- Joined
- Feb 6, 2006
- Messages
- 11,909
- Reaction score
- 5,392
- Location
- Cape Town, deep in the lentils
- Bike
- KTM 990 Adventure
Day 7 (Rest Day) & Day 8
The pace and intensity of Quest takes its toll on both Competitors and Support Crew. The Rest Day is both a tradition and a very much needed break in the relentless pace of the competition.
“Rest Day” is a little misleading as there are still chores to be done; most importantly, as all the bikes were brand new at the start, the critical 1000km service has to be performed. All the contestants, whilst on Bootcamp, were given training by a Honda master mechanic to complete the task.
Besides the servicing and washing, an afternoon ride was planned for a very technical climb to the top of a local lookout point was abandoned due to the extreme heat – in the high 40’s! Even catching a late afternoon snooze instead was a tough ask – there wasn’t much escaping the oppressive heat.
Later, the contestants were asked to present their nominations for a worthy Humanitarian Project. The money they pledged was matched tenfold by Hardy de Kock from Specialised Adventures.
Mojaki Rammoneng from Team 2 was the deserved winner for a worthy project that provides Sanitary Pads for school girls who don’t have access to them. The problem forces many girls to miss school over an embarrassment.
Day 8
Essentially, the day was sold as a quick paced liaison to the Cederberg via the Tankwa. The reality was far more fun and spectacular. From the guest farm, a quick technical trail saw some having to pick their bikes up from a quick tumble.
From there, the back roads to Merweville and onto Rammelkop pass to Sutherland kept us busy.
We had been experiencing quite a few punctures through no fault of our own – the tubes clearly had a small defect. The net result was a competition between the instructors and competitors where whomever had the most punctures by the end of the trip would be buying the beer. It wasn’t looking good for the instructors; 5 of the first 6 belonged to them.
Once off the mountains behind Sutherland and onto the Tankwa Karoo proper, it was a quick enjoyable ride to the Tankwa Patstal, an Iconic little stop with a great history that is very welcoming of Adventure Riders. (Their ginger beer is highly recommended!)
Riding into the setting sun, we at last entered the Oasis called Die Mond. A quiet, picturesque small spring fed lake that our tired and dirty bodies were immediately dumped into. It was a proper Quest day that delivered far more than expected.
It was mostly an early evening for all as the next day was to be the sting in the tail!
The pace and intensity of Quest takes its toll on both Competitors and Support Crew. The Rest Day is both a tradition and a very much needed break in the relentless pace of the competition.
“Rest Day” is a little misleading as there are still chores to be done; most importantly, as all the bikes were brand new at the start, the critical 1000km service has to be performed. All the contestants, whilst on Bootcamp, were given training by a Honda master mechanic to complete the task.
Besides the servicing and washing, an afternoon ride was planned for a very technical climb to the top of a local lookout point was abandoned due to the extreme heat – in the high 40’s! Even catching a late afternoon snooze instead was a tough ask – there wasn’t much escaping the oppressive heat.
Later, the contestants were asked to present their nominations for a worthy Humanitarian Project. The money they pledged was matched tenfold by Hardy de Kock from Specialised Adventures.
Mojaki Rammoneng from Team 2 was the deserved winner for a worthy project that provides Sanitary Pads for school girls who don’t have access to them. The problem forces many girls to miss school over an embarrassment.
Day 8
Essentially, the day was sold as a quick paced liaison to the Cederberg via the Tankwa. The reality was far more fun and spectacular. From the guest farm, a quick technical trail saw some having to pick their bikes up from a quick tumble.
From there, the back roads to Merweville and onto Rammelkop pass to Sutherland kept us busy.
We had been experiencing quite a few punctures through no fault of our own – the tubes clearly had a small defect. The net result was a competition between the instructors and competitors where whomever had the most punctures by the end of the trip would be buying the beer. It wasn’t looking good for the instructors; 5 of the first 6 belonged to them.
Once off the mountains behind Sutherland and onto the Tankwa Karoo proper, it was a quick enjoyable ride to the Tankwa Patstal, an Iconic little stop with a great history that is very welcoming of Adventure Riders. (Their ginger beer is highly recommended!)
Riding into the setting sun, we at last entered the Oasis called Die Mond. A quiet, picturesque small spring fed lake that our tired and dirty bodies were immediately dumped into. It was a proper Quest day that delivered far more than expected.
It was mostly an early evening for all as the next day was to be the sting in the tail!