SGB
Race Dog
This is a little late, a month has gone by, but I have an excuse, read on....
The run-up to RR was a happy time, we had 40 riders registered from KZN, second to Pro-Action! Not too shabby for a little shop in the middle of Pinetown. The "warm-up ride" to Sodwana was great too, and time went fast until 24 Sept, which was a public holiday. The general idea was that the Durban team gets to Umtata, on Thursday morning, some riding and some trailering, I lost track early on about who was doing what. A few had to pull out - sorry Bushclown and others, we missed you!
I was not too keen on the tar to Umtata - explained my problem to Bruce who is a very understanding fellow and good mate, so we decided to take the long way round. We left mid morning on the Wednesday, headed for Clarens via back roads, did some of those nice gravel roads through the Freestate and approached Clarens from the back. Saw some KTM's in Clarens, turned out it was the Jhb boys who were also on their way already. We shot through to Rosendal and slept over on a friend's farm called Moolmanshoek, a nice place where they do 4x4 and the odd GS Challenge / course and stuff. Typical Freestate scenery.
The next morning we did some more Freestate, with a bit if tar here and there, ended up in Ladygrey. From here up Joubert's pass, which is a great ride. We were starting to enjoy this little outing!
From the top of the pass, there is a nice gravel road to Dordrecht, then Queenstown - Cathcart - Thomas River. Arrived late afternoon and orange tents were allocated as expected. The rest of the KZN team were there too, barring one who had a difference of opinion with a cow along the way. Luckily not too serious, but needed some treatment.
We settled in, and had dinner, riders briefing, it was good to catch up with old friends and meet some new ones. The place was alive and the boys were ready for a party....
The next morning, after a cold night for some, we were up early and had some coffee, got everything sorted for the ride, and left. I ended up finding Oz, and he decided to slow down to my pace for the rest of the trip. We mostly did our own thing, stopping for a pic wherever it looked good, and just enjoyed the routes. Really enjoyed the "small group" thing for a change. And we did not do anything crazy, took the technical parts easy. Oz is preparing for the Roof, and I had to fly out of the country on the Monday, so we had to play the risk game conservatively (like Coma ;D)
The lunch stops were great, well organized and pleasant. I am not going to write too much about the riding, well covered by the other threads.
Some famous faces....
Views from second riding day - I really liked the route, excellent riding! Just right for our bikes from a technical point of view - old Mervin did a great job here.
The normal entertainment back at the venue in the afternoon was good to be part of - some fumes, dust and noise which will not be seen at the Thomas River Eco Tourism facility every day.
Long jump
Barrel Racing
Slow race - note the local farmer, his feet wear the pegs away too fast. I asked him why he wear so many jackets, and he said it was cold.... :imaposer:
Technical track
Here our own captain from KZN showed that he is still a worthy captain.....
Some more evening entertainment followed, I did not have enough brandy to appreciate the speaker to the extent some of the others did, will work on that.... :
The next morning, I had to get to Pretoria, where I arranged to leave my bike for the month. Up and ready before most, hit the road at about 6.
Spent the month in Kenya, quite rural out where we were, but there are some DS riders too!
Helmets are optional....
Well blinged!
They sell those Chinese machines in the grocery stores at about R 6500 to R 7500.
These taxis go quite well, I liked this one! You sit on the back on a nice thick foam seat, and the rider paddles. Some of them are 1/3 of my weight, but they go.....
The local market, you can buy most things here - meat, fruit, veggies, vaseline, tobacco, tools, etc
Another type of taxi - faster but ratlles, very limited suspension....
I only arrived back a few days ago. I enjoyed reading all the stories from the last month, and thought I should at least contribute a bit too. The net in Kenya was a challenge, tried a few times where there was Internet, too frustratingly slow and unstable to do anything decent.
Tomorrow it is the launch of the new 450 BMW, going there with Roger to see what all the fuss is about. Cheers!
The run-up to RR was a happy time, we had 40 riders registered from KZN, second to Pro-Action! Not too shabby for a little shop in the middle of Pinetown. The "warm-up ride" to Sodwana was great too, and time went fast until 24 Sept, which was a public holiday. The general idea was that the Durban team gets to Umtata, on Thursday morning, some riding and some trailering, I lost track early on about who was doing what. A few had to pull out - sorry Bushclown and others, we missed you!
I was not too keen on the tar to Umtata - explained my problem to Bruce who is a very understanding fellow and good mate, so we decided to take the long way round. We left mid morning on the Wednesday, headed for Clarens via back roads, did some of those nice gravel roads through the Freestate and approached Clarens from the back. Saw some KTM's in Clarens, turned out it was the Jhb boys who were also on their way already. We shot through to Rosendal and slept over on a friend's farm called Moolmanshoek, a nice place where they do 4x4 and the odd GS Challenge / course and stuff. Typical Freestate scenery.
The next morning we did some more Freestate, with a bit if tar here and there, ended up in Ladygrey. From here up Joubert's pass, which is a great ride. We were starting to enjoy this little outing!
From the top of the pass, there is a nice gravel road to Dordrecht, then Queenstown - Cathcart - Thomas River. Arrived late afternoon and orange tents were allocated as expected. The rest of the KZN team were there too, barring one who had a difference of opinion with a cow along the way. Luckily not too serious, but needed some treatment.
We settled in, and had dinner, riders briefing, it was good to catch up with old friends and meet some new ones. The place was alive and the boys were ready for a party....
The next morning, after a cold night for some, we were up early and had some coffee, got everything sorted for the ride, and left. I ended up finding Oz, and he decided to slow down to my pace for the rest of the trip. We mostly did our own thing, stopping for a pic wherever it looked good, and just enjoyed the routes. Really enjoyed the "small group" thing for a change. And we did not do anything crazy, took the technical parts easy. Oz is preparing for the Roof, and I had to fly out of the country on the Monday, so we had to play the risk game conservatively (like Coma ;D)
The lunch stops were great, well organized and pleasant. I am not going to write too much about the riding, well covered by the other threads.
Some famous faces....
Views from second riding day - I really liked the route, excellent riding! Just right for our bikes from a technical point of view - old Mervin did a great job here.
The normal entertainment back at the venue in the afternoon was good to be part of - some fumes, dust and noise which will not be seen at the Thomas River Eco Tourism facility every day.
Long jump
Barrel Racing
Slow race - note the local farmer, his feet wear the pegs away too fast. I asked him why he wear so many jackets, and he said it was cold.... :imaposer:
Technical track
Here our own captain from KZN showed that he is still a worthy captain.....
Some more evening entertainment followed, I did not have enough brandy to appreciate the speaker to the extent some of the others did, will work on that.... :
The next morning, I had to get to Pretoria, where I arranged to leave my bike for the month. Up and ready before most, hit the road at about 6.
Spent the month in Kenya, quite rural out where we were, but there are some DS riders too!
Helmets are optional....
Well blinged!
They sell those Chinese machines in the grocery stores at about R 6500 to R 7500.
These taxis go quite well, I liked this one! You sit on the back on a nice thick foam seat, and the rider paddles. Some of them are 1/3 of my weight, but they go.....
The local market, you can buy most things here - meat, fruit, veggies, vaseline, tobacco, tools, etc
Another type of taxi - faster but ratlles, very limited suspension....
I only arrived back a few days ago. I enjoyed reading all the stories from the last month, and thought I should at least contribute a bit too. The net in Kenya was a challenge, tried a few times where there was Internet, too frustratingly slow and unstable to do anything decent.
Tomorrow it is the launch of the new 450 BMW, going there with Roger to see what all the fuss is about. Cheers!
