The GS ride

For one of 2 riders for whom this Parys was our very first GS rides, I must thank Pieter for an excellent route for novice riders.

The ride went very well, besides me taking a fall in very soft sand. Pieter was there quick to point out my mistake in choosing my line and where I should have gone. Thanx to all those who supported me afterwards, with advice, etc. I did sprain my right wrist from the fall, though decided to bite the bullet to complete the trip on the GS route rather than head off to the nearest entering point of the roadies route. I was glad that I did continue, for I enjoyed the views of the region in the Vredefort area, even though my hand was throbbing nicely from the shakes of travelling over long sections of ripples. At this stage I be sticking to the Green level until my skills improve and become more comfortable riding on dirt roads.

Thanx to Collin for being the sweep of this ride.

Welcome to the Forum Alun!
And also to the rise and falls of GS Riding!

I hope your wrist is okay and that it is only sprained...

PS: The topic WHO's WHO is a great place to read more about the members and to introduce yourself.

Welcome Alun

Alun wrote:......though decided to bite the bullet to complete the trip on the GS route rather than head off to the nearest entering point of the roadies route......

you make it sound that the roadies are the "softies"

well.......maybe we are and we sure can learn a thing or two about gravel from the GS'ers

then again.......I'll have to think long and hard before swopping high speed twisties for gravel

just joking of course......being a (former) GS rider myself

Tend to agree with Jamie - believe Tar was invented for a reason - so was roadbikes.

“Ja, well, no, fine” Lekker is the first thought that comes to mind. Great to ride so lekker “los gat”. Great to find out how to disingage the ABS … (After a long draai in the bushes) I thought it would be boring and unsportsmanlike to read what the manual’s opinion was with regards to the ABS on dirt. Finally I read the manual – Ignition off, hold the ABS button, ignition on, hand break light (ABS light on bike)flashes….. then run round your bike three times, kiss a black mamba, and spit over your left shoulder, helmet on… etc, etc, etc… (Don’t try this with your bike; it is different for all bikes)

What a great trip, thanks to Pieter and Colin for keeping the lot together.

Sunday's trip sure was fun!!! This was my first time joining Sias for the GS breakfast run! And I must say that I really enjoyed it! Thanks guys!

Did some of you guys meet at Lyndhurst BMW in Midrand by any chance??

We had the perfect GS group 7 bikes and 8 people. When we had our pre-ride briefing I could see some fear and uncertainty in some eyes.
After our normal pre-dirt stop all the guys could disengage their ABS systems and read my minimalistic tyre pressure gauge.

As the day went on, the confidence grew and except from a minor spill on a sandy corner we had a incident free day. The group quickly learned the group turning method and nobody got lost through the 50-odd turns on the route. Very well done!!!

I gradually made the route more technical and by the end of the day the group had conquered smooth dirt roads, sandy roads, corrugated roads and rocky roads, as well as combinations thereof.

Everybody rode within their and their bike's capabilities. A great thanks to the GS group, you made leading you a very easy job.

To the newbies, well done and keep on riding to improve your skills and confidence!!!

Pieter, thanx for being kind to us newbies by starting off on easy roads.

Though the rocky and corrugated stretches, I sure was worried about falling at times with my tail wagging slightly every time I just happened to find some loose sand or gravel on the roads. Just had to focus more while my nerves was high strung, "Just roll on and get out of this quickly.", as my eyes searching quickly for hard surface again.

I still have a long way to go in learning how to read the terrain before me so to pick my lines, and to gain more confidence. Though riding with such a fantastic group of GS riders, sure helped me enjoy the trip while learning at the same time.

My goal is to ride as many of the GS club rides as possible, of course within my ability and my ability of my bike.

Yes thank you all for a great ride! My first GS ride with a pillion, but I think it went fairly well. There were some moments, but I think a GS trip wont be a GS trip without them!

Here are some pictures for those who are interested:









GREAT FUN!

Watch-out Colin !!!!!!

Corlia, nice shot from the bike and self in mirror.

Ah, you so luckily to get a photo of the river. When I saw the river I wanted to stop to take a picture, but Pieter was determined to continue when I arrived. Nasty piece of sand, though this time I did pick a better line than previous time.

Here are my pics of the ride

Sharkie wrote:Watch-out Colin !!!!!!

Thanks for the reminder Sharkie

I was waiting for someone to post pictures! Thanks a lot looks like it was a fun day.

Morpheus

Must also agree that owning a GS has advantages. I think that so much of our beautiful country is still hidden behind sand roads that unless you venture down them you miss it. Owning and riding a GS allows you to go to all these out of the way places.