Ja Rusty,
Those Jaegermeisters at the last feast led to some interesting speech impediments .
For those that didn't go, all I can say is Sorry for you! The title of my ride report if I got around to writing one would be: Mr.Badger and the Best Ride Ever. Just imagine this in one day:
I am still smiling, and Julie is still smiling.
Looks Like Fun...true what you siad about the Buff Russ
Now post all those pics you took
Have to agree ... the rides were great and I especially enjoyed meeting the Jo'burg guys.
Oudtshoorn is a great venue with tons of rides for all kinds of levels and as the Mayoress said ... no crime and only hospitality.
The venue for the function, "Mooi", was outstanding!
Thanks Charles for leading our group. (I shall refrain from commenting on oysters and thorns).
What an event.
What fantastic people.
What great rides.
Fantastic camaraderie.
What great mates.
What unbelievable organisation.
Why must I wait 12 months for the next one.
You missed one of the best "bike" events ever.
Hear hear! Have some nice pics; at this stage my 'working title' for a trip report is something along the lines of "A Kid in a Candy Store"
Awesome gravel, awesome people, lekker food, etc etc etc.
And it's VERY difficult to get any enthusiasm going for being at work today...
Wow! What a RUSH! I am still trying to come down from such a high...Trip report in the works.
P.S. For those keeping count, I staked another plot while crossing the riverbed Charles mentioned above. He he he!
Oops!
Thanks Charles for leading the ride on Saturday. It was AWESOME!
Thanks Rusty for the oysters in the funny little glasses. The live band was not so bad either.
What an event!
Friday - a leisurely ride up the R62 on Friday afternoon. Russell and Gisela bumped into us at Cafe Fresh in Montague and we rode together until Barrydale. The Rathbone's met up with Andy & co and we decided to push on to Oudtshoorn.
Saturday - off to De Rust - Uniondale and back to Oudtshoorn through stunning countryside. A nice easy gravel route (rated 1.0-1.5). I took a wrong turn on some twee-spoor (have'nt quite got the hang of keeping the bike upright and navigating at the same time). After about 10 minutes and 3 water crossings I realised that this was not quite a 1.0 rating. A quick check on the GPS confirmed this - the actual track was on the RHS of the screen and my position on the LHS. So back we went along the twee-spoor. Fortunately Adrienne was not too concerned re: my general lack of navigation/riding skills. Back on the correct route we soon found the section rated at 1.5 difficulty. A dry riverbed crossing - 50-60m of thick soft sand followed by 10-15m of really soft mud. A special thanks to the guys from Malmesbury and Stellenbosch (Eric, Tertius and their friend whose name I can't remember) who waited for me and provided much needed encouragement (and some muscle power) to help me across.
Jean and I were in the fortunate position to be able to ride with Ian, my son and daughter in law, Karin to and from the BMW bike fest, it was/is such a privilege to share this time with them.
The only additional comment I can make to the pervious are: To those that missed it, place it on the to do list before you die, it was such a blast. Thank you Celia & Co.
Amen Rene
What a privilage. Well done. May you have many more.
Memories of Bike Fest 2010 in a nutshell
Fantatsic, 100% professional orgnaisation that inspired the 520 person (490 bike) attendance (previous ABBG's = 350)
Less STAFF to contribute to as opposed to Motorrad BBG's in the past
Good pricing -real and level.
Excellent catering no one can complain about.
Great routes. Great groups of riders.
Awesome part of the world to get such great people together for a jol.
Great that no bikes were terminally hurt and no one was injured beyond the few einas picked up in little incidents.
Awesome people, we made many new friends.
But on the downside......
What a pity BMW Motorrad did not send someone credible along. They sent a Rob someone or other, who apart from not having the decency to get name pronounciation correct, seemed to have so many "I's" ME's and not a single "US" or "WE" in his speech.
Why not Barnsey with his charisma or someone who actually likes the customers and has a personality.
If someone know who he is mention to the BMW leadership he seriously needs to go get skilled in servant leadership, manners and what makes the BMW bike riders such great people.
It's an us thing not a ME thing, HULLO!!!!!!!
But even that could not dampen a splendid weekend for long.
And hey, how was the awesome cool riding home weather we had.
Celia and David and their team certainly deserve a huge accolade for their extremely professional attention to detail, organisation and control.
To me the whole secret in getting such support for the event was how they managed it from 4 months out to the days after.
They gave the event credibility & a good feel long before anyone ever arrived on site.
You guys ROCK!!!
Watch out Bikefest 2011 here we call come... back again for more.
And this time I read every bit of dope the organisers send me to ensure I do not miss any fun.
Thanks for posting the pics Rusty , one gets the idea that fun was had at the Festival , great for you guys , and see you there next year
What a stunning weekend! Surreal ride home on Saturday evening, left my head spinning. Fantastic setting for a party on Sunday night set the scene for a moooi-tiful evening! Great food, music and company. Meeting new friends, crazy Deena and calming influence Thilo.
I agree with Andy, Celia and Co did not get a quarter of the praise they deserved. I honestly don't know how she gets by on so little sleep as she would answer emails almost instantly at 11pm and then again at 5am or earlier, I suspect strong drugs!
Next time I need to leave the sleeping bag at home so that I can fit the wine in on the return journey!
Tony, was it your group that marked the deep mud on the far bank with that stick in a VERY deep tyre track? (refer pictures above) Looked like manual labour was needed to retrieve the bike!
I think we going to have to be quick to get in for 2011
Rhian you owe me BIG TIME!!!
I lugged your wine all the way back just for you! (To say nothing about taking up ALL my space on the way back from the function!)
Let me know how I can get the wine to you - better be soon or there won't be much left :-)
Looks Like Fun...true what you siad about the Buff Russ
What did Russ say about the Buff?
Well Andy Let me give you my side of the story,
I "know" Rob for some time and we met per chance at the next breakfast table. Our table of 4 chatted with him about the challenges facing the biking industry in general. His side of the conversation was about us and we at BMW and what a great team they are. I am giving credit where credit is due, the other side of the coin.
Thanks Rene,
Appreciate your comments and I'm glad you have this experience.
and thanks for the name, Holder, now I can engage one-on-one.
I'm sorry the Robs were not more accessible to us bike owners, and I also know that introducing all BMW office staff will be done at future events.
One should not play the player, but the ball, but those were my candid comments form returning from a really great weekend.
I sent you a mail off forum.