katana
Grey Hound
My weekened only started on Sunday, as I spent most of Friday night and the whole Saturday putting my XT550 back together. She started 3rd kick when I turned the fuel on ;D
After a lazy lunch on Sunday my girlfriend and I went for a ride on some dirt roads in the area. Me on the GS, she on the XT. First dirt for her on the XT. I was super chuffed at her skill and courage and we had a slow quiet ride all the way to Slent road. After listening to the wind generators for a bit we made our way back towards town. That was the plan anyway. It turned out a bit more complicated than I thought possible and more scary than anything I have experienced while riding bike.
Just after crossing the Malmesbury road a silver Golf appeared behind and tailgated the XT. We were doing around 70km/h. Being worried for her safety I kept looking in the rear view mirror to monitor what the golf was up to. We reached the turn off to Philadelphia and I indicated a right turn. As she was moving over to the white line to turn the Golf decided to pass left at warp speed seeing how close he could come past. Not cool. :dousing: I signalled him to make space using my left hand. He then decided to hit brakes. I thought: 'F#ck this' and gave him the bird. He made a u-turn as we turned in on the Philadelphia road. My first thought was to speed up, but I realized the XT wouldn't make it. My next thought was to get off the road, this guy was up to no good. I pulled on the shoulder and gestured for my girlfriend to get as far away from the road as possible. Worst I expected was some shouting or fists, but I didn't want some oke using his car as a battering ram.
I was wrong though. That was exactly his plan. He proceeded to luckily just miss my girlfriend still sitting on the XT - by a hair
I moved back out of the way and he knocked the GS on the crash bar, causing it to tip over. He then sped off. I stood there totally flabbergasted. Shocked completely and taking stock. I couldn't believe how close my girlfriend had come to being rammed with a car. Fooking hell.
She got off the bike and we lifted the GS onto the wheels. I saw a woman standing a couple of meters away and went to ask her if she saw the incident. She did and told me her number and that she was waiting for the SAP at that time. I got the SAP number from her and while phoning, the police bakkie stopped there. My girlfriend had gotten the registration number, I only managed the get CEA and to see there were four digits. The policeman verified the number by calling it in. CEA 7516, Silver Golf from Moreesburg.
We inspected the bike and except for some dirt on the left side and a scuffed RHS crash bar, the bike seemed OK - thank goodness for the mud next to the bike. Nothing broken or bent. Now those who know me can attest to the fact that I have been to scared of dropping my bike to push the limits too much. I now know BMW built the bike like a tank. We went to the police station and after some talk it was decided to open a case of malicious damage to property. Thank God it wasn't murder.
I have totally forgotten how fragile we are. My riding style in traffic has always been aggressive, not defensive, as I believed what is behind me can't hurt me.
Except to learn that my GS is pretty tough, I was also reminded just how crazy some people are out there. This guy was cruising for trouble and I fell for the bait. My bad.
I have attached a photo of where the bikes stopped to show how far we were from the shoulder of the tar. Almost a car's width. Note the yellow line in the front LHS. This was no accident. This is not a rant. This is me working through the shock.
I hope this oke gets a lesson he will never forget.
After a lazy lunch on Sunday my girlfriend and I went for a ride on some dirt roads in the area. Me on the GS, she on the XT. First dirt for her on the XT. I was super chuffed at her skill and courage and we had a slow quiet ride all the way to Slent road. After listening to the wind generators for a bit we made our way back towards town. That was the plan anyway. It turned out a bit more complicated than I thought possible and more scary than anything I have experienced while riding bike.
Just after crossing the Malmesbury road a silver Golf appeared behind and tailgated the XT. We were doing around 70km/h. Being worried for her safety I kept looking in the rear view mirror to monitor what the golf was up to. We reached the turn off to Philadelphia and I indicated a right turn. As she was moving over to the white line to turn the Golf decided to pass left at warp speed seeing how close he could come past. Not cool. :dousing: I signalled him to make space using my left hand. He then decided to hit brakes. I thought: 'F#ck this' and gave him the bird. He made a u-turn as we turned in on the Philadelphia road. My first thought was to speed up, but I realized the XT wouldn't make it. My next thought was to get off the road, this guy was up to no good. I pulled on the shoulder and gestured for my girlfriend to get as far away from the road as possible. Worst I expected was some shouting or fists, but I didn't want some oke using his car as a battering ram.
I was wrong though. That was exactly his plan. He proceeded to luckily just miss my girlfriend still sitting on the XT - by a hair
I moved back out of the way and he knocked the GS on the crash bar, causing it to tip over. He then sped off. I stood there totally flabbergasted. Shocked completely and taking stock. I couldn't believe how close my girlfriend had come to being rammed with a car. Fooking hell. She got off the bike and we lifted the GS onto the wheels. I saw a woman standing a couple of meters away and went to ask her if she saw the incident. She did and told me her number and that she was waiting for the SAP at that time. I got the SAP number from her and while phoning, the police bakkie stopped there. My girlfriend had gotten the registration number, I only managed the get CEA and to see there were four digits. The policeman verified the number by calling it in. CEA 7516, Silver Golf from Moreesburg.
We inspected the bike and except for some dirt on the left side and a scuffed RHS crash bar, the bike seemed OK - thank goodness for the mud next to the bike. Nothing broken or bent. Now those who know me can attest to the fact that I have been to scared of dropping my bike to push the limits too much. I now know BMW built the bike like a tank. We went to the police station and after some talk it was decided to open a case of malicious damage to property. Thank God it wasn't murder.
I have totally forgotten how fragile we are. My riding style in traffic has always been aggressive, not defensive, as I believed what is behind me can't hurt me.
Except to learn that my GS is pretty tough, I was also reminded just how crazy some people are out there. This guy was cruising for trouble and I fell for the bait. My bad.
I have attached a photo of where the bikes stopped to show how far we were from the shoulder of the tar. Almost a car's width. Note the yellow line in the front LHS. This was no accident. This is not a rant. This is me working through the shock.
I hope this oke gets a lesson he will never forget.
