Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

Entries are closed - the permit application has been sent.

Join me for some sand faery fun at Atlantis Dunes.  We will ride on a Saturday morning from early to lunch time, then we will have lunch together a the Blue Peter or a similar restaurant nearby.

There will be a backup vehicle, but no trailer.  If a bike cannot be ridden out by an experienced rider we will organize a trailer.

• R150 per bike
• R200 per 4x4
• R50 pp for non-club members (in addition to the above)
• Meet at the Sasol Garage on Birkenhead Drive (map below)
• 08h00 for 08h30 departure
• Don't fill up - come with half a tank of fuel.

Registered so far:

• Herman Ebersohn
• Michael Bucholz
• Mervyn Winter
• Christian Smith
• Johan Nel
• Theo Gutter
• Matthew Oertel
• Lisa Espinasse (Suzuki Jimny)

To Join Us:

1. Pay your monies into the club account (details below) with your surname and "Atlantis" as reference.
2. Send me an email (charles@honeybadger.net) or post a comment on this forum, with your name, cell number and email, and the bike registration (needed for the permit).  If you are bringing a plastic bike with no registration, then the registration of the vehicle or trailer that is bringing the bike is needed.
3. Payment secures booking, and there is no refund for cancellation. 
4. Entries close on Sunday 23rd July.

Bank Details

• First National Bank
• Branch: Long Street
• Branch code: 201709 (Standard Bank users must add 2 zeros at the end)
• A/c no: 50060098602
• A/c name: BMW Motorcycle Club Cape
• Ref: Your Name&Surname +”Atlantis"

Map

View Larger Map 

You need to:

• Be fairly fit - this riding will have you exhausted in no time.  Also, sand is not for rank beginners - you need to at least be comfortable riding on gravel before you try this.
• Have knobbly tyres on your bike, especially the back.  I will fit knobblies for the day and take them off again for commuting.
• Remove your screen and mirrors - you will fall.
• Wear a camelbak, and layered clothing because it will be nippy in the morning, but you will warm up very quickly.  You will need water, we are not bringing any in the vehicle.
• Wear proper offroad boots and a neckbrace.

General

• We will enter the dunes at the first entrance.  It is shorter, but involves a sandy uphill that is tricky before you have gotten your 'sand legs'.  We will tackle this by having experienced riders ride the bikes of novices into the dunes.  This must be done in a controlled fashion, with a marshall signalling when it is safe to go, and helpers along the route.
• When you enter, and when you leave the dunes, you need to sign in and out of the register we will keep (it is easy to get lost and we need to know where everyone is).

Bike Readiness

• Knobblies are strongly advised, especially for novices, especially on the back.  Heidenau K60 or Mitas E07/9 is a fair tyre, TKC80, E10 and Metzeler Karroo are great.  Ignore the hype around Tourance, Presa Detour, Sirac, K76 and any of the other 80/20 road-biased tyres - they are difficult to ride in sand no matter how good you are.
• Take off your gadgets - they get full of sand and get knocked about/off.
• We will remove screens and mirrors at the parking lot before entering the dunes, or come with your screen off and bring tools to turn your mirrors inwards.
• Arrive with about 10l of fuel in your tank.  No need to pick up a full tank in the sand, and any overflow is bad for the environment.

Further Reading

The last trip into the dunes was fun and everybody enjoyed it.  People who were scared of sand came away beaming and eager to ride more. 

• Read the trip report.
• Sand riding tips
• Report Back