Escaped an African Desert by Turning His Broken-Down Car Into a Motorbike

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Speedofile
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Re: Escaped an African Desert by Turning His Broken-Down Car Into a Motorbike

Post by Speedofile »

ollydog wrote:think it would make a good short film though, guy martin as the french chap and 15 gallon of tea

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WIBO
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Re: Escaped an African Desert by Turning His Broken-Down Car Into a Motorbike

Post by WIBO »

Good idea.....but we'd need to watch it at half speed so as we could understand what he was saying.....he speaks the same speed as a machine gun :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
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Chris S
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Re: Escaped an African Desert by Turning His Broken-Down Car Into a Motorbike

Post by Chris S »

This story originally went viral in 2012 when we discussed it on HU.
See this ABR post.

When I got back from that recent trip I looked into it again, and translated his account published a decade after the events in a 2CV mag.
A lot of it chimed with my former experiences and motivations, except of course the 2-hour walk vs nearly 2 weeks metal bashing. (His own account is vague on distances, but it probably was just 10km to the Tan-Tan road).
My feeling is he went out there intending to stage the stunt, which was why he was so well equipped with provisions and all he needed to complete the task. But only 10 clicks from a road if it didn't work out.
The bit about needing to dodge a checkpoint tries to explain why he was on that piste, but I think he just drove up there and got stuck in, then was caught riding his contraption within hours, and did indeed pay a fine for being in charge of a 'non-conforming' vehicle.
He admitted back then it was barely rideable, just as Mythbusters later proved.

In 2006 he turned a 2CV into a boat in western Mali, except he didn't spin a survival story round it. Instead he made a dvd to flog.
Last edited by Chris S on Fri May 03, 2019 7:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Escaped an African Desert by Turning His Broken-Down Car Into a Motorbike

Post by halfpint »

its the panties that gave it away. if they were black no problem .
ScottT
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Re: Escaped an African Desert by Turning His Broken-Down Car Into a Motorbike

Post by ScottT »

Would it not have been easier to just fix the car!
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