Itchy Boots

Sadlsor said:
Finally watched Ep. 28 and the Alaska maintenance, a couple of observations that may go unnoticed.
Some of her passes while narrating, are a bit weird to me. In a roundabout, for example, passing on the left of cars, and some appear to be quite close, unnecessary even. Of course, the GoPro will compress distance and make things appear closer than they are, much like a convex mirror. Add to that the fact she's been riding a good while in western African cities, and is very comfortable with their driving habits, and traffic being used to bike filtering so it's not a big deal.
She goes so far as to comment on this at one point, saying that even though it's congested and busy, Dakar still leaves her with the feeling that everyone is "chilled."
Another interesting moment that probably most of you missed completely when the Insta360 camera mount fell off the bike while riding by the big cemetery, was when she pulled over to the side and walked back to pick it up. She quickly found it (lucky she noticed it when it fell?), and after screwing it back on, she mounted and put the key back in the ignition.
So what, you may be thinking?
Well, it shows me that even leaving the bike for just a moment, and walking only maybe 30 feet, she removed the key and took it with her! Which tells me that she has obviously become accustomed to traveling in foreign lands, and is always thinking of her personal security and that of all that she has with her. I would be nervous about walking out of sight of the bike at any time, given the non-secured items on the seat and luggage rack, as well as the cameras (not mounted and left on the handlebars, in this particular instance).
The Mosko side bags can be locked to the frame on some bikes, but I don't recall whether she even has a luggage frame on Alaska. I think they only drape over the platform on the back, and aren't locked. There may be a heat shield on the exhaust side, I don't remember.
It's all worked out for her so far, and I'm sure she puts it all in her room most nights, but still... even the GPS tablet would be a prize in many of the undeveloped countries she travels through. There haven't been any comments by her, regarding having anything stolen.
After going back to the beginning to catch up a year or so ago, I've never yet tired of her videos.
Seven seasons now. What a wild ride!
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I think she learned a lot of the personal safety precautions even before she started riding. Remember what her profession was before riding.....working/living in remote areas in a male dominated field. Learn fast or get taken advantage of!
 
Those are definitely valid points too, @scootac and i didn't even think of her "previous" life.
So you're right -- insofar as running around in "underdeveloped" countries, this ain't her first rodeo.
 
Sadlsor said:
Which tells me that she has obviously become accustomed to traveling in foreign lands, and is always thinking of her personal security and that of all that she has with her.
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There has been a lot of evidence of this in the past. I've only been watching her videos since the end of the Alaska section and there have to be more indications earlier. In the recent episodes she always has her bike locked up at night off the streets. I've been surprised she gets such 'royal' treatment locking the bike in a small garage every night. She rode her bike into that restaurant and she rarely walks away from it, leaving it unattended.

I've read from other travelers that street kids in India will reach out and grab anything on your bike or person they can, even to the extent of reaching into your pockets. I don't know if this is true today, but there HAS to be some of it in some of the areas she has visited. Hard side cases would make her stuff more secure (and limit how far over your bike goes when you drop it). I've wondered why she chose the soft bags.

Any attractive, single woman HAS to be hyper aware of her vulnerability in today's world when traveling. When I was hitching around Europe in the late 60's guys were grabbing girls in the streets (Italy). Tell me that is completely gone today everywhere. Noraly takes care of some of that with her demeanor and a lot by choosing safe areas to drive through. I imagine she chose her wardrobe for Africa based on the image it projects - those camo pants and motocross boots are at least intimidating and her helmet does a great job of disguising her attractiveness. All she needs is a pair of brown contacts, darker hair and maybe a blackened tooth to complete the picture. :rofl1:

Do you remember when her bike was loaded aboard that small boat when she crossed the river into Senegal(?). She seemed to be ill at ease when surrounded by all those guys and also while they picked up her bike. I'd imagine her stress level was way up then.
 
You need to watch her from the beginning of her videos to see her learning curve on how to navigated her travels.
 
"What is a figurehead? Figureheads are the carved wooden sculptures that decorate the prows of sailing ships. In the perilous life of an ocean-going ship, figureheads embodied the spirit of the vessel, offering the crew protection from harsh seas and safeguarding their homeward journeys."
I knew this, but not everyone here is nautically-minded nor spent time in the Navy.
Most of her boat crew, most likely, would not want to leave their homes to accompany Noraly on her journey.
Not that she would have them, if they did...
Still, I will repeat here that I would be a nervous wreck with my bike on that vessel, or any like it. I've seen BMW GSs transported this way, and it's amazing and terrifying at the same time.
Wonder if bike insurance covers a bike lost overboard from a canoe...?
I'll never find out, firsthand.
 
Sadlsor said:
What is a figurehead?

### snip ###

I knew this, but not everyone here is nautically-minded nor spent time in the Navy.
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You're not alone ... I didn't know what the nomenclature is either, so searched for "icon on bow of ship".

As I was watching the video, with her bike 1/2 on 1/2 off the boat at the bow, I wanted to label it properly :thumb:

It was all a marketing scam on my part, to entice folks to watch the video :D
 
She refers to the country as The Gambia. Is this common usage there? She did not refer to The Senegal. I wonder if she waved to that other biker?
 
SMSW said:
She refers to the country as The Gambia. Is this common usage there? She did not refer to The Senegal. I wonder if she waved to that other biker?
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I was wondering that too, but she is very sharp with cultures and countries (she learned 7 languages in high school !!) so I suspected that "The Gambia" was correct, which it is.

Apparently; "The Gambia is one of only two existing countries for which the definite article is commonly used in its English-language name (the other is The Bahamas), aside from cases in which the name is plural (the Netherlands, the Philippines) or includes the form of government (the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic) "
 
Sadlsor said:
There haven't been any comments by her, regarding having anything stolen.
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I would almost bet that even if she has had something stolen or messed with, she would not mention it in her videos unless it was severe enough that she had no choice. I think that is her style. When interviewed, she has been asked if she isn't nervous about some of her travels, and shes deflects and says something like, "sure, I might break down and not be able to get the parts." I think she is very aware of the somewhat fragility of her safety sometimes, but she won't admit it to the camera. Just her style, I think.
 
Sadlsor said:
"What is a figurehead? Figureheads are the carved wooden sculptures that decorate the prows of sailing ships. In the perilous life of an ocean-going ship, figureheads embodied the spirit of the vessel, offering the crew protection from harsh seas and safeguarding their homeward journeys."
I knew this, but not everyone here is nautically-minded nor spent time in the Navy.
Click to expand...

In her prior life, Noraly worked for a dredging company where she probably learned a few nautical terms.
 
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