding.

Looking forward to being on the road!