BlouVark
Race Dog
If you don't know the whole story by now, start reading here:
The Planning
Gideon said he needed to get away from things a bit & get
his new Lookwells dirty. I was keen for a sleep over somewhere
and as I?ve been playing around with a route in the Thabazimbi
area, I thought it would be nice for a change than the usual
Eastern Transvaal thing.
Saturday morning we met up at the Excel garage in Wonderwaters
& took a leisurely cruise up to Bela-Bela on tar to make up some
time as it would be a long day with around 400km?s of dirt ahead.
Had a nice breakfast at Maxis filled the bikes up then hit the dirt
towards the Donkerpoort dam. Very nice road as we got sand
almost immediately.
Quick smoke break at the dam. I think we should arrange a sleep
over here too one day. Nice spot
Mr Lookwell always the clown.
Legend on a legend
12km?s of tar then off towards Vier-en-twintig riviere.
If you know Gideon, no comment needed.
There were sections where the sand was quite thick. I was riding
in the track while Gideon was riding IN the middle mannetjie, show off.
It just looks like he wanted to dive in, he actually said: ?light my fart,
light my fart!? Must have had a few falls before.
We filled up again in Vaalwater and while there, a youngster on
a CRF230 also stopped for fuel with the coppers in tow. The
policeman gave him a good uit kak as he was lifting a friend with
no helmet & no roadworthy kit on the bike. We spend a couple
of minutes for a smoke & a coke before setting off again,
trying to beat rush hour in Vaalwater.
The road from the R517 towards Schoongelegen was simply
awesome. Narrow, just enough sand and not more than
100m of straight road. The road varied the whole time &
we were really enjoying ourselves.
Another small bridge this time with some water at least.
Gideon approaching another lekker sand section.
I was leading, but stopped often at certain points to take photos of
Gideon passing me, then I would chase after him to catch up and lead again.
Timing a bit off, took the pic before he hit the water.
Playing catch up again, I came up to another rise when I saw
a cloud of dust that looked like someone detonated a small
nuclear bomb. You know that sick to your stomach feeling
you sometimes get when you know the shit has now just
hit the fan.
At first I didn?t see anything, just the tracks of those famous
Kendas in the dirt which I followed towards a rock in the road
with a ditch right after it., then no tracks, then a couple of
meters on a few more meters of Kenda tracks, then nothing,
then a long track right into some large rocks onto the side of
the road. The Legend was nowhere to be seen, but looking up
I saw Gideon in the middle of the road squirming around on
his back. Immediately I felt sick & could not stop my bike
quickly enough. Expecting the worse.
Shouting ?are you alright? as I got off, Gideon said NO! , obviously
in pain. I told him just to lay still a minute or two. He calmed down,
sat up & said ?fokkit my duim is seer? At least it was only a thumb
not a leg or neck. I don?t know who was more relieved that he had
no serious injuries as I kept thinking to myself that it would take at
least 2 hours to get medical help & ride back & that 2 hours might
be just too much.
The new Lookwells now looked not so well anymore and there was
a big impact mark on his helmet, even the goggles were cracked.
Good, he fell on his head so it?s OK, nothing to damage there?..
After a smoke and a drink of water Gideon collected himself &
assured me that although in some pain he was OK. Then it
was time to tend to the Legend. We managed to lift her up and
pull her half way out of the ditch but with Gideon?s hand hurting
and me with not enough strength, we could not move her
completely out. It did not matter though because she was not
able to go anywhere anyway.
Gideon realizing just how severe the damage is.
EISH
Jannie jammer-gat.
It was not long before Gideon was his old self again and
started joking and talking k@k. Yip, he?s definitely OK.
In true Wild Dog fashion, we had to capture the moment. So
let me take you back to what I saw coming up that rise. Step
by step of course.
The red lines are right next to Gideon?s tracks.
The ditch between the two rocks that threw him off line.
Airborne, clearing the next couple of rocks before laying down
tracks again.
Airborne again, then obviously out of control swerving to the left
and the rocks.
Airborne again, around a meter of track then up again.
Hit this rock full on with the front wheel.
Look at how far he moved it.
Finally it all comes to an end in a ditch on the side of the road.
From where it all started going wrong was around 52 meters of
which he kept the bike up right, (I?m guessing here as the bike
might have been going on his own momentum at some stage as
Gideon was laying about 5 meter to from the bike in the middle
of the road) right until that final rock that destroyed the rim &
bent the brake disc.
Damage to the helmet is not very clear on this pic, but even the
goggles had a crack & the visor was forced down.
Ever the clown, but very impressed with the Lookwells. Not a tear
or any other signs of damage. At least he got what he wanted, to
get his kit dirty.
Anyone interested in buying a rim & disc? One careful owner, hardly
used.
?Show us your forum sticker?
We were stuck and there was hardly any cell phone reception so
I phoned the only person I know that might help us.
The conversation went something like this:
? Hi Mark, can I ask a favour please??
?What?s wrong, is the BlouBitch down? laughter.
?No, it?s Gideon, bikes flucked & he?s hurt?
Silence ??Where are you??
?Around 60k?s from Thabazimbi?
?Fluuuck! ??I?m on my way?
We ended up sitting around, laying around, moving around in
search of some shade as it was freaking hot & our water supply
was long gone. The whole time Gideon was telling jokes??We got
so bored that I managed to log on the forum & started posting.
Wow, what a response, everybody tried phoning & sending SMS?s
offering to help.
Oh yeah, then it started raining, which was very welcome in the
heat, but as soon as we had our kit on again it stopped
We?re sitting in the rain?.. what a glor?. argh, bugger that.
I had to do a couple of 24km trips to get reception to give directions
to Mark on where to find us. I was dead tired by now as the sand was
not fun anymore, it was bloody hard work.
Finally my hero arrived with a bakkie & trailer. We finally met
up where I had reception & it was a welcome sight to see him
coming down that road towards me. He was driving up & down
the dirt roads as there were no signs indicating the places I
mentioned on how to get to us. I finished my smoke & tackled
the sand again following Mark to where Gideon was waiting.
We really appreciated the cold water, thanks Mark.
I really struggled on the way back to Gideon to ride the sand
as it was very deep and the sun was at the point where I could
not read the surface that well & I had a tinted visor on. So I
suggested (read pleaded) that we try & fit the twin on the back
since it was a short wheelbase now and load BlouVark on the
trailer.
Towed the twin out the ditch with the bakkie, loaded the bikes
and off we went. We were all hungry since we only had breakfast,
so we had a quick bite in Thabazimbi & a couple of whiskeys.
Important Notice: The GS is on the trailer due to rider fatigue only.
The decision was made to take Gideon?s bike to Marks place to
store it as Mark said he?ll help him when he?s ready to fix it.
Journeyman drove all the way from Pretoria to Edenvale to pick
up Gideon & give him a lift back home. Thanks G, much appreciated.
I finally reached home just after 2am, walked through the shower
& collapsed in bed. Thanks Gideon, can?t remember when was
the last time I slept like that.
Got a phone call from Mark Sunday morning, he had a look at
the twin & recons the damage is not too bad, so there is hopefully
still life in the Legend.
I want to thank everyone who phoned, SMS?d, & pm?d, especially
Mark Warner, who drove more than 800km?s to pick us up. He?s
actually trying to avoid me now (bit hard to do since we work for
the same company) because every time I see him, I thank him
again, but I?ll forever be in his debt. Just hope his wife forgive
me sometime soon as he missed a planned family dinner to help
us.
Wild Dogs, I?m proud to call you friends.
The Planning
Gideon said he needed to get away from things a bit & get
his new Lookwells dirty. I was keen for a sleep over somewhere
and as I?ve been playing around with a route in the Thabazimbi
area, I thought it would be nice for a change than the usual
Eastern Transvaal thing.
Saturday morning we met up at the Excel garage in Wonderwaters
& took a leisurely cruise up to Bela-Bela on tar to make up some
time as it would be a long day with around 400km?s of dirt ahead.
Had a nice breakfast at Maxis filled the bikes up then hit the dirt
towards the Donkerpoort dam. Very nice road as we got sand
almost immediately.
Quick smoke break at the dam. I think we should arrange a sleep
over here too one day. Nice spot
Mr Lookwell always the clown.
Legend on a legend
12km?s of tar then off towards Vier-en-twintig riviere.
If you know Gideon, no comment needed.
There were sections where the sand was quite thick. I was riding
in the track while Gideon was riding IN the middle mannetjie, show off.
It just looks like he wanted to dive in, he actually said: ?light my fart,
light my fart!? Must have had a few falls before.
We filled up again in Vaalwater and while there, a youngster on
a CRF230 also stopped for fuel with the coppers in tow. The
policeman gave him a good uit kak as he was lifting a friend with
no helmet & no roadworthy kit on the bike. We spend a couple
of minutes for a smoke & a coke before setting off again,
trying to beat rush hour in Vaalwater.
The road from the R517 towards Schoongelegen was simply
awesome. Narrow, just enough sand and not more than
100m of straight road. The road varied the whole time &
we were really enjoying ourselves.
Another small bridge this time with some water at least.
Gideon approaching another lekker sand section.
I was leading, but stopped often at certain points to take photos of
Gideon passing me, then I would chase after him to catch up and lead again.
Timing a bit off, took the pic before he hit the water.
Playing catch up again, I came up to another rise when I saw
a cloud of dust that looked like someone detonated a small
nuclear bomb. You know that sick to your stomach feeling
you sometimes get when you know the shit has now just
hit the fan.
At first I didn?t see anything, just the tracks of those famous
Kendas in the dirt which I followed towards a rock in the road
with a ditch right after it., then no tracks, then a couple of
meters on a few more meters of Kenda tracks, then nothing,
then a long track right into some large rocks onto the side of
the road. The Legend was nowhere to be seen, but looking up
I saw Gideon in the middle of the road squirming around on
his back. Immediately I felt sick & could not stop my bike
quickly enough. Expecting the worse.
Shouting ?are you alright? as I got off, Gideon said NO! , obviously
in pain. I told him just to lay still a minute or two. He calmed down,
sat up & said ?fokkit my duim is seer? At least it was only a thumb
not a leg or neck. I don?t know who was more relieved that he had
no serious injuries as I kept thinking to myself that it would take at
least 2 hours to get medical help & ride back & that 2 hours might
be just too much.
The new Lookwells now looked not so well anymore and there was
a big impact mark on his helmet, even the goggles were cracked.
Good, he fell on his head so it?s OK, nothing to damage there?..
After a smoke and a drink of water Gideon collected himself &
assured me that although in some pain he was OK. Then it
was time to tend to the Legend. We managed to lift her up and
pull her half way out of the ditch but with Gideon?s hand hurting
and me with not enough strength, we could not move her
completely out. It did not matter though because she was not
able to go anywhere anyway.
Gideon realizing just how severe the damage is.
EISH
Jannie jammer-gat.
It was not long before Gideon was his old self again and
started joking and talking k@k. Yip, he?s definitely OK.
In true Wild Dog fashion, we had to capture the moment. So
let me take you back to what I saw coming up that rise. Step
by step of course.
The red lines are right next to Gideon?s tracks.
The ditch between the two rocks that threw him off line.
Airborne, clearing the next couple of rocks before laying down
tracks again.
Airborne again, then obviously out of control swerving to the left
and the rocks.
Airborne again, around a meter of track then up again.
Hit this rock full on with the front wheel.
Look at how far he moved it.
Finally it all comes to an end in a ditch on the side of the road.
From where it all started going wrong was around 52 meters of
which he kept the bike up right, (I?m guessing here as the bike
might have been going on his own momentum at some stage as
Gideon was laying about 5 meter to from the bike in the middle
of the road) right until that final rock that destroyed the rim &
bent the brake disc.
Damage to the helmet is not very clear on this pic, but even the
goggles had a crack & the visor was forced down.
Ever the clown, but very impressed with the Lookwells. Not a tear
or any other signs of damage. At least he got what he wanted, to
get his kit dirty.
Anyone interested in buying a rim & disc? One careful owner, hardly
used.
?Show us your forum sticker?
We were stuck and there was hardly any cell phone reception so
I phoned the only person I know that might help us.
The conversation went something like this:
? Hi Mark, can I ask a favour please??
?What?s wrong, is the BlouBitch down? laughter.
?No, it?s Gideon, bikes flucked & he?s hurt?
Silence ??Where are you??
?Around 60k?s from Thabazimbi?
?Fluuuck! ??I?m on my way?
We ended up sitting around, laying around, moving around in
search of some shade as it was freaking hot & our water supply
was long gone. The whole time Gideon was telling jokes??We got
so bored that I managed to log on the forum & started posting.
Wow, what a response, everybody tried phoning & sending SMS?s
offering to help.
Oh yeah, then it started raining, which was very welcome in the
heat, but as soon as we had our kit on again it stopped
We?re sitting in the rain?.. what a glor?. argh, bugger that.
I had to do a couple of 24km trips to get reception to give directions
to Mark on where to find us. I was dead tired by now as the sand was
not fun anymore, it was bloody hard work.
Finally my hero arrived with a bakkie & trailer. We finally met
up where I had reception & it was a welcome sight to see him
coming down that road towards me. He was driving up & down
the dirt roads as there were no signs indicating the places I
mentioned on how to get to us. I finished my smoke & tackled
the sand again following Mark to where Gideon was waiting.
We really appreciated the cold water, thanks Mark.
I really struggled on the way back to Gideon to ride the sand
as it was very deep and the sun was at the point where I could
not read the surface that well & I had a tinted visor on. So I
suggested (read pleaded) that we try & fit the twin on the back
since it was a short wheelbase now and load BlouVark on the
trailer.
Towed the twin out the ditch with the bakkie, loaded the bikes
and off we went. We were all hungry since we only had breakfast,
so we had a quick bite in Thabazimbi & a couple of whiskeys.
Important Notice: The GS is on the trailer due to rider fatigue only.
The decision was made to take Gideon?s bike to Marks place to
store it as Mark said he?ll help him when he?s ready to fix it.
Journeyman drove all the way from Pretoria to Edenvale to pick
up Gideon & give him a lift back home. Thanks G, much appreciated.
I finally reached home just after 2am, walked through the shower
& collapsed in bed. Thanks Gideon, can?t remember when was
the last time I slept like that.
Got a phone call from Mark Sunday morning, he had a look at
the twin & recons the damage is not too bad, so there is hopefully
still life in the Legend.
I want to thank everyone who phoned, SMS?d, & pm?d, especially
Mark Warner, who drove more than 800km?s to pick us up. He?s
actually trying to avoid me now (bit hard to do since we work for
the same company) because every time I see him, I thank him
again, but I?ll forever be in his debt. Just hope his wife forgive
me sometime soon as he missed a planned family dinner to help
us.
Wild Dogs, I?m proud to call you friends.
