cono
Pack Dog
The Lone Rangers … Shaun, Marco, Ryan, Buddy, Claren, Craig and Gareth, packed their bikes, packed in the swimming kit and the 4x4 wheels onto the back of the bakkie and hit the road at 05:00am from Johannesburg en-route for Bella Bella (Warmbaths), which should be approximately 2 hours drive (167km) from South Johannesburg.
Destination: Bella Bella: 2009/11/14 & 15 Klein Kariba Resort. Hot water pools and even hotter woman. :3some:
This was a Lone Rangers only trip. Rumor had it, that there were woman a plenty, so why take your own. We could eat and drink what we wanted, without being told to get to bed early. Well, we did get to bed early, YES, very early in the morning. :mwink:
For me personally, it was one of the most relaxing trips that I have taken in a long time. It was a first for me, being in the company of a very proud father, Craig and his 20 year old son, Gareth, who is a biking enthusiast first and a wrestling fan second.
Photo 8:
It’s when your in the company of people less fortunate than yourself, that you come to realize life dishes out the good and the bad, not as a punishment, but as a wake-up call to selfish self centered people who many of us become.
This posting, is not really about a biking trip, but a reality check on my life and a tribute to wonderful parents, Craig and Ursula and their family members, Buddy and their support system.
Here we are, the able bodied, who can have everything and anything we desire, yet we constantly complain daily about the taxi’s, the road hogs, the bad weather, the costs of our big boy and girls toys and all the gimmicks we can hold in our hands, yet we never every day praise the Good Lord for our health, our wealth and the fact that we can achieve great and wonderful things, through simple aspects such as speech, full functioning hands, feet, arms and legs and control over the basic functions, like feeding ourselves, scratching your backside or pulling aside your underpants, when it tightens around your goons.
We pay Income Tax, because we are able to work. Yet we complain constantly about the 40% cut we pay over to the Government in Taxes.
Spare a thought to those we are unable to work, those who wish they could work and who are willing to be able to work and even contribute 99% of their earnings to anyone, just to have the chance to be able to do.
Spare a thought to those wishing to do, what “ordinary people” can do.
I spent less than a full weekend, with a bright intelligent happy young man, bound to a wheel chair. His twitching and flaying of arms and legs the only movement to stretch his aching muscles. Never once during the weekend did I hear a compliant, a hint of dissatisfaction or a cry of distress from Gareth. This man lad was content, happy and in awe of his father Craig, who decided, that seeing as Gareth has a passion for motorcycles, why not let the boys take him away on a bikers bash to share in the excitement, participate in the fun, the games and the get down dirty, if you know what I mean. Come on, you’re all bikers, you know what I mean.
Gareth is no stranger to biking. On a regular basis, he shares his seat in the side-car of Craigs road bike, when they take trips around Johannesburg.
Photo 1:
TL: 4x KLR 650 on first coffee break at the overhead restaurant in Midrand.
TR: we managed to get some off-road riding along the gravel on the side road, so this is a legitimate off-road report.
BL: Our campsite No. 51 at Klein Kariba
BR: Saturday mornings sun, setting the scene for a great day.
Photo 2:
TL: The Boys debating which is the best spot for their tents
TR: Craig and Buddy, setting up the disco light for the nites entertainment.
(watch for this exciting story)
BL: All the wheels and chairs gathered at the bash.
BR: Shaun (Green Bull), standing in his camping spot, with Buddy in the background (counting cars and/or watching the girls go past)
Photo 3:
I played with Lego as a youngster and built some crasy things, but when it came to getting Craigs gigantic tent erected, it was mission only qualified engineers would have coped with. Luckily for The Boys, we are all qualified mechanics of note and got the tent up, without any instruction manual, nogal.
Photo 4:
Small Shaun and his Big Tent. Shaun on previous trips had the misfortune of bedding down with most of us before. The big debate when we arrived was in whose tent he would be sleeping. He said I snore to much, he said Marc farts too much, Ryan sleeps naked, Craig, Buddy and Gareths tent was too big, so he went into town to get the eats and drinks for our trip and at one of the shops, there was a sign which said,, “Buy a samoosa and get a tent for free”., so he bought the samoosa and got the tent.
This is no ordinary tent, this was his mansion. He started to organize the rooms, an alarm system, full outside flood lights and internal lighting and roll-up flaps. I thing the guy who sold him the samoosa, wanted to throw in a disco ball if he bought another samoosa. Me thinks, it was the first tent Shaun ever owned.
Photo 5:
On a recent trip with the Walkerville Rangers to Barberton, there was a mystery streaker wearing a balaclava, seen running through the house. Seems that someone did manage to get a photograph, but the Balaclava man has not yet been identified. I thought I may mention it seeing as we here have Shaun, wearing a balaclava attacking Marco with a camping chair. Is it coincidence or do we have a hint towards who the mystery Balaclava Man of Barberton really is. By the way, I just recalled that Shaun was also on the Barberton trip.
Photo 6:
Shaun’s bling-bling KLR 650. Spotless.
Photo 7:
Gareth looking rather worn out from the day before. It was now Sunday morning and we had just dismantled the camping site for the journey back home.
Gareth has limited speech, but understands every word and answers questions put to him in a quick concise reply, clearly acknowledging his ability to conceive and grasp the situation in which he finds himself.
I admit, it was really scary being in his presence when I first met him, not knowing how to communicate or how to respond to his actions. As people we tend to be afraid of the unknown, in particular when it is on a very emotional level. No-one can prepare you to be around someone who is clearly visibly different from yourself. I was listening to a Radio Advert the other morning, which touched deep into my emotional thoughts. It was a young lady selling Shatterpruffe Window Glass and the merits of fitting such glass for your own safety and that of your family. She stated that she would love to be able to visit you “face to face” to sell the product……but “She Only Has A Face For Radio”..
On Saturday after arriving at our campsite, I grabbed my fishing rod and we wheeled Gareth down to the lake and I started to cast the lure into the water in the hope of getting at least a nibble on the plastic lure. Gareth sat in his wheel chair looking down to where I was casting the rod. He can only in his mind wonder how it feels to be able to do what I was doing. The muscle deterioration in his arms and his clubbed hands, would have had him battle to hold the fishing rod.
Those of us who do fish, know the feeling when a fish takes the bait and you start carefully reeling in the line, feeling the power of the fish, feeling the size of the fish, all the time feeling the pull and twisting on the line of the fish as you pull it closer to the shore. I felt guilty for standing in front of Gareth clearly bragging about how I cast a line and was able to doing fishing.
But then I realized, though my actions, I can only believe that Gareth loved every moment sitting in his wheel chair, twitching his thin neck downwards from where he was sitting watching me. I believe that he lived each of my actions as if they were his own.
Should we as able bodied people feel guilty and not perform actions in front of less able bodied people than ourselves. I say, perform, laugh, sing, shout and dance in front of less-able bodied people, because, they live the scenario out in their own minds as if it was their own. We need to live life to the fullest as a tribute for those who are not able to do so. It is not cruel, it is not being spiteful, it is not bragging about being better or greater, but about celebrating the fact that we are able to caringly share emotions. It is evident through many debates with people each day, not all will agree with me and then there will be those who may agree to a certain extent only.
It’s unfortunate that you were not there with me to witness the laughter at our jokes, the smiles of acknowledgment when something naughty or rude was being said, between the boys. I gave up counting the number of “Thank You” ’s which Gareth constantly presented not only to me, but to all his friends.
The next time, you meet a lesser-abled bodied person than yourself, share a thought for that persons intelligence, he or she may not look like you or talk like you or act like you, but never-the-less has the same emotions and thoughts as you, but may not be able to express it through movement, speech or other forms of communication. Laughing and smiling and acting with respect towards that person is an acknowledgement from you that you recognize his/her existence.
Don’t look away in shock, horror or fear. Look that person in his/her eyes and ask “How are you”. If it is Gareth you meet to ask that question, without doubt his answer will be “Great”.
Photo 9:
I was about to say “All good things come to an end”. The Lone Rangers weekend away had ended, but in reality, good things were only just about to start. it was out trip home, to new adventures.
Here I am sitting into my armchair mounted on the KLR650. With a bit of innovation and lucky to have it, packing skills, I managed to pack, the 2 man tent (although I have not had the thought of sleeping with another man in my tent), the King Size blow up mattress (could not get it into the tent, so swapped it out for 2x small, very small mattresses and end up sleeping on the floor anyway ), black tool box, full of spares and equipment and my clothing bag on my bag, into a comfortable spot to lean up against. Something like a lazy boy chair. What a comfortable ride home.
Photo 10:
Craig on his bling-bling KLR650. He had a back tyre flat scare, but with a bit of foam from the magic bottle, we were back on the road, within a short space of time.
Photo 11:
The 4x Boys who rode their bikes. From left to right:- Craig, Marco, Cono and Shaun. Buddy drove the supply vehicle with Gareth riding co-pilot and Ryan, rode support vehicle and was also our professional photographer, who will share his photo’s and story with us. For the rest of those mechanics, I don’t even know if they know how to post on this site let alone take photographs. But I know one thing and that is that we all have one thing is common, we live life through biking adventures, friendship and lovely fantastic wives and children, who allow us the time to do what we do. Most of the time I believe the primary thing we have in common, is our drinking. The choice of drink is definitely not, the same, and is not First Watch Whiskey, but hey, when traveling on a tight budget, we cannot be choosy, when you send the wrong boys out to buy the weekends groceries.
But that is another story, we may elaborate on when we post more photo’s. Then there is the story about how I got elected as the President of The Lone Rangers, how our neighbors called out the cops (not real cops, but old men with big torches and battons), because Craig had crap taste in music, about the hot water swimming pools, about the ladies, about the braai (I think it was a braai, but am certain the meat was raw), and about the First Watch whiskey marinated chicken (I think it was fowl).
So until the 2009 Annual Toy Run, where God willing, we will escort Gareth in his side-car with his Dad, from Steeledale Shopping Centre to Nasrec (Johannesburg), spare a thought again for those who may not able to hold or play with the toys you plan to donate to the less-privileged.
You know you can make the difference, and the question is will you.
Destination: Bella Bella: 2009/11/14 & 15 Klein Kariba Resort. Hot water pools and even hotter woman. :3some:
This was a Lone Rangers only trip. Rumor had it, that there were woman a plenty, so why take your own. We could eat and drink what we wanted, without being told to get to bed early. Well, we did get to bed early, YES, very early in the morning. :mwink:
For me personally, it was one of the most relaxing trips that I have taken in a long time. It was a first for me, being in the company of a very proud father, Craig and his 20 year old son, Gareth, who is a biking enthusiast first and a wrestling fan second.
Photo 8:
It’s when your in the company of people less fortunate than yourself, that you come to realize life dishes out the good and the bad, not as a punishment, but as a wake-up call to selfish self centered people who many of us become.
This posting, is not really about a biking trip, but a reality check on my life and a tribute to wonderful parents, Craig and Ursula and their family members, Buddy and their support system.
Here we are, the able bodied, who can have everything and anything we desire, yet we constantly complain daily about the taxi’s, the road hogs, the bad weather, the costs of our big boy and girls toys and all the gimmicks we can hold in our hands, yet we never every day praise the Good Lord for our health, our wealth and the fact that we can achieve great and wonderful things, through simple aspects such as speech, full functioning hands, feet, arms and legs and control over the basic functions, like feeding ourselves, scratching your backside or pulling aside your underpants, when it tightens around your goons.
We pay Income Tax, because we are able to work. Yet we complain constantly about the 40% cut we pay over to the Government in Taxes.
Spare a thought to those we are unable to work, those who wish they could work and who are willing to be able to work and even contribute 99% of their earnings to anyone, just to have the chance to be able to do.
Spare a thought to those wishing to do, what “ordinary people” can do.
I spent less than a full weekend, with a bright intelligent happy young man, bound to a wheel chair. His twitching and flaying of arms and legs the only movement to stretch his aching muscles. Never once during the weekend did I hear a compliant, a hint of dissatisfaction or a cry of distress from Gareth. This man lad was content, happy and in awe of his father Craig, who decided, that seeing as Gareth has a passion for motorcycles, why not let the boys take him away on a bikers bash to share in the excitement, participate in the fun, the games and the get down dirty, if you know what I mean. Come on, you’re all bikers, you know what I mean.
Gareth is no stranger to biking. On a regular basis, he shares his seat in the side-car of Craigs road bike, when they take trips around Johannesburg.
Photo 1:
TL: 4x KLR 650 on first coffee break at the overhead restaurant in Midrand.
TR: we managed to get some off-road riding along the gravel on the side road, so this is a legitimate off-road report.
BL: Our campsite No. 51 at Klein Kariba
BR: Saturday mornings sun, setting the scene for a great day.
Photo 2:
TL: The Boys debating which is the best spot for their tents
TR: Craig and Buddy, setting up the disco light for the nites entertainment.
(watch for this exciting story)
BL: All the wheels and chairs gathered at the bash.
BR: Shaun (Green Bull), standing in his camping spot, with Buddy in the background (counting cars and/or watching the girls go past)
Photo 3:
I played with Lego as a youngster and built some crasy things, but when it came to getting Craigs gigantic tent erected, it was mission only qualified engineers would have coped with. Luckily for The Boys, we are all qualified mechanics of note and got the tent up, without any instruction manual, nogal.
Photo 4:
Small Shaun and his Big Tent. Shaun on previous trips had the misfortune of bedding down with most of us before. The big debate when we arrived was in whose tent he would be sleeping. He said I snore to much, he said Marc farts too much, Ryan sleeps naked, Craig, Buddy and Gareths tent was too big, so he went into town to get the eats and drinks for our trip and at one of the shops, there was a sign which said,, “Buy a samoosa and get a tent for free”., so he bought the samoosa and got the tent.
This is no ordinary tent, this was his mansion. He started to organize the rooms, an alarm system, full outside flood lights and internal lighting and roll-up flaps. I thing the guy who sold him the samoosa, wanted to throw in a disco ball if he bought another samoosa. Me thinks, it was the first tent Shaun ever owned.
Photo 5:
On a recent trip with the Walkerville Rangers to Barberton, there was a mystery streaker wearing a balaclava, seen running through the house. Seems that someone did manage to get a photograph, but the Balaclava man has not yet been identified. I thought I may mention it seeing as we here have Shaun, wearing a balaclava attacking Marco with a camping chair. Is it coincidence or do we have a hint towards who the mystery Balaclava Man of Barberton really is. By the way, I just recalled that Shaun was also on the Barberton trip.
Photo 6:
Shaun’s bling-bling KLR 650. Spotless.
Photo 7:
Gareth looking rather worn out from the day before. It was now Sunday morning and we had just dismantled the camping site for the journey back home.
Gareth has limited speech, but understands every word and answers questions put to him in a quick concise reply, clearly acknowledging his ability to conceive and grasp the situation in which he finds himself.
I admit, it was really scary being in his presence when I first met him, not knowing how to communicate or how to respond to his actions. As people we tend to be afraid of the unknown, in particular when it is on a very emotional level. No-one can prepare you to be around someone who is clearly visibly different from yourself. I was listening to a Radio Advert the other morning, which touched deep into my emotional thoughts. It was a young lady selling Shatterpruffe Window Glass and the merits of fitting such glass for your own safety and that of your family. She stated that she would love to be able to visit you “face to face” to sell the product……but “She Only Has A Face For Radio”..
On Saturday after arriving at our campsite, I grabbed my fishing rod and we wheeled Gareth down to the lake and I started to cast the lure into the water in the hope of getting at least a nibble on the plastic lure. Gareth sat in his wheel chair looking down to where I was casting the rod. He can only in his mind wonder how it feels to be able to do what I was doing. The muscle deterioration in his arms and his clubbed hands, would have had him battle to hold the fishing rod.
Those of us who do fish, know the feeling when a fish takes the bait and you start carefully reeling in the line, feeling the power of the fish, feeling the size of the fish, all the time feeling the pull and twisting on the line of the fish as you pull it closer to the shore. I felt guilty for standing in front of Gareth clearly bragging about how I cast a line and was able to doing fishing.
But then I realized, though my actions, I can only believe that Gareth loved every moment sitting in his wheel chair, twitching his thin neck downwards from where he was sitting watching me. I believe that he lived each of my actions as if they were his own.
Should we as able bodied people feel guilty and not perform actions in front of less able bodied people than ourselves. I say, perform, laugh, sing, shout and dance in front of less-able bodied people, because, they live the scenario out in their own minds as if it was their own. We need to live life to the fullest as a tribute for those who are not able to do so. It is not cruel, it is not being spiteful, it is not bragging about being better or greater, but about celebrating the fact that we are able to caringly share emotions. It is evident through many debates with people each day, not all will agree with me and then there will be those who may agree to a certain extent only.
It’s unfortunate that you were not there with me to witness the laughter at our jokes, the smiles of acknowledgment when something naughty or rude was being said, between the boys. I gave up counting the number of “Thank You” ’s which Gareth constantly presented not only to me, but to all his friends.
The next time, you meet a lesser-abled bodied person than yourself, share a thought for that persons intelligence, he or she may not look like you or talk like you or act like you, but never-the-less has the same emotions and thoughts as you, but may not be able to express it through movement, speech or other forms of communication. Laughing and smiling and acting with respect towards that person is an acknowledgement from you that you recognize his/her existence.
Don’t look away in shock, horror or fear. Look that person in his/her eyes and ask “How are you”. If it is Gareth you meet to ask that question, without doubt his answer will be “Great”.
Photo 9:
I was about to say “All good things come to an end”. The Lone Rangers weekend away had ended, but in reality, good things were only just about to start. it was out trip home, to new adventures.
Here I am sitting into my armchair mounted on the KLR650. With a bit of innovation and lucky to have it, packing skills, I managed to pack, the 2 man tent (although I have not had the thought of sleeping with another man in my tent), the King Size blow up mattress (could not get it into the tent, so swapped it out for 2x small, very small mattresses and end up sleeping on the floor anyway ), black tool box, full of spares and equipment and my clothing bag on my bag, into a comfortable spot to lean up against. Something like a lazy boy chair. What a comfortable ride home.
Photo 10:
Craig on his bling-bling KLR650. He had a back tyre flat scare, but with a bit of foam from the magic bottle, we were back on the road, within a short space of time.
Photo 11:
The 4x Boys who rode their bikes. From left to right:- Craig, Marco, Cono and Shaun. Buddy drove the supply vehicle with Gareth riding co-pilot and Ryan, rode support vehicle and was also our professional photographer, who will share his photo’s and story with us. For the rest of those mechanics, I don’t even know if they know how to post on this site let alone take photographs. But I know one thing and that is that we all have one thing is common, we live life through biking adventures, friendship and lovely fantastic wives and children, who allow us the time to do what we do. Most of the time I believe the primary thing we have in common, is our drinking. The choice of drink is definitely not, the same, and is not First Watch Whiskey, but hey, when traveling on a tight budget, we cannot be choosy, when you send the wrong boys out to buy the weekends groceries.
But that is another story, we may elaborate on when we post more photo’s. Then there is the story about how I got elected as the President of The Lone Rangers, how our neighbors called out the cops (not real cops, but old men with big torches and battons), because Craig had crap taste in music, about the hot water swimming pools, about the ladies, about the braai (I think it was a braai, but am certain the meat was raw), and about the First Watch whiskey marinated chicken (I think it was fowl).
So until the 2009 Annual Toy Run, where God willing, we will escort Gareth in his side-car with his Dad, from Steeledale Shopping Centre to Nasrec (Johannesburg), spare a thought again for those who may not able to hold or play with the toys you plan to donate to the less-privileged.
You know you can make the difference, and the question is will you.
