2019 - Big Red Pigs in Kenya

[RobLH]

Amazing, as always, thank you

 

[Thump]

great posts, thank you

 

[Xpat]

Well I was ready for the usual dig at you with few smarty panty ironic jabs, but alas you shut me up! You did hurt my feelings though when you spoke unkindly about Sibioli NP, where I almost died (that's the story I'm saying anyway), but the rest of the report made me forgive you graciously.

Now I just have to figure out how to finance my next sabbatical - I have been already slaving away for two months in the 'open space' (sic) office but weirdly enough it somehow doesn't seem to match the scenery in your pictures.

This is a fantastic report, up there with the best ones I have seen  :thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft:

 

[Osadabwa]

Well I was ready for the usual dig at you with few smarty panty ironic jabs, but alas you shut me up! You did hurt my feelings though when you spoke unkindly about Sibioli NP, where I almost died (that's the story I'm saying anyway), but the rest of the report made me forgive you graciously.

Now I just have to figure out how to finance my next sabbatical - I have been already slaving away for two months in the 'open space' (sic) office but weirdly enough it somehow doesn't seem to match the scenery in your pictures.

This is a fantastic report, up there with the best ones I have seen  :thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft:

Xpat, cheers! Sorry I hurt your feelings, but from all I've seen, Sibiloi NP is just a long stretch of shitty, rolling rock tracks. I was keen to do that on the XR, but it sounds like the riding is shit and the scenery is uninspiring, so I was more than happy to substitute the legitimately fantastic Stefanie and that unexpected swimming pool in N. Horr. if you come up and I am free, we'll go relive you're glory in Sibiloi plus a couple of other things I have in mind.

You say you nearly died in Sibiloi... that must have been when you were just a young lass on a big GS, no? I for one would like to see pics of that... you on a bloated, stupidly heavy Beluga battling through the shit, making wry comments to nobody in particular. Please do a retro-report for us! Everyone would love it!

Otherwise, I thought for sure you would tease me for not being hard-core enough on this ride. We didn't challenge ourselves technically very much, which I kind of lament (I'd put in some stupid tracks, but we voted them down, and then Neb had his bald tire, broken frame and concussion... the wanker)... but then again, not really. You have your highly-developed gastro-tourist side, I have my I'd-rather-be-riding-like-a-hooligan side... I'm happy to eat goat and njera and sleep in my tent, but I'd like to have gotten there slipping sideways on the Pig through sand or over rubble.

Anyway. I'm home now, resting, bored already, trying to find work to finance tyre replacement and prepping the bike for some mild ripping in the local Rift Valley. if you do manage to sort your shit out, please do come up. Don't know how you will swing it to bring your own bike, but if you fail I may be able to help a local tour group to make you a bespoke route (on 450 EXCs), and if all goes well, I'd join as well.

Until then... keep beach bumming and climbing stupid things in Lesotho.

:snorting:

 

[Xpat]

Well my sorry Sibiloi story - including few pics of the real PIG on those shitty rolling rocks tracks - has been already documented somewhere in this unfinished epos: https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=160735.0

And yes, I was a young lass alright then... O0

 

[Osadabwa]

Well my sorry Sibiloi story - including few pics of the real PIG on those shitty rolling rocks tracks - has been already documented somewhere in this unfinished epos: https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=160735.0

And yes, I was a young lass alright then... O0

You'd have a much nicer time on your new wheels! Still, that was an awesome ride you did!

 

[WheelieDog]

An exceptional report  Osadabwa.

The pictures are great and your writing style I found hugely entertaining.

Thanks for posting :thumleft:

 

[Oubones]

Once again a great trip and excellent report, thank you for taking us with!

 

[JonW]

Fantastic report chaps, well done  :thumleft:

 

[evansv]

Great reading thanks!

 

[RrP]

Thank you for great ride/read. Your pictures and writing style take one on the journey with you!!

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

 

[Xpat]

Good call Jon  :thumleft:

 

[Osadabwa]

Fantastic report chaps, well done  :thumleft:

Hey Jon, thanks for shifting this RR up to the Roll of Honor!

However, I wonder if it's too soon... this is an on-going RR that I'll add to through 2019, which is to say it's not over yet, and hopefully there is more good stuff to come. The Honor Roll page is kind of supposed to be an archive, more than an active place, no?  Anyway, my two cents.

:snorting:

 

[JonW]

Not too soon at all.

Your Borderlands Braaaap trip on it's own deserves to be in the Roll of Honour section, but that doesn't mean you can't add to it as and when you feel like, no reason this section can't be active.

 

[0012]

Really enjoyed, thank you!

 

[Maverick (R.I.P.)]

What a great report and made me realise there are places I should of seen in this lifetime but will have to in the next one for sure - bucket list stuff  :thumleft:  8)

 

[Osadabwa]

Lyndon Poskitt, 3-time Dakar Malle Moto competitor, Races-to-Places world traveller and all around swell guy has been crashing in my “friend” Wry’s guest cottage on and off for a while in Nairobi. He busted his hand in Tanzania, after a blowout in volcanic babyheads a couple of months back, so he’s been recouping and flew to the States for a talkshow tour (as you do). He got back to Kenya last week to complete his ride home and I volunteered myself to help him sort out a sweet route to the Ethiopian border (roughly following the Borderlands Braaap ride I just completed), then further invited myself to ride out with him from Nairobi. So, this morning, a few of us met at Wry’s and I led the group down into the Rift Valley to Naivasha for lunch.

Above: The famous Basil Bike, all loaded and ready to roll. Lyndon rides that thing like it’s a child’s toy.

Above: I reckon it’s a good omen that we saw the Ngong giraffes as we entered the valley.

Above: Lyndon and I wait for the others after a long section of fesh-fesh and ruts. All that bouncing and jouncing must have felt fantastic on the recently broken wrist! Sorry Lyndon! Hii ni Kenya!

Above: It was eye-opening and humbling at times to hear some of Lyndon’s stories. It would have been amazing to see him rip through this terrain, but in full travel-mode and with the bum wrist, it was a much more chill endeavour… plus, I was leading so he was stuck with middle-aged amateur speeds.

Above: Basil Bike and my XR650R. Lyndon’s setup is about as trick as it gets, but I love my old Piggy.

Above: We were late for lunch in Naivasha, so we didn’t stop much or take many riding pics.

Above: Left: Me and LP joining the tar for a couple of kms to Suswa. Right: Rockin’ Roland on his pimped-out travel-ready Husky 701. Big tanks, totally re-vamped suspension, and a tidy little navigation tower made that 701 pretty sweet. Roland is in the middle of a Netherlands-Cape Town solo journey and was very keen to come along for the day. Before he leaves, I promised I’d send him some equally fun, dusty tracks to get him down to TZ.

Above: LP coming up the lower Mau Escarpment

Above: The cool air is always a refreshing change from the Valley

Above: Wry at my apparently poorly-chosen Lake-Naivasha-Lookout-Spot… off the road and through a ditch, it led Roland to drop the 701. That was when I knew Lyndon was a normal guy… we see Roland fall and LP says: "Quick get the camera!"

Above: Wry, LP, Me and Roland

Above: The world travelers with matching dusty smiles.

Above: The lineup: Husky 701, Three Little Kenyan Piggies and Basil Bike

Above: A wonderful lunch at the Ranch House Bistro on South Lake Road. No idea why I’m wearing una cara mala ostia.

Above: Better group shots were taken, but this one is mine. Lyndon, Roland, Panic, Wry and me.

It was a great day out, boys! Lyndon and Roland, enjoy the rest of what Kenya has to offer. I promise I've picked you some good tracks. And have a safe journey onward and homeward!

:snorting:

(This will be the test to see if anyone sees the RR now that it's been moved to Roll of Honor...)

 

[Xpat]

Sure I can see it, stop worrying like a baby  ot:

Carry on - you are doing fine.  :thumleft:

Edit: And if you are worried about people missing it (I think they will not as most people watch the 'Newest post' function or whatever it is called, just start another one. I think this one should remain here.  :thumleft:

 

[Osadabwa]

:snorting:

 

[M3X3Z3]

Hey Osadabs

Your RR's and pics sure are  :drif: :drif: :drif:

Having owned a XR650R for a spell it sure is great to see them in their natural habitat. 8)

I am looking forward to more "Big Red Pigs in Kenya" :sip:

By the way, muchos gracias for the time and effort that you put into RR,s  :thumleft: