Honda Quest True Adventure 2018

[teebag]

Day 5:

There was a section after lunch where we were told we could just ride, no scoring, no teams, just enjoy the motorcycle - the track was perfect, a fast winding ribbon of dirt meandering across the landscape - it was perfect!

My mistake this was actually on day 5 after lunch, and as [member=14604]JesseH[/member] said after the mornings straight and windy roads it was perfect. The highlight for most was coming to the edge of the plateau and overlooking the Tankwa from the viewpoint on Gannaga Pass.

 

[Kamanya]

Day 5

Liaisons, are a necessary part of Adventuring; In the Northern and Western Cape, we are blessed with many truly wondrous places to see, however, it does take some large distances on occasion to join them together.

Today would be the longest single stretch for Honda Quest 2018 at just over 400 kilometers of gravel. Not very technical or difficult, but nothing to sneeze at and challenging nonetheless.

The competitors are scored on a wide variety of aspects on Honda Quest, one of which is the ability to ride safely and efficiently in a large group on gravel. To move 14 competitors, 4 instructors (themselves all contestants from the previous year) - all on Africa Twins – over 400km takes a large amount of concentration, co-ordination and trust to get right. Following in their dust were another 5 support vehicles.

We left Uitspan, a rustic farm camp towards Loeriesfontein in the Great Karoo via the great gravel roads that criss-cross that large expanse of the Great Karoo. Then onto Calvina for a quick snack and a call home to tell loved ones that all’s well. Lastly it was the iconic Gannaga Pass, as the sun was sinking to drink in the great expanse of the Tankwa Karoo that spreads out before it. To make home in Perdekloof in the Tankwa Karoo National Park.

All the competitors were encouraged to make a short video of their journey so far on Honda Quest 2018 and then to post it onto this page -  https://www.facebook.com/HondaAdventureMotorcycles/?_rdc=1&_rdr

The idea was to bring a more personal side to this great adventure. As we traveled, we had limited access to the internet, so for some it was tough to find bandwidth.

I and Willie - he of the maker of the video's fame - were trying to upload the previous days posts so had to hang back in a the small dorpie of Calvina with two support vehicles. Then once loaded we headed off to catch the group at Gannaga Pass.

Once we got going again, it was a bit surreal after traveling for so long in such a disciplined fashion to be on my own just in front of the vehicles. What was even more fun was that as I had a radio on me, I could call out to the two vehicles just what lay ahead so they were both safer and faster,

It would go...

"Dip is smooth"
"roger"

"next dip, stay left, pot hole right"
"roger"

"SHIT! Snake!"
"What?"
"nevermind"

It was a fun ride.

 

[Sandban(g)k]

Dag 5:

Dit was die eerste keer op die trip wat ek later as 04h30 wakker was - ek het eers 6h wakker geskrik.  Deur die nag het die wind sy kant gebring.  Ek het soos [member=61]Kamanya[/member] uitgevind het, my voete in die wind in gedraai op die stretcher en redelik okay geslaap.  Iewers tussen 02h00 en 03h00 het ek wakker geword en gesien hoe [member=14604]JesseH[/member] sy stretcher agter die badkamer inskuif.  Lekker deur die weer geslaap (letterlik en figuurlik) het ek my voete van die stretcher afgegooi, my plakkies aangetrek (ek het vir n oomblik gewonder oor waarom hulle langs my bed is en nie in my diep lekker Quest sak nie) en agter Jesse aangeskuif uit die wind uit.  Dit was eersteklas.  Soos wanneer jy moeg is en in jou eie bed kan lê.  My lyf was die stretcher gewoond en my kop het aanvaar ek het paar dinge wat moet gebeur, verander en ook ophou gebeur.

So toe ek 06h00 wakker word, was ek uitgerus en lus vir die res van die Quest - ek meen wat kan erger wees as die eerste paar dae?

Meeste manne was al besig om op te pak en hulle daaglikse roetine te volg en ek het rustig opgestaan en my goed ook begin regkry - stretcher, riding kit, hydration, pille, Rehidrate, Rehidrate en so aan.  Ek was heel onskuldig besig om my sak te pak toe [member=12023]teebag[/member] my van diefstal beskuldig...

Die plakkies langs my bed, was toe eintlik syne, langs sy bed (ons het langs mekaar geslaap).  Syne was swart en myne grys, en in die nag en my toestand het ek dit nie agtergekom nie.  Ons (eintlik my "rooi persona") het toe ooreengekom dat niks meer net sy goed is nie:  my goed was my goed, en JT se goed was ons goed...  :biggrin:

Die ryery was maklik - ek en [member=22614]PhantomCupcake[/member] het die konvooi ryery begin verstaan en het mekaar, ons fietse en ons vrese uitgesort.  Ons was ook tweede van voor en die stof was die minste nog.  Dit was lekker om agter [member=14604]JesseH[/member] en [member=12174]JannievandieVaaldam[/member] te ry.  Die twee manne verstaan van skoeter ry en dis altyd lekker om hierdie fliek te kyk.  Ons het gedog die instrukteurs is gewone mense met normale sig.  Blykbaar kan [member=16826]Kobus Myburgh[/member] redelik goed sien - veral as mens bietjie te vinnig oor hobbels gaan vir airtime...  ot:  Ek dink dit was vir team Rumbux n goeie dag oor die algemeen  O0.

Ek was nog nooit voorheen in die Tankwa nie, so die aankoms en ry van die Gannaga pas was vir my ongelooflik.  Ek kan nie ons mensdom altyd lekker verstaan nie. Almal gaan mal oor hierdie plek en daai pas, maar dit voel vir my of die wat werklik die moeite werd is om te ry redelik "swak bemark" is.  Seker maar soos baie ander goed in die lewe - die goed wat die beste bemark word is nie noodwendig die beste produkte/dienste nie  :deal:

Nietemin - die Tankwa was vir my mooi.  Baie mooi.  En vir die eerste keer het ek werklik gewens ek kan al hierdie met my vrou deel.  Ek het haar gemis.  Kwaai.  Maar ek sal haar ewig dankbaar wees dat sy my toegelaat het om te kom.  Ek kan nie wag om haar al die lekker plekke te gaan wys nie...

 

[Losper]

Many people has asked me to explain the Honda Quest experience to them.
It is much bigger than what we think and although it is impossible to sum it up in one paragraph this explanation nails it pretty accurately.
Well said [member=7846]Sandban(g)k[/member]

https://www.facebook.com/HondaAdventureMotorcycles/
https://www.facebook.com/SpecialisedAdventures/

 

[JesseH]

Staying in the Tankwa for one night felt like a sin. We got in just before dark. Set up camp. Chowed food. Slept. Woke up. Chowed food. And hit the road.

I felt like we needed to stick around and get something more from the places we found ourselves each minute of the day. But in hindsight, I see it as if it was just a chance to wet one's appetite for another few adventures and I, for one, will surely go back before my runway runs out.

We slept under the stars again, each night the camp got less and less spread out. The peeps were all becoming a closely-knit family. The ou's who smaaked dreaming that they were diesel locomotives graciously grouped together over on one side of the camps whilst the quiet sleepers got together in tight formation on the other. It was quite an amazing dynamic, I must just say. Even thinking about it now. We were all in a competition, trying to beat the other contestants, yet we were putting each other above ourselves even to the point where we made sure that we all had the best chance to have a good night's sleep so that we could all get to the end safely together. And after a day like Day 5, with those LONG liaisons, I needed to fight to keep myself awake on the bike so sleep was greatly appreciated at night.

Day 6:

We were headed for a farm (to the best of my knowledge) about 60km west of Beaufort West called Bo Plaas. Mostly it was open gravel riding. And then the last 20-30km was getting on the farm with a very technical twee spoor road getting in to the rest camp. We crossed a lot of private farm land that [member=19649]Hardy de Kock[/member] and the Specialised Adventures team had organised permission for. We went on a track that was called Good Luck. [member=12954]KarooKid[/member] who was leading the convoy that day chooned "Good luck" just before we started on that section. We all chuckled and knew that we had to have our wits about us.
And we did! Sneaky sandy monsters lurking in unexpected places caught a few of us out, lurking rocks and some rather large "speed bump" type yumps that if you hit at speed would most certainly send you and a 250kg bike airborne and make you wish that were rather at home with your mommy. No really, they'd do some serious damage. It reminded me of that old saying that all fly-boys know well (not that I can pilot anything with wings besides for my 6ft stunt kite eepwall: "It is better to be on the ground and wishing that you were in the air than to be in the air and wishing that you were on the ground".

Getting in to the farm that evening was relieving in some ways, but also, as every day came to a close, we knew that another 10% of the riding (and time together) was gone. I cherished every moment I had and tried at every moment to take it all in. To enjoy the process and the places. To enjoy the food and the friends. To enjoy my rehydrate and routine. To chat to every person that I could and hear from those that had traveled in the area before. And not for one minute did I wish any time away but rather had hoped that the time would go by slowly. But that didn't happen at all, as you'd well know.
It was relieving to be on Boplaas because this was the rest camp. We were to spend 2 nights here. We had a very lekker braai that night and a lot of chatting and banter was had until late that evening. In the same breath though, it was also discomforting because the routine would now be broken, what Day 7 would hold (besides for an oil service on the bikes) was unknown, and we were gonna lose a day of riding!

Sleep was real good that night. Just enough wind to keep the mozzies mostly at bay and not too much that we were trying to sleep through a dust storm as on night 2. I didn't want tp have problems falling asleep or waking up in the middle of the night so I popped a muscle relaxant for my aching body, chucked my earplugs in and slept like Andre Le Roes - who is one of those chaps that has an off switch in his ear. As soon as it touches his pillow in a horizontal position he's out like a light! I swear that he has a tilt sensor like an Africa Twin! Lucky bugger ;D

 

[Losper]

Jesse, you forgot to mention that Andre le Roes snores like 10x locomotives in stereo :biggrin:

Day 6's video by:  https://www.kalonfilms.com
[youtube]https://youtu.be/MX_HwjP9WO8[/youtube]

 

[Kamanya]

Day 6

If one thing has been a constant it’s the wind. Although not nearly as ferocious as in previous night’s, we were grateful to be protected somewhat by the camp in the valley called Perdekloof in the Tankwa Karoo National Park.

Setting off, the first climb for the day was Ouberg Pass offering a view far across the Tankwa Karoo. It was an opportunity for reflection and appreciation for some of the spaces we are privileged to in South Africa.

A quick stop in Sutherland for fuel and again to connect with loved ones and maybe to reassure the work colleagues that they haven’t been captured by Adventure forever and will be coming back!

Then, with lunch near Karelskraal Pass a spanner was tossed into the mix; each of the contestants were temporarily re-assigned a new team mate to ride with for the rest of the day. The tricky part was this new partnership was going to have to be forged whilst navigating tight off-the-beaten paths and back roads. It takes quite a bit of trust to ride on ones shoulder at the best of times, even more on tricky routes.

The rest of the route through Goodluck then towards the Karoo proper via Ouberg Pass, led to a world that has a unique energy and in the late afternoon sun felt ancient and powerful.

We would be staying at Boplaas Guest Farm for two nights. Tomorrow would be a rest day, for both competitors and support team. Honda Quest was taking a well-earned breather - time to service bikes, wash the travel out of ourselves and clothes and to reflect and recharge for the final push.

The teams have made use of the trip so far to make short videos of their experiences. There will be more to come, but for now;

Team 1

Pieter Laubsher
André le Roes

https://www.facebook.com/1057947312/posts/10214601673049691/

https://www.facebook.com/pieter.laubscher/videos/10214596179672360/

Team 2

Claude Deyzel
Mojaki Rammoneng

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1915098422120254&id=1628600317436734

Team 3

Denzil Lawrie
Jonathan Tee

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1915104258786337&id=1628600317436734

Team 4

Stephan van der Merwe
Jana Botha

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10214891225849149&id=1082502268

One of the vids from team 4

Team 5

Hannes Dippenaar
Jesse Hardy

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1916523281977768&id=1628600317436734

Team 6

JoDan Alberts
André Labuschagne

https://www.facebook.com/1628600317436734/posts/1916400131990083/

Team 7

Rickus Vermeulen
Pierre Breytenbach

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1915061528790610&id=1628600317436734

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157006919746019&id=690651018

 

[Hollywood]

Sorry for this late entry. Buried under the work this week. So, here’s my experience of the route from Gharries to Tankwa, and onward too our rest-day stop near Beaufort West.


Day 5
The red haze decends

A long one. Liaisons aren’t always nice but, at least it gives you a chance to stretch the AT’s legs.

Before we mounted our steeds, someone handed me and [member=3864]Rickus[/member] some nail polish. Red. Hoer rooi. Was it [member=12023]teebag[/member] ? Can’t quite remember, but I think it was him... Kaapse heiden… I think it was used by Claude and Mojaki to mark the bolts on their bikes, making it easier in the mornings to spot any possible loose nut or bolts during the Pre-Ride Inspection. Without really thinking, I painted my ring finger nail. I think Jonathan told me I had to. Must be the reason. Poor [member=3864]Rickus[/member] , being a propper team mate, followed suit. And there it was! We were marked on our ring fingers, to ride our bikes, side by side, from here on, through sickness and dehidration, for richer, but mostly poorer, for as long as we both shall live….but, honestly… regardless of the nail polish, I think we’re probably riding buddies for life.

The first part of the days ride was quite lovely. Winding through some farms on our way to the public dirt road near Soutriver. Those hills en-route had the some of the most majestic, and biggest Quiver Tree forests that you’ll see almost anywhere. Truly special, and for a tree lover like me, even more so.

Ja. I admitted to it. I’m a tree lover. Believe me, once you take some effort to learn about trees in a specific area or biome, it becomes very rewarding. To the extent that I sometimes find myself looking at trees, more than animals, when we’re on family visits to the Kruger Park. I know it sounds weird to most, but just try it. We have a habit in our family… on holidays I choose a tree that is regularly spotted in the area we travel in, and then I teach my kids how to identify it and name it (Normal old name, and the Botanical name) One tree each holiday. The kids already have quite an extensive knowledge of trees now, and a great appreciation for the place and purpose that these life-giving giants fill on our interconnected planet.


Back to the Quest….

We all now these long unending gravel highway riding days. It’s how a huge amount of us escape from the city. Most all trips begin and end with these monotonous long stretches. In this case I almost fell asleep on my bike. Luckily there were some fuel stops, snack breaks, and a couple of sightseeing spots along the way, breaking the mesmerizing hum of 18 AT’s. One of these was our late afternoon ride on Ganagga pass, dropping into the Tankwa Karoo. At the viewpoint we stopped for a pic, and a chat.  As luck would have it, the wind blew a bike off its side stand, toppling over the bikes parked next to it. Like dominoes, and poor number 14 was again, unceremoniously bashed to the ground due to no fault of its own. Arme skoeter.


Japanese Build Quality

The fact that these machines took all the bashing that we put it through, and made it all the way to the end, really speaks to the quality of the build work. Not one mechanical issue. With all the heat, hard riding, not much mechanical sympathy, lots of crashing, and stupid stuff like the domino effect, its truly amazing how trustworthy these bikes are. Not a single oil issue, bearing problem, failing radiator hose, blocked fuel line, popped fork seal, trip-computer glitch or globe that blew on a headlight or an indicator that stopped working.
Nothing. Not even one of the 18 bikes that finished the Quest 2018. Impressive.
In more than 2000kms of very hard riding. The type of riding that only a few adventure bike owners will ever do. The only mechanical breakages we had were due to crashes. No build issues. And all these brand-new bikes came directly off Honda South Africa floor. It’s the exact same bike you buy from the dealer. The only add-on accessories were the Karoo3 Tyres, Rumbux bash plate and front fender protection, and some radiator grill protectors.


Sleeping in the Tankwa

We came into our lovely campsite at sunset. [member=19649]Hardy de Kock[/member] visited our spot, and considerate gentleman that he is, showed us a video that he took 2 minutes back, and 15 meters from our stretchers. A Black Spitter. Yes, it’s a snake. Quite rare and indigenous to the Tankwa. It’s like a Mozambican spitting cobra, but only pitch black, and as deadly. Ag, lekker… Fokkit...

The rest of the night went off as usual. Some nice food and presentations at the camp fire, then we hit the sack.

Thankfully, team 7’s snoring kept the snakes away. No... really, don’t mention it guys, it’s a pleasure.

 

[Hollywood]

The view from the top of Ganagga. Oom Garry's Iveco in the foreground. This is where the domino effect happened.

 

[Hollywood]

Look mom! No hands, on top off the world!

 

[Hollywood]

Day 6.
Rise and shine

The usual ritual from 5am onwards. It’s something we now do with our eyes closed. Amazing how a long-term trip gets its own rhythm and unique character and pace. We were adapting quite nicely by day 6, but you could see it everyone’s eyes…. We were all exhausted.

The mornings riding was lovely, winding our way through the Tankwa, onwards towards Ouberg pass. I’ve driven the pass a couple of times before.


My reference

Last time, I pushed one of my children out of the car at the top of the pass. I gave her a camera through the car window, told her, to take some pictures, that we’ll be coming back for her, and set off down the pass leaving her at the first viewpoint. At the bottom of the pass I pushed the other one out of the car. Gave her a camera. “Go, explore. We’ll be coming back for you.” I made a U-turn, and my wife and I (with the pensioen vreter in the back seat) went back up the pass. Picked up the first lost soul at the top, u-turn again, down the pass again to pick up the other langhaar-mak-huisdier at the bottom. Later that holiday, they referred to that exercise as their favourite moment of the trip. Mine too. I got to drive Oubergpas 3 times in 1 go!

Really freaked out an old couple in a Landy, though. They came across the first teenage girl alone at the top of the pass. She eventually convinced them that she’s fine, and they don’t have to save her. As they drove down the pass, they unknowingly passed our car on our way up, and again, came across another solitary blonde teenage girl at the bottom. Foeitog, the old people couldn’t figure it out.


Payback is a bitch, called [member=19649]Hardy de Kock[/member]

Now... I think that The Universe, The Groot oom in the sky, Fate, whatever you want to call it…. has a hell of a sense of humour.

As illustrasion:
At the very same viewpoint at the top of Ouberg pass, Hardy informed me that I must give my presentation that night at the campfire. Bliksem.
The rest of the day became very confusing.

I knew that there is no way at all that I’ll finish my pre-planned speech on The Life of David Livingstone within the allotted 10 minutes. No way. I gave my wife the edited and abbreviated version of the big speech the day before I left home… the short version …it was half an hour. I had no idea how to shorten it without leaving out big meaningful parts of his story. Some heart-warming, and others rather monster like, depending of course how you personally feel about it.

So, I spent a lot of time running through it all in my helmet. To the extent that [member=3864]Rickus[/member] noted my newly acquired random riding style at the fuel stop in Sutherland. My head wasn’t on the road at all.

A couple of kilos out of town, pass the Observatory, we stopped on a low bridge. It was our lunch stop. A very nice spot. We were treated to delicious warm jaffles from the fire and cold drinks. I took a stroll up the gravel road away from the group to collect my thoughts. Not only about the speach, but to have some quiet time. Introspection and quiet has always been my refuge when things get to hectic. Stilte tyd.


Divorce!!

I was called back to the group for an announcement. We were to change team mates for the rest of the day. Aggenee, dit ook nog! I just married [member=3864]Rickus[/member] yesterday!
He was paired with Mojaki, and I was paired with [member=4807]Losper[/member] .Two of the above mentioned four guys had a great deal in this new arrangement.

I was the first one. Having an old experienced hand like [member=4807]Losper[/member] next to me on the tight technical 2 spoor through Goodluck, at speed, was a blessing. On more than one occasion he had to apply evasive manoeuvres as I bounced off loose rocks into his lane. Dankie [member=4807]Losper[/member] . Yster. 
The other lucky guy was Mojaki. He and Rickus came around a turn at speed, and Mojaki’s front washed out on the course gravel. He was on the inside of the turn. The bike slid across Rickus’s lane, followed by Mojaki coming to a stop right in front of him. Luckily for Mojaki, Rickus knows how to do a proper emergency stop on gravel …at an angle. Later Mojaki told us he could feel the front wheel of Rickus’s bike coming to a stop against his back. Close.


Showdown

That night I tried to do justice to the speech, with little success. 10 minutes in, I was stopped, with not even a third of what I wanted to say. When everyone else had their turn at their presentations someone asked if I would like to finish the rest of mine, unofficially off course. So, I did, and another 40 minutes later I was finished, and everyone had a nice chat/debate regarding the legacy that Livingstone had left behind. Good, or bad. At least it was off my chest. Although I was very disappointed that I couldn’t finish it in the allotted 10 minutes. I scored myself a 4 out of 10.

The whole group had a relaxed, calm evening, maybe because we knew that tomorrow would be a rest day.

Sleeping next to our bikes, under starry skies, I finally had my quiet time, took stock, and made peace with the day that passed me by. Another life lesson learned.

 

[Hollywood]

The lunch stop just after Sutherland. Jaffles in the riverbed... sounds like a new Bradd Pitt movie.

 

[Hollywood]

The spot where I would eventually find some peace... on my stretcher, in the quiet, late that night.

 

[JesseH]

Jesse, you forgot to mention that Andre le Roes snores like 10x locomotives in stereo :biggrin:

:spitcoffee:

 

[Sandban(g)k]

Dag 6:

Die vorige aand se slaap was aangenaam, ten spyte van die idee dat dit tussen paar slange kan wees.  Ek is bang vir slange.  Bang is dalk ‘n understatement.  Ek is daai ou wat, as iemand ‘n slang vashou, sterk oorweeg om beide die ou en die slang te help.  Met ‘n Glock.  Of n haelgeweer.

Laat my dink aan goeie raad wat ek eendag gekry het:  As jy op ‘n eiland gestrand is saam met ‘n swart mamba, ‘n leeu en ‘n prokureur en jy het net 2 patrone.  Dan skiet jy die prokureur twee keer. 

Ek het altyd daaroor gewonder, aangesien ek die slang eerder sou skiet.  Op Quest het ek wel gesien prokureurs kan ook goeie ouens wees.  Nice.  Eerlik.  (Hulle sal seker enigiets doen om ‘n saak te wen, selfs die waarheid praat...)

Die Tankwa Karoo het my hart gesteel.  Ek deel [member=22711]Hollywood[/member]  of [member=14604]JesseH[/member]  se sentiment dat mens gerus meer tyd daar sou kon spandeer, mar ons het dinge gehad om te doen en ons uurglas was besig om aan die leegraak te word.  Ons is deur die Tankwa op die mooiste paadjies – ek sal vir dae aaneen hier kan ry.  En vandag was my en [member=22237]Phantom[/member] se beurt om voor te ry. Whoohoo!!  Lekker minimum stof, maar ek sou eerder op een van die sanderige dae nader aan voor wou wees  eepwall:. Nietemin, dit was lekker, en die pas aan die voorkant van die konvooi was effens vinniger en meer konstant.  Ouberg pas het my genooi om weer te gaan kuier.  ‘n Nuwe wêreld het vir my oopgegaan in die Karoo – ek kon nie glo ek het al hier en daar stukke van die buiteland gesien, maar nog nooit ons eie mooi dele kom kyk nie.

Team Rumbux se luck het uitgehardloop rondom middagete.  Ons is deur ‘n egskeiding en moes saam met ons nuwe spanmaats weer in ‘n nuwe volgorde inval.  Ek was saam met André le Roes.  Die ou is solid.  Die personifikasie van ‘n Land Cruiser.  Hard.  Taai.  En vinnig. (Ek neem aan hy is ‘n petrol Cruiser – maar ek het hom nog nie sien drink nie, so kan nie bevestig nie).  Waar ek en [member=22614]PhantomCupcake[/member]  meer konserwatief gery het vir oorlewing (vir obvious redes) was bike nr 2 aggressief.  Aanvallend.  Ons het mekaar vinnig uitgesort gekry en het van daar af lekker gery – vir die eerste keer op die trip het ek deurentyd hard gerem en hard versnel.  Dis een ding van die Honda – hys ‘n allrounder.  Ek het ‘n 990 gery vir ‘n rukkie – en dis ‘n fiets wat mens nie kan rustig ry nie.  Alles in hom tart mens uit om ‘n vark te wees.  Soos tequila. 

Die Honda aan die anderkant kon hom gedra soos ‘n goed verouderde brandewyn.  Jy kan hom op klippe drink.  Sip-sip.  En dis aangenaam.  Jy kan ook Coke bygooi, groot slukke vat en na Snotkop luister in jou Cortina, en die Honda is ewe tuis.  Bliksem, ek reken hy sal hom goed kan gedra selfs as jy dit in ‘n papsak gooi.  Die Honda is ‘n exciting fiets as jy hom kwaad maak.  ‘n Ware dual sport.  Natuurlik te swaar vir sekeres.  Te min krag vir ander.  Maar verseker goed genoeg vir enigiets wat jy na sy kant toe gooi.  En beter in meeste as die res.

Die Good Luck pad was een van die lekkerste roetes op die trip.  Ek het so paar keer my luck gepush, maar dit was alles Good Luck.  Die res van die pad na Boplaas was baie mooi – die Karoo het darem maar net daai iets.  Die moeilikste deel van die Karoo is om weer op die pad te kom as jy afdwaal van al die rondkyk.

Die kampplek was uitstekend op Boplaas, en na ‘n nogmaalse hemelse ete uit die Specialised Adventures kombuis en paar insiggewende presentations kon ons uitsien na ‘n rusdag.  Uitsien is dalk nie die regte woord nie – ‘n onsekere opwinding is dalk meer gepas aangesien niemand van ons geweet het wat die volgende dag gaan gebeur nie, behalwe om die fietse gediens te kry.

Een ding was seker – die Quest was besig om vir my iets spesiaal te word.  [member=22711]Hollywood[/member]  se presentation oor Livingstone het, gegewe die rotse wat ek by Stonepiles gelos het, soos die engelse sė: it hit home.  Die ou het ten spyte van sy merkwaardige werk in Afrika, niks van sy familie gehad nie.  Ten spyte van sy aanhang regoor die kontinent en elders, wou sy eie kind nie sy van hê nie.  Elkeen het seker maar die dinge wat vir hom belangrik is, maar ek twyfel of ek eendag aan die einde van my toutjie sal wil onthou word vir my werk eerder as die verskil wat ek in my eie huis kon maak. 

Ek het daai aand goed geslaap.  Ek was ‘n gelukkige man.

 

[Sandban(g)k]

@teebag had some tears in his eyes. Or our eyes? Luckily @Denzil was there to give him a hug...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sandban(g)k]

It was also Genés birthday. The godmother.

Moederhên. Yster of note. As competent with a spanner as with a cookbook. Wait, I don’t the she needs a cookbook.

But she is caring, an extremely hard worker, topnotch chef and I assume the Special part of Specialised Adventures.

Happy belated birthday again!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[teebag]

Day 6: A liaison day from the Tankwa over the Ouberg Pass via Sutherland to Boplaas guest farm about 70km west of Beaufort West.

The "surprise" for the day came at the lunch stop when we all got jaffels, an ice cold drink and new riding partners for the afternoon - very "Survivoresque", my new teammate was Jana and Denzil's was Claude. Actually surprising how different it felt to be riding with another partner, it almost felt like betrayal riding with someone else.

 

[Losper]

Day 7 video and photos by: https://www.kalonfilms.com

[youtube]https://youtu.be/zUlFYe1P94A[/youtube]

Day 7 was our rest day and we used the time to service the bikes. We stayed at Bo plaas (about 50km west of Beaufort West)

 

[Losper]

.