TRAVERSE Issue 18 - June 2020 | Page 67

streets. We were heading for the capital Lusaka and stopped overnight in Choma. The following day we were faced with a very rough 70 kilometre section of road. I couldn’t help wondering why it was so bad until a truck driver explained to us that the province, responsible for the road, heavily support the opposition political party and therefore struggle to get financial support 1 . Peak hour traffic in Lusaka was an experience, bumper to bumper, the Transalp was getting hot. As in most African cities you need to ride a little aggressively, stay calm but let everyone know that you will not be continually cut off. We decided to have a few days off so we could service the bike and found that quality oil was proving to be a great challenge to find. I’d been offered Chinese oil and even asked if I could buy ‘quality’ oil from the workshop of the local Honda dealer. A 34