tyrebraaier
Pack Dog
I have steered clear of Andrew's more scientific approach to the quest write-up. I started and just kept writing. I am a Project Manager for WSP Global so in Wilddog terms a desk jockey. I went on an amazing journey - Quest. Here’s my story.
I work in a highly stressful environment with the PFMA constantly hanging over my head and the learned oversight of parastatal assurance committees constantly questioning my judgement. Being outside of my comfort zone and dealing with difficult people is part of my dayjob. I will therefore admit that I underestimated the unforgiving terrain of the Kaokoland and how much mental endurance it took to get through Quest in one piece.
Suffice it to say – Quest was an amazing experience. Life altering, maybe even life punctuating. I still ponder the words to meaningfully express the magnitude of my experience.
I was quite excited when I was chosen for bootcamp and will always remember exactly where I was when I got the call from Hardy to say: “You’re in” that Monday after bootcamp.
I certainly would have liked to win but I got so much more out of the whole expedition. I am a staunch advocate of doing meaningful things with your life; or at least trying. Quest gave me a profound sense of appreciation of how privileged I really am. The clarity to just take a step back, take it easy, say kind things, appreciate insignificant things and appreciate my family.
I have quite literally never been hungry in my life. Simply because of the substantially increased physical output and moderate intake of food this was the first time in my life I actually hungry. Not after a cycle race, ons gaan nou braai hungry but truly hungry. In fairness the food provided was enough and of a very good quality considering where we went. I am just used to eating more which is why, as part of my journey, I have learnt to appreciate a plate of food. Not just thank you, amen, eat but to really be thankful for how blessed we are and how much we really have in comparison to others.
Whenever we stopped somewhere in the middle of nowhere; suddenly a Himba child shows up. Two minutes later a few mothers with babies and after the usual few minutes unceremonious reciprocated gawking the commander in chief of that specific piece of nothingness arrives. The locals survive with the absolute bare minimum. Like my teammate said – no one will last even a week with them.
I had the privilege of being paired with, of which the consensus was unanimous, the most colourful character of the expedition. Normally known as Johannes Haasbroek , Director of the EHRA Trust but in official capacity he is known as the “Protector of the virtues of the critical ***** parade, both comedian and philosopher in equal measure, conservationist, biologist, geologist, horticulturalist, politician and honorary doctor of gynaecology. The Elephant man, the Boesman of the Damaraland, Yourhighness von Haaaasebroek” He is indeed a colourful character full of wisdom and life experience. I am privileged to call Johannes my friend. Johannes’s selfless dedication is humbling. He simply doesn’t give up his fight for a noble cause.
Check out the link www.desertelephant.org/
Another significant lesson I learned is when I stuffed up the tyre change – Johannes was very calm about it, despite asking me if I knew what to do. We were dead last. Afterwards I thought this was going to create some friction but to my amazement he was completely cool about it. It was a competition after all. When I apologised Johannes was quick with kind words: “Mounie warry nie bra, ons sit dit agter ons en beur vorentoe. Twee weke is lank, hier gaan nog baie gebeur” I will never forget the kindness he showed me when I didn’t deserve it. This type of tolerance is the testimony of emotional intelligence and a kind heart. I was humbled by his reaction and vowed to practice such restraint in my personal life as well.
I like to be prepared, know the objective, quantify the risks make contingency plans. Use only kit that is tried & tested, personal care, medical supplies, and clothing. I now know why Cape Union Mart has a lot of money in the group – the Quest contestants put it there
Essentials for me in terms of packing:
• Ultra heavy duty kit/duffle bag – I used Quechua 100L (the bag you won at the golf day won’t work)
• Clothing – light and quick dry. Light colours are cooler. I always take a down jacket and rain jacket and pants, old pair of jeans flip flops and tekkies on any trip. Even in summer / dry season. It depressing to eat your dinner in the dirty adventure jacket because the wind is blowing or put on wet clothes in the morning because of a 10 minute thunderstorm the previous day
• Blow up pillows are k@k – never again. Real pillow for me, even half a one.
• My medical kit was too big – I used only tape for my hands and anti –inflammatory tablets – obviously if there is no doctor on your trip take more stuff
• GSI outdoor makes a good coffee plunger and mugs – I can bear witness to their quality as Johannes brought what I can only describe as a 74kg bag of good coffee.
• My tyre levers weren’t right. I gave them to a guy at Epupa. Check out what works for others – I am buying motion pro. Also throw in a rubber hammer (conveniently placed artefact as John described it)
• I used a lot of foot powder and fresh socks every day – it worked a treat.
• Ballistic kit and jersey works better in convoy setup. Constant stopping kills you in an armoured adventure jacket.
• Take spices, tabasco, biltong, earplugs, small funnel, wet wipes, 10m nylon rope 4 mm & 1mm and beeswax ointment (or lanolin if the mrs is breastfeeding) – these small things made a big difference to my trip.
I hate rocks and try to avoid them at all cost. The sight of a protruding femur is one that I don’t want to see again and it wasn’t even mine. I don’t do rocks. I found myself quite nervous; maybe anxious is a more apt description in the rocks of which there was a sh1tload of to contend with. There was certainly a lot of good guidance and advice that ultimately helped me get through the more technical sections but for an office dweller like me it was daunting at best. Before quest I thought the ring between Hermanus, Bredasdorp, McGregor and Caledon was a solid adventure. The DCT however made a definite difference in my ability to descent the most difficult rock sections.
I distinctly remember Francois putting his hand up, firmly, but not in your face down the hairiest part of Van Zyl’s pass. “Stop, kyk vir my! Relax – ons het jou. Ek is jou toergids van hier af. Jy is in beheer, kry jou balans, lekker hard opi brieke ons keer net, ONS HET JOU!!” A few well timed kind words of reassurance and encouragement goes a long way. I will certainly be more conscious of this in my personal life as well.
In Purros we had some compulsory alone time overlooking the most spectacular desert vista, one that I will certainly remember for years to come. It found myself quite emotional missing my family, knowing the expedition is drawing to a close and realising where I’ve ridden the bike over the past 10 days. I wrote my wife and kids’ names in the sand in big 1X2 meter letters and made circle around it with the bike. I said a prayer for them and then just stared into the distance thinking about a great many things. That hour felt truly significant, it had meaning to me.
The sand is where I was comfortable; from my days in the Kalahari with a TW200 to the Empty Quarter where I lived for three years. The riverbeds and crossings were fun, I also had a perverse sense of relief when I witnessed the carnage in the sand – I was certainly not the only one that was challenged beyond their comfort zone. Myself and Johannes rode through the sand like rockstars on the latter part of the trip. The learning curve on the subject of dust gaps in sand is however a steep one so beware. The penultimate day across the dunes to Branberg camp was the most memorable day of riding of the whole expedition for me.
It is there where I also heard the saying I will remember most from the expedition, and believe me crafty chirps were not in short supply. Afirkaans can best articulate our exchanges in this specific instance so here goes:
(on the sand after a long morning of chaos & destruction with only 35km to go over the most difficult sand of the expedition – unbeknownst to the majority of the contestants)
Gerrit: “Hoe ver is dit nog Johannes?” (after waiting for 30 min for the convoy to catch up)
Johannes: “Dis nie lank in afstand nie maar dis vêr in bloed. Jy sal sien!”
Needless to say it was far in blood, literally. To crown it all we had yet another puncture 10km before camp. It was indeed a long day but so much fun, so many memories.
Your body takes a lot of hammering and that’s without falling off. I was physically prepared. Say 6.5-7 out of 10. With 10 being a fitness instructor/ personal trainer, 9 being a permanent military type PSD or similar, 8 being a weekend warrior triathlete of sorts that works as an accountant etc. etc. and I still took a lot of strain. The fitter and physically stronger you are the better. Riding fit.
I stuck plasters in my hands as I knew my delicate office dwelling hands would take a beating so from day 3 I taped my hands rally style every day. The novelty wears off quickly but after a week you are happy that you started early and you don’t really care about the semi-permanent grey band of grit around your hands anymore. They are working and that’s all that matters. I also took anti-inflammatory tablets at least 5 nights over the last week. We dubbed it “preventative maintenance” and it works. We slept like babies after we double-dropped at Brandberg camp.
I knew the tools I packed would do the job. Unfortunately the convoy does not have my normal two hours to change a tyre. Ring spanners are the way to go and valve pullers will make excellent Christmas presents for the adventurers in your family. The right tyre levers (3) are of critical importance and a “grondseiltjie” and a “potjie Vaseline” goes a long way. I have also learnt that a shifting spanner is called a “h@erspanner” – when I enquired about the etymology of this colourful description the reply can be best described as concise. It was as simple as: “Want dis ‘n kak ding – kry vir jou ringspanners”
Riding different bikes every day messed with my head, I like consistency and think that it would have been better for me personally to just ride one bike all the way. I nevertheless tasted what the DCT can do and I am very impressed. For the riding I normally do and will do in future – straight gravel and clean(ish) sand much less technical than the Kaokoveld I still prefer the manual.
Insofar as the DCT versus manual goes I and thoroughly convinced that the DCT is an amazing piece of engineering BUT found myself shifting my weight to get 2nd and reached for the clutch in moments of terror. I have been riding manual bikes literally for most of my life so I am a creature of habit and prefer the manual. I will however acknowledge that the DCT easily went through some stuff in the riverbed where I had to suddenly change direction where I would have stalled a manual. I had a few very specific “a-ha!! moments where I realised the DCT is better than the manual in some seriously technical sections. Up Joubert’s pass I had the manual which I stopped for obvious fear of my life, I was in 3rd and was starting to go just a little too fast. I was all over the place and stopped. The pullaway on a DCT would have been easier there. The 2nd gear pullaway thing for sand can apparently be fixed with software so overall there is quite literally just overwhelmingly positive reviews of the DCT. The really technical rocky sections is where the DCT has proven, beyond all doubt, it superiority in application.
It is basically anywhere from 60 to 80k adrift from the other big ponies. They simply cannot do more than the Africa Twin. The Africa Twin has sufficient electronic aids (I prefer only ABS) and yes heated grips, cruise control etc. came up in many a conversation but it’s not the end of the world. Honda has made a beast, a capable beast that can idle up a mountain in 2nd or do 170+ on open sand. If the mix of riders on the expedition could not break the bikes with the level of punishment they were subjected to – they won’t break.
Specialized Adventures undertook a behemoth task to put this expedition together. Well done to Hardy & crew for doing it successfully. The logistical coordination, forward planning and crisis management was of a world-class standard.
To Honda – thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be part of something meaningful, something special. A journey that can reduce a man to tears is indeed a significant one. A Quest.
Barend – om bloed kant te sit , een verdieping op teen van Zyl’s af in daai Iveco het guts gevat. EK sal Quest onthou vir die res van my lewe – dankie!!
Lastly some snippets of wisdom from our winners – eet mensvleis, dis goed vir jou en sien julle op die grondpaaie!
I work in a highly stressful environment with the PFMA constantly hanging over my head and the learned oversight of parastatal assurance committees constantly questioning my judgement. Being outside of my comfort zone and dealing with difficult people is part of my dayjob. I will therefore admit that I underestimated the unforgiving terrain of the Kaokoland and how much mental endurance it took to get through Quest in one piece.
Suffice it to say – Quest was an amazing experience. Life altering, maybe even life punctuating. I still ponder the words to meaningfully express the magnitude of my experience.
I was quite excited when I was chosen for bootcamp and will always remember exactly where I was when I got the call from Hardy to say: “You’re in” that Monday after bootcamp.
I certainly would have liked to win but I got so much more out of the whole expedition. I am a staunch advocate of doing meaningful things with your life; or at least trying. Quest gave me a profound sense of appreciation of how privileged I really am. The clarity to just take a step back, take it easy, say kind things, appreciate insignificant things and appreciate my family.
I have quite literally never been hungry in my life. Simply because of the substantially increased physical output and moderate intake of food this was the first time in my life I actually hungry. Not after a cycle race, ons gaan nou braai hungry but truly hungry. In fairness the food provided was enough and of a very good quality considering where we went. I am just used to eating more which is why, as part of my journey, I have learnt to appreciate a plate of food. Not just thank you, amen, eat but to really be thankful for how blessed we are and how much we really have in comparison to others.
Whenever we stopped somewhere in the middle of nowhere; suddenly a Himba child shows up. Two minutes later a few mothers with babies and after the usual few minutes unceremonious reciprocated gawking the commander in chief of that specific piece of nothingness arrives. The locals survive with the absolute bare minimum. Like my teammate said – no one will last even a week with them.
I had the privilege of being paired with, of which the consensus was unanimous, the most colourful character of the expedition. Normally known as Johannes Haasbroek , Director of the EHRA Trust but in official capacity he is known as the “Protector of the virtues of the critical ***** parade, both comedian and philosopher in equal measure, conservationist, biologist, geologist, horticulturalist, politician and honorary doctor of gynaecology. The Elephant man, the Boesman of the Damaraland, Yourhighness von Haaaasebroek” He is indeed a colourful character full of wisdom and life experience. I am privileged to call Johannes my friend. Johannes’s selfless dedication is humbling. He simply doesn’t give up his fight for a noble cause.
Check out the link www.desertelephant.org/
Another significant lesson I learned is when I stuffed up the tyre change – Johannes was very calm about it, despite asking me if I knew what to do. We were dead last. Afterwards I thought this was going to create some friction but to my amazement he was completely cool about it. It was a competition after all. When I apologised Johannes was quick with kind words: “Mounie warry nie bra, ons sit dit agter ons en beur vorentoe. Twee weke is lank, hier gaan nog baie gebeur” I will never forget the kindness he showed me when I didn’t deserve it. This type of tolerance is the testimony of emotional intelligence and a kind heart. I was humbled by his reaction and vowed to practice such restraint in my personal life as well.
I like to be prepared, know the objective, quantify the risks make contingency plans. Use only kit that is tried & tested, personal care, medical supplies, and clothing. I now know why Cape Union Mart has a lot of money in the group – the Quest contestants put it there
Essentials for me in terms of packing:
• Ultra heavy duty kit/duffle bag – I used Quechua 100L (the bag you won at the golf day won’t work)
• Clothing – light and quick dry. Light colours are cooler. I always take a down jacket and rain jacket and pants, old pair of jeans flip flops and tekkies on any trip. Even in summer / dry season. It depressing to eat your dinner in the dirty adventure jacket because the wind is blowing or put on wet clothes in the morning because of a 10 minute thunderstorm the previous day
• Blow up pillows are k@k – never again. Real pillow for me, even half a one.
• My medical kit was too big – I used only tape for my hands and anti –inflammatory tablets – obviously if there is no doctor on your trip take more stuff
• GSI outdoor makes a good coffee plunger and mugs – I can bear witness to their quality as Johannes brought what I can only describe as a 74kg bag of good coffee.
• My tyre levers weren’t right. I gave them to a guy at Epupa. Check out what works for others – I am buying motion pro. Also throw in a rubber hammer (conveniently placed artefact as John described it)
• I used a lot of foot powder and fresh socks every day – it worked a treat.
• Ballistic kit and jersey works better in convoy setup. Constant stopping kills you in an armoured adventure jacket.
• Take spices, tabasco, biltong, earplugs, small funnel, wet wipes, 10m nylon rope 4 mm & 1mm and beeswax ointment (or lanolin if the mrs is breastfeeding) – these small things made a big difference to my trip.
I hate rocks and try to avoid them at all cost. The sight of a protruding femur is one that I don’t want to see again and it wasn’t even mine. I don’t do rocks. I found myself quite nervous; maybe anxious is a more apt description in the rocks of which there was a sh1tload of to contend with. There was certainly a lot of good guidance and advice that ultimately helped me get through the more technical sections but for an office dweller like me it was daunting at best. Before quest I thought the ring between Hermanus, Bredasdorp, McGregor and Caledon was a solid adventure. The DCT however made a definite difference in my ability to descent the most difficult rock sections.
I distinctly remember Francois putting his hand up, firmly, but not in your face down the hairiest part of Van Zyl’s pass. “Stop, kyk vir my! Relax – ons het jou. Ek is jou toergids van hier af. Jy is in beheer, kry jou balans, lekker hard opi brieke ons keer net, ONS HET JOU!!” A few well timed kind words of reassurance and encouragement goes a long way. I will certainly be more conscious of this in my personal life as well.
In Purros we had some compulsory alone time overlooking the most spectacular desert vista, one that I will certainly remember for years to come. It found myself quite emotional missing my family, knowing the expedition is drawing to a close and realising where I’ve ridden the bike over the past 10 days. I wrote my wife and kids’ names in the sand in big 1X2 meter letters and made circle around it with the bike. I said a prayer for them and then just stared into the distance thinking about a great many things. That hour felt truly significant, it had meaning to me.
The sand is where I was comfortable; from my days in the Kalahari with a TW200 to the Empty Quarter where I lived for three years. The riverbeds and crossings were fun, I also had a perverse sense of relief when I witnessed the carnage in the sand – I was certainly not the only one that was challenged beyond their comfort zone. Myself and Johannes rode through the sand like rockstars on the latter part of the trip. The learning curve on the subject of dust gaps in sand is however a steep one so beware. The penultimate day across the dunes to Branberg camp was the most memorable day of riding of the whole expedition for me.
It is there where I also heard the saying I will remember most from the expedition, and believe me crafty chirps were not in short supply. Afirkaans can best articulate our exchanges in this specific instance so here goes:
(on the sand after a long morning of chaos & destruction with only 35km to go over the most difficult sand of the expedition – unbeknownst to the majority of the contestants)
Gerrit: “Hoe ver is dit nog Johannes?” (after waiting for 30 min for the convoy to catch up)
Johannes: “Dis nie lank in afstand nie maar dis vêr in bloed. Jy sal sien!”
Needless to say it was far in blood, literally. To crown it all we had yet another puncture 10km before camp. It was indeed a long day but so much fun, so many memories.
Your body takes a lot of hammering and that’s without falling off. I was physically prepared. Say 6.5-7 out of 10. With 10 being a fitness instructor/ personal trainer, 9 being a permanent military type PSD or similar, 8 being a weekend warrior triathlete of sorts that works as an accountant etc. etc. and I still took a lot of strain. The fitter and physically stronger you are the better. Riding fit.
I stuck plasters in my hands as I knew my delicate office dwelling hands would take a beating so from day 3 I taped my hands rally style every day. The novelty wears off quickly but after a week you are happy that you started early and you don’t really care about the semi-permanent grey band of grit around your hands anymore. They are working and that’s all that matters. I also took anti-inflammatory tablets at least 5 nights over the last week. We dubbed it “preventative maintenance” and it works. We slept like babies after we double-dropped at Brandberg camp.
I knew the tools I packed would do the job. Unfortunately the convoy does not have my normal two hours to change a tyre. Ring spanners are the way to go and valve pullers will make excellent Christmas presents for the adventurers in your family. The right tyre levers (3) are of critical importance and a “grondseiltjie” and a “potjie Vaseline” goes a long way. I have also learnt that a shifting spanner is called a “h@erspanner” – when I enquired about the etymology of this colourful description the reply can be best described as concise. It was as simple as: “Want dis ‘n kak ding – kry vir jou ringspanners”
Riding different bikes every day messed with my head, I like consistency and think that it would have been better for me personally to just ride one bike all the way. I nevertheless tasted what the DCT can do and I am very impressed. For the riding I normally do and will do in future – straight gravel and clean(ish) sand much less technical than the Kaokoveld I still prefer the manual.
Insofar as the DCT versus manual goes I and thoroughly convinced that the DCT is an amazing piece of engineering BUT found myself shifting my weight to get 2nd and reached for the clutch in moments of terror. I have been riding manual bikes literally for most of my life so I am a creature of habit and prefer the manual. I will however acknowledge that the DCT easily went through some stuff in the riverbed where I had to suddenly change direction where I would have stalled a manual. I had a few very specific “a-ha!! moments where I realised the DCT is better than the manual in some seriously technical sections. Up Joubert’s pass I had the manual which I stopped for obvious fear of my life, I was in 3rd and was starting to go just a little too fast. I was all over the place and stopped. The pullaway on a DCT would have been easier there. The 2nd gear pullaway thing for sand can apparently be fixed with software so overall there is quite literally just overwhelmingly positive reviews of the DCT. The really technical rocky sections is where the DCT has proven, beyond all doubt, it superiority in application.
It is basically anywhere from 60 to 80k adrift from the other big ponies. They simply cannot do more than the Africa Twin. The Africa Twin has sufficient electronic aids (I prefer only ABS) and yes heated grips, cruise control etc. came up in many a conversation but it’s not the end of the world. Honda has made a beast, a capable beast that can idle up a mountain in 2nd or do 170+ on open sand. If the mix of riders on the expedition could not break the bikes with the level of punishment they were subjected to – they won’t break.
Specialized Adventures undertook a behemoth task to put this expedition together. Well done to Hardy & crew for doing it successfully. The logistical coordination, forward planning and crisis management was of a world-class standard.
To Honda – thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be part of something meaningful, something special. A journey that can reduce a man to tears is indeed a significant one. A Quest.
Barend – om bloed kant te sit , een verdieping op teen van Zyl’s af in daai Iveco het guts gevat. EK sal Quest onthou vir die res van my lewe – dankie!!
Lastly some snippets of wisdom from our winners – eet mensvleis, dis goed vir jou en sien julle op die grondpaaie!
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