Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

Is this for 1200s or dirt bikes?

I'll be on my 1150.  It is for adventure bikes.  However, if a dirtbike or two comes with it will be great as they can help people who get stuck or fall.

Last time I was in the dunes Tarryn rode shotgun with me and picked me up about 50 brazilian times.

Hey Charles,

it was my absolute pleasure !

It is a day filled with loads of fun, a real blast and guaranteed smiles all round!

Out injured currently, so won't make this one unfortunately 

Enjoy!

Still some slots open for this lekker event.

BOOKING  : online booking form

Wow, so much to do

On Sunday 11th, John Carr, myself and my son Matthew scouted the dunes in preparation for the 18th.  It was wet and the sand difficult to ride.  The weather forecast is a lot better for this coming Sunday.

We will gather in the parking area in front of the permit office from 8am onwards.

There will be a lot to do:

1. Bike prep:
   • You might want to remove your screen (especially if it is big).  Bring the right tools for it.
   • You will want to turn your mirrors inwards so they don't get damaged when you fall.  Bring the right tools for that.
   • You need to increase the preload on your front suspension (to increase the rake).  Bring the right tools for that if necessary.
   • Tyres need deflating.  For tubeless tyres you might go right down to 0.5 bar at the back, and 0.8 bar in front.  For tubed a bit higher, no lower than 1.2 bar.  I am fitting a very knobbly tyre for the day - even the Karoo 3 might not be knobbly enough.
   • You will keep the bike light by arriving with less than a half tank of fuel, and leaving any non-essential equipment at home or in a vehicle at the parking lot.
2. Rider prep:
   • The warm clothes you wore during the chilly ride out there will be too hot within a minute of riding on the sand.  You need to strip down to light clothing.  Of course it will be ATGATT.
   • Bring water in a hydration pack.
   • You will probably be nervous.  As you can see the new administration building has ablutions and a shop and restaurant.

Helping Each Other

Most of us will have the occasional fall, or get stuck in a soft patch.  Here are some useful things to bring:

1. Tow straps as per Andy's self-recovery training (3 x 1.5m straps).  These are useful if you need to "walk" a bike out of a situation.
2. A youngster or two on dirt bikes that can help us.
3. A quad bike or two.
4. Bring a compressor to pump up your tyres when we are done.  You can also just ride slowly to the petrol station about 15km away to fill up and pump tyres.

Agenda

1. Before we enter the dunes we will discuss riding position, and the correct strategy for riding the entrance and stopping at the top.
2. Once we are mostly inside the entrance, we will ride along an easy route to an area where we can gather to learn about parking in thick sand, pulling away, where to stop, how to get going, and more
3. We will find some areas to practice these skills and gather experience.
4. When we are done we will make our way back to the entrance, helping those who are tired or struggling.

Wow Charles, is that the same place we met for last year's Atlantis day?

If so, what a transformation this is from the previous 4 shady porta-loo's and a little wooden hut, that greeted us last time!

Impressed 

Hi Tarryn

This is the first entrance.  Last time we were at the second entrance, as they were building and the first entrance was closed.  From this entrance, it is 100m up a gentle dune to get into the dunes and open area - compared to the km or so at the second entrance.

Booked and paid

Will bring the landy and the bushlander

Pd for 2. Looking forward - we will be on plastics.

The excitement is building.  The Western Cape GS Trophy Team will be there in training and we will probably get some input and a chance to see them in action.  All I can say is: "Do not try this at home".

Thanks all for a great day at Atlantis.  Few things beat the stiffness you feel on a Monday after a healthy weekend.  A constant reminder at work that you had fun and worked those bones.

I hope you all learned something and built up some off road riding skill.  Even if it was just how to survive a patch of sand.

What I did notice was that those that struggled the most did not have knobbly tyres.  Aggressive knobblies in thick sand are the difference between riding and falling.  I normally ride with a Karoo 3, but for Atlantis had my old very aggressive knobbly rear tyre fitted.  I don't commute with it - I fit it on Thursday and swap it back out again on Monday.  The money is worth it to be able to ride and not be bogged down the whole time and picking up your bike every few minutes.

What I am saying is that the Karoo 3 is the minimum for riding in sand.  Anything less aggressive does not cut the mustard.

Let's talk about 80/20 tyres.  You know, the ranking of say the Metzeler Tourance (80% tar, 20% off-tar).  It is a fallacy that because you spend only 20% of your time off road, that the 80/20 is the right tyre.  You must fit the tyre that is made for the job at hand, and the 80/20 cannot handle the 100% off-road that Atlantis is.  It's like a rock-climber saying he only falls about once every 5 climbs, so he only needs a rope that will stop his fall once in every 5!

At the advanced sand course offered by Country Trax, they spend the first morning training basic skills needed to be able to ride sand.  These skills are slow cones.  The same skills Anna-Marie and team teach at the monthly club training.  If you want to be able to ride sand, get and hone those skills.  Riding sand is a combination of all the bike riding skills - so brush up if you found yourself lacking.

Thanks to the instructors and organizsrs - Charles, Anna Marie, John & Neels for giving up your time at the Cape Nature Atlantis Dunes conservancy.
Thanks to the WC GS Challenge team- Kobus, Hannalie and Wayne for coming out to join us and show us it can be done and making it look easy.
I can't say I enjoyed it, I'm not a masochist. And having the 80/20 tyres hindered my progress a lot.
But i learned a lot.

Hi all. A huge thanks to all for organizing the sand riding event. Hein, Kevin and I had sooo much fun riding the dirt bikes all the time that we didn't have time frequenting the tent. We rode into and out of the miergate, and up and down the softest parts of steep dunes where nobody else would go! We felt sorry for the motherships that got stuck in the sand, and stopped to help where we could. 

I never thought that I would ride sand and conquer the sand monster, but wonderful events like these, organized by an unlikely body like the BMW Club (seriously, who rides 1200GSAs on sand!☺) provides the opportunity to push boundaries and gain the self-confidence needed to traverse any terrain on a two-wheeler. 

For the selfless sacrifice of people like Neels, Charles, Anne Marie, John and others I am forever thankful. Keep up the good work!

The biggest applause, however, should go to those who dragged the motherships over that first hill Sunday morning. Where you found the energy to run up a sand dune time after time only you know!