GS Challenge 2006

[funacide]

So I see comments about the lack of posting from the GS Challenge. I think it is all about time. I will give you a sneak preview of some of the pics and a brief summary as well:

Summary:
Good riding with LOTS of bikes and LOTS of dust, beautiful scenery, Freezing cold at night with food and toilets needing work.

Here are two of the pics, I will post the rest later.

[Grootseun]

Keep em coming... looking forward to a GS challenge report that is not on the BM website...

:drool:

[KATOOM-ZN]

MMmmmmmmm........second GSC for me.  :x

It seems the bigger and more commercial it gets.....
1. The generation of really good non standard dirt road riding is a challenge for the organisers
2. Day three of the red routes is very different to the first two, although the organisers would have you believe differently
3. Day three of the red routes is designed as an assessment of skills to determine who the next BMW instructor will be!
4. Day three of the red routes is designed to make up for lost sales during the three day event with spares and workshop revenue!

You would no doubt have read the story of the Sani weekend that SGB put together. I was lucky enough to be able to join that tour on Sat with my Flifty and Sunday with my GS12. I got back home after the Saturday ride and said "wow!!" - looking at some of the posts of that ride, many of you guys who joined the trip said the same. I think you're better off than a GSC'er.

I stayed around Rosedal with SGB after the GSC. SGB grew up in the area and threw in a few special stages through a few farms that confirmed for me that when Deon Meyer said that they had spent thousands of kilometers recce'ing the area for the magnificent routes they had laid out for us - he was clearly having one of his legendary dreams!

I'm thinking I may just have done my last GSC simply because I know the guys I ride with can put a better riding weekend together - and that's what the GSC is supposed to be about......isn't it?
[/list]

[funacide]

I tend to agree with you GS12ZN, this was my first and probably my last GS challenge. The routes we rode except for about 5 km's (Green route) were gravel highways. The scenery was spectacular but there was toooo many people. I would rather go and ride the area camping out with a couple of mates and not 650 other people hell bent on the BMW sold lifestyle.

Meeting new peeps and riding with them was far more enjoyable than the whole idea to me. Also the route indications the previous night are very misleading. The first days special stages where just normal gravel with a few rocks or some (not much sand), we actually wondered if we had turned off the route as we seemed to miss all the special stages....

With my limited time available, I would far rather go on a trip with 5 or 6 mates to a nice destination than join the millions!!

[IDR]

I tend to agree with you GS12ZN, this was my first and probably my last GS challenge. The routes we rode except for about 5 km's (Green route) were gravel highways. The scenery was spectacular but there was toooo many people. I would rather go and ride the area camping out with a couple of mates and not 650 other people hell bent on the BMW sold lifestyle.

Meeting new peeps and riding with them was far more enjoyable than the whole idea to me. Also the route indications the previous night are very misleading. The first days special stages where just normal gravel with a few rocks or some (not much sand), we actually wondered if we had turned off the route as we seemed to miss all the special stages....

With my limited time available, I would far rather go on a trip with 5 or 6 mates to a nice destination than join the millions!!

Yaaaiiiyyy...then the KLE can come too!!!      

[Leo]

Fun said he would post the pics somewhere on the forum. All in one central place. Just need to get the pics to him!.

All I can say is "I'm still fcuking tired. The red route Sat almost killed me! I am definately not fit enough for that k@k.

Michnus I am well and truely gatvol for a bike. Done enough riding for this week.

Will post my story once I get the moral courage to post it! Working on it with a few B&C's  

[Adventurer]

I concur with Funicide and GS12ZN, I will probably not do another GSC, I think green route is designed to attract the guys that are inexperienced on dirt roads, and the red route is designed to generate a spares sale of note, although the very experienced guys enjoyed it.
All the guys I rode with this weekend IMO have to much experience for green route and are not prepared to damage their bikes on red route.
We bitched about the insufficient toilet facilities last year, guess what, they gave us less this year! 20 toilets for 600+ guys, please.
The food was ok but given that this is a BMW event, the food could have been better, ever tried putting butter on a cold mielie?
IMO the organisers look for the coldest place in SA and then hold the GSC there. We froze with sub zero temperatures while the guys at the Hippo Rally in Richards Bay were camping in sweltering heat.
All in all the GSC was ok, but IMO they need to listen to the complaints, not think that seeing as it grows every year that what they are doing is fine!

[CaMojo]

well, As for Mysself and Chris,  Wedid the MOJO Green Routes.

i.e.  leave at around 8 to 9 in the morning. NO Dust.

Decide the section of the green route you want to ride, skip the rest.

Find a lekker Pub along the way, have few beers, chat with your buddies,

and head back towards camp around 2 in the afternoon to watch the skills challenge, and enjoy the event.

C. U Next year,  

Remember, It's up to you to enjoy the event. I f you are there for the red routes, enjoy it, otherwise, sort of do your own thing like at any other BIG event and you will thoroughly enjoy it.

[CaMojo]

PS:  Remember:  The event have to cater for over 600 Riders. If they have to satisfy every single one of us, there will be ove 600 Routes to ride.


DONT expect deon Meyer or Jan u Toit to selct the Perfect route for every individual.  It is simply impossible.

Remember they also have to keep in mind the logistics like Bike recovery, and Medical backup.

PLEASE DO NOT BE LIKE OTHER FORUMS WHERE EVERYONE JUST LIKE TO CRITICISE.  

ACCEPT IT FOR WHAT IT IS:   AN EVENT TO BE ENJOYED BY EVERYONE.

AND IF YOU DID NOT ENJOY IT, IT IS YOUR OWN FAULT, NOT THAT OF THE ORGANISERS.    

LIFE IS ABOUT DECISIONS, YOU EITHER DECIDE TO ENJOY IT OR NOT, IT IS UP TO YOU.

   

AS FOR MYSELF,  I HAD A GREAT TIME DOING MOSTLY MY OWN THING AND ENSURING MY OWN ENJOYMENT.

[CaMojo]

MR ADVENTURER,   NEXT TIME YOU TRY AND GET EVERY SINGLE ONE OF 600 + PEOPLE A WARM MIELIE,  

PLEASE BE SENSIBLE.  COME ON GUYS,  RATHER BE POSITIVE AND APPRECIATE THE EFFORT THAT WENT INTO THE WHOLE ORGANISING OF THIS EVENT.

O JA,  ADVENTURER WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THE CATERING AT THE NEXT ONE NITE STAND AND ENSURE EVERYONE HAVE A SUPER HOT MEAL PREPARED BY HIMSELF.

[Leo]

Well ComoJo - you and Chris certainly seemed to have had lots of fun!

Must honestly say I enjoyed the event.    

Would have loved to skip the funeral section on Friday, but apart from that great fun was had by all of me!

The routes was OK, Green 2 was a bit boring, could have partied more with the mates, but hey that's also more dangerous!

......whatever floats your boat  

I will certainly attend next year, unless it's held in a really k@k spot - not easy to find in SA  

I do it for the "samesein" .... me thinks comeraderie is the right word?  :?

Yea me and the pelle could go some place else, like a 3 nite stand or similar, but I reacon it will cost you the same, so fcuk let them do the planning, I just go to enjoy. Yes the okes snore, and you can't sleep if you go to bed sober, that's why we dopped every night till the wee hours of the morning. Wake up refreshed, que for a k@k, but all in all I enjoyed.

Lagged at the chickie who guarded the showers - at least there was no que and the water was always hot.  

Suppose not BMWs fault the okes wank while taking their early morning shit, thereby causing these moerse long  ques at the toilets  :shock:
 
"Wim Skywalker" certainly seemed to put Deon Meyer in a permanent k@k mood, but hey the more people gather, the more likely you are to encounter people from all walks of life!

The bar was definately the low point of it all. Shit running out of brandy - three nights in a row

.........then the last night they ran out of coke :roll:

Fcuked up.         They should plan better. One can always return what wasn't used, but if you don't have, you can't sell!

Anyhow I'm getting all phylasophical, will post more tomorrow when I'm sober  :roll:

[Ama ride ride]

As an owner of a BMW and having attended the GSC last year I would like to add a bit to this tread.

Firstly if anybody did not enjoy the GSC they should kick themselves in the balls. If I remember correctly I read somewhere that Deon Meyer said the idea of the GSC is to give GS riders the change to do the "GS" thing. (ok ok I know I used a pin) Meaning to pack your gear and go on an adventure and use your GS for what it was made for in the first place.

With all respect to this forum's adventure riders, expect for the once to go and see what it is like, I do not understand why one would pay that much money to go and do something like the GSC every year. The GSC is perfect for the BMW okes who is hell bend on the BMW and GS lifestyle. Not the average adventure rider, who do not need to pay somebody to tell him where to ride, sleep eat, sh%t etc.

I know its lekker to go on a jol with mates and it more lekker when the jol is an adventure where you get to ride nice gravel tracks etc.  Compare a bit to what one get at for example the Buffalo (At Santos in Mosselbay) for R150 vs what you get at the GSC for nearly R1500. Both are designated to cater for biker who wants a jol. Adventure riders still can get to ride some of the best gravel roads in SA on way to and from the Buff.

Furthermore complaining about the dust is other thing I do not understand. What did you expect with 500 other riders on a gravel road? Laventel?

So my dear adventure friends, if you want to go with the BMW lifestyle flow and can not see through the hype (and this account also for the Mouton van Zyl trips) please do not break down the hard work of the organisers. You made the choice to go and spend money and leave there instead of going on a nice 10 day trip to Namibia or Mozzy or Bots or Africa

Lastly. I see the GSC and Mouton?s trips to a well advertised and hyped up steak with a ?Made in China? stamp on the back. It looks the part, it smells the part but it does not taste the part.

Just my 2c??..

[Jacko]

Fully agree with Ama-R-R

Also attend the GSC last year. Enjoyed it. BUT I also did a 9 day trip to Nam two months later. Man, was that nice. Much better.

Basically it boils down to the fact that the GSC is a BMW GS Rally - in much the same way (and it hurts to say it) as the Harley Rally for the Harley Lifestyle.

Because - and have no illusions about it - the "BMW Lifestyle" has become a victim of it's own success. Too many wankers now ride, or aspire to ride, GS's. From the boots to the helmet, everything is BMW. Veeery Harley. Plus it seems as if it all is becoming a marketing point, fashion parade for Touratech/Lifestyle.

Ag nee fok, kerels, if I want to have a good time I'll either go to a rally for the suip 'n kakpraat or I'll organise a trip with good mates where we ride our own routes. At least I'm capable of doing that. And then, of course, we dop afterwards.

But I guess my opinion stems from being a hardegat individual by nature. With the accent on INDIVIDUAL....

[Lito]

Jaco, you, kakpraat and dopping is big maats            

[Jacko]

Ja-well Lito, at least I get to meeting interesting characters like you on my riding, dopping & kakpraat excursions, hey?  

[Lito]

absoooloodeleee Jaco, you is da best my mate. You have me in stitches all the time!!!!!

[KATOOM-ZN]

When I posted a reply to funacide's original post I wondered what would come out of it all.

It would be interesting to hear from members who have done all 3 GSC's.

IMHO it's not about being negative - I've got nothing to be negative about at all - I have a green route badge, and a red route certificate (with my name on nogal, so it's useless to anyone else)......it's about losing the plot through the 3 years of the GSC's existence. It started off as a "challenge", and so I expected the "challenge" to continue across the green route as well ? maybe the green should have been more challenging and the novice routes should have stayed?. What's the challenge in finding the closest pub and spending the day there - other than catching up on the B&C's the BMW organised event ran out of the night before?

Fact is it's ended up a "rally", and as you guys have pointed out, you get better toilet's for less at a "rally" and you don't need an arctic suit for the event.

Agreed, it's a great event if you want to be wrapped up in the hype, and everything that goes with it. Well done to the marketing genius of BMW to get a whole lot of fella's to buy up South Africa's entire stock of TKC 80's for a rally!          

[Kev]

Well done to the marketing genius of BMW to get a whole lot of fella's to buy up South Africa's entire stock of TKC 80's for a rally!          

 
  Thats funny!!  

[IceCreamMan]

Some of you okes have hit the nail squarely on its head...an thats to take a week off an spend time with some maats an plan your own routes..

Yuo dont need 650 ppl to have a good jol, just your good mates.

Once a year mates an i plan a week long trip to various parts of ZA ,all in it never costs me more n 3 k an we get to some spectacular parts of ZA.

The GS challenge sounds like it has become the harley equivalent for BMW and to the Camojo , if i am paying so much money not only do i want  a warm mielie but i want lurpaks finest for it as well boet.  

just cos i ride motorcycles dont mean i deserve shoddy treatment.

cheers

[vgarider]

FYI:  the butter for the cold mielies was "lurpak"