eberhard
Race Dog
Last week I went through some bike gear looking for something and I noticed again a map amongst my stuff. This is its story.
Somewhere 1991 -1992 while riding up north to Swakopmund I stopped, round about midday, at Kalkrand to fuel up. Another guy one a bike, going south, was also at the pumps. Kalkrand back then was a petrol station, a sort of a workshop and a hotel. There were a lot less bikes on the roads then and two solo bikers meeting up in the middle of nowhere (for all I know we could have been the only two bikes on the whole of the B1 that day) was out of the ordinary. We greeted. He, out of the blue, offered to buy me a drink at the hotel. We both had a nice cold one. Then we separated, each going his own way with still hundreds of miles laying ahead of each. As we parted, he took from his jacket a road map and handed it to me (pictured below – it was new when he gave it to me). For me to use on my travels, he said.
I’ve forgotten his name long ago, I can for the love of life not recall what bike he was riding (was a standard Japanese bike, that I can remember). However, that incident I have never forgotten. I have forgotten lots of incidents on trips I was on, but not this one. It made a profound impression on me. The spontaneous buying of a beer for me and giving me a gift.
A very useful gift it was. I have used that map ever since and took it always with me, even when I started to know many of the roads by heart (I have never used a GPS or similar device). It was a good map.
I still, to this day, think about that biker. Who was he? And I would like to buy him a beer one day. And thank him again. The camaraderie I had experienced in that brief chance meeting formed a part of me.
Thus, if it was any of you on this forum, please message me. Otherwise, check with your mates and if you trace this guy, tell him that that guy he had given a map to many moons ago at Kalkrand, wants to meet again with him.
Somewhere 1991 -1992 while riding up north to Swakopmund I stopped, round about midday, at Kalkrand to fuel up. Another guy one a bike, going south, was also at the pumps. Kalkrand back then was a petrol station, a sort of a workshop and a hotel. There were a lot less bikes on the roads then and two solo bikers meeting up in the middle of nowhere (for all I know we could have been the only two bikes on the whole of the B1 that day) was out of the ordinary. We greeted. He, out of the blue, offered to buy me a drink at the hotel. We both had a nice cold one. Then we separated, each going his own way with still hundreds of miles laying ahead of each. As we parted, he took from his jacket a road map and handed it to me (pictured below – it was new when he gave it to me). For me to use on my travels, he said.
I’ve forgotten his name long ago, I can for the love of life not recall what bike he was riding (was a standard Japanese bike, that I can remember). However, that incident I have never forgotten. I have forgotten lots of incidents on trips I was on, but not this one. It made a profound impression on me. The spontaneous buying of a beer for me and giving me a gift.
A very useful gift it was. I have used that map ever since and took it always with me, even when I started to know many of the roads by heart (I have never used a GPS or similar device). It was a good map.
I still, to this day, think about that biker. Who was he? And I would like to buy him a beer one day. And thank him again. The camaraderie I had experienced in that brief chance meeting formed a part of me.
Thus, if it was any of you on this forum, please message me. Otherwise, check with your mates and if you trace this guy, tell him that that guy he had given a map to many moons ago at Kalkrand, wants to meet again with him.
