Trailriderâ??s tour to Hogsback â?? The 2007 WD Bash!!! Complete report

[Trailrider]

Day 0:

The planning has been done, the supplies have been bought, the bike has been modified.

Excitement is of the charts!

The weather report seems OK. SCP and I will be leaving in fair weather on Wednesday 6/11/2007.

The planned route has changed a couple of times with the final change being that we wonâ??t do the Baviaanskloof on the way to Hogsback, but rather on the return route. Reason being that a Karoo farm came on the market and I need to swing by there to have a look. Iâ??ve always wanted a Karoo farm! ;D

This is the planned route:
(Red route to Hogsback, Blue route back home)

We plan on taking it easy and really taking the scenery in. Easy riding and LOTS of photo stops. We have a rough route planned, but no accommodation is booked. Weâ??ll see where we end up and sleep there â?? even in the veld if need be (I kinda hope this happens at least once). Weâ??ve got 7 days set out for this trip and we plan to be home on Tuesday (evening) 13/11/2007.

While on the road Iâ??ll send messages to Eisbein and heâ??ll update you guys on our progress.

 

[letsgofishing]

Bloody typical - first one to get a ride report in and you haven't even left yet! 

 

[Watty]

Voorspoed en veilig ry!  Sien julle ongeveer 10:00 vm op Vrydag 9 November by waypoint B3 (32° 45' 38.3" S  25° 37' 55.3" E)

 

[Red]

Ride safely TR. 

The bike and your bags look awesome.  Lots and lots of pics, please!!

 

[Kev]

Bloody typical - first one to get a ride report in and you haven't even left yet! 

Ha ha... excellent! You have to admit, the man does have style! :thumleft:

Looking forward to this thread developing...

 

[Geoff]

Why you always bring the wet weather ? ;D

 

[Uiltjie]

Ek moet bieg, RESPECT!

Dis 'n laaaang pad op 'n 200!

En....uhhh....moenie die WDs se oordromme "BASH" nie! :director:

 

[pierredb]

Looks great. See you there!

 

[Ektoknbike]

Opstaan, opstaan. Daai bike wag. ;D ;D ;D

 

[Trailrider]

Jislaaik Ektoknbike - het jy melk beeste?  ;D

Cheers guys!

See you there!

 

[BigEd]

TR, swaai maar die WP vlag namens ons plebs wat moet werk... 8)

 

[Operator]

..............and Trailrider has hit the road. 


The question is how long before the first report comes in....?

 

[KiLRoy]

TR - daars 'n moerse lekka paaitjie so 30km oos van Willowmore (Addo pad) noordwaarts naby Waterford in die algemene rigting van Cradock via Jansenville (die suidelike gedeelte kronkel seker 30 keer oor droe (of nat) rivierloop (idiaal vir sommer oorslaap of braai langs pad) en die noordelike gedeelte gaan oor 'n moerse nice pas Cradock toe - sal kyk of ek gps koordinate kan kry.

Kan dit sterk aanbeveel

H

 

[Operator]

TR - daars 'n moerse lekka paaitjie so 30km oos van Willowmore (Addo pad) noordwaarts naby Waterford in die algemene rigting van Cradock via Jansenville (die suidelike gedeelte kronkel seker 30 keer oor droe (of nat) rivierloop (idiaal vir sommer oorslaap of braai langs pad) en die noordelike gedeelte gaan oor 'n moerse nice pas Cradock toe - sal kyk of ek gps koordinate kan kry.

Kan dit sterk aanbeveel

H

H

Ek dink dis te laat.  TR sou vanoggend baie vroeg alreeds padgevat het deur die Baviaans en-route na Hogsback.

 

[Eisbein]

1st Update from TR.

He is in the great Karoo - awesome day.
Him and SnapCracklePop is enjoying the ride.
Also says the new made luggage works like a charm.
Stiff enough with almost no movement.

Crappy cellphone photo (he left his regular phone with Mrs TR for taking care of business while he's away).

 

[Eisbein]

10 k's from Jansenville SnapCracklePop (henceforth referred to as SCP)'s bike acquired a 'fast slow puncture'.

TR went ahead to try and get some extra tyre foam or to try and make another plan.

They are still aiming for Somerset East for tonight but might need to settle for Jansenville.

Other than that the bikes (TR's CTX200 and SCP's NXR 125) is going great.

 

[Zonkelnut]

Ja, Trailie, get there save bro.

 

[Eisbein]

TR, swaai maar die WP vlag namens ons plebs wat moet werk... 8)

Hahaha!

Funny thing is - he is sitting in Jansenville in a Bluebulls bar with a bulls supporter while Steve is blaring on the system and he is actually enjoying himself!



Turned out the NXR's valve tore where it attached to the tube and needed replacing.

After a lot of organising they got that sorted. Now they are camoing in the backyard of 'Oom Attie se winkel' ...

 

[Eisbein]

Next update:

TR and SCP is one day ahead of schedule.
The Karoo roads made them able to make up serious time and cover lots of distance.

They are having lunch in Cookhouse at the moment and then they will head for Hogsback.

They are going to miss out on riding with the pack from P.E. though, but they are totally enjoying the ride so far.

Intersting thing about his bike and the panniers - the custom luggage is really behaving well. He says its so much better than what he used before. I say it should blerriewell be like that as he had it custom made! ;D ;P

There was a question about the extra weight that would be added to the front due to the fuel that's being carried on the front carrier.
I've ridden TR's bike quite often and his bike gets a 'nervous twitch' when it gets closer to 100km/h - not bad but it can catch a unsuspecting rider by surprise and give you a proper 'oh shit' moment.
I (and TR) finds it quite entertaining to induce it though, so its not bad at all. I think its due to the rake of the front forks.
Anyway - back to the point: TR says that the 5 liters of fuel that's on top of his handelbars makes the bike waay more stable.

 

[Uiltjie]

TR says that the 5 liters of fuel that's on top of his handelbars makes the bike waay more stable.

??? ??? Doesn't make sense, but if he likes it...... ??? ???