Lesotho Adventure Snow Run
Lesotho would probably not be the most suitable venue to 'ease my way back into riding', at least not on an enduro bike anyway; so we piggy-backed an adventure bike tour onto our "Snow Run" and it turned out to be one of the most fantastic week-ends of riding I can remember. Why we haven't done this before is beyond me, but we will definitely be offering adventure biking with future offroad tours in Lesotho, Swaziland, QwaQwa and wherever else we go. Of course it was wonderful to be riding again and the group who joined us just made it truly special. Morag Campbell, a lady rider with incredible courage and character, came along on her XT 660 and must surely be the only lady rider to ever ride down a pass like Jockstrap. And she was not the only first - Charles Monteno (BMW 1200 GS Adventure) and Keith Fuller (BMW 1200 GS) took their behemoths down Jockstrap too, Charles sporting Michelin Anakee tyres to boot! Never mind Jockstrap Pass - the sand road to Semonkeng was as slippery and snotty as an enduro in KZN and they all coped brilliantly. My impressions - RESPECT! Read more…
Baviaans Beats The Blues And Going To Hell
Let's get one thing clear. This was not a 'Bucket List' ride. It is a ride that I have wanted to do for years and something that every Adventure biker has to do but it's also a ride that we should all do once a year. This is the antidote for all the negative, for all the naysayers and for the newspaper articles that cause doubt and 'fight or flight' (mainly flight, it would seem) in us. The plan was to take off two days and a weekend and cram in as much dirt road riding and passes as we possibly could. A friend from George is an expert on these routes (check him out at http://trailriderreports.blogspot.com /2009/01/home.html shameless punt). He put together all the gps routes for us and even put up with us for a night and we had one of the funniest braais of our lives. Read more…
Lesotho on the new BMW1200GS Adventure
And there I was grinning from ear to ear, feeling a little naughty and excited, like I'm playing a video game in fast forward. Standing, leaning forward, light pressure on the handlebars, middle finger on the front brake, lining up the next corner, looking for that inside line. Changing down a gear the exhaust "pop, pops" a little, smooth clutch and delicate pressure on front brake, feeling the front wheel doing a little "shimmy" on the gravel surface, pushing on the bars and a slight lean. I head through the corner looking ahead and smoothly rolling on the throttle… more of a push on the bars to the right and the bike responds by turning a little sharper. Then pushing down and back on the outside foot peg I accelerate hard out of the turn, the back wheel stepping out slightly, the big flat twin motor changing its drone with a low, "wow, wow, woaaw", then settling down again. The sides of the road begin to blur with speed. The motor climbs above half revs as I gain speed VERY quickly and head uphill towards the next turn to the left, a quick wave to the old man on his pony, looking ahead again, seeing that big rock and then looking away towards the corner. Pulling back on the bars and a quick burst of throttle to clear a little wash-out, then braking a little deeper and a little harder into the turn. Trying to be smooth, diving for that inside line again, turning the bike with my knees … looking ahead. The heart's pumping a little harder, waiting to roll the throttle on again. Yahoo, I almost feel like I'm looking at myself riding, being critical, trying to be smoother, aaaahh this is adventure riding in Lesotho on a BMW 1200 GS Adventure and yes, I'm blown away at how easy it is to ride this big bike. Read more…
Ducati 1100 Hypermotard Test
Gavin Petersen's move to Ducati Cape Town meant that I would again be confronted with the dilemma of testing motard's. Not just any motard but the 1100cc Hypermotard, Now anyone who has ever read one of my articles should know that I don't really like being on the road and as far as I'm concerned, the black stuff is only a means of getting you to the dirt. Ducati has always been a bit of a wild card to me. It was the kind of bike that people pay huge amounts of money for… then park it permanently in the lounge and watch it drip oil on the carpet. Read more…
Fatboy does the Hardthing Enduro
It started raining Friday night and it did not stop the whole weekend. One thing that I realised is that 80% of Enduro riders do not know how to ride mud properly, including myself. This was the perfect opportunity to hone those "Shrek" skills. Boy was it tough - I heard a lot of moaning and groaning and sometimes even crying from big boys!!! This is definitely not for sissy's. The proper way of riding mud is to keep everything smooth and use momentum and you will get through the obstacles. Easier said than done, especially when you are going down a ski slope covered with mud! You touch the front brakes and you are down; you touch the back brakes and then you are sliding out of control. Read more…
Friends of DeWildt Blanket Run
The "Friends of De Wildt" Committee is made up of riders just like you, who are concerned about the possibility of losing Gauteng's favourite riding area, the area inhabited by hundreds of thousands of local people who for something like 30 years have put up with riders blasting through their back yards. yards. FOD have had several meetings and put significant effort into organising projects - last year we ran the "Toy Run" in December and even though it was organised with very little lead time, it was probably the most successful offroad Toy Run ever run in SA. The Blanket Run was our latest project. Read more…
The Honda Lifestyle Test
We spoke to Honda and arranged a few very nice toys to play with this month. We received an almost new CRV and 2 brand new CRF's that were delivered to our front gate. We were in for a treat. Read more…
Ladies Making Ripples
It has been said that if there is another great world war, it will not be over oil, gold, diamonds or land, but over water. That's how seriously people who know and understand the water situation on our planet take the importance of water conservation and management. Read more…
Mafikeng 400
If you have ever been to Mafikeng you will know that there is not much in the way of hills or technical terrain so when, after heavy rains, the river bed which usually provides some technical terrain had to be left out of the route, it was going to be a fast and flat affair. The challenge became who would be quickest through the twisting route between the thorn trees. Read more…
Time Freight Inglebrook Indaba
Held on Dave & Tim Gillit's farm Inglebrook, spilling over onto Masonite's Mount Desire plantation and touching Wally Keyser's land in the Eston area, the 230 plus riders were treated to a stunning venue alongside the Gillit's dam and a slightly less technical course than usual but with all the requirements of a first class event. Read more…
Enduro World Snow Run
My brother and I left Midrand in severe misty conditions at 04h00 and arrived 8 hours later at Ramabanta Trading Post Lodge just in time for the afternoon's outride. On arrival I was astonished to see a sea of red Hondas, among them three 450X's and two 250R's. Those two guys were going to have a long and painful weekend. Everybody was in good spirits and after a quick briefing the important question came: "Who is in the very peri-peri snowflake group?" I swear I didn't do it; my hand went up all by itself. Read more…
Yamaha XT1200Z Super Tenere Launch
Yamaha SA put on an excellent media launch for their new dual purpose heavyweight, driving us journo's down in classy Land Rover Discoveries to Ermelo where we were introduced to a sea of 12 gleaming new blue Super Ténéré's. Adrian Bac, Yamaha's PR man, was there to welcome us, feed us a hearty breakfast and then go through the bike very quickly before we set off on the 300 km ride to Maguga Lodge in Swaziland. Read more…
OiLibya Rally of Tunisia 2010
Tunisia, the northernmost country on the African continent, recently hosted the 2010 OiLibya Rally of Tunisia from 1st to 7th of May. The second leg of the 2010 FIM cross- country rally world championship, it was also my first rally since my foray into Egypt for the Pharaons Rally in October 2009. As always, the rally starts with a day of scrutineering. For those of you who get frustrated with filling in an entry form at a national off-road event, this is how it goes at an international rally : Read more…