Bot fence ride

[subie]

Really looked forward to this trip and Friday the 8th Nov it finally happened.
Met Frontier and High5 at the Shell garage in Rooihuiskraal rd. SloMo could not make it
so we left via Erasmia and the little Schurweberg rd onto Hekpoort where we met up with Nicobie.
Just a few km after Hekpoort all the electrics on Frontier's bike just died. Nicobe came to the rescue
and asked his wife to come pick up Frontier and his bike with the trailer. It was very hot and all off us thirsty.
The lovely lady stopped with the words "I should have brought some cold beer with "   :eek7:
The mood was a bit somber for me saying goodbuy to Frontier.
1st Pic  Frontier and Nicobe
2nd Pic  High5  Such a friendly very capable rider who also had to leave the ride later with some 
                        damage/problem.

 

[subie]

By this time it was hot and we hardly stopped on top of Breedtsnek to get to the little shebeen for a cold one.
Closed. Luckilly Nicobe took us to a pub close by where we had a few cold beers.
Nicobe is one of those dependable good guys,nothing seems to faze or upset him with a ready smile for everybody. In afrikaans se ons die man is n yster  :thumleft:
We had a lekker little trip onto Marunthwane. I got a big scare when the guys dissapeared behind me and slowly rode back expecting some calamity only to find them safe and ok. Just a loose batt. terminal on Nicobe's bike.

1st Pic  Nicobe
2nd pic  High5 on his Ktm
3rd        Nicobe
4th        High5

 

[subie]

Bensien  came to our rescue and organised our food and lodging for the trip.
Also rode backup vehicle for which I was very gratefull for the cold beer and peace of mind. We needed it.
Friday night we slept over at Marunthwana where we were kept busy by the president of Marunthwane ( he who does not cross the border into SA at the tollgate )  :lol8:
Oom Johan,what a character and master mampoer stoker.
GregF arrived before dark and we all gathered around the bar where Oom Johan explained about the mampoer
(in detail and lengthy ) You could start of with a beer (toebroodjie) but he insisted we do the "tandeborsel"
thing with the mampoer. High5 said it taste like jet fuel and I agree. I stayed away from the stuff but Greg thought it was nice and had a few helpings  :eek7:
You can imagine what the Donkieboer carries in his "aktetas"

3rd pic    Bensien and Oom Johan
4th pic      Die aktetas

 

[subie]

Some more pics at Marunthwane.

 

[subie]

Marunthwane

 

[subie]

Marunthwane

 

[subie]

Next morning Abre joined us (he of many flatwheels and pinched tubes )  :lol8:
Lekker oke to have on a trip  :thumleft:
We filled up at Zeerust and headed out to Miga to meet Draadtang. I thought it was nice of him
to ride along the sandy little tweespoor we anticipated. Little did any of us knew beforehand how
crucial Draadtang's decision was to "tag along".
Him and Boss Freddy met us just before Miga and showed us the way. Not long into this ride from there on
I realised how lucky we were and the real motive for them riding along.  They realised beforehand we had no idea what we were letting ourselves into and guided us through to save us lots of hurt and damages. Possibly even worse as a gps alone might not get you through.

 

[subie]

This is my little farm where I landed like a sack of sh%t 10 metres from where Freddy and Draadtang was waiting. Think I cracked a rib and worst off all my winesack was also bust with my sweetwine leaking onto exhaustpipe smelling like sweets.
Lying in bed with lekker sore ribs and a blue big toe from hitting a rock somewhere

2nd pic  Last pic of my winesack  :hmh:

 

[BlueBull2007]

This is going to be good! Are you still on the trip right now?

Hope those ribs and toe heal up quick.

When I saw the mampoer setup I thought that would be the end of the trip right there ;D

 

[Nicobie]

eepwall: As dit nie so warm was nie kon ons lekker aan daai sakkie wyn geteug het.

Wonder hoe lank dit daar in die boom hang voor die locals uitvind krismis is vroeg vanjaar.

 

[subie]

This is going to be good! Are you still on the trip right now?

Hope those ribs and toe heal up quick.

When I saw the mampoer setup I thought that would be the end of the trip right there ;D

At home recuperating  :ricky:
None of us are real drinkers but in the heat the cold beer was to nice. The mampoer was to potent for me.  :eek7:
Think I was only doing about 15km/h when I just fell over. Being so overweight is the only reason I got hurt a  bit.

 

[subie]

eepwall: As dit nie so warm was nie kon ons lekker aan daai sakkie wyn geteug het.

Wonder hoe lank dit daar in die boom hang voor die locals uitvind krismis is vroeg vanjaar.

Soetwyn in daai son sal doodsake wees. Die kopseer sal erg wees.  :spitcoffee:

 

[subie]

Some more pics . I am going to sleep now   :ricky:

pic 1.  Boss Freddy  (did I mention this oke is a wildman on that XT660 Z ) Abre on his knees again  :lol8:

pic 4.  Draadtang and GregF ( tough oke whom you can take on any ride )

pic 5  Boss Freddy from my angle being floored

pic6    Draadtang propping up the fence

 

[Abre]

Subie

You make it look as if the only thing I did was fixing punctures all day long.

Sorry, you are right, I was fixing punctures until sunset.

Very tough day for me, physically and mentally. Thanks to the support of you and Bensien it worked out  well in the end. Draadtanf and Fast Freddy certainly saved the day for us. Without them we might have ended up in Botswana without even knowing it. Or be lost for weeks.

Thank you for the idea. It was my first WD trip and will certainly not be my last, although I said so Saturday evening.

Cheers,

 

[subie]

Subie

You make it look as if the only thing I did was fixing punctures all day long.

Sorry, you are right, I was fixing punctures until sunset.

Very tough day for me, physically and mentally. Thanks to the support of you and Bensien it worked out  well in the end. Draadtanf and Fast Freddy certainly saved the day for us. Without them we might have ended up in Botswana without even knowing it. Or be lost for weeks.

Thank you for the idea. It was my first WD trip and will certainly not be my last, although I said so Saturday evening.

Cheers,

I am staying in bed today . "Sawwe  lyf " :lol8:
It certainly was an adventure to remember. I cannot understand why their is not more rides out that way. That is real adventure riding country.  My advice about this trip is go and do it, it will be a memorable ride. If  Draadtang and Fast Freddy ever offer to guide this ride then  jump at the opportunity. These boys are tough and fast but very willing to help us lesser mortals through :ricky:  Really enjoyed meeting them  :thumleft:

Abre you are a good and fast rider just Saturday was not your day with regards to punctures. Sure you will remember your first WD ride  :lol8:

 

[subie]

Come on you other guys. Post your pics and story here.
Will continue my story later.

:ricky:

 

[Bensien]

My hat off to everyone who did this trip. Not many people would have made it the whole way. Some of those sections were very tough, especially in the 40 degree+ heat and I was happy to be the one cruising behind with the aircon at full blast.

I couldn’t see everybody all the time, but the way Nicobie handled that rocky section was really impressive, as was the last 100km that Abre did in the dark on unknown and unpredictable roads while being assaulted by all forms of wildlife. My nerves were shot just following him.

 

[subie]

My hat off to everyone who did this trip. Not many people would have made it the whole way. Some of those sections were very tough, especially in the 40 degree+ heat and I was happy to be the one cruising behind with the aircon at full blast.

I couldn’t see everybody all the time, but the way Nicobie handled that rocky section was really impressive, as was the last 100km that Abre did in the dark on unknown and unpredictable roads while being assaulted by all forms of wildlife. My nerves were shot just following him.

I was at the front somewhere just doing my best to survive the rocky section. Worried about my riding buddies as I felt sure not everybody is going to survive this. High5 stormed past me with the 990 and i could hear his bike taking some big hits. But hey everybody made it through  :thumleft:
I did that last 30km behind Greg and Nicobe doing about 50km/h  in the dark . My eye sight so bad in the dark everything just a blur on a real crap piece of road. Memorable trip for me  :ricky:
How Abre did that road at speed I just don't know. What was his tally? One jackal and one buck killed :eek7:

 

[Abre]

Subie

I will post the pictures I took tonight.

The little fox was very unfortunate, he ran in between the front wheel and the engine and the the rear wheel went over him. It happened at slow speed. Definately a low point of the day.

I think the Duiker which also ran into the side of the engine survived the incident because Bensien in the back-up vehicle did not see it in the road and he was about 50m behind me. and it also happened a a relative slow speed. It shows the dangers of riding at night.

The New Shape KLR head lights made riding in the dark a little more bearable, but it was still stressful. Certainly not recommended. The dangers of wildlife running into the road was always on my mind. It felt forever before we reached the farm where we stayed overnight.

Cheers,

 

[Brandt]

:sip: