My 990 has been getting some love since its last Amageza outing… in 2015! It’s been a year since I’ve ridden it! Only recently have I had it apart and given it some love. I decided to take the FCR carbs off and bring back the OEM carbs. All this has taken a while and only last week after many trips to the bowls of the thing is it running strong again. Oasis would have been a good shakedown trip for the old beast.
But I was sitting in Jhb for the week and in a bit of a sulk at having to work on Saturday and that putting paid to going on this particular trip.
Justin and I were chatting during the week, and he said that he’d made Oasis from Cape Town in under 2 hours on his 950SE…. hmmmm.
Renette had been on whatsapp also bemoaning not going because she too had a course on Saturday…. Would she be keen to shoot through?
The stars aligned and we agreed to meet at the Engen 1 N1 one stop @ 2pm and go.
I nearly missed my 6pm flight from Jhb,
arrived home, packed the bike with the barest of stuff. Also my front tire was my 2015 racing tire but would have to do and I had a new Scorpion on the back, the first one I’ve had since the bike was new.
I finished with my client @ 12.30, raced home, changed, left, returned to lock the front door, headed off and caught the traffic and a fire on the N1 that stopped everything. I got to Renette @ 2.30. we were out of there by just before 3.
We did some low flying. 2 990’s can cover some serious ground!
Once onto the gravel, I couldn’t help myself and had to get a bit of frustration out at not being able to do this years Amageza. The Scorpion was trying its best and was doing an admirable job of trying to keep the rear planted. I absolutely love jumping on the brakes, setting up the bike to go sideways into the corner and then keeping the angle feeding the power in. These big bikes just excel at painting massive curves right round the corner.
A very bad habit I have is chasing dust. It’s a bit of a red flag type thing and seeing 3 little clouds in the distance was just too tempting. So what was reasonably quick to begin with became more focused. It took a few minutes and some scares before I caught them. There’s few feelings better than passing on a left curve, tail out, going round the outside.
Again apologies for the scare Operator and Co.
It took less than 2 hours to get there, including getting lost. Renette arrived a few minutes after me, she wasn’t going slow either.
The best laid plans…. Justin’s bike had stranded him with a FI problem he was stuck at Henks place in tankwa. It was too late to go rescue him so I settled in for the evening. A bit sad that my party buddy was not going to make it.
I didn’t take many
Many have spoken of the food! I’ll just say, R200 is way too little for what I got. (and this was just dinner. The R200 included breakfast as well!)
Later, Rudi spiced up the evening by offering to guide us to a cave and stargazing evening jaunt. After a quick ride up the mountain in slops and helmet. It was different, spectacular and a bit special wandering through the evening on a sand track with no lights save the stars and some great banter.
Much later after a few laughs I retired.
Sleeping under the stars, I had completely messed up my estimation of where the sun would rise. It’s no fun being hungover and having the sun boil you out your sleeping bag.
After a decadent breakfast and a very leisurely getaway, the 4 of us departed – Renette, Rudy, Tamryn and myself.
We got going about 11. I wasn’t feeling all too clever and needed a few litres of water to help right the evenings excess.
Just before Esselbank, Renette took a slow tumble that started out a bit comical but ended with some concern. She has taken a tough sandy line, got pushed into the middlemannetjie and then was headed for the bush. Sadly, there was a donga and rocks in the way. She missed the first of the bigger rocks and then once her front wheel went into the donga, did an inelegant dismount. The concern came as I was having a giggle at it all when she fell with the bike trapping her foot. No harm no foul. She was fine but a bit shaken. Her confidence was being eroded worrying about the sand that was to come just past Esselbank.
After a bit of water and a quick check, we put off the Esselbank sand by getting refreshed at the waterfall just after Esselbank. It really is a magical place. I’ve always blasted through this section and wasn’t even ware that there was such a place.
From there we took a bit of a scenic route detour that tested the girls. Renette stayed on, Tamryn took a very slow tumble in the sand, but again nothing hurt or broken. Just before we hit the main track again, it was hilarious to see Renette celebrating literally 2 turns before the end and hitting a rock a bit off and nearly getting thrown off.
We said our goodbyes to Rudi and Tamryn, they were on 400’s and we expected to be much faster than them. But as it happens in tortoise and hare type stuff we saw them again at Clan William. I mentioned that we might stop again at the top of Pikkineerspas for a sarmie.
Once we were there, Our food had not even arrived yet and they pulled in.
Rudi opted for the healthier stuff…
After that, there was a bit of white line fever and a haste to make haste. We sat at about 150-170 all the way home.
7pm I closed the garage.
The Oasis Spit Braai is a wondrous event. The super peaceful place and vibes make it a pleasure to attend. Thanks to all who made it great!
Roll on 2017!
