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In October 2022, Sinje Gottwald set out from Spain to make an 8,000-mile journey throughout Africa (north to south). Unaided by technical or medical assist, Gottwald ended her journey in Cape City, South Africa, on Feb. 15, 2023. Gottwald’s end marks the primary particular person to journey an electrical motorbike throughout the continent. She accomplished the 124-day quest utilizing a Kalk AP, made by Swedish bike maker CAKE, which additionally sponsored the journey. Our first query: How on earth did she cost it alongside the best way?
One a part of the reply: She’s a professional. Gottwald has already made a reputation for herself by circumnavigating the world on a bike. However she expressed pleasure in making maybe the longest journey but on an electrical motorbike.
“After all of the challenges and obstacles alongside the best way, I really feel so relieved and glad to be right here, proud to have made it and a bit melancholic this journey is now ending,” she wrote on Instagram. “Not many individuals thought that this mission can be potential and I’m extraordinarily grateful to the few that believed in me from the very starting.”
Gottwald grabbed consideration amongst motorcyclists when she achieved a solo circumnavigation of the world in 2017. She’s additionally traveled overland from Europe to Asia to Australia. And he or she’s pushed lengthy stretches from South to North America and from Morocco to Mali.
As CAKE’s B2B account supervisor, Gottwald had pitched the concept to firm’s CEO and founder Stefan Ytterborn. In a information launch following Gottwald’s profitable completion of the journey, Ytterborn expressed congratulations — and reduction.
“Apart from being amazed by her braveness and spirit, I used to be thrilled in regards to the capability for us to [sponsor] her, whereas really getting an opportunity for excessive subject testing,” he stated. “We agreed that Sinje would change positions for just a few months from being a B2B gross sales supervisor to changing into our most treasured subject tester. Now [that] she is thru, it’s extraordinarily rewarding that she and the bike arrived in good form.”
Electrical-Powered Journey Throughout Africa: The Logistics
For her newest journey, she got here ready. Gottwald introduced two batteries, two chargers, and spare elements together with a controller, show, throttle, chain, and fuses. She added instruments, a digital camera, and private belongings — together with a laptop computer in case her bike required a software program replace.
She nonetheless skilled many difficulties alongside the best way. That began when the deep Moroccan sand brought on a fuse to burn out. As she continued down the western a part of the continent to Guinea, Gottwald confronted the problem of muddy, waterlogged jungle tracks practically unattainable to barter in a automobile, not to mention a motorbike.
And within the true spirit of using unsupported, it was additionally Gottwald’s duty to deal with the logistical hurdles of making use of for visas and crossing borders with the best paperwork.
“My dream was to see the world with my very own eyes. Irrespective of how a lot I study locations, seeing and experiencing them myself will all the time give me a greater understanding,” Gottwald stated. “This I really feel is especially the case for Africa. With this journey I not solely wished to open up my very own and other people’s views and concepts about this continent, but additionally give an instance of what’s potential. We’re able to much more than we expect.”
8,000 Miles on the CAKE Kalk AP
Gottwald’s newest journey utilizing the Kalk AP represents a major breakthrough proving that an electrical bike can go the space, CAKE wrote.
It goes with out saying that electrical autos have earned huge acceptance as efficient means of private transportation. However for adventures like this, there’s little precedent. Even CAKE acknowledged that Gottwald’s journey took the bike “far past” its meant use.
However maybe it’s not too stunning the bike carried out so nicely, on condition that CAKE designed it in a collaboration with the Southern African Wildlife Faculty. The bike’s identify (“AP) really stands for “Anti-Poaching,” because it was constructed to assist African rangers traversing the bush to shield wildlife. The 176-pound bike has a 51.8V battery, a high pace of 56 mph, and a variety of as much as 3 hours, in response to CAKE.
Someway, in all these miles, Gottwald’s Kalk AP by no means received a flat tire. It required rather less than 140 costs over the course, nevertheless, and discovering locations to cost was the toughest half, Gottwald stated. It required thorough planning to keep away from getting stranded. However she additionally stated the bike exceeded her expectations.
“Upkeep was virtually zero, adjusting and lubing the chain was principally it,” she stated. “It drew a lot consideration, wherever I finished folks would come and ask about it, many stated it was the primary time for them to see an electrical motorbike. They couldn’t imagine I got here from so distant.”
