Leo on the Rooiberg Trip 09

Well we're slap bang in the middle of summer and this being the rainy season for Gauteng we all suspected we were in for a hop, skip and a jump, but secretly hoping that it would be a fine day. How wrong could we be

As mentioned we met at Atturbury 6:30 for 7 and hit the road.

My pet hate in life is mud roads, and from Andrfe's briefing before we left it sounded like I was not the only one who completely dislikes mud. I have said it many time before and I'll mention it again: Give me 100 km's of sand as opposed to 10 km's of mud.

Anyhow enough complaining. The group was a big one, the club is certainly becoming a GS club and today like all the first rides of the year was no exception.

All in all I recall us being 21 GSs' taking the route.

The group before the departure



The road was uneventful in the start. Soon we came to a boom enroute to Walmansthal, which now houses the Dinokeng Big 5 Game reserve. Andre arranged for us to go through as a group so we looked forward to the odd animal sighting, but unfortunately there was none to be seen

Waiting for all before we enter Dinokeng



The official entrance



Seems like they house the Big 5



Dorathy sporting a nice plate, not sure what McBride will say of this



We also has Vale on the ride with us, taking a break from his hectic MotoGp schedule



The obligatory stop for tyre pressure and ABS off



Dani coming to grips with her 800



The area have received lots of rain, and needless to say we were soon having lotsa fun.

Smoke break somewhere along the route:



After this stop things got decidedly worse. At least we had no serious injuries, I hope.

One serious mud section



This damn GS had got a mind of it's own



Needless to say there were several spills



This one was a nice photo opportunity - thanks Dave



Vale having fun and showing it



The smaller, lighter 800 seemed to handle the mud better - either that or Dani's skills



More road - more mud



Not for the faint hearted



Our regular roving photographer also sported some brown markings He was not the only one



All to soon this was over, but I for one was not complaining - smoke break under a massive tree



The pub in Rooiberg - the road gusy had already left, so we were promptly served



Just in time to see us take out all the Aussies for 182, just to losse it in the end



Don't mess with the barman



Final stop at Rooiberg - all the road guys had already left



Thanks Andre for organizing, it was fun, and Adriaan & Ollie for sweeping

Hope all the gusy who had an off will not feel too stiff in the morning.

Cheers

Man! That looked crazy through the mud! First looked good though. Definitely my stomach would not have survived the ride. Too bad I ended up sleeping most of the day while you guys and gals were having an interesting journey. Pity you did not see any of the big five.

Thanx for the pictures.

By the way how long did the journey take to get to Rooiberg.

Thanks Leo !!!

This was an AWESOME ride. LOTS of mud and lots of fun!!

WELL DONE do the two lady riders, Dani and DotP, you guys did great, not to mention Allie riding pillion with Adriaan straight through all that mud.

All in all, a great Club trip to start of 2009 !!!

Thanks to Andre for leading and Adriaan sweeping.

good (muddy) one guys and garls

thanks for the pics

Sharkie wrote:this was an AWESOME ride......

...........and what about your bike for the day?

MadnohB wrote:
...........and what about your bike for the day?

I only have one thing to say to this ......what 650GS??

MadnohB wrote:.....and what about your bike for the day?

Geez, that thing is FRIGGIN AWESOME!!!!

I could not get enough of that bike, I caught myself doing 150 on the dirt at one stretch. The suspension and power makes that bike just incredible.

My head is doing maths at a rate of knots at the moment, to see how I can make a plan to get my grubby paws on one!!!!!

Only bad thing was the tyres, but that can be changed. That Akra sounds soooooo nice!!!!

Sorry for the slight 9/11 Leo.....

Rejuvenated DaveS wrote:

MadnohB wrote:
...........and what about your bike for the day?

I only have one thing to say to this ......what 650GS??

Yup, what 650GS indeed!!!

I took the real bike back to Bavarian this afternoon and picked up the 650. What a disappointment after blasting all over the place, through all the mud, all the rain, all the dirt for over 400km on a F800GS.

I will see what I can do.....

Well what can I say?? What a good day out in the mud!!

An incredible learning curve - I am sure there will be some more pics of me making mud pies doing the rounds.

Thanks to Andre for arranging the mud and for Adrian and Allie for keeping all together. A special thanks to Roger for 'chaperoning' Dorothy on the ride.

Here some pics:

Our stop to let down tyres


Dorothy entering the game reserve


Taking a break


Dorothy catching up


Some people opting to walk....


At Koekepan after Dorothy bought a plot on the way - was so keen she did a graceful swan dive off the bike onto the grass on the right of the road!!



Was a most entertaining and enjoyable ride.

ps - Leo - thanks for the pic!

Building “Character”
A Short Story (very short story) by DotP (a.k.a. Dot Fall, Dot Crash, and now DotMud)

‘Tis the day before Monday and the club has their first Sunday ride for 2009. Being a bit of a novice (okay not just a bit, maybe a lot) DotP nervously decides to tackle the off-road ride for the first time. Apparently (according to the experts) this would be a level 1 out of 5… hmmm! Right then let’s do it and just like that company that uses that little tick as a logo where they tell you to “just do it”, she does.

All starts well, DotP has a very competent and qualified ride buddy (thanks Roger) who patiently teaches her along the way, stand here, ride my line, lift up your head, look up, and, and, and – all very worthwhile and most useful (thanks Roger). DotP clearly absorbing every instruction, a bit like a sponge, listening and doing everything she’s being taught and having a really good time. Was not long before the confidence levels were up and “voila”, she’s travelling at a slightly higher speed than say, 60 km/h (or so!).

(Long story shorter now)…. Travelling on the tar road towards Radium and finally gravel road again they encounter some mud, nothing serious, just a bit of mud, the ever patient ride buddy (thanks Roger) again teaching and showing DotP what to do and what not to do. Patiently walking DotP through this "stuff".



And then little bit more mud, and then just a little bit more and then oh my word tons of the stuff. A bit like the chocolate mix in a Bakers factory. A chocolaty batter, tons and tons of cake tins full of this soft, sloppy, runny stuff just before the heat from an oven makes it set, and rise… yes! much like “mud before the sun dries it out” and that after a good day and nights rain.

Paddle, paddle, walk it through. Keep it constant, keep it constant that is all DotP can think, over and over and over again. Kilometers of muddy mess but doing fairly well (she thinks!). When finally, after being on the road a mere 3 hours or more (plus some) she has her moment. Like a diver diving off the dive plank at the Olympics in 2008, “swish-phewww” up she goes, through the air in what seemed like tens of meters to a mere foot or two of elevated space travel, “wham” the perfect hands and arms stretched out, flat-chested landing in the grass, in front of a thorn tree (spot the slightly flattened grass behind her in the picture).

(Long story finished)… and so it came to be, DotP building “Character”… meet Character, my 1200GS.



Now identifiable by it's 15cm scratch (also known as a cut - ag shame! been in the wars have we and an my Character)!

I can just hear her laughing ....... "I'll be baaack"

Well done DotP !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the pics, great reports - long AND short stories - Wow.. what a fun day!
Some moments from my camera:

Part of the group on the 'highway'


Sweep Adriaan & Allie


Philip & Bruno


Spotless . . . Little did we know...


And the highway turned into a mudway . . .
Well done Eddie!






So many cameras, so many moments!



Oh yes and we had brunch too ..

Well done to the ladies. I sure Dorothy will be back.

Rejuvenated DaveS wrote:

well done to the D dual (was going to say double D but that would have been a minefield right )

you gals are making us proud.

seems the predicted 1/1.5 difficulty shifted en route to a different level

I personally don't understand the enjoyment mud offers , but you sure deserve high marks for effort

and to DotP.......I really enjoyed reading your report. Don't take that long before posting again

MadnohB wrote:I personally don't understand the enjoyment mud offers , but you sure deserve high marks for effort

I don't think anyone the ride actually 'enjoys' riding in mud - but when it's there you have to either go round if possible, or through it.

Most of it was fine - but when it came to that one particular patch - then the fun started. All very low speed stuff with the obvious spills.

That's when those that made it through wait for the rest to have the laughs they know is coming......

GSlady wrote:And the highway turned into a mudway . . .
Well done Eddie!

Yes!!

Eddie did a great job riding the bike through!

I have to agree with Dave, I don’t think anyone likes riding mud, mud is THE WORST, well maybe Ice and snow is worse, but I cannot say. Luckily that is VERY rare in SA!! On the Boxer it is even worse, because of the flat twin. The 650’s and the 800’s made life a lot easier. But if there is mud, and you cannot go around, you have to go through.
It was quite funny to see the paparazzi ready to snap away at any moment when the mud-dance began. It sound cool too: easy steady purr of the engine, then a wobble, then revs, then steady, then lots of revs, then a donut, then a dirty rider running for the kill switch – All very entertaining stuff!!

Yip, I can agree nobody likes mud or goes looking for it. But if you riding GS routes you need to get confidence on all the various surfaces thrown your way. The easiest road can become very difficult after a bit of rain.

To Andre, well done on leading a very good trip. To Adriaan, Allie and Roger, thanks for looking after our new GSers.

To Dot and Dave well done and we hope to see more of you on the dark (brown) side.

It was quite a sight to see 23 GSes riding dirt road in a organised and disciplined way. Everybody waited, as was arranged and the stronger guys helped the newer riders at obstacles. What a great way to spend a Sunday morning!!

In deed a fun filled Sunday. I for one enjoyed the mud however not the cleaning.




Some pic's from my phone...

MadnohB wrote:........I personally don't understand the enjoyment mud offers , but you sure deserve high marks for effort.......

sorry my mistake........I gave the dark side too much credit after hearing the ride lead said he was praying for rain to keep the dust away so I thought.........jeez hard core stuff this GS business........they prefer mud over dust


just show how stupid the roadies can be

MadnohB wrote:

MadnohB wrote:........I personally don't understand the enjoyment mud offers , but you sure deserve high marks for effort.......

sorry my mistake........I gave the dark side too much credit after hearing the ride lead said he was praying for rain to keep the dust away so I thought.........jeez hard core stuff this GS business........they prefer mud over dust


just show how stupid the roadies can be

He did too much praying !!!!

And look how much it is raining today too.

I would also like to thank Andre, Adriaan, Allie and Roger for leading and sweeping this brilliant ride. Really a very enjoyable and scenic route, and the brunch also worked out very well compared to certain other "biker hangouts"...

I have already washed my bike twice and still it is far from spotless! I see the rain is very steady at the moment - anyone up for the same route tomorrow?!? Just imagine how good our mud skills will be after riding a route like that more often...

It's not lekker to be back at work...

Looks like a lot of fun. Well done all.

My dream ,One day is to join you "GS" on a run.Always looks great fun.take note short run.
Dorothy, well done in completing your 1st offroad.
proud to be a club member with ladies with .......... that joins the men in off road and also on road.

...and I missed it all !

Blocked drain at home...!

Richard H wrote:...and I missed it all !

Blocked drain at home...!

priorities Mr H, priorities