Ai-Ais Nam Bash

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Kamanya

Andrew to most
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Feb 6, 2006
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Location
Cape Town, deep in the lentils
Bike
KTM 990 Adventure
The trip to the inaugural Namibian bash route



It was only on Wednesday that I made the call to go. Heddly couldn’t go so I’d take his place. Justin had mentioned that he was going to ride up the west coast eco trail with Dewalt and Bob and Gerhard of Weskus, Legedema and Ball & Chain fame. That sounded like a good bunch of riding mates and I really love that section of the world.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to buy anything, all my touring kit always stands ready and the bike, unusually, needed nothing, not even tires.

My plan was to catch up to the boys on the trail on Thursday by leaving Cape Town at 6am. They were sleeping at Dewalts house for the night in Vredendal and when I phoned them that evening, it sounded like some homework was being done to the livers. Dewalt and Bob ride at a fairly hot pace and Justin, I reckoned would just about be able to keep up. Gerhard is not slow in most places but has a bit of a fear about sand so I was sure that with the combination of the evenings revelry and group dynamics, that I’d get them by lunch at least.

My watch said 3.20 am and going back to sleep was not going to work, so I got up and started breakfast and last minute faffing stuff. By 4.30 I didn’t really have any more excuses not to go so opened the garage and wheeled the big goose out.



The few moments around the start of any trip are powerful for me. It’s to me a ritual or sorts. The transition from suburbanite to adventurer requires the shedding of one set of sophisticated safeties and habits, to pulling on one that is very different; Singular, simple and primal. The closing the garage door, mounting the bike, pushing of the starter button and finally riding off into the familiar and unknown is the delineated ending of one and beginning of the other. The time was 4.51am.

I wasn’t going along just for the fun. I was quite keen to see how my fitness levels have been coming along as well as iron out any bike issues that would need seeing to. I plan to do the Amageza and 4 days of high mileage across a lot of gravel and sand was going to be a good tester. I have been having hassles with my hands from tendonitis or carpal tunnel issues and long days in the seat should see how my hands would stack up with all the work I have been doing.

It was still quite dark, in fact, dawn only started close to Piekenierskloof pass. I don’t mind riding in the dark, I have very powerful HID’s that really light up the next 2-300 meters. Also it was pretty warm so the ride till over the pass was great. I was alone in my thoughts, listening to some great music and thinking about business and a myriad of other things until once over the pass the temperature plummeted. I was only wearing a wicking top and my jacket and I was going to have to stop at the Citrusdal garage to get another layer on. Whilst looking over the bike…

Shit!



I had been keeping it to about 135 gps speed. From a lot of experience with these tires, I have never had issues with them even at much hotter temperature and long periods of higher speeds. I’ve travelled 1200k’s once at a sustained 150 without issue. I was not charging along because in my experience these tires’ wear rate climbs with the higher speeds. I think I had it too hard at 3.9.

This was trip ending stuff. It was 6.30am and I was sure that the boys would not have left and my only option was to call and see if Dewalt knew of anyone with a tire. He had a 150 TKC that he said it had about a ¼ left and would get me through the trip. Beggars can’t be choosers so I was directed to his mate Boetie and his garage to change it.

Boetie is clearly a bit anal about mechanical things and he also owns a 950SE so I was hugely grateful that not only had he gone and fetched the tire from Dewalts house but he had it changed so that the group must have only lost 10 or 20 minutes waiting for me. What was even more irritating was that neither he nor Dewalt would accept any money for the whole thing. Ungrateful buggers!





Bob, Boetie and Dewalt with the group.



Justin



The plan was that a few would skip the sand bit and head to our meeting place – Houthokke just south of Port Nolloth – whilst we 6 would go the west coast eco route. In addition to those mentioned above there would be Stephan who is also a Vredendal native who farms in the area. A nice size group and all on the big KTM twins of various editions.

The first bit is easy and right next to the sea.







Gerhard was just in front of me for his first fall. It was a pretty hard one but he took it well. Earlier he had said that he was very nervous of the sand sections. It was a big thing for him.



Dewalt, early in the game pulled off to a small dune. Not really in the swing of things as to why, I followed and was promptly given an ice cold beer. Shit, this man not only can come up with last minute tires but ice cold beers too! I had been in the saddle for 382km’s already and was certainly ready and grateful for it at 10.20 in the morning.



Bob soon joined



Justin nearly got there



But Gerhard being a wise old soul decided against it once he’d seen Stephan really battle in the soft silty beach sand. Stephan was about 100m off and from what we could see and hear, was not having much fun. He would pick his bike up and then not long after be down again. I’ve been there and it’s not the best so I went to go help. His words after burying his bike for the 6th time was, “Fok daai Dewalt! Ons was nee almal in Angola nie!”. His personal radiator was boiling over and fun-o-meter reading zero. I rode his bike back onto the trail. Dewalt just then came past and binned it as you can see

Stephan heading off to tell Dewalt what a great beach this was…



Locals grinding up seaweed





Not long after, we stopped at Jurgs se Huis and had a good laugh, a bit of boerie and another beer.







Stephan was having fun again.



Bob is the pensioner in the group and needs the odd nap from time to time



Time to go, sand to see and places to fall in it

 
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