Right, lets get to it.
Border post blues (lot's of lifted photo's thanks)
I was a bit tired, I think I had got to bed later than 12, closer to one maybe. The days were catching up. But, just up ahead the final stage. Again I know this part of the world pretty well so I was hoping that the track would stay on the Namakwa eco trail because it’s a stunning piece of track.
John and Andy had spent a bit too much time in the sun.
I ripped out the mornings roadbook, took off the Wilddogs jersey, did a once around the bike and was a bit worried that I had too little fuel for the 250k’s to the next stop, my tanks showed just under 20 litres. My last time here with Justin (jagsding) I had to go find fuel at one stage. Nothing for it now but to ride.
The start, if you weren’t concentrating can be deceiving, the track almost immediately leaves the main gravel road and heads off to the right on jeep two tracks. One guy who went before me did a few laps of the quarry before he found the right one.
Last stage I cruised through, this one I was going to give it some. I had 10 minutes to make up on Rudi. Of course I didn’t know that he was having an epic behind me with his buddies.
197km of beautiful desert
Andy said I could go. Hell yes!
Just past the photograpers Nick and Mike who were about 2k’s in – this is one of their shots – I caught first one guy then another. Don’t know who they were.
I seldom have had punctures, 3 in nearly 10 years and all were preventable; too little air and being lazy to air up. Think its because I really watch the road and pick my path. In the rocky bits I was steady but the rest I was really having a ball.
The route is quite amazing and its free! Anyone can ride it. I rate it as the best 200k’s of track to ride. If you are ever within 1000k’s of it, you should go do it.
Sadly my video is corrupted and these are all I could get out of it.
I only saw two other riders that were stopped to fix a flat or something. For the rest of the time it was just me and desert. It was fun to see where the guys had gone farming at mis-timed corners and even funnier when I too followed them. The bike was singing all the roadbook was making sense. I was in the zone deeply…. Until I started to need a piss. The coke was coming through
I was having a conversation with myself about if I could hold it for the next 80k’s or should I stop. Almost right then I was came to a tight turn in a riverbed and the front washed out, I went down hard enough to knock a bit of wind out. I wish I’d got it on video, the Gods of pissing must have been, well, er, pissing themselves.
I lost much of the rear brake about 40k’s from the end but that was fine, it was open gravel. .All too soon, nearly 3 hours had flown by and the end popped up. It had been exhillerating and a fabulous ride. I'd stayed inside of the red line and always kept a bit of a reserve. Not much but enough.
Willem must have been flying. What is interesting is that the next 8 guys are within 13 minutes of each other. In the more open stuff the big bikes can hold their own. I’d loved to have been able to sit on a mountain somewhere and been a spectator.
I had mixed feelings, really happy I’d made it, but pretty sad it was over.
So after putting more brake fluid and faffing a bit with my rear brake for 40 minutes, I headed off for Poffadder to fill up. Speaking of which, I think my bike did about 15 litres for the 200k’s. Not bad at all for a desert racing stage.
Willem du Toit asked if he could follow me for the next liaison of 180km’s as his roadbook had packed up. Joey was also going to tag along. At Poffadder we had a really good toasted sarmie, chatted a bit.
Jacques also arrived. In all the talk Joey made the statement, “it’s not over yet”. Ja ja ja….
Once we got onto the gravel, the guys were riding pretty quickly, dropped my bike at one of the gates, the sidestand sunk into the road and over it went. Soon after that at a turn on to tar, I was up front Willem and Jacques were next and Joey was bringing up the rear. I noticed that Joey was really far back and turned to wait for him at the turn. He had just slowed and wasn’t keen to ride in dust, so it was just the two of us and way up ahead the other two. I was farting about with my camera….
See that turn at 462…
…whilst riding and was also trying to clean my sunglasses and didn’t notice either the turn in the roadbook or that Jacques and Willem had taken it. A short while later a left turn onto the N14 main road came up and my trips said 472k’s (I didin’t notice the trips out by 10) Next the roadbook said to expect @ 485.42 a curve with 2 buildings, and then at 485.52 a left at the buildings. And so it came to be, there was the curve and the left turn just as the roadbook had said and at the right numbers on my trips, but the turn was into a gate with “private property” and was just an entrance to a large plot with a house???
I saw Joey had also stopped at another left turn about 300m back, so I thought, “ok, it must be that one” and did a U turn and turned in. The gravel road had one set of bike tracks on it? Something definitely wasn’t right. I went down it for a few k’s and came to a gate where clearly no bikes had been through. What is going on!? Joey’s disappeared! Where am I???!
So back to the tar to begin comedy hour and a half.
First I made sure that I hadn’t missed the turn by riding a few k’s on and a few k’s back to make sure. What had I missed? I wasn’t physically tired just mentally tired, even subtracting 16 from 37 was too much. I had to use the gps’ calculator to figure that one out. In all this, amazingly so I was still having fun. It was a bit like an out of body experience. I wasn’t getting frustrated, I just knew that if I kept at it, I would work it out. I had all day and no time penalties for coming in late and what a beautiful part of the world whilst on an amazing rally to get lost.
I knew the roadbook and the curve and turn matched or was only slightly out, but nothing else did? I really didn't know where I'd gone wrong. I knew that what ever had happened Joey must have figured it out, Jaques and Willem too. If they could and 16 others, then so could I.
With all the backwarding a forwarding, my trips were totally out and I couldn’t rely on them anymore. I was going to have to ride back to a place I knew I was certain I was right and that was where I had waited for Joey. I also knew that I was tired and was not making good decisions or probably noticing what I should. Kakamas was just a quick 80k’s up the tar but there was no way I was going to jeopardise my whole Amageza by not completing the route. Also I was certain that a bunch of people could see what was going on as my tracker app was still working so I didn’t want to risk using my phones calculator and then get a message from some helpful soul – that would have ruined it for me.
See the steam?
Finally after much stopping and gps calculatoring riding back the 40k’s I worked out where I’d gone wrong. Sadly in my fuzzy state, I worked it out 2,2k’s after passing the critical turn for the second time. I was laughing to myself. I’d been buggering around for 102k’s and 1hour and 25 minutes! Good thing I had big tanks on.
Where had Joey got to you ask? He's much smarter than me and had worked out that we were wrong and did a U Turn as I was doing one. I didn't see him because he had done his with a truck in between us so from where I was riding back up the road, he was hidden from me.
Right 105k’s left to go!
I was pretty ferocious on the throttle, I wanted to beat the sun.
Eventually 6.32pm, my Amageza was officially finished and I could have a really good shower, relax and a really cold beer.
My castle for the evening.
Sad to say, my night ended very soon after dinner. It had all caught up to me, I had a few beers but just couldn’t keep my eyes open so threw in the towel and slunk off to my tent and seconds later it was morning.
Kevin, whithout whose brake pieces I’d have had it a lot harder. Thankyou so much
Everything packed, bikes loaded, lift with Keith organised all that was left was breakfast and prizegiving.
Prizegiving was quite emotional, and rightfully so
Willem
Peter
Rudi
Official Results
Keith drove me home the whole way, I couln’t be trusted as I had several bouts of narcolepsy creep up on me. I dodged the fun bus option with his lift. Thanks so much!
Only 17 like this in the world
You going to get one for yourself next year?
