Some pics of a ride i took, 2000km, one flat, a numb bum, and the most awesome 4 days of my life . . .
arty farty send off . . .
coming down into the Groot Marico River valley . . .
heading north to Madikwe, short stop in some shade but the moment i stopped riding i started cooking . . .
blew up my new Quest GPS 2 days before leaving and didnt give the map i had printed a good look . . . no place names . . . so Dwallboom was an appropriate area for me to dwaal . . .
my daughter gave me some pink ribbon to look at if i got lonely, so tied it to my handlebars . . . so hot my energy bar melted and i could drink it out of the packet . . . mmm maybe a whole chicken wrapped in tin foil, place in tank bag, ride 200km or until done . . .
i read this everywhere . . . pack cable ties, i did but couldnt find them . . .
had some lessons on riding thick sand, also read about this . . . sit back, push forward on the bars, . . . kinda worked but then had a few scary moments, forced myself to stop . . . let some air out of the tyres and wallha no more problems
Eishhhh . . . petrol, at last . . . 13,3? lt tank and took extra 9lt's in home made harness (my son Nicholas' design !) but not knowing exactly where i was lead to some tense moments . . . coined this phrase to overcome excessive anxiety . . . throw it around in the pub afterwards . . . "even though i didnt know which road i was on, i was exactly where i wanted to be . . . :roll: "
i thought the Limpopo was 'our' river, but looks like our neighbours own it here and they have stolen all the water as well . . .
incredible Baobabs . . .
Bluegum Poort just north of Louis Trichardt . . . wwas trying to patch my ego here after having fallen over in front of of security guard at one of the hotels . . . damn short legs and exhausted body . . . anyway didnt like the place anyway . . .
my vitamins didnt handle the vibrations very well . . . one section of road was impossible to ride sitting on my but, so stood hanging over bars for a very very long while . . .
Magoebaskloof . . . unbelievable strectch of road even with knobblies on . . . my camelbak was a bit heavy and every time i braked for a corner on the downhills the weight would push me onto my handlebars and i would fight to keep my nose from being pinched in the front disc . . .
the Oliphants River . . . enjoy this part of the lowveld so much . . .
ahhhh . . . lunch at Jos Macs on the Klasserie river . . . great ribs :lol:
flat . . . on my last strectch running home . . . such a beginner . . . (bought heavy duty 4mm tubes, but they were so big i didnt carry them with me, should have fitted them and carried the lighter tubes for an emergency) . . . but after removing tube, my new pump had rattled to pieces . . . some pop rivetted piece of . . . (ran out of time so didint get the quality pump i wanted originally) . . . so put tube back and used my 'pump-n-go' but i pumped and i didnt go . . . it came oozing out . . . (when fixed puncture in Hoedspruit, the manager was concerned they would run out of patches, used 5 to get going again ) . . . please dont ask . . .
farm workshop . . . thanks to my friends Jason and Linda for putting me up for the night . . .
. . . and taking me into their reserve . . . awesome
i have logical causes for all my f... ups . . . bike was signing along, nearly home, stretch the last fuel stop, no need to fill extra fuel bottles, take Kendal off ramp to a petrol station i used 10 years ago, next to the hotel where i was unable to leave the parking lot one evening because i was suddenly overcome by such tiredness . . . but all closed down, next dorp, nothing . . . . nothing nothing . . . . brrrrrr dead . . . no petrol . . . second vehicle to pass becomes my breakdown crew, THANKS GUYS ! gave me a lift to Delmas . . .
and finally home, one day late for work, but a damned site happier than when i left
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arty farty send off . . .
coming down into the Groot Marico River valley . . .
heading north to Madikwe, short stop in some shade but the moment i stopped riding i started cooking . . .
blew up my new Quest GPS 2 days before leaving and didnt give the map i had printed a good look . . . no place names . . . so Dwallboom was an appropriate area for me to dwaal . . .
my daughter gave me some pink ribbon to look at if i got lonely, so tied it to my handlebars . . . so hot my energy bar melted and i could drink it out of the packet . . . mmm maybe a whole chicken wrapped in tin foil, place in tank bag, ride 200km or until done . . .
i read this everywhere . . . pack cable ties, i did but couldnt find them . . .
had some lessons on riding thick sand, also read about this . . . sit back, push forward on the bars, . . . kinda worked but then had a few scary moments, forced myself to stop . . . let some air out of the tyres and wallha no more problems
Eishhhh . . . petrol, at last . . . 13,3? lt tank and took extra 9lt's in home made harness (my son Nicholas' design !) but not knowing exactly where i was lead to some tense moments . . . coined this phrase to overcome excessive anxiety . . . throw it around in the pub afterwards . . . "even though i didnt know which road i was on, i was exactly where i wanted to be . . . :roll: "
i thought the Limpopo was 'our' river, but looks like our neighbours own it here and they have stolen all the water as well . . .
incredible Baobabs . . .
Bluegum Poort just north of Louis Trichardt . . . wwas trying to patch my ego here after having fallen over in front of of security guard at one of the hotels . . . damn short legs and exhausted body . . . anyway didnt like the place anyway . . .
my vitamins didnt handle the vibrations very well . . . one section of road was impossible to ride sitting on my but, so stood hanging over bars for a very very long while . . .
Magoebaskloof . . . unbelievable strectch of road even with knobblies on . . . my camelbak was a bit heavy and every time i braked for a corner on the downhills the weight would push me onto my handlebars and i would fight to keep my nose from being pinched in the front disc . . .
the Oliphants River . . . enjoy this part of the lowveld so much . . .
ahhhh . . . lunch at Jos Macs on the Klasserie river . . . great ribs :lol:
flat . . . on my last strectch running home . . . such a beginner . . . (bought heavy duty 4mm tubes, but they were so big i didnt carry them with me, should have fitted them and carried the lighter tubes for an emergency) . . . but after removing tube, my new pump had rattled to pieces . . . some pop rivetted piece of . . . (ran out of time so didint get the quality pump i wanted originally) . . . so put tube back and used my 'pump-n-go' but i pumped and i didnt go . . . it came oozing out . . . (when fixed puncture in Hoedspruit, the manager was concerned they would run out of patches, used 5 to get going again ) . . . please dont ask . . .
farm workshop . . . thanks to my friends Jason and Linda for putting me up for the night . . .
. . . and taking me into their reserve . . . awesome
i have logical causes for all my f... ups . . . bike was signing along, nearly home, stretch the last fuel stop, no need to fill extra fuel bottles, take Kendal off ramp to a petrol station i used 10 years ago, next to the hotel where i was unable to leave the parking lot one evening because i was suddenly overcome by such tiredness . . . but all closed down, next dorp, nothing . . . . nothing nothing . . . . brrrrrr dead . . . no petrol . . . second vehicle to pass becomes my breakdown crew, THANKS GUYS ! gave me a lift to Delmas . . .
and finally home, one day late for work, but a damned site happier than when i left