Rallye Roadbook Training Weekend with Riaan

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REVS

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The article has been printed in this months Dirt and Trail so I can post the full RR here:

RALLYE ROADBOOK NAVIGATION WEEKEND  (March 30 – 31)

The idea of this event was to teach anyone who wanted to learn or practice the dark art of navigation for the up and coming Amageza Rallye.
Wayne from the Amageza and I first painstakingly plotted the 600 km route in the 4X4 from Port Elizabeth to Willomore and back.  We then tested the route on our Rallye bikes with the roadbooks.

There was a great response of about 15 – 20 guys who were interested in the weekend but after the weather reported rain for the entire weekend (it didn’t rain, it absolutely PISSED down) we ended up with five diehards:  Riaan van Niekerk (KTM 450 Rallye), Alexander Nel (KTM  690 Rallye), Pieter du Randt (DR650), Lee Mellin from East London ((KLX650) and myself (XR650R).

In the backup vehicle was Tony from Off Camber Adventures, Melda (Riaan’s fiancé) Steek (Amageza recovery crew) and Wayne (Amageza Roadbook co-ordinator) whose bike unfortunately gave hassles  so he could not do the ride with us.

On the Friday night we stayed at Off Camber Adventures.  It bucketed down on the tin roof of our cabin the entire night so we knew what we were in for the next day.  Early Saturday morning, Greg from Action Exposed joined us for a photo session.  He got some awesome pics of Riaan doing what he does best and a few of the rest of us preparing for the ride.  The photos can be viewed on our facebook page:  www.facebook.com/desertlizardrallye

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Riaan gave us a rundown on the Dakar Rally, showed us how to best mark the roadbook and navigate with the ICO (odometer with thumbswitch).  We then set off in the pissing rain with our roadbooks loaded and ready to attack the unknown.  One thing I must mention is that Lee from East London arrived with 0% tread on his back tyre and about 20% on the front! No B.S.!!

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The trip took us through  valleys and mountains.  It takes some getting used to looking down at your roadbook, setting the equipment with your left thumb while keeping your eye on the very slippery road.  Now that is what we call fun!

There were a few dropped bikes now and again but fortunately nothing major.  We stopped for lunch in Steytlerville looking like drowned rats but with huge smiles on our faces.  Then it was back on our steeds and we proceeded to slip and slide our way to Willowmore.

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At Willowmore we were able to get dry clothes from the backup vehicle and then relax until supper.
We went for supper at Villa de Lockayer where Riaan was bombarded with questions about the Dakar Rally.  Fortunately he was quite happy to answer them all.  He finally got some peace when the food arrived and everyone chowed down.

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Sunday morning we awoke to more unforgiving rain!  Everyone was in good spirits and after breakfast we once again tackled our new roadbooks with highlighters and loaded them onto our roadbook holders.  That done, it was back onto the slippery roads in the pissing rain!
The golden rule is it is okay to get wet as long as you stay warm, in other words keep the wind out!
The problems start when the cold starts to creep in.

Our first petrol stop was Steytleville where Lee’s bike started to give trouble.  It refused to start so we loaded it onto the backup vehicle and Lee joined the crew in the warm bakkie.
We left Steytleville towards Uitenhage giving it gas on the long straight wet Karoo roads and ended up getting back to Off Camber before the backup vehicle.

Back at Off Camber the bikes were washed and loaded onto trailers.  Everybody packed up, said their goodbyes and set off in their respective directions ie. Cape Town, Johannesburg, East London and Port Elizabeth. 

A great time was had by all and new friendships were made.  It was an informal weekend where everyone paid their own way.  Wayne and I, with the valuable input by Riaan, did this to help grow the wonderful sport of adventure riding and rallying in South Africa.
The roadbook can be bought from Wayne for R60.00 and can be done by anyone, anytime so come and give it a try.

Sorry there are no action pics but I didn't want to get my buddy's camera wet!

Comments from the guys:


Alexander Nel

The road-book training weekend was a very well planned and awesome event. The track was well planned and the road-book spot-on. Having a Dakar rider like Riaan van Niekerk show one the finer art of marking and reading a road-book on a jeep track doing high-way speeds, was an experience worth riding in driving rain for two days. A back-up vehicle meeting up in the towns en route, ensured a broken bike could be recovered, and kept our bikes feather-light by transporting our luggage. Well done to the organizers for taking the initiative and providing a starting point for riders to train for a rallye.


Lee Mellin

Highs – It was great to meet all the guys and learn the techniques of using a roadbook as I have never used a roadbook before.  It was also great to hear Riaan’s experiences during the Dakar and learn some of his marking techniques.  Aside from that I enjoyed the route on the special on day one although I did battle a bit with my tyre choice.  In general I enjoyed all the routes even though some of them were a bit trying in the wet – again wrong tyre choice.  I certainly will like to do the route again when it is a bit drier.
Lows – Sunday morning was a bit frustrating with the bike issues that I was experiencing, but wants I was riding and navigating it was all forgotten.
Obvisously not being able to finish on Sunday was a bit of a bummer, but nothing to ruin a good weekend.
PS: Thanks for organising and setting a lekker ride, I did enjoy it immensely.


Riaan van Niekerk

Got invited over Easter by the guys from Desert Lizard to go do some road book training down in the Eastern Cape.  Was really looking forward to riding my rally bike again, this will be the first time since Dakar. The purpose of the road book training was more just to get a general feel on riding and finding your way without getting lost. And if we could navigate using only the road book and some caps.  The road book was very accurate, better than I experience in Dakar with allot of confirmations to make sure you are on the correct track. I like the fact that they used the symbols from Dakar to have some sort of standard regarding road book markings. Think the route is a nice introduction to road book riding for those looking for a road book experience. I must say the weather did not play along all weekend. Rain, rain and more rain made riding very interesting on a rally bike...., not to mention that some guys still had road tires fitted to their bikes. Overall it was a great weekend and what better than to spend it on your bike.


Pieter du Randt

So our offroad weekend with Riaan van Niekerk and his Dakar bike, turned into a real 'vasbyt' weekend.  Well 'vasbyt' is what our Enduro riders are all about. But wet slippery red clay is a totally different story trying to keep up with Riaan at 120km/h in the rain.What a weekend it turned out to be.  Met great people, and had an awesome time. Thanx Chris and Wayne for putting it together.


Next Rallye Training Weekend with Brett Cummings (10-11 August 2013)

https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=122889.0
 
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