Fulltaps
Race Dog
I was going through some old photo's and came across pics of my first bike trip done in 1995 with with my old friend Chris Leatt, now the founder of Leatt Brace. This report is nothing to do with the success of his product or him but of two young friends determined to ride our bikes to Vic Falls with very little money or overland experience....Little did we know what was waiting around every corner... 
ot:
I had met Chris in 1990 while he was studying medicine at UCT and ever since then, we dreamed of riding our bikes through Africa...but as usual, Chris's dream was more to break a record for the quickest trans Africa trip. Anyways that was not to be and the planning of our little trip to Vic Falls started.
The problem was... I first needed to chase a girlfriend who had moved to London, so Chris was left with the duty of looking after my bike and building a luggage rack. 6 months came and went and I returned from London with a few emotional scars but that was ok because I was about to ride my bike. woohoo :ricky:
On arrival in Cape Town, Chris informs me that my XL 600 is smoking really badly and that he thinks it needs an engine rebuild. GREAT news!! Before the trip starts I am already spending half my few pounds I brought on the engine...things were looking a little hectic but Cecil Penny who was working at Mike Hopkins in those days did a perfect job and we departed soon after fetching the bike.
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As you can see we had the latest riding gear, jeans, non padded jackets and tackies !!! With us are Chris's mom and sister.
Bikes loaded with alot of unecessary kak...But they looked the bomb !!! Babe magnets...or so we thought.
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Of course we need "camel Tanks" and a 20L jerry can.......just in case. Those carrier racks Chris made weighed in at about 23kg unpacked. It would later take its toll !!
Day 1: Cape Town - Saldanha
Soon after arriving we found the local bar......and started to unwind after the stresses of getting on the road. 1 beer, 2 beer...10 beer. beer goggles.. and we found ouselves being escorted to a night club by the bar lady "Anna" her real name by the way.. Anyways soon after leaving the bar I decided to do a little drifting on a gravel road to show "Anna" who da man was. Anyway my 600's back wheel overtook the front wheel and "Anna's" car and I went crashing down hurting my knee quite badly.
NO PROBLEM Chris says who was fifth year medicine "I will stitch you up" Great things were not improving !!so off we went to "Anna's" house to do the surgery. Pain does not describe the feeling that evening of the stitches going in without anesthetic. Anna held my hand and it was soon over. HOWEVER the next morning when we woke up, Chris realized that he did not clean the wound, so the stitches were promptly removed and discarded !! WTF so i sat under a hot tap for half an hour getting allthe gravel out.
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My knee still hurts 18 years later...when I think out it... :laughing4:
Of course now I couldn't start my own bike so every day Chris would have to start my thumper and hand it over to me. Stalling was not an option !!
DAY 2 - Springbok
Nothing eventfull, just nursing my knee and bruised ego...and another one that got away !*%^3@ !! We camped at the municipal camp sit just South of Springbok.
DAY 3 - Keetmanshoop (I think) Nothing left in my memory bank about that day.
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DAY 4 - Windhoek
It really started looking like we we on a roll of good luck and things were starting to get better... Like my old man says, when you down in the dumps you must be happy because things can only improve!! They still ring in my ears. Well at the first stop in Windhoek, the KLR will not start. No problem check the fuel, Yes fuel, check spark..NO spark No problem change plug..fuck.STILL NO spark...SHIT
10 days later the new CDI unit arrives in Windhoek after we just about invested all our remaining few bucks in Joe's Beers house.
Another very interesting experience we had in Windhoek that will never be forgotten was witnessing a dog give birth to 4 puppies and then deciding that they were genetically inferior and devoured them all. The sound of those little bones crushing and yelps will haunt me forever. :eek7:
DAY 15 - Caprivi Strip
Finally out of the f...n city and back on the bikes. ok things were improving ;D and my dads words rang in my head wooohoo !!! Feel the wind in the hair. mmm not for long..
The Caprivi strip which was fairly rough gravel in those days took its toll on the KLR's subframe breaking it clean through on both sides. Those 23 kg racks would never brake thats for sure...shit...things were looking a little bleek again.. A 5m rope we had tucked away in our panniers was used to hold it all together, but not before transfering another 10kg of luggage to my already sloppy feeling XL.
Oh well we living the dream so Off we went and things went rather uneventful for the entire rest of the day. Those cold beers on the Okavango went down well !!
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Looking a little...errr what holiday ?? when does the fun start ? :deal:
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The camp site was called CAMP & Canoe I think...the canoe part still to followot:
Ok so we decide to rent a canoe and do what all aspiring adventures did and paddle on an African river... so off we went. I suggested to Chris that we paddle through those rocks and chill in the flat water down stream. :thumleft: say Chris.. Well the little rocks seemed to be moved by the slow flowing river....SHIT not rocks but Hippos...we were paddling into a heard of 5 hippos. ok so we from Cape Town ok back paddle was the flavor of the moment and we escaped unscathed.
DAY 16: Somewhere !! cant remember but it did require entering Zimbabwe. No problem, Namibia was a breeze..so I thought..
"Passport please" smile there you go sir..."Chritmas box" Sorry I dont have any extra cash. NEXT...............so I sat 6 hours untill the shift changed to enter Zims. It was about 5 days before Christmas but I needed every cent I had.
DAY 17 or 18 - Vic Falls
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Chris's swollen eye after being attacked by a few mozi's
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We had to make a choice between bungi jumping or river rafting. Rafting inluded lunch and was a whole day so off we went. What great fun it was. My knee was just starting to heal properly by then but i was still nursing it. We were back left and back right. Smiles all round.
The ecstasy of the rafting was short lived.. I had just come back from London and was given a cap of acid (LSD) to bring back to SA. Now i had never taken acid before but I decided that it was a good time as the beer fund was diminishing rapidly and I needed to get over the trauma of the past few days.... MISTAKE... I took half a cap. :eek7:
Next thing I new, I was sitting under a tree at the gate of Vic Falls camp site thinking I was in world war 2 and needed to get through this German check point to get back to my platoon.. :imaposer: a trip of note that lasted 10 hours of which other details I will exclude but I never again took any drug after that experience...DONT DO IT :dousing:
By this stage our African adventure was taking its toll not only on our bodies and wallets but our friendship too. After our tent was destroyed by a storm at Vic Falls, we packed our shit and blew the rice paddy in a hurry and rode to Harare !! Back in da city wooohoo.
To celebrate our return to civilization, we headed out into the city to chill with a pizza andd beer or 2...or so we thought...
Not wanting to risk the inevitable we decided to walk into town.....bad idea !!!
On our way back to the backpackers hostel in the suburbs we suddenly found ourselves followed by 6 young aggressive locals. who decided that my moonbag with my passport, money, bike keys, ID etc was very attractive and proceeded to remove it from my waist. I very nearly made a big mistake of almost stabbing one of them after they had left me and were attacking Chris. Anyway I didn't and they vanished into an alley way. The next day was spend getting a temporary travel document to get to JHB.
I was very relieved to get to my moms house in JHB after riding non stop from Harare. I was finished, literally. I needed a few days to recover before heading back to Cape Town so Chris and I decided to split as he wanted to be in Knysna to meet his girlfriend for new years eve. I stayed on a few days to lick my wounds.
Now this is the best !!! I arrive in Knysna to meet up with my African adventurer buddy Chris on the 31 Dec 1995, so we decide to celebrate our reuniting and surviving the nightmare trip..........well once again I was wrong......
On our way back from buying a case of beers (which I was carrying), Chris overtakes a car indicating left and it turns right taking him off his bike and over the car into a park bench smashing his knee open. well at least I had the beer !!!, things were definitely improving as we drove Chris to the local doctor to have his knee stitched up...
As I recall all of this now as I put it on paper, without changing any of the fact I realize that we have to do those things we dream of as as they mold us into better people, even if they aren't always perfect. (just leave the acid out !!)
Chris and I went on to start a little safari business taking backpackers to Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe called Leanoth Safaris, which ran in a similar style as our bike trip ending in 1999 or so.
Damn crazy years they were !!!!! O0
ot:I had met Chris in 1990 while he was studying medicine at UCT and ever since then, we dreamed of riding our bikes through Africa...but as usual, Chris's dream was more to break a record for the quickest trans Africa trip. Anyways that was not to be and the planning of our little trip to Vic Falls started.
The problem was... I first needed to chase a girlfriend who had moved to London, so Chris was left with the duty of looking after my bike and building a luggage rack. 6 months came and went and I returned from London with a few emotional scars but that was ok because I was about to ride my bike. woohoo :ricky:
On arrival in Cape Town, Chris informs me that my XL 600 is smoking really badly and that he thinks it needs an engine rebuild. GREAT news!! Before the trip starts I am already spending half my few pounds I brought on the engine...things were looking a little hectic but Cecil Penny who was working at Mike Hopkins in those days did a perfect job and we departed soon after fetching the bike.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
As you can see we had the latest riding gear, jeans, non padded jackets and tackies !!! With us are Chris's mom and sister.
Bikes loaded with alot of unecessary kak...But they looked the bomb !!! Babe magnets...or so we thought.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Of course we need "camel Tanks" and a 20L jerry can.......just in case. Those carrier racks Chris made weighed in at about 23kg unpacked. It would later take its toll !!
Day 1: Cape Town - Saldanha
Soon after arriving we found the local bar......and started to unwind after the stresses of getting on the road. 1 beer, 2 beer...10 beer. beer goggles.. and we found ouselves being escorted to a night club by the bar lady "Anna" her real name by the way.. Anyways soon after leaving the bar I decided to do a little drifting on a gravel road to show "Anna" who da man was. Anyway my 600's back wheel overtook the front wheel and "Anna's" car and I went crashing down hurting my knee quite badly.
NO PROBLEM Chris says who was fifth year medicine "I will stitch you up" Great things were not improving !!so off we went to "Anna's" house to do the surgery. Pain does not describe the feeling that evening of the stitches going in without anesthetic. Anna held my hand and it was soon over. HOWEVER the next morning when we woke up, Chris realized that he did not clean the wound, so the stitches were promptly removed and discarded !! WTF so i sat under a hot tap for half an hour getting allthe gravel out.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
My knee still hurts 18 years later...when I think out it... :laughing4:
Of course now I couldn't start my own bike so every day Chris would have to start my thumper and hand it over to me. Stalling was not an option !!
DAY 2 - Springbok
Nothing eventfull, just nursing my knee and bruised ego...and another one that got away !*%^3@ !! We camped at the municipal camp sit just South of Springbok.
DAY 3 - Keetmanshoop (I think) Nothing left in my memory bank about that day.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
DAY 4 - Windhoek
It really started looking like we we on a roll of good luck and things were starting to get better... Like my old man says, when you down in the dumps you must be happy because things can only improve!! They still ring in my ears. Well at the first stop in Windhoek, the KLR will not start. No problem check the fuel, Yes fuel, check spark..NO spark No problem change plug..fuck.STILL NO spark...SHIT
10 days later the new CDI unit arrives in Windhoek after we just about invested all our remaining few bucks in Joe's Beers house.
Another very interesting experience we had in Windhoek that will never be forgotten was witnessing a dog give birth to 4 puppies and then deciding that they were genetically inferior and devoured them all. The sound of those little bones crushing and yelps will haunt me forever. :eek7:
DAY 15 - Caprivi Strip
Finally out of the f...n city and back on the bikes. ok things were improving ;D and my dads words rang in my head wooohoo !!! Feel the wind in the hair. mmm not for long..
The Caprivi strip which was fairly rough gravel in those days took its toll on the KLR's subframe breaking it clean through on both sides. Those 23 kg racks would never brake thats for sure...shit...things were looking a little bleek again.. A 5m rope we had tucked away in our panniers was used to hold it all together, but not before transfering another 10kg of luggage to my already sloppy feeling XL.
Oh well we living the dream so Off we went and things went rather uneventful for the entire rest of the day. Those cold beers on the Okavango went down well !!
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Looking a little...errr what holiday ?? when does the fun start ? :deal:
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
The camp site was called CAMP & Canoe I think...the canoe part still to follow
ot:Ok so we decide to rent a canoe and do what all aspiring adventures did and paddle on an African river... so off we went. I suggested to Chris that we paddle through those rocks and chill in the flat water down stream. :thumleft: say Chris.. Well the little rocks seemed to be moved by the slow flowing river....SHIT not rocks but Hippos...we were paddling into a heard of 5 hippos. ok so we from Cape Town ok back paddle was the flavor of the moment and we escaped unscathed.
DAY 16: Somewhere !! cant remember but it did require entering Zimbabwe. No problem, Namibia was a breeze..so I thought..
"Passport please" smile there you go sir..."Chritmas box" Sorry I dont have any extra cash. NEXT...............so I sat 6 hours untill the shift changed to enter Zims. It was about 5 days before Christmas but I needed every cent I had.
DAY 17 or 18 - Vic Falls
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Chris's swollen eye after being attacked by a few mozi's
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
We had to make a choice between bungi jumping or river rafting. Rafting inluded lunch and was a whole day so off we went. What great fun it was. My knee was just starting to heal properly by then but i was still nursing it. We were back left and back right. Smiles all round.
The ecstasy of the rafting was short lived.. I had just come back from London and was given a cap of acid (LSD) to bring back to SA. Now i had never taken acid before but I decided that it was a good time as the beer fund was diminishing rapidly and I needed to get over the trauma of the past few days.... MISTAKE... I took half a cap. :eek7:
Next thing I new, I was sitting under a tree at the gate of Vic Falls camp site thinking I was in world war 2 and needed to get through this German check point to get back to my platoon.. :imaposer: a trip of note that lasted 10 hours of which other details I will exclude but I never again took any drug after that experience...DONT DO IT :dousing:
By this stage our African adventure was taking its toll not only on our bodies and wallets but our friendship too. After our tent was destroyed by a storm at Vic Falls, we packed our shit and blew the rice paddy in a hurry and rode to Harare !! Back in da city wooohoo.
To celebrate our return to civilization, we headed out into the city to chill with a pizza andd beer or 2...or so we thought...
Not wanting to risk the inevitable we decided to walk into town.....bad idea !!!
On our way back to the backpackers hostel in the suburbs we suddenly found ourselves followed by 6 young aggressive locals. who decided that my moonbag with my passport, money, bike keys, ID etc was very attractive and proceeded to remove it from my waist. I very nearly made a big mistake of almost stabbing one of them after they had left me and were attacking Chris. Anyway I didn't and they vanished into an alley way. The next day was spend getting a temporary travel document to get to JHB.
I was very relieved to get to my moms house in JHB after riding non stop from Harare. I was finished, literally. I needed a few days to recover before heading back to Cape Town so Chris and I decided to split as he wanted to be in Knysna to meet his girlfriend for new years eve. I stayed on a few days to lick my wounds.
Now this is the best !!! I arrive in Knysna to meet up with my African adventurer buddy Chris on the 31 Dec 1995, so we decide to celebrate our reuniting and surviving the nightmare trip..........well once again I was wrong......
On our way back from buying a case of beers (which I was carrying), Chris overtakes a car indicating left and it turns right taking him off his bike and over the car into a park bench smashing his knee open. well at least I had the beer !!!, things were definitely improving as we drove Chris to the local doctor to have his knee stitched up...
As I recall all of this now as I put it on paper, without changing any of the fact I realize that we have to do those things we dream of as as they mold us into better people, even if they aren't always perfect. (just leave the acid out !!)
Chris and I went on to start a little safari business taking backpackers to Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe called Leanoth Safaris, which ran in a similar style as our bike trip ending in 1999 or so.
Damn crazy years they were !!!!! O0
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