This morning, Neequaye and Kwasi got up early to repair the tire, then ride back to where they left Kwasi's Ducati Desert X Rally, mount the wheel, then ride back to the house. Roughly 1.5 hrs each way, so they will be gone at least 3 hours. Then our plan is to ride Labé to Man, 983 km about 20 hours. You can guess how this is going to pan out.
We had breakfast and Dan used up all of my mobile data (~10GB) scrolling on his phone and uploading trip updates while we waited for Neequaye and Kwasi. They got back after 3pm, but the tire which was fixed in the morning, had already gone flat again on the ride back. We're thinking maybe we can ride to Momou this evening, then from there to the border tomorrow is 12.5 hrs, then from the border (assuming the crossing is fast (Ha!)) to Abidjan is 11 more hours.
As evening approaches, Kwasi decides the tire is not getting fixed and starts looking for a van and driver to carry him and his bike to Abidjan. Well after dark, around 10pm, they find a van and Neequaye decides to accompany Kwasi in the van with Rosina's Ténéré. We are now down to 5 riders. The house is booked for tonight, so we go find another hotel. Hôtel Saala Relais is the most aweful hotel with a surley proprietier who will not let us share rooms. We pay $35/night for rooms with terrible beds and no running water. We're in bed around midnight with a plan to get up and out 1 hour before sunrise which is at 6:45am.
Oh and it looks like the fuel shortage situation is resolved as the government has set a new gasoline price about 20% higher than before. So we were able to fill the bikes ready for an early departure tomorrow morning.