unishaun
Race Dog
When going through the media, reading any write ups and watching the videos of previous Honda Quests, you see and hear terms such as the ultimate or true adventure. On the face of it, the Honda Quest seems to be a 10 day adventure riding competition between 14 participants, riding for the title of Quest winners and the keys to an Africa Twin. I kept this in mind when entering, but I had this nagging feeling that this is in no way a “True Adventure”, boy was I wrong.
We all have a differing idea or definition as to what constitutes an adventure. For me, an adventure is venturing off the beaten track, being as self sufficient as possible with no hard and fast plans to live by. That element of the unknown is what stirs anxiety and excitement in me all at the same time. However, for some people an adventure is riding their motorcycle around the Cederberg, moving from one B&B to another. Now not to say that either is right or wrong, but I was hoping more for the former when I was, to my surprise, selected as one of the top 14 to compete in the Honda Quest.
So began the adventure on the 1st Nov with our ride out to Springbok, where we would then be assigned our team mate for the next 9 days. I would be lying if I said I was not initially disappointed when the “proper” riding began on day 2. The routes were remote and technical, but we always had a backup vehicle nearby with a full complement of tools, some extra water and a helping hand. It seemed as if this would not be my true adventure. My worries were not aided by the fact that when we reached camp, the Specialised Adventures team already had dinner under way and greeted us with cut watermelon. I was feeling a little underwhelmed by my adventure. Don’t get me wrong, the Africa Twins were astounding, the views stunning and the routes challenging, but it did not feel all that “out there”. The support and backup was there to stay and would follow us the remainder of the 8 days of Honda Quest, I thought I may as well enjoy the ride.
Other than riding the Africa Twin, a few activities were thrown into the mix. After all this is a competition based not only on riding ability, but on things such as spirit, teamwork, character and comradery. Some boere sports, speeches given on assigned topics, map reading and navigation were all part if it, adding another dimension to this adventure. Again, I could not yet see or get a feeling for True Adventure, but things began to change for me by day four.
We were told prior to the Quest to bring four stones from around our houses, and just after being assigned our teammates, we were told that these stones would represent someone in our lives, past or present. We could place them anywhere along the route we deemed fit and take a stone in return to remind us of this place and the person it represents. I did not realise it at the time then, but this was the beginning of my True Adventure. So on day four, as a collective we were led to a little opening in the Richterveld covered in stone cairns. These cairns had been built by travellers’ past, each representing different lives, personal journeys and stories. This place had an airy yet spiritual feel about it. Here we were asked as one big group to make a structure of our own, bringing our individual stories together, and as a group we decided to each give a stone to this structure. A large spire was built, after which us 14 contestants huddled together, placing our significant stones in or on the spire and shared a moment of silence. This is where the True Adventure really began for me.
From this point onwards the bonds between not only teammates, but also other contestants grew stronger. It became lass about the competition, and more about getting to know not only ourselves but our fellow competitors. There were some tough and technical rides to complete, but with this newly found comradery, any task seemed far easier to realise. No task was insurmountable knowing you had not only your teammate (and my teammate, I will say with the upmost bias, was the best), but also the backing of every other contestant. You need to remember that if any team were to fall out, it would just improve the chances of the other contestants at winning an Africa Twin, however that was never an option. It was unspoken, yet universally accepted that we would all make it through to the end. An added activity if you will, that was added to the competition, was to look within and outwardly, as if we were almost forced to look on with more empathy. A spiritual and emotional Adventure.
My True Adventure.
If you are looking for a day-to-day ride report, detailed description of the routes, sights seen and town visited, there is some great video footage posted on YouTube and awesome write ups on the Honda Quest Facebook page. This little rabble is about a different kind of adventure that I did not expect, but sure as hell needed. That for me is the True Adventure of the Honda Quest.
Thanks to all involved, but specifically:
Danie De Kock (The best Quest teammate)
Honda SA (You let me ride an awesome machine in stunning places for 10 days)
Specialised Adventures (For running a smooth and tight ship)
The other contestants (I have made 13 new friends)
Sent from my BV6600 using Tapatalk
We all have a differing idea or definition as to what constitutes an adventure. For me, an adventure is venturing off the beaten track, being as self sufficient as possible with no hard and fast plans to live by. That element of the unknown is what stirs anxiety and excitement in me all at the same time. However, for some people an adventure is riding their motorcycle around the Cederberg, moving from one B&B to another. Now not to say that either is right or wrong, but I was hoping more for the former when I was, to my surprise, selected as one of the top 14 to compete in the Honda Quest.
So began the adventure on the 1st Nov with our ride out to Springbok, where we would then be assigned our team mate for the next 9 days. I would be lying if I said I was not initially disappointed when the “proper” riding began on day 2. The routes were remote and technical, but we always had a backup vehicle nearby with a full complement of tools, some extra water and a helping hand. It seemed as if this would not be my true adventure. My worries were not aided by the fact that when we reached camp, the Specialised Adventures team already had dinner under way and greeted us with cut watermelon. I was feeling a little underwhelmed by my adventure. Don’t get me wrong, the Africa Twins were astounding, the views stunning and the routes challenging, but it did not feel all that “out there”. The support and backup was there to stay and would follow us the remainder of the 8 days of Honda Quest, I thought I may as well enjoy the ride.
Other than riding the Africa Twin, a few activities were thrown into the mix. After all this is a competition based not only on riding ability, but on things such as spirit, teamwork, character and comradery. Some boere sports, speeches given on assigned topics, map reading and navigation were all part if it, adding another dimension to this adventure. Again, I could not yet see or get a feeling for True Adventure, but things began to change for me by day four.
We were told prior to the Quest to bring four stones from around our houses, and just after being assigned our teammates, we were told that these stones would represent someone in our lives, past or present. We could place them anywhere along the route we deemed fit and take a stone in return to remind us of this place and the person it represents. I did not realise it at the time then, but this was the beginning of my True Adventure. So on day four, as a collective we were led to a little opening in the Richterveld covered in stone cairns. These cairns had been built by travellers’ past, each representing different lives, personal journeys and stories. This place had an airy yet spiritual feel about it. Here we were asked as one big group to make a structure of our own, bringing our individual stories together, and as a group we decided to each give a stone to this structure. A large spire was built, after which us 14 contestants huddled together, placing our significant stones in or on the spire and shared a moment of silence. This is where the True Adventure really began for me.
From this point onwards the bonds between not only teammates, but also other contestants grew stronger. It became lass about the competition, and more about getting to know not only ourselves but our fellow competitors. There were some tough and technical rides to complete, but with this newly found comradery, any task seemed far easier to realise. No task was insurmountable knowing you had not only your teammate (and my teammate, I will say with the upmost bias, was the best), but also the backing of every other contestant. You need to remember that if any team were to fall out, it would just improve the chances of the other contestants at winning an Africa Twin, however that was never an option. It was unspoken, yet universally accepted that we would all make it through to the end. An added activity if you will, that was added to the competition, was to look within and outwardly, as if we were almost forced to look on with more empathy. A spiritual and emotional Adventure.
My True Adventure.
If you are looking for a day-to-day ride report, detailed description of the routes, sights seen and town visited, there is some great video footage posted on YouTube and awesome write ups on the Honda Quest Facebook page. This little rabble is about a different kind of adventure that I did not expect, but sure as hell needed. That for me is the True Adventure of the Honda Quest.
Thanks to all involved, but specifically:
Danie De Kock (The best Quest teammate)
Honda SA (You let me ride an awesome machine in stunning places for 10 days)
Specialised Adventures (For running a smooth and tight ship)
The other contestants (I have made 13 new friends)
Sent from my BV6600 using Tapatalk
