Namibia: An Endless Lesson in Sand Riding

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Zanie

Race Dog
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Joined
Jul 19, 2014
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Location
Table View, Cape Town
Bike
Honda CRF-250 Rally
Prologue

Namibia. Ever since I started riding a bike on gravel, this was on our to-do list. The Tankwa Karoo opened my heart to the wide open spaces. Namibia represents space++. By the end of last year, Lance and I booked a Namibia trip with WAVOLT. At that point we hadn’t yet done any trips where it was just the two of us (this would change even before we went on the Namibia trip) and had decided to “play it safe,” as it were.

I booked my bike in for some TLC a week before the trip. I needed to have a crash bar welded, which had snapped somewhere along the line, secure a spot light – I noticed it was wobbly while washing my bike, and get a new rear tyre fitted. My previous tyre was completely and utterly holey, thanks to three previous punctures involving wire, a stick and a rock. By the time I had it replaced, it had developed a fun slow puncture, which had necessitated stops at petrol stations for air on the way back from a previous weekend ride.

So many punctures…
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A very holey tyre:
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I was eternally grateful for the check-up, as it unearthed a frayed clutch cable. It would have been more than a minor inconvenience if it snapped on our trip.

Our route would loop around southern Namibia.

Day 1: Cape Town to Bushwhacked, Namibia

Trip stats
Distance: 677km
Time: not recorded

Our trip was in May; apparently the best month to see Namibia – it is just past the “rainy” season, the night-time temperatures aren’t yet freezing and the day-time temperatures are not too hot (hovering around 24-28°C). I knew we would be facing relatively warm temperatures, but I was eternally grateful that I still donned my rain-layer on that first morning, even if I did not use it for the rest of the trip. The temperature was absolutely icy, at a low -1°C in Melkbosstrand.

Lance and I, along with his parents, set off in the dark. We met up with the rest of the tour group at Malmesbury at 07:30. There were a total of 22 people (including our catering and back-up crew of 3, led by Henk), with 19 riders on 16 bikes. Michael Cowley was our ride leader.

We transferred our luggage from our bikes into the back-up vehicle (no hard luggage allowed). The back-up would carry our luggage for the rest of our trip, so that we could enjoy the bikes burden-free.

Most would trailer their bikes to Namibia. Lance, his parents and I would ride. I had managed the stretch between Verneukpan and Cape Town in one day, which is a similar distance, so I figured I would be ok riding the almost-700km stretch to Namibia. Eugene, one of the other riders, rode all the way from Gauteng; taking 2 days for the trip!

Given the mind-boggling distance, Lance had invested in a cruise control gadget; something resembling a plastic clamp on the throttle. I toughed it out minus cruise control and minus heated grips (eish!).

Lance, happy with his new cruise control:
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We rode 200-odd km non-stop to Klawer. The temperature, which had ranged from unbearable to just plain cold, jumped to a comfy 20°C somewhere just before Klawer.

Lance, his mom and I taking a break
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We fuelled up and tackled the 280km leg to Springbok, where we stopped for a very nice lunch at Tauren. Somewhere on the stretch between Springbok and Namibia, statistics decided to rear its ugly head. What are the chances of 16 bikes riding 700km without problems? That would amount to roughly 11,000 hassle-free kilometres. Nope. The universe does not like those odds.

Lance’s dad, Ernest, had to pull off in the middle of a stop-go stretch. A small stone had managed to smack a neat hole in his radiator.

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The damaged mini-radiator pipe ends were pinched closed, bent back on themselves and sealed with Pratley Steel. After a water top-up, the bike was ready to go again. There would be no further radiator-related issues on the trip.

We had to time our departure in order to ride when the stop-go traffic was flowing northwards.

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The next casualty was ride-from-Gauteng Eugene, with a flat front tyre. He also came with DIY installed, so this wasn’t a major hold-up either.

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We arrived at Bushwhacked shortly before 6pm. It is located 11km from Vioolsdrif border on the South Africa side, making it an ideal stop-over spot. Those who had trailered their bikes, would leave their vehicles at Bushwhacked. The ride itself had not felt that long.

Henk’s crew (Teresa and Herkie) spoiled us with food that night: huge steaks and pap. Catering and tents were included in the trip cost.
 
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