THE ROAD TO HELL ..... and back (part 8 THE FINAL CHAPTER now up)

[subie]

Yeah man... It's a pity that it started to get so fast.. I believe that a lot is to be appreciated while we are out there. It can't be done at a fast rate.. Admittedly, I was a lot slower and this, combined with the frustration of knowing that I was slowing the pack down, made this part of the ride miserable for me.
I hope to go back to this beautiful place some day and explore it at a slower pace and with a decent camera.

Dit is hoekom ek meestal solo ry. Om vinniger as jou gemaksone te probeer ry is net n resep vir skade en seerkry.
Om saam met n groep te ry wat kort kort stop en te stadig ry is ook net n mors van my klein adventure riding budget.
As ek saam met ander ouens ry is my eerste vraag waar slaap ons vanaand? Dan n kort verduideliking om nie vir my te wag nie en ook nie van my te verwag om rond te hang en wag vir backmarkers nie. Ek hou daarvan om my skippie alleen te seil soos ek wil. Sien ons mekaar by oorslaap punte is dit great. Mis ons mekaar is ook oraait  O0

 

[HB 9]

:thumleft:  :thumleft:

 

[firecoast]

Bly om te sien van julle word van die ketting afgelaat elke nou en dan!  eepwall:

Mooi manne! Dit lyk na 'n uitputtende, maar lekker ride!

Gooi nog fotos!  :thumleft:

 

[Beserker]

Mis ons mekaar is ook oraait   O0

Tot jy omval en nie jou bike van jou been af kry nie    :deal:

 

[ChinaPete]

It's amazing how many people, me included, zip straight past this place to get to Nam. The riding on your entire route looks amazing.

 

[JustBendIt]

Yeah man... It's a pity that it started to get so fast.. I believe that a lot is to be appreciated while we are out there. It can't be done at a fast rate.. Admittedly, I was a lot slower and this, combined with the frustration of knowing that I was slowing the pack down, made this part of the ride miserable for me.
I hope to go back to this beautiful place some day and explore it at a slower pace and with a decent camera.

Dit is hoekom ek meestal solo ry. Om vinniger as jou gemaksone te probeer ry is net n resep vir skade en seerkry.
Om saam met n groep te ry wat kort kort stop en te stadig ry is ook net n mors van my klein adventure riding budget.
As ek saam met ander ouens ry is my eerste vraag waar slaap ons vanaand? Dan n kort verduideliking om nie vir my te wag nie en ook nie van my te verwag om rond te hang en wag vir backmarkers nie. Ek hou daarvan om my skippie alleen te seil soos ek wil. Sien ons mekaar by oorslaap punte is dit great. Mis ons mekaar is ook oraait   O0

I agree and disagree at the same time

When you are part of a group ride in such a remote area everybody has what I call a care of duty - You have a duty to be responsible and look after yourself, a duty to look after others and a duty to look after the group

4 out of 7 of us did not have a GPS and had never been there – had they get lost they would have been in big kak. You have to go to this area to appreciate what I am saying here – it really is so easy to get lost – there are no  real “roads’or signs or people or anything – there is just miles and miles of sand and rocks. The big danger is there is also no water unless you can get to the river (which is almost impossible for a lot of this trail) and it can get very hot here – before you know it you are dehydrated and disorientated and you start making mistakes which can be fatal

Riding in a group can be hugely rewarding and hugely frustrating – it helps if everyones is on the same “page” and egos are left at home

I would not be able to handle it very well if someone got lost, hurt or maybe even died because we were in a rush

 

[subie]

Mis ons mekaar is ook oraait   O0

Tot jy omval en nie jou bike van jou been af kry nie    :deal:

Ry al baie jare. Nooit veel gesteur aan bemarkings foefies nie en seker gemaak my bikes pas by my abilities en lack of talent. So kon altyd my bike afkry in die rare paar keer wat ek geval het. Ver uit in die boendoe ry ek soos iemand wat agter myself en bike kyk.
Daar is gewoonlik nie selfoon opvangs om gou gou vir mamma te roep om te kom haal nie :imaposer:
Al ry n mens in n groep sou ek se jy moet saamgaan met die mindset om heeltemal self reliant te wees en nie n las vir jou maats raak nie. As jy n swaar bus gekoop het moet nie met hom op terrein gaan ry wat jy nie kan hanteer met so n bielie nie.
Net my mindset en opinie oor groep adventure riding  :ricky:
Is mal oor julle RR  :thumleft:

 

[J-dog]

Do I detect that there was a bit of tension in the camp?  eepwall:

 

[JustBendIt]

Do I detect that there was a bit of tension in the camp?  eepwall:

Not at all.

An issue regarding navigation came up and was dealt with.

I think Rovrat and See Duiwel realised what was going on and that I knew where I was going and they accepted that.

I always try and convey to the reader the issues, thoughts and emotions of the moment to make for a better read - If I wrote "we went here, saw that, camped there" it would be quite boring

 

[Pom17]

sub

 

[katana]

:thumleft: sub  :thumleft:

 

[weskus]

....en ek wag nogsteeds vir die klippe-gedeelte, julle sal daar moet kom o fok julle raak al hoe minder... ot:

 

[Michiel]

A big thanks to Beserker for putting together a stunning ride. Thanks to all who rode.  :thumleft:

Dustdevil and I started our trip in Middelburg and since it was to be the way to go
we trailered HPN 540 and HPN 663 with my old DR500S in between. People thought
I was mad expecting my little 26 year old 1300cc Toyota Conquest to pull the load.  :imaposer:

She's got a 4 speed gearbox and although I had to shift down to third and second each time
we went up a hill we made it! 12 hours to drive 750km but we got there!!!
3 bikes, 2 people and lots of luggage. I call the car Auntie Martie after my aunt who had one
years ago.  ;D

I paid R 10 000 for the car and spent another R 10 000 to pimp 'er. No worries, there we go.

 

[Dustdevil]

 

[Michiel]

Meeting at Citrusdal early morning Friday.

Dustdevil packing his Giant Loop saddle bag.

Petrol availability was possibly going top be a problem so everyone filled up full where they could.
On the HPN's this meant we carried 47 litres of fuel! In the end it was not necessary but one never
knows.

 

[Kaboef]

4 out of 7 of us did not have a GPS and had never been there – had they get lost they would have been in big kak. You have to go to this area to appreciate what I am saying here – it really is so easy to get lost – there are no  real “roads’or signs or people or anything – there is just miles and miles of sand and rocks.

We got lost there once, and it scared the shit out of me.
Loaded-up 1150GSA with wife on the back.
Luckystriker's GPS didn't have the tracks and we ended up riding in aimless circles for hours.
Luckily Butch's GPS (which we thought was broken) miraculously started up, and he happened to have the tracks - and so we saw we were hopelessly lost.
It took us another couple of hours of sweat, blood, guts and falls to get back to Springbok (your try riding a 300+kg bike with pillion in 2-track Kalahari sand, for 200kms in 35deg heat and tell me it's not the worst thing you've ever done)

If you get lost there, or have a breakdown there without ample water, you are fucked.


Excellent report! Please continue!!

 

[Michiel]

By the time we reached the coast it was already clear that we would not be able to
make the schedule. R-O-V-Rat discovered a problem on his bike and the sand riding
was proving to be more difficult than anticipated.

See how the fan melted on the exhaust.

Other bikes performed flawlessly.

 

[Michiel]

Some vegetation.

While we waited for R-O-V-Rat to do the necessary mods Dusty gave Heddles some sand riding lessons.

 

[Dustdevil]

Agteros kom ook in die kraal het my ma altyd gese  

Hier volg my report van die eerste paar dae.

Die manne;

Powerflo Justin

Rov Rat

Nismark

See Duiwel

Heddles

Michiel

Dust Devil

 

[Michiel]

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