Here follows a ride report of sorts ... in that I did not complete the ride as planned - due to "unforeseen" consequences of being too windgat!
(It is also fairly overdue, as I first needed time to heal ... and then the energy to put it together!)
Planning started a few months before the planned weekend in September. Four of us would have taken on the Kalahari and explored the area from Van Zyl's Rus, via Askam up to (and beyond) Hakskeenpan. We planned on four days from the Friday (23rd) to Monday (26th). However, as the time drew near, my fellow riders all started to pull out (one modified his bike on the backend of a Jeep, the other had to go overseas for work and the last one's government dicated that her birthday was more important ... sic!). That left me, with the time already taken off from work ... and I really needed to get out of town and feel the andrenaline surging through my veins again.
In the end I decided that I would go for an "overnighter" to the Jobedi Game Reserve in the Waterberg to camp and come back stress free and rested.
It all started well early on the Friday morning when I left Randburg around 06:00 for Koffiekletske in Brits for a nice mug of "boeretroos". Feeling refreshed, I headed to the Beestekraal Station on the Thabazimbi road for breakfast:
By myni at 2011-09-30
I was not surprised to see that I was not the first Dog to make a pitstop here:
By myni at 2011-09-30
After a hearty meal, I set forth - north towards Thabazimbi - and was happy to exit the tar and enjoy the farm lands and dirt roads:
By myni at 2011-09-30
By myni at 2011-09-30
Stopped to re-fuel in Thabazimbi, before heading up Bakkers Pass and through Rankin Pass on my way to Alma:
By myni at 2011-09-30
By myni at 2011-09-30
By myni at 2011-09-30
By myni at 2011-09-30
Beautiful dirt highways! Albeit that by now the sand started to get thicker and far longer stretches of it was well!
By myni at 2011-09-30
I was starting to get a little tired as a headed through Rankin Pass:
By myni at 2011-09-30
Shortly thereafter, I was flying a down a long hill and hit quite a long stretch of sand at the bottom. Only way to get through was "stand up, look up and open up". I think when I got to the other side I was doing 140 km/h and before I knew it, I was into a long turn to the left. In the middle of the curve I hit some more sand, but was fine ... thinking that I could just drift through it whilst slowing down a little.
BIG mistake - never slow down on a curve, in thick sand! The end result was that I drifted over the middle and my front wheel hit the sand lip on the other side of the road. This caused my bike to promptly park itself, whilst I was propelled at a fair amount of speed into the open void hitting the ground rather hard. This effectively ended my solo sojourn to the Waterberg - and resulted in some additional hardware being implanted into my shoulder:
By myni at 2011-12-19
Both wrists bruised and swollen up like balloons, three cracked ribs (again!) and a shattered clavicle ... wow: it hadn't hurt this much since I broke my back in '94!
A sad conclusion to the journey - but an absolute highlight in terms of meeting a samaritan in the form of Japie Erasmus: a local farmer who helped me to get back to civilization again. Japie passed by about 7 minutes after I fell: on the radio immediately, two other farmers pulled up with a team of workers to get my bike and kit loaded on to Japie's bakkie ... before he took me to Nylstroom. On the way he called ahead to arrange for X-rays and a visit to the doctor. He patiently sat through both sessions - sacrificing almost his whole afternoon to get me sorted! In the meantime I could get hold of a friend that left Jo'burg with his trailer to come and fetch me in Nylstroom. There was not much that the doc could do for me other than giving me a helluva big (and painful) injection for the pain ... to ease the trip back to Jo'burg.
Japie insisted to stop at the local butcher to buy some droee wors and biltong, along with some Cokes, as "padkos" for the journey home. Absolutely amazing! Of course I was insulting him when I tried to pay him for his effort and fuel! I never knew that such help ever existed in this country any more ... but was very thankful for it.
So when ever you passing that way ... pop into the Doornkop farm - just 12 km's before you get to Alma - for the best hospitality you can imagine. But be warned: you may stay the night and you may leave, having made a new friend!
(It is also fairly overdue, as I first needed time to heal ... and then the energy to put it together!)
Planning started a few months before the planned weekend in September. Four of us would have taken on the Kalahari and explored the area from Van Zyl's Rus, via Askam up to (and beyond) Hakskeenpan. We planned on four days from the Friday (23rd) to Monday (26th). However, as the time drew near, my fellow riders all started to pull out (one modified his bike on the backend of a Jeep, the other had to go overseas for work and the last one's government dicated that her birthday was more important ... sic!). That left me, with the time already taken off from work ... and I really needed to get out of town and feel the andrenaline surging through my veins again.
In the end I decided that I would go for an "overnighter" to the Jobedi Game Reserve in the Waterberg to camp and come back stress free and rested.
It all started well early on the Friday morning when I left Randburg around 06:00 for Koffiekletske in Brits for a nice mug of "boeretroos". Feeling refreshed, I headed to the Beestekraal Station on the Thabazimbi road for breakfast:
By myni at 2011-09-30
I was not surprised to see that I was not the first Dog to make a pitstop here:
By myni at 2011-09-30
After a hearty meal, I set forth - north towards Thabazimbi - and was happy to exit the tar and enjoy the farm lands and dirt roads:
By myni at 2011-09-30
By myni at 2011-09-30
Stopped to re-fuel in Thabazimbi, before heading up Bakkers Pass and through Rankin Pass on my way to Alma:
By myni at 2011-09-30
By myni at 2011-09-30
By myni at 2011-09-30
By myni at 2011-09-30
Beautiful dirt highways! Albeit that by now the sand started to get thicker and far longer stretches of it was well!
By myni at 2011-09-30
I was starting to get a little tired as a headed through Rankin Pass:
By myni at 2011-09-30
Shortly thereafter, I was flying a down a long hill and hit quite a long stretch of sand at the bottom. Only way to get through was "stand up, look up and open up". I think when I got to the other side I was doing 140 km/h and before I knew it, I was into a long turn to the left. In the middle of the curve I hit some more sand, but was fine ... thinking that I could just drift through it whilst slowing down a little.
BIG mistake - never slow down on a curve, in thick sand! The end result was that I drifted over the middle and my front wheel hit the sand lip on the other side of the road. This caused my bike to promptly park itself, whilst I was propelled at a fair amount of speed into the open void hitting the ground rather hard. This effectively ended my solo sojourn to the Waterberg - and resulted in some additional hardware being implanted into my shoulder:
By myni at 2011-12-19
Both wrists bruised and swollen up like balloons, three cracked ribs (again!) and a shattered clavicle ... wow: it hadn't hurt this much since I broke my back in '94!
A sad conclusion to the journey - but an absolute highlight in terms of meeting a samaritan in the form of Japie Erasmus: a local farmer who helped me to get back to civilization again. Japie passed by about 7 minutes after I fell: on the radio immediately, two other farmers pulled up with a team of workers to get my bike and kit loaded on to Japie's bakkie ... before he took me to Nylstroom. On the way he called ahead to arrange for X-rays and a visit to the doctor. He patiently sat through both sessions - sacrificing almost his whole afternoon to get me sorted! In the meantime I could get hold of a friend that left Jo'burg with his trailer to come and fetch me in Nylstroom. There was not much that the doc could do for me other than giving me a helluva big (and painful) injection for the pain ... to ease the trip back to Jo'burg.
Japie insisted to stop at the local butcher to buy some droee wors and biltong, along with some Cokes, as "padkos" for the journey home. Absolutely amazing! Of course I was insulting him when I tried to pay him for his effort and fuel! I never knew that such help ever existed in this country any more ... but was very thankful for it.
So when ever you passing that way ... pop into the Doornkop farm - just 12 km's before you get to Alma - for the best hospitality you can imagine. But be warned: you may stay the night and you may leave, having made a new friend!
