Ek sit en staar al vir hierdie thread vir 2 dae, en weet nie wat om te se nie. Ek wil dit nog nie glo nie maar dit lyk my dis actually besig om te gebeur. Ek gaan in ingels tik sodat almal kan verstaan wat ek te se het van Henk. Al weet ek nie wat om te se nie..
Alot of what i am going to write are just my experiences with henk, i dont know what else to say but i must type somthing here for him.
This is such a tragic loss and a massive disservice was done to the wilddog community and all other people out there, that they never got a chance to meet Henk. Die mooiste mens....
I met Henk when i was 9 years old - 20 years ago - when he moved from Umanzimtoti to cape town and joined our primary school. We were friends since then. Many of my first experiences in life was with henk, almost all my memories contain henk. In std 8 Henk got a Suzuki RGT 125 and his love for biking was cemented from then on, he taught me to ride on his RGt and a few months later i got my own RGT 125. We used make so much kak ons those bikes. Throughout school henk grew up to be such an amazing human being. The biggest and softest heart, friends with every tom, dick and harry. He loved people and they loved him in return. He also met his wife, Anje in high school - on that later. Henk went on to stellenbosch and just spread like a virus through that town, making many more friends. I lived in Cape Town, he in sbosch, but we always made plans to see each other as regularly as possible.
When he finished studying he bought ATTIE - the african twin. He loved that bike. He then discovered wilddog's and introduced me to it. I joined in 2009 - i was working to pay for my masters degree and could not afford a bike but henk was constantly badgering me to buy a bike so that we can ride africa. I was bombarded with links to MetalJocky ride reports and bargains for sale on wilddog.
He moved to JHB soon after and about a year later i moved to pretoria. I knew nobody up here and he took so much time to make my move more confortable - i didnt own a car so he would pick my girlfriend up form the airport when she visited and bring her to me, just to come fetch her again when she left. He always just wanted to help, everybody.
For the last 4 years we spoke daily, about everything. Every decision was made with the advice of the other. He spent a month in switzerland recently, and even then we spoke everyday. More recently we spoke about Superdave, and how terrible it must be for those around him, we especially spoke about Carrots and the hard time he was having. (sorry i dont know carrots, or didnt know Superdave) but that thread really got to us both. And less than a month later i sit here, in the same position, having to type this.
He also spoke about that its maybe time to hang up his helmet because he would never want to do this to his wife or friends, she would have never alowed it though. He was so amped to start a family, and if anybody was equiped to bring decent human beings into this world, it was henk and Anje.
When i got my F8, our thousends of unproductive hours on skype at work came to a realisation and we had the world at our feet. On our first ride he rode 1000km's in one go just to meet me at Ficksburg. We shared the same idea about biking, it was about cutting loose and getting lost.
Henk moved back to cape town mid last year to embark on an amazing new opportunity. He was so frustrated that all his riding buddies were up here and he just got his new 990 and was so excited to show it off. He convinced me to ride my bike down in Dec so that we can go and ride. I did it, drove down just for one daytrip we did together in the cederbergs. It was awesome.
I can rant forever about the things we did together and how amazing he was but the one my heart truelly goes out to in this time is Henk's beautifull wife, Anje. Gasman spoke about their love, it was something to be witnessed and cannot be described. They were highschool sweethearts and the deal was sealed the first time Henk saw her. He lived for her, and she for him. Two of the most beautifull people to have EVER graced this earth. They just moved into a new place in the City, as they always wanted to. They were just beautiful together. The possibilities for those two were endless. Anje, i am so so sorry....
The last thing henk said to me before the accident on wednesday was "lekker lag ek nou weer vir daai cloudgazer bra se avatar". To repeat what gasman said, henk was always smiling, laughing, or making other people laugh. Just the kindest soul.
I dont know what to say anymore. I want to say so much, because he made such a huge impact on so many lives in his short time. I lost my best friend on wednesday. I would turn to him in situations like this to find advice, support and clarity. My one friend sent me a message saying ""The melancholy realisation of advancing years is that one cannot make old friends". He was my oldest friend, my best friend and my brother.
Henk i will mis you dearly, everyday for the rest of my life. The beautiful memories you left us with will guide your family and friends through this time. I hope to see you again.
Below a picture of henk and his wife, and our last ride and our swazi trip. Henk's funeral for those who knew him will be Tuesday, 9th at 3 pm at the stellenberg church.
DirtRebel, Gasman, BigL, matiespero, Rake die ondiertjie, Oats - sterkte
Die mooiste mens
Rus in vrede vriend.
Topic: Devastated (Read 15898 times)
