Author Topic: Koekenaap to Verneukpan (Read 6507 times)

Alducor · « **on:** July 03, 2013, 02:59:09 pm »

This will be a family effort at a RR. We are a newbie 'biking family', but the first from Koekenaap. We took our first big group ride to verneekpan this past weekend. I was not on a bike, but drove the back-up bakkie for the trip, as I am stil recovering from an accident. My dad (Jondu) and younger brother (WKC) was on the bikes (GSA and KLR 650). The eldest brother Joncor is in durban and still trying to buy a bike.

We don't have a big story to tell with the RR, but would just like to post some evidence and highlight some moments.

What a wonderful experience it was!!! We loved meeting some dogs behind the avatars and got a lekker shock for some. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming, and we felt right at home.

A big shout to Hinksding for doing the effort to organise the ride, we're a fan for sure.
And a even bigger shout out to all those dogs licking wounds: Sparky, Safaritruck, Arfar, Mambat etc. heal well, and soon!

Alducor · « **Reply #1 on:** July 03, 2013, 03:10:24 pm »

Here are just a few pics of packing.

Jondu's bike in its garage being packed:

WKC packing:

Here we are, refueling on "pa se rekening"

I took the tar road through Vredendal to pick up a minus40 full of ice (that was never used), some supplies and those self inflatable mattresses (one for Jondu and one for Hinks) which I reckon was also not used...

Jondu and WKC took the Holrivier gravel road and then started on the railroad service road until the N7 just north of Vanrhynsdorp where I cought up with them where I joined them on the rail road...road:

These trains are some of the longest you get, they go on forever! This whole transport system is actually very fascinating...

More to follow... I don't know the photo limit for a post...?

subie · « **Reply #2 on:** July 03, 2013, 03:25:18 pm »

Mooi gooi net.

Moenie worry oor die limit nie

Alducor · « **Reply #3 on:** July 03, 2013, 03:27:55 pm »

These service roads are very well maintained and it is very easy to go 140km/h+ on them...

... on the bikes, not the bakkie. I had a tough time keeping up.

WKC and Jondu swapped bikes. Funny thing is, we all know that Jondu prefers the KLR, but has to have the GS for SWAMBO

. So he does this thing where he acts like he is doing you a favour to let you ride his big boy GS while he takes your KLR...

WKC doesn't mind, being a plaas laaitie, he can ride anything that you give him... uh... yeah... lets get to the pitchaaaas.

In a jiffy we covered some 150km's on the gravel road, and felt cheated because we thought it would take longer...
We eventually stopped to finish SWAMBO's delicacies she provided (I got so bored in the bakkie, I finish mine quickly)

Jondu took FULL advantage of the backup bakkie, and took out his lounge chair to camp by the roadside...

WKC

Me, bored...

We carried on towards the waypoint that Hinks provided but got a bit lost, eventually turned around to find a fellow dog coming over the bridge from Loeries's side. This was Bliknêrs ("oom chris" as WKC would put it

) he lost a bunch of stuff and did not seem to be amped to hanna-hanna for longer, and wanted to find the place soon. We drove to the 'dadel' plantation where a friendly guy showed us the errands of our ways. We soon backtracked and saw that we drove straight past where we had to turn off. We soon found the place, and were the firsts there. I was lucky to have a pop-up tent so I could pitch my tent in 5 seconds...

The camera's battery died shortly, but here are some pics that I squeezed out:

Being the youngest WKC has to work overtime with the gates...

More people eventually arrived, and it started to look like a nice jol was on...

The camera died, so I only started shooting the next morning again...

Mambat · « **Reply #4 on:** July 03, 2013, 03:30:34 pm »

Looking forward to this RR!

Helps the time go by here in ICU

blinkes · « **Reply #5 on:** July 03, 2013, 03:34:52 pm »

Rynet · « **Reply #6 on:** July 03, 2013, 03:52:54 pm »

And what a great family you are .

Alducor · « **Reply #7 on:** July 03, 2013, 04:19:48 pm »

Some guys arrived really late and I felt so bad for them, I just wanted to help them sort their stuff out so they can get to the bar! Amongst others it was ARFAR and his friend (sorry, can't remember your name, you hat the 'warm yammie') and mambat, rynet and katana. Walterza arrived at 'onheil ure' which we won't even mention.

You know that tune that goes "ma't gesorg vir melrose"? Well ma't gesorg that we don't get cold! Nevertheless, it wasn't really cold during the night, and we had a really nice sleep (me at least, WKC had to share with the snorkmonster).

The next morning... (I felt arty, so excuse the pics):

Mambat suiting up. WKC was drooooooooling over his kit and bike

Pullaway? I do hope I get the names right and tune me if I am wrong. He had a lekker KLE, which I got new respect for...

Arfar and ...

Aaah Safaritruck... we got to know each other very well over the weekend... He slept right beside my tent. Come to think of it, those that slept close to the bakkie was in accidents (Safaritruck, Arfar, Mambat). here he can still use his right side without whincing from pain, and having the fat smile he had all weekend! After breaking 7 ribs badly, he went through the whole weekend. Max respect!

Arfar (I think). those are some fat panniers. Jondu wants to hide these pics of it from SWAMBO, otherwise she can pack even more...

Refueling and getting ready... the next three pics are meant to be stitched, so if someone feels crafty, go ahead...

I absolutely love that beemer on the left!

Walterza I presume to be on the left, with Jondu & WKC at the back

Cobra(something) and brother with this crazy side-car.

Mambat fueling up

Subie (nice RR!). I like your 'duiksak' on the back, we have the exact same one...

Here you can see his troubles with the wheels early on...

Walterza mounting:

(Insert name here)>Nico (thanks Subie), him and his "swaer" had matching f800gs', and it looked really classic...

Jondu and WKC. Jondu just said to WKC "laat loop, ek sal op my eie kom", he didn't let himslef be told twice and went to be at the front of the pack...

(Insert name 2)

Now... if this guy is your dad, you just say "ja baas, nee baas"...

Otoelie, otoolie, ou-toelie... Jondu tried to tell me how to spell it (but him being dislexic, it is like the blind and blind and all that). He's from Gharies, and basically owns it..

... nice 'oom' he was and a killer snorker... (Tulie, thanks again Subie)

Arfar...

First stop outside the farm... Here I met "justcallmephill", aka Harry potter (note: just change your name to Harry Potter, it will be classic). I also got given a shot of OBS. The guy was walking towards me holding a coffee flask and giving me a cup, and I naively told him "no its fine, I have some (thinking it is coffee), but he was persistent, and not saying a word, I took it, smelt it, and knew why he was... So I downed...

Blinkes & ...Ball&chain? @ blinkes, we forgot the boots...

This was the second stop to refuel bliknes' bike (he did not eat his wakker pies, and missed out on the morning fill up

)

...and he needed some refuelling as well...

Hinksding's gallopsous can was leaking heavy, so he was selling fuel left and right, so it does not go to waste...

This was the second stop, where we got some really nice boerie rolls and coffee.

Some nice (I think so) pics of hinks' bike, he was playing a proper sheep herder (and here he was thinking he is taking a break from his proper job.
Inspecting the fence for some 'duerglippers'.

After the boerie stop, I met my first casualty, Safaritruck. I kicked over into serious mode, so did not take any pictures from there on end... but the next pictures say a thousand words...

If you were in the left spoor, you would be fine, but if you found yourself in the right with some speed to spare you weren't so lucky...
Arfar hit the right spoor, and met with a sharp drop which flinged him a quoted 11 meters. His bike landed in front of the bakkie (the bakkie I obviously parked there afterwards). You can also see Safaritruck's 990 on the trailer, which basically became part of the bakkie through the trip.

That is where my photo's stop, because it got very busy from here onwards for me. Luckily WKC took some pics at the pan... More to follow soon...

katana · « **Reply #8 on:** July 03, 2013, 05:29:57 pm »

Sien julle weer. Alducor, ek het jou heel gemis met al jou ge-ambulaans-ery

Jondu · « **Reply #9 on:** July 03, 2013, 05:41:06 pm »

Nice Aldu

Alducor · « **Reply #10 on:** July 03, 2013, 05:50:34 pm »

A quick story without pics... You know, Wilbur Smith style...

After the boerie I was driving lekker, listening to Obama's speech and rugby score updates. The people who built these service roads couldn't be bothered to blast the koppies, so the result is these lekker big 'whoops', at first you are weary of the other side, because you cannot see anything, not even dust of oncoming vehicles, but later on, you start to enjoy them, and not worry too much about it. Until a certain one banked sharp left on the other side, which gave a few guys a fright, but it got to Safaritruck. He went over, and immediately saw he is too fast, hit the brakes, and started sliding, until he saw a gap to give the 990 juice to get some grip at which moment his footpeg or something dug in hard flipping him hard to the right on the deck. He was lucky not to land in the bolders a few meters away. when I came over the koppie, I had to hit brakes, hearing te ABS go 'krkrkrkr' as they wave me down.

I stopped and saw something was not right (at this point i didn't even notice someone fell though). I asked, "staan die bike?" and the reply was "nee, die man staan". Then I saf Safaritruck holding his back. We quickly loaded the 990 which had only cosmetic scars, and still started. And I made space for Safaritruck next to me in the bakkie. He was in a lot of pain and couldn't move without pain in his body. I immediately thought it was broken ribs in his back.

Him and his 990 became my passengers through the weekend. It was a real challenge keeping my new passengers happy on the gravel & off-roads, the corrigations meant I had to get some speed to smooth it out for Safaritruck, but had to go slow for the 990 on the back. So the rest of the day was doing this balancing act.

When we eventually arrived close to the pan, we came down the hill where we saw an odd scene from afar, which we realised is the crash scene of Arfar as we came closer. He was lying there on the ground with a nice pillow, being a real yster without any pain meds (he didn't want to take any). I met JC there, who helped Arfar get comfortable and keeping the mood lekker light. Waiting around for Hinksding the Yammie guy (please let me know your name) came and said a guy fell himself 'desmoers' on the pan, he is alright but the bike is a write-of. Hinks arrived with the oom, and they organised an ambulance for Arfar, so I was not needed there.

At that point I just wanted to take all the stuff in the bakkie to the pan so Jondu & WKC can unpack and make camp (and some other guys that hitched a ride for their luggage on the bakkie). While driving to the pan, me and Safari spoke about being in a crash: 1) it is either you, and the bike is fine, or (2)the bike is cooked but you are fine, but (3) then you get those offs that both gets stuffed (at that point The first is Arfar and Safari, and Mambat is the second scenario).

Arriving at the pan, I spoke to Jondu & WKC, who RAVED about Mabat, and WKC's eyes had that "I want to ride like that someday" look, but said Mambat is battered. I went to him, and sked if he is alright (following the reports I got earlier), but he immediately said "I'm not in a good space". I went back to Jondu and said the bakkie must get unloaded ASAP so I can get Mambat to the ambulance before it arrives (naively thinking that it would be so quick to arrive). Rynet was mother hen, organising everything, getting ID# and phone numbers etc. and came along as the gate opener (unlucky).

I took Mambat, Safaritruck (He at least needs pain meds from the ambulance) and rynet with to the farm house, where we were told that the ambulance would take a while, and Mambat was in dire straights. So I decided to drive to Kenhardt to the clinic. It was one hectic drive for me, I've got two guys in agony, and I have to get there fast, because Mambat's state is deteriorating quickly. It was about 90k'ms to Kenhardt but it felt like forever.

Almost three quarters of the way we met the ambulance who we flagged down to have a look at the patients, but they could literally do nothing, they were just a taxi. So we sped on (poor Arfar, I don't know how long that ambulance must have taken).

We arrived there and they immediately gave pain meds, and oxygen to Mambat, and gave Safaritruck a lekker baggie full of pain meds. The process was quite a rush of adrenaline, especially driving fast in the dark on a road I do not know (GPS helps wonders to predict bends).

We eventually left Mambat at the clinic, and Rynet, Safaritruck and me drove back, First stopping for diesel, and some snacks to get some energy. We had lekker chats on the way back, solving the worlds problems, and Rynet & Safari were quite patient with me trying to explain exactly what I do & study. We eventually arrived at the Pan at around 23:00, where we were met with worrisome people that couldn't sleep until they knew everything is be fine. I had a lekker chat with JC who bought me one of the best beers I had in a long time. I just sat at the fire, finishing a chop and wors, watching the fire and listening to the conversations.

What a day, and I thought I would be bored to death. But I really enjoyed it (even though it was at the expense of other peoples mishaps). But I felt like I did my part in helping fallen dogs. Which was my first feeling of belonging to the wilddogs, without even riding a bike.

So I realised, its not the bikes that makes us a pack but the camaraderie.

More pics & stories to follow later by WKC...

Thanks for reading!

Alducor · « **Reply #11 on:** July 03, 2013, 05:56:42 pm »

Quote from: Mambat on July 03, 2013, 03:30:34 pm

Looking forward to this RR!

Helps the time go by here in ICU

Strongs Mambat, we will try to make the RR nice and long so that you have something to read...

Alducor · « **Reply #12 on:** July 03, 2013, 05:58:41 pm »

Quote from: Rynet on July 03, 2013, 03:52:54 pm

And what a great family you are .

It was wonderful meeting you Rynet! You are so inquisitive and a very good listener! It should be mandatory to have you at a bash, so that there is someone to take care of others the way you did.

Alducor · « **Reply #13 on:** July 03, 2013, 06:00:26 pm »

Quote from: katana on July 03, 2013, 05:29:57 pm

Sien julle weer. Alducor, ek het jou heel gemis met al jou ge-ambulaans-ery

Ja nee, dis 'n jammerte ek kon nie lekker mingle nie, maar wees bly, as ons gemingle het beteken dit jy was in die knyp...

subie · « **Reply #14 on:** July 03, 2013, 06:09:48 pm »

Daai twee ouens met die matching bmw's was Nico van loeriesfontein en sy swaer.
Tulie die ou van Gharies kan daai 1200 ry. Die ou is vinnig met daai bike op die grondpad

katana · « **Reply #15 on:** July 03, 2013, 06:17:39 pm »

Quote from: Alducor on July 03, 2013, 06:00:26 pm

Quote from: katana on July 03, 2013, 05:29:57 pm
Sien julle weer. Alducor, ek het jou heel gemis met al jou ge-ambulaans-ery

Ja nee, dis 'n jammerte ek kon nie lekker mingle nie, maar wees bly, as ons gemingle het beteken dit jy was in die knyp...

Alducor · « **Reply #16 on:** July 03, 2013, 06:18:13 pm »

Quote from: subie on July 03, 2013, 06:09:48 pm

Daai twee ouens met die matching bmw's was Nico van loeriesfontein en sy swaer.
Tulie die ou van Gharies kan daai 1200 ry. Die ou is vinnig met daai bike op die grondpad

Dankie Subie, ek het dit reggestel.

My pa het so getuig ja. Hy se hy ry lekker vinnig, toe kom hardloop Tulie met 'n stink spoed verby hom.

da PEEG · « **Reply #17 on:** July 03, 2013, 06:36:14 pm »

Hi Alducor,

"I took Mambat, Safaritruck (He at least needs pain meds from the ambulance) and rynet with to the farm house, where we were told that the ambulance would take a while, and Mambat was in dire straights."

I also sat in pain phoning a doctor at the kitchen table in Oom Giel's farmhouse just outside Verneukpan 2x weeks before. One of those gravel/sand humps caught me out big-time! (Still nursing the pain through rehab physio and can't ride my bike - ek's nog lekker moedeloos daaroor jong... )

Alducor · « **Reply #18 on:** July 03, 2013, 06:46:14 pm »

Quote from: da PEEG on July 03, 2013, 06:36:14 pm

Hi Alducor,

"I took Mambat, Safaritruck (He at least needs pain meds from the ambulance) and rynet with to the farm house, where we were told that the ambulance would take a while, and Mambat was in dire straights."

I also sat in pain phoning a doctor at the kitchen table in Oom Giel's farmhouse just outside Verneukpan 2x weeks before. One of those gravel/sand humps caught me out big-time! (Still nursing the pain through rehab physio and can't ride my bike - ek's nog lekker moedeloos daaroor jong... )

Hi Peeg,

I think everyone was talking about you and Bring It On, and where you fell. This should have been a warning sign. Verneukpan is not to be taken lightly. The nearest proper hospital is in Upington, and Kenhardt only has one ambulance, that services a small little clinic in a vast area, that can't even do anything about broken bones.

Good luck with the recovery. I know the pain, and time... I was there in december, and still recovering.
Be patient, and heal well, I'm not on my bike yet and its been 7 months (right hand fingers).

da PEEG · « **Reply #19 on:** July 03, 2013, 06:55:59 pm »

Quote from: Alducor on July 03, 2013, 06:46:14 pm

Quote from: da PEEG on July 03, 2013, 06:36:14 pm
Hi Alducor,

"I took Mambat, Safaritruck (He at least needs pain meds from the ambulance) and rynet with to the farm house, where we were told that the ambulance would take a while, and Mambat was in dire straights."

I also sat in pain phoning a doctor at the kitchen table in Oom Giel's farmhouse just outside Verneukpan 2x weeks before. One of those gravel/sand humps caught me out big-time! (Still nursing the pain through rehab physio and can't ride my bike - ek's nog lekker moedeloos daaroor jong... )

Hi Peeg,

I think everyone was talking about you and Bring It On, and where you fell. This should have been a warning sign. Verneukpan is not to be taken lightly. The nearest proper hospital is in Upington, and Kenhardt only has one ambulance, that services a small little clinic in a vast area, that can't even do anything about broken bones.

Good luck with the recovery. I know the pain, and time... I was there in december, and still recovering.
Be patient, and heal well, I'm not on my bike yet and its been 7 months (right hand fingers).

Right gents, all of you that got caught out near Verneukpan (and Alducor) let's sing - all together now: "...♪ ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ ♫ ♪ I get knocked down but I get up again♪ ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ ♫ ♪..."