MADAGASCAR on a KTM350: NOT what I expected! [S7-E93]

This is my first ride in Madagascar, on a rented KTM350 and together with a local: Didier. I’m not entire sure what I expected of Madagascar but it exceeds all my expectations!

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Here I teach all my filming techniques including getting drone shots while riding!

Gear & Equipment that I use in this season:
https://www.itchyboots.com/blog/gear-and-equipment-season-7

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Oh the.. wait, wait, wait. The rear, yeah.. yeah This way Antananarivo – MADAGASCAR Season 7 – Eps.93 Good morning Internet, it is 7:15 in the  morning and welcome back to the channel Welcome here in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. Although the people here call it Tana

And I’m ready to go for my first ride. And you will see Didier over there. I don’t know if you can see him   Didier is a local, he’s from Madagascar and he’s gonna come with me

And I will tell you in a little bit why. Uh, but first we’re going to get ready. Uh, fill up the bikes ‘Cause I don’t really have so much petrol And then uh, hit the dirt and then I will tell you what’s going on Okay um.. Ah yeah.. “Essence” (petrol) How does this work?

Look at that Um Okay Uh.. how does it work? Ah okay, just like.. okay “Ariary” is the currency Okay, so I borrowed this Garmin. It’s the same one I used to ride with as well And I realize again why I don’t like it. But it has the track that I’m going to ride

But it doesn’t have um.. streets or anything So it’s kind of.. I don’t know where the.. now we need to get to the road number two And then I can follow it, so I asked if  Didier can ride in front just until the main road Then I’ll be fine

I think this is such a cool city.I like all these buildings And the cars So I actually also put my goggles again on my helmet. I haven’t used my goggles since forever And the main reason is, that in a lot of countries that I’ve passed Oh There were just uh, so many police checkpoints everywhere

And then it’s like goggles on, goggles off, goggles on, goggles off So I kind of gave up and on top of that, this helmet that I have now The new Arai, it actually ventilates a lot better than the old one the X4

So in a lot of the times, I don’t actually need my goggles for the heat because even with my closed visor it was fine But um, now that we’re going to do so much dirt and I don’t expect you know police checkpoints I am definitely going to put my goggles again on here in Madagascar

So I am riding with Didier and the reason is, well there’s a couple of reasons Uh, because uh, so the bike that I’m renting now The company that I’m renting it from, they actually do tours so they only do like organized group tours

And well that’s really not my thing. So  I asked Francois like, can I just rent the bike and go on my own And he’s like yeah okay, we can do that

But then you know, we started looking at the routes and everything and if you want to see the best places in Madagascar, they are out there Like it’s.. it’s really out there and the  thing is it is rainy season now

Better even it is cyclone season and right now there is a cyclone even uh, in the area And yeah, the next coming days we will see what the trajectory of the cyclone will be And if it will come this way or not Oh See, ah you see this water? That’s what I mean

So the thing is, here it is paved but in a lot of parts of Madagascar, there’s tons of river crossings and no bridges And uh, oof And one day of rain can change everything and just make entire routes not possible anymore

So you really need to know the area because there are alternatives but you need to know them Otherwise I would all the time just be backtracking and it just wouldn’t be fun And then the second reason is, also that to get information about certain places, how the condition is and if it’s possible

The only way is to talk to the locals right there you know. And the people here in Madagascar, they speak Malagasy Here in the capital, uh some people speak some English, and some people speak French Or a little bit of French but yeah, in the countryside forget it

You really need to speak Malagasy and I speak none So to get in touch with the locals, it’s so much nicer if I go with a local Who can actually speak with everyone and introduce me and everything

So all of that together, made me realize that it’s actually a much better idea to bring Didier with me So yeah, it is a first in my entire Itchy Boots adventures, I have never gone with a guide For like an entire country you know. I’ve never done that before but I’m actually yeah, I’m happy

I think it’s going to be great, it’s going to be nice and so I have to track myself So I don’t have to ride behind him all the time It’s just uh, now getting out of the city is a bit uh tricky

But when we hit the dirt track then uh, I can ride up front So yeah, these bikes are really set up  as Enduros so I have no mirrors, no blinkers So less things to break right. Maybe  Francois has seen my videos of me breaking mirrors

Okay, so the only thing is that on tarmac, this bike is obviously uh, not super handy Because it has mousses so I have  to, well you shouldn’t go faster than like 70 Well, you could but then the mousses are just going to heat up

And we’re all standing still on the roundabout. I’m really confused who decides where to go I don’t know, ’cause there’s traffic coming from both sides from the roundabout Don’t understand that Look at this. What an awesome city I like how the rice fields are kind of just still almost within the city, you know

The houses are just built around the rice fields and I see banana trees We have hit the dirt and look how pretty it is here In case you were wondering, there is no like big wildlife in Madagascar Only crocodiles and uh.. and smaller animals but there are no elephants or lion or anything like

Look at this truck Mercedes Benz Oh, there is a trail track Train. Trail track, train track Here’s the market. Meat, veggies Looks so nice and tidy everywhere Wow So hilly everywhere. I had absolutely no idea I mean I didn’t know what to expect of Madagascar at all, to be honest

Oh, they’re bringing like a ox wagon on this track Oi yoi yoi That’s not so easy with a cart like that ‘Cause there’s quite some rocks We got our first obstacle Just build a bridge Oh the.. wait, wait, wait. The rear, yeah.. yeah That’s number one Okay Nice Okay First obstacle done

That was a little sketchy but we did it I mean the only other option was to build a ramp and jump over it I don’t think my motocross skills are on that level yet I really enjoy this part of Madagascar I think I’m going to see many different sides of the country

It’s not everywhere like this, I believe I think there’s a whole variety of things to see So.. I’m really looking forward but I think it is off to a great start I mean wow We are going this way but the track.. I don’t know Or maybe this goes like this Ambatolampy Ah yeah okay Andramasay

Andramasina Okay What a trail! Crazy. I love it Look at these views, ah Hello I don’t know how to say hello in Malagasy I should learn that Yeah on a bicycle this is.. hi! This is not so easy.. also I have not seen one car on this dirt so far it’s only motorbikes

Or ox wagons. Or people on foot Or bicycles I’ve seen some bicycles But uh not one single car Look at this village Oh careful ducks. Oh chickens Hi! And of course a church. Every village has one Ah, this is the repair shop Maybe we should have a snack somewhere What do they have?

See what they have Hi! What is the name of this? [Bad French] You also? No, it’s okay Yeah okay Coffee too, yeah Let’s see. It looks like poffertjes It tastes a bit like bread That is chicken, no? Don’t know what this And what is this? It’s a vegetable? It’s a vegetable

Okay, quick coffee break Let’s continue Okay That’s better some snacks, some coffee Oh Ah, here the oxen are already waiting Crazy This is the road, no I mean it’s really fun on an Enduro But.. if this is your road to get home then Yoi, it’s not so easy This way

I don’t even have to stand on the pegs, the suspension is so good That it just uh, eats up the rocks To be continued.. Here comes the rain and also the thunder Route is blocked there’s a truck stuck Oh man