Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

The idea this year was to ride to the GAGSC with Ruan and Flipper, in theory this was good, in theory only. The day I was gonna leave I ran back and forth to the dealership and assisted clients, eventually I phoned Wayne, "boss you still have some space on the trailer?" Yes I do, great that me soft seat pink route booked. Next day myself, Wayne and Eddie depart for Papkuilsfontein with me curled up on the backseat of the doublecab like a labrador pup, bliss. On arrival we park up at the workshop where we find Shane and Obed hard at work changing tyres and sorting out minor problems. The first casualty already stands in the barn being used, one forlorn looking Adventure, I know from experience more will follow. As I wait for Shane them to fit my Maxxis IT Desserts another 12GS comes in on a trailer , sump smashed on a rock, Challenge over before it started, bad roads 2 GAGSC 0. We decide to turn Freakonaleash into a swinger to speed up the tyre change, dont do this at home, dont even try it with anything 1200.Freakswinger After I load go to campsite ,set up my tent, trade a few hows our mothers, throw food down my neck, first route brief by Deon Meyer aka "Africa is not for sissies" "Its not a race" Sorry didnt hear that last comment Mr Meyer. Of to bed /tent , give bike last going over in sleepingbag, head down, is he sun up yet? I WANNA RIDE!!!!! ==Day 1== RED: Up at 04:44, gotta ride ,gotta ride, k@k its still dark.The camp is quiet, should I start Freakonaleash? that will end it. Wait wait there is life soft stirring and farts WAKE UP!! Finally ready to roll, nice looking bunch, not here for nice, here for fast red riding. Of we go, I decide to change my gameplan, ok cool, this year I will wait and help, oh my. The group myself , Ruan , Flipper, Nicky & Hugo Russouw, Paul, Dewalt, Bob (hope I remembered everybody. Muddy grass with some water deep ruts 1st. (no worries) Into the koppies single and doubletrack, the pace is mellow (ok slow) as we start climbing Nicky blows a front on a sharp rock, we stop and change, the group moves on. The ride continues, now the steep climbs, no problems here although at times I am next to the bike and not on it, Paul on the 1200GS is struggling(see pics Flipper posted "hell run") With some pushing and shoving we all make it to the top, the rest of the ascent to the platue is technical but uneventfull. The ride opens up flat terrain sand and the odd washout or ditch the speed comes up a bit. On a farmtrack gravel I notice big speedbummps built for controlling erosion ,heeltyd speeltyd , let the group by and wait, 1st one 2nd gear as a test, boing whoopee, the next 10 or so 3rd gear hard and fast big air every time. Stopping at the workshop which pass on the way to the main route I notice the bolts have come of the fuel carrier rack ooops,( wonder what could have caused that?) The fever sets in as the group realizes that we lost a lot of time through the first stage and as we hit open gravel towards Clanwilliam and part of the group speeds up, wont work, my tire has to last three days(watch me eat these words shortly) and I do fast riding not manic disorder, I stop as we are about to descend Botterberg pas( I think) Flipper pulls up and I ask him to take a photo. Are you not in a rush he asks me, no I'll ride with you I answer, he looks puzzled, I understand his thoughts, Freak not in a rush? So I hang with Flipper and we ride together all the way to Clainwilliam ,the rest of the group are way ahead, as we enter town they are parked at a garage fueled taking in some fluids. I fuel walk into the cafe get stuff and throw it down my hole, as I walk the group are getting ready to leave, so I sit down and eat, they leave me and Flipper. We finish and head through town where we pick up gravel road to next the special stage. About 7kms out Flipper pulls up with a flat front, the spare is with the main group bummer. We wait and try get the front wheel of but one of the release bolts starts to round its head and wont come loose, someone will come. I notice a message on Flippers helmet, whats this then? My wife put it there, she loves me! (Flippers love noteExcuse the expletive, just imagine you can hear a sensor board beep when you look at it.) I decide to go back to town to find a 7mm socket and a tube and leave at Freakspeed blowing past Wayne and Eddie coming the other way (they got going after us)with the wire at full stretch in top gear. Man did they look confused. In town I start searching , socket no problem, tube mmmmmmm. On my 5th try an elderly lady in a bicycle shop tells me she doesnt know what I need "maar krap maar seunie". 10 minutes later I am the proud owner of a Kenda 21" motorcycle tube and back on the wire to Flipper. During the time that we waited the sweeper team came by and informed us that time had caught up with us, we were busy with the wheel at the time and the message they gave me was pretty clear, "We know you, if you go in you are on your own ,if you go down we will come look for you in the morning" O fook not good. They had called a recovery for Flipper so as one of the instructors/sweepers was going back to camp it was suggested I should ride with him, mmmmmm ok. Of we go, the dude on the HP2 goes first I tuck in on his backwheel, shortly he ups the pace ,then again ,then again, the invisible bungee tightens but wont stretch. The 650 is like a naughty foxterrier with its fave toy , wont let go wont back of, in this case the 3 metres separating front and back wheel. Im having fun!! Suddenly we come upon the recovery vehicle and haul up. Lo and behold there is no space for Flippers bike we so I turn back for Flipper. Get there finish changing tube and decide to ride the route in reverse back to camp, stopping at the Clainwilliam Hotel for a much needed frosty. Out the back of town we stop on top of the first pass quickly (having a frosty does this to you). Two HP2 blow past at speed and I go slightly squint eyed, a gentleman with Challenge stops for a chat, 1 2 3 Xchallenges fly past heads down. I am shaking like a wet dog the Freak wants out, Flipper eyeballs me, "you can go if you want" , no I am cool, dammit stop shaking!! We ride of first few turns nearly on the horizon I see the dust trails from the HPs, the three 650s about halfway....... We ride off first few turns nearly on the horizon I see the dust trails from the HPs, the three 650s about halfway in between, I feel the calm spread over me because I am in complete control. And then the Freak came out to play. At the time I was running a little to Flippers rear so as I was up to his rear he glanced back knowingly, I am sure there was a big grin on his face as I blew past on the outside standing up at full lock, I have yet to find a way to describe how I do turns at speed (maybe one of you guys who has seen can oblige). In short I pretty much back in /slide in to the turn with the bike cranked up in top and exit about the same way still going sideways, my weight is carried far over the front and steering is done via the footpegs and backwheel. I pulled the cable tight and left it there, now I was really having fun. Wide gravel road with riverbed G outs, (them big dip things) that eat R1200GS bashplates and sumps. The first stretch on my own just blasting railling sliding flat out everywhere, I well know what is happening to the rear tyre , I just dont care at this stage. After a while (time and distance had been irrelevant but I think I had covered quiete some distance in a short space of time)I caught up with the other X Challenges, they were holding fair speed and riding abreast of each other. Wait,wait, wait one looks back, they all look back,huh? The pace hots up ,I politely hold position as they stay in formation, there is no way past without making it messy. We are now running 3/4 pace and I am eating rocks big time, sokay. After a few turns I show a little front fender, the two after I do it again, each time to a different oke trying to see who whill give me some room, no can do, the formation stays rigid. I am getting tired of being pestered by stones so as we crest a small rise I do the eyeball and pick my spot, a sharpening left with a G out as you enter. I know whats next and I force the pace into the turn ,cross up and go big. As the front bike run in suspension squashes hard and stands up again leaving the wheels light, I bang into the G while closing hard the impact is pretty nasty but I was expecting it and I stay pinned, the outside two run wide having to work to stop tangling with each other. I am through the gap wire down, tucking in low to maximise my velocity and just leaving the throttle at flat rattle. After three more turns they realize I am a sick puppy and let me be. Botterberg pass in reverse was wild. On the plateu I chase down the HPs, I cannot straightline speed with them so I use the turns and G outs to gain ground. I pass them on one of the tighter turns and hammer on. One of the HPs tucks in to my right and make myself small and work with the speed, shutting down is not an option. On the turns I gain ,on the straights he catches up, the Xs digital jumps between 165 & 175 (sry Jabu its only a 650 single), cant shake him so lets play. As I crest of the next G out I stand and pull on the bars, up she comes on the the backwheel for some distance till the momentum sucks the wheel down or the terrain enforces change. My Hp friend was firstly stunned, shocked, shaking his head and then I could see him laughing even with the helmet on. We burned the distance back to camp quickly, on arrival I pulled in at Shane and Obed at the workshop as I always do ,gave a wave and cruised down to my tent. I was nervous about the state of my back tyre and amazed that only three nobs had ripped of. Three cheers for Maxxis Dessert IT, the tyre kept impressing me till the end of the trip. By this time walking becomes problematic for me as two years ago I was badly damaged when a drunk driver hit me while on a bike, (nine months to walk again, only six to ride). So I had a few drinks, thnx to those who put a cold one in my hand or in front of me, much appreciated, ate ,washed , treated my damaged bits and crawled in. Freakonaleash was snoring happily at the entrance of the tent and the last thing I heard before my lights went out was. "I'll call you just before the sun comes up. " Anyone wanna hear about day two? Eddie was fast, real fast! ==Red Day 2== It felt as if I had just gotten in my bag and the sun was starting to come up again, cold but not freezing like Moolmanshoek the previous year. Creak, pop move, move, move when the body warms up it will all be good.Cleanup, food down neck ,now the dillema starts, my group from the previous day is no more. Flipper takes photos and does awesome paintings going Orange route. I dont mind winging it alone, there are benefits, but my fuel carrier didnt survive the previous day, the bolts have sheared completely. Enter RaKaD (Dakar in reverse) George Scola, Grant Hendriks, Russel Rathbone on Adventures, I know these guys , good people. They offer to carry my fuelcan and pick me up if I ragdoll on the route. At the workshop area we also team up with Steady, Mikedabike and Eddie all on X Challenges, Mr Lachlan Harris is there to on an HP2. Shane and Obed are frantically busy helping guys get out on the routes, Wayne digs in to help sacrificing his days ride. We leave for Neuwoudtville to fill up and then head for the first special stage outside of town. Of the road along singletrack shale and rock, nice riding along the plateu, suddenly a sharp descent to the valley floor with a river at the bottom, the fun begins. Eddie and I hare ahead and scout the route, I am watching him closely, he is damn fast through the tight stuff and rides the unknown as if he owns it. I decide to watch wait and learn, last year I had to deal with a lot of unexpected obstacles, big logs, closed gates, a big bull with massive horns standing accross the way and more. On the first big descent we watch the rest of the group, it takes balls to muscle the big Adventures around but the guys are doing great. Mike and Steady riding great looking good allround and suddenly an 1150GS with pillion, rock on, no hesitation no mess no fuss, they ride the red. Never saw the pillion lift her feet of the pegs once, wicked riding skill. As we move on Steady waves me past, him and Mike did it all the time as we moved along ,thnx guys I tried to keep the backwheel shrapnel down to a minimum. Eddie and me are running hot now, chasing tail, he pulls me slightly on the tight bits but I appear faster out the turns and tend to jump accross a lot of stuff which keeps us in close to each other. This is awesome riding. Every so often we pull up and wait for the rest of the group, hats off to the whole bunch.Then we cross the river for the first time, Eddie and I hare through and wait to help, I cannot go in the water ,if my left boot fills with water I will have serious problems by the end of the day. We crossed the river six times by the end of the morning, rocks on the bottom make it an unpredictable affair. On the fourth crossing I hit a big rock under the water which throws me towards a thorn bush on the bank, pick quick Freak!! Thorns or water, water wins every time! I am still sorta on the bike and haul it upright, as I look up go figure a TV camera, hilarious, nearly fell over again.Retard We try and help/guide the group as we can and eventually start climbing the plateu again, the terrain holding the pace down, well sorta. Eddie and I make turns to open gates and then chasing each other and the group, during these times whe push serious speeds, nothing to hold you back. As we approach the guys signal us past, I get creative and start jumping accross certain turns as you can see whats ahead. Out the stage some gravel road onto the next special stage, farmtrack , floaded road and then the river bed! +/- 6ks of powdery sand, as Eddie and I pull up we grin like maniacs. Then we go in 1st ,2nd, 3rd and leave it pinned, skipping between 3rd and 4th running way hot but the sand will drag the pace down into the turns. everywhere there are 12GSs, 650GSs and even HP2s stuck, paddling battling the sand and the hounds of hell blow by at Freakspeed. Eddie and I constantly swop position the riverbed being a mix of sand, powder, rocks and a little mud to boot. We rail the edges to bounce us back into centreline at times and at times as I am approaching exposed rockbed pick the biggest flattest rock I can see to air me clear over the next bit. We make it through climb out the riverbed and wait for the group to catch up and wait, we know the Adventures are proving to be a handfull. Mike and Steady come out we are rested and go in again to look help and of course play. We decide to run again from the start. Whats the worst thing that could happen? ===River blast=== Second time in is wilder , we know we are going we know what is coming, whe have a good idea where stranded bikes are ,yes they could have moved, but the pipe on Freakonaleash is so loud you could dig a foxhole from the time you hear me till the time I arrive. As we are entering the last section we are flat hauling and I decide to clip and jump a section as it narrows, as I air of a nice big flat rock keeping the tracetory low to turn in on landing I notice a rock standing upright neatly where I am about to land and the speed and terrain aint gonna cut me any slack to avoid this sucker. Whats follows is a massive clang as the bashplate impacts and catapults the backwheel up between my ears. Also the shock goes through my whole body but mostly on the left where the energy got centralised, unbeknown to me the gearshaft has bent and the shifter is standing up at a wonky angle forced up against the engine casing. My left foot and leg takes a wicked bang at the same time and a I barely manage to hold it together nearly doing a cartoon tattoo on the right side wall. As we climb out the riverbed I cant seem to get gears and now realize how hard the hit was ,my foot and leg is throbbing. I have given this some thought and hope not to upset anyone but here is some pics of my leg and foot on a good day. freakleg So thats me GAGSC over! I can only gear down ,1st gear only. We have a closer look ,trying to bend/straighten the shiftlever will most probably result in it snapping of,force could also cause the seal on the gearshaft to go spilling out vital fluids, faaark, I feel a freaksize depro on the horizon. Had you there didnt I !! You cant keep a good Freak down. I have a look at the coming terrain, not to rough, mildly undulating.As we ride of I transfer my weight onto the shift lever (yes I stand on it). At first not much happens but as we go over dips & bumps the downwards force of my bodyweight starts to bend the shifter down bit by bit, after a while I kick up under the shifter 2nd3rd4th5th YEEEHAAA!!!! Back in action, the pain in my leg is forgotten ,the ride is on. At one farm gate I notice a needle fine spray of coolant jetting out of the left lower hose of Eddies bike, duct tape and cableties to the rescue. We empty the water from our camelbacks into the radiator topping it up and press on ,two track farm road lotsa forward vision ,speed up ,we ride hard. We exit the farm onto open dirt road and hone along a nice pace, lots of nice corners to surf through as we are about 50ks out of town the fuel light comes on, Eddie indicates his is the same, down to crawlspeed all the way to town, the only problem is staying awake the road seems to go on forever. Finally civilisation, top up bikes and bodies, go go go, the nexy stage awaits. Onto another farm with stunning farm road and singletrack, you should have seen the scenery cause I didnt, Eddie and I are riding fully in the zone ,its a blast. Suddenly towards the end of the stage we reach the entrance to another riverbed section. I think all the guys on the big bikes where dreading a repeat of our early morning encounter with the powdery sand, and the map boldly states "12km riverbed section" This one is different, the sand is black coarse, the riverbed is wide with less rockbed the only downside as I would find out shortly is the powdery dust which picks up and hangs lifeless in the still air cutting vision to nothing. As Eddie and I go in we crank the two Challenges up to the max, only dropping a gear in or out turns for control or when the rev limiter kicks in. I run wide avoiding a rogue rock, no more damage please! As I cut back in I run into Eddies powder trail, I am running completely blind at full tilt, backing of is not an option, it would cause a massive dig and cartwheel body and bike breaker, darwin awards here I come! Suddenly out the dust I see the wall aproaching way to fast, theres no power to kick me away, I am already flat out, gearing down would just put me in the limiter. Roadbike mode activated, countersteer and drop into a lean, for an instant it feels as if my knee and elbow actually touches the ground, but its probably just sandspray and then I am running towards the centre again and hauling Eddie in rapidly as he had to steer around an obstacle. We slow as we see some riders in the riverbed, a farm fence runs diagonally accross the riverbed, hitting this at speed would be messy. Lift the fence go under bike and all one at a time, we wait for the rest of the group and get them all through. The whole group comes through one at a time and then the chase is on again, Eddie and I swop position in nearly every sweeper ,the secret is not to back of the throttle unless you have no choice,the exhaust note from Freakonaleash is somewhere between a bellow and a sonic boom, all to soon the run is over. Eddie nearly doesnt see the next fence accross the way and brakes so hard he actually does a 3meter stoppie in the sand. "Hey Eddie do that again bru" "F@*#$^f Freak" Out the riverbed its time to run in to the camp about 50ks dirt freeway so we play all the way in, wheelies and slides. I sit on the tail of Georges Adventure for a good long stretch, when its flat and straight the big bike has higher top end, s okay, in the turns I slide by and let them chase me down again. Freakonaleash feels sluggish ,bad fuel maybe? Freak & Eddie 120+ in dry riverbed.Freak & Eddie at speed As the sun rises I cannot describe how my body feels, I am not stiff and sore, that was the night before, after getting back from day two everything is kinda hazy, park,eat,shower, spent some time greeting talking having a few drinks, back to my tent,but its all kinda fuzzy. There is only one solution!! GOTTA RIDE GOTTA RIDE GOTTA RIDE (I do this from work its now 19;41 I started the above piece over an hour ago and ended up talking to people who walked in, I dont mind, I love my job , but I do really have to go. My girl says she remembers me from photos. I will finish, I promise.) ==Day 3== We roll out the camp, regroup at the gate and turn right towards the first special stage, the first stretch till we get there is way fun , lightly winding switchbacks with mild sandpatches and nice smooth turns. But something isnt right, Freakonaleash is still asleep, as I speed up and slide into the first turn suddenly on exit theres no power to propel me out the turn "you wanna what??" I am sure I heard the words. It makes the riding more difficult and severely milks the fun factor. Gearing down has no real effect, I know the cause, sitting in the Adv dust trail on the way in had been the cherry on the cake, shes not breathing properly, theres no time to stop yet , we have to make time into the route. We turn of the trail into the sand that Deon said is gonna make grown men cry, "and just when youve had enough there will be more and more and more." Fine with me Mr Meyer ,I like sand. Now I need to gain ground so I can pull the filter and clean it as best I can, its a BMC so its pretty robust and wont mind being slapped around a little. I attack the sand like a crazed squirrel looking for his nuts, bombing past everybody and leaving even Eddie and Wayne(who had joined up again) to try chase me down. Somewhere on he way down one of the handgaurds dissapears as I go through a large bush instead of around it (there was a 1200 stuck on its side in the turn)and also collect several other assorted branches and foliage and the way down. At the bottom the path opens onto a dam wall and I stop in order get the filter out. Freakonaleash resembles a military vehicle, a camouflaged one with all kindsa flora protruding out of her at strange angles. I rip it all off and start getting the filter out (there is a special place in heaven for the man who invented the leatherman). The filter is completely clogged and I set about beating it clean on the front tyre, I am amazed at the amount of crud that falls out, no wonder she wouldnt go properly. As the group catches up and gets their breath back I look around at them, this is a great bunch of guys ,its gonna be a good day! Nosy ===Bike on fire=== As the big Adventures pull in with Grant, George and Russel on board it is evident how hard the sandsection has been. You can hear the motors pinging as they start to cool , not the gentle happy sound that one sometimes hears after a good ride ,this is harsh! the heat makes it uncomfortable to stand near the bikes , Grants bike looks like its on fire with smoke bellowing out of the bike, the acrid smell of burnt clutch emanating from the bike stings my nose. A headcount brings us up one short, Lachlan Harris has gone down in the sand about halfway down the run. The HP2 had decided it had had enough and was down for the count ( a control unit on the fueling sytem had been damaged in the fall). So of we go again, we are only halfway through the sand and I am loving every moment. Modified IT 505cc two stroke Freakspecial 1998 We turn right on a gravel road and enter a checkpoint Eddie is through first and blows down the road, this looks way cool, like a canyon with twisty gravel road, lots of turns ,the turns run semi blind but what the hell, whats the worst thing that could happen? I wait for a while and then give chase, if any of you have ever seen a movie where terrain goes into colour mode, its not unlike that when the speed comes up, Im not kidding. Zone in and focus ,I had spent a lot of time watching the previous day and I am now ready to go big. I get my head down and ride/jump/fly the road running into the turns over the limit backing the bike in to scrub of speed and the burning white lines in the gravel roadsurface on the way out, closing on Eddie fast ,he knows Im coming and there isnt a thing in this world that he can do about it. Cleaning the filter has breathed new life into Freakonaleash and she has chewed through the restraints ,we haul Eddie in on a long fast turn and go by hard, this is not a pass,its a statement! The road end in a T-junction and I stop and wait for the group, as we move on its farm road and track ,sandy but not to loose and I keep haring away on my own and then waiting to make sure everybody is still in the ride. The next how many kms prove uneventfull and then the fuel light comes on,we have used the fuel in the containers and keep going until Freakonaleash coughs ,farts and dies. Russel pulls up and tosses the loose end of a tow strap to me, hookup bitch were in a hurry! The problem is that the strap is a little short and if I cross over his backwheel rear and front will touch putting me down hard, so off we go anyway. On the dirt its not to bad ,eventually I am fooling around using the strap to sling me like skier behind a boat would, wheeeeee! I realize that I must be making life difficult for Rusty but hey its fun, Eddie and Wayne still have a little fuel and can crawl along to the refuel. As we hit the tar I notice a gleam in Russels eye, it says "payback time". On tar the speed increases eventually to 140 and I look down at the speedo I decide there is only one thing to do, turn the ignition of so the numbers on the screen go away. ===Homerun on the horizon=== About 15 ks downrange we pull into a onestop to refuel, lotsa BMs here ,it appears a lot of the routes congregated on this spot, we hook up with Mikedabike and Steady who had srarted late ,having had to go into town for fuel. You can distinguish the red riders easily, there is a sense of urgency, Red Bull, choclate, fill Camelbacks, quick rest and go. A short blast north on tar then back on open dirt road and into one of the most amazing passes I have ever ridden up to Gifberg resort, on the way up the pace is medium as there are slower riders with many a blind turn and a long drop ( not the loo thing, but a moeroffa way down). Have to play nice you know. Over the back of Gifberg the descent starts and George on the Adv quickly decides that the two terriers snapping at his heals are sick puppies and lets us through, Eddie and I hare down sharp drops with hairpin turns every so often. I realize there are some nice flat rocks to get air of so I delight in freefalling past Eddie on the downs but having to reign in hard in the turns because the brakes are less effective when the wheels are not in contact with terra firma. Boiing, wheee oshitoshitoshit all the way down. After another gate we hit graded sand road with good forward vision and its bussiness as usuall, pin it .rail it, point and shoot.We run well ahead of the rest of the group after about 10ks we stop and decide to pull out Eddies filter, clean it and get it back in record time. We descend to the bottom of the valley and turn into a special stage, more soft sand, get through quick, Wayne ,Eddie and me pass several downed riders on the way, the sand is no harder than before but fatigue us wearing people down. It takes a while for the bigger bikes to make it through and when we move of we enter a farm of some oke who must drive some monstrous bakkie. The road is neat flat and incredibly wide and completely silly to ride, even through some turns I am running top gear in the limiter.Slowing down we begin a technical climb on sharp slaterock and I wind down in fear of shredding the rear tyre, its a great ride to the crest with wide open country stretching away below us. Down the back end the terrain softens to less viscious rock and gravel and its back to play mode. I stop at a gate let everybody through doing a headcount , give a little gap and let loose. Undulating winding crest along a little river creates airtime. Hard on the gas tip it in , jump,whip the back up and get airborne as low as possible with the bike angled in a flat trajectory, the secret is to get the bike as horizontal as possible to the ground from takeoff. And then the back tyre blows on a landing and it all goes very very pearshaped. I just recover running on the edge of the river for a good stretch ,its not a big drop but it doesnt have to be, I fight/ride Freakonaleash away from the edge and come to a stop. Not good!! The backtyre has had it, the tube inside ripped to shreds, I wait for a while and decide to ride on. Start, get on ,pull away then quickly shift arse onto the airbox cover just behind the handlebars, legs dangling down by the front forks. Only 60ks back to camp through rough mountain terrain, how hard could it be?How hard could it be? Gonna make it back I decide, I have come this and I am not a damn going to give it up and wait for a recovery vehicle. As George mentioned the group had decided to wait at the bottom of the mountain, its a good ways from where I was now. The terrain they would have to reverse to get back to me is a serious ballgrinder. In my absence the decision was made that Wayne and Eddie would ride back to find out what had become of me. I started riding seated on the airboxcover, the back tyre completely flat with my legs dangling down, its not easy. The flat rear tends to float and drift in all directions, steering is done by shifting bodweight and at times moving my arse and legs in different directions. I dont want to look down at the digital as the kilometeres slowly grind down to metres covered. After about 20min I meet up with Wayne and Eddie. ===Not alone anymore=== I push on with Wayne and Eddie shadowing me. The rest of the group waited as long as possible and decide to push on a sensible decision as darkness is only a few hours away. After a few kilometres of slipping and balancing on the airbox we spot a farmhouse on a rise adjacent to the road and ride in to try see what we can do about the tyre. I still have a spare tube but we have no tyre levers as all was distributed to spread the load. We pull up to the barn close to the farmhouse ,the whole place appears desserted so who rummage through the barn trying to find tools for changing the tube. Freakonaleash balances on a handy log with the rear wheel of but about the only thing we cannot seem to find in the barn is a set of levers. We try using some big screwdrivers but the sidewalls prove to tough, a crowbar we find is to ungainly, now what. In a last ditch attempt to rustle up something we stir up a bees nest in the one corner of the barn and the sound of bees in flight starts to fill the air, angry bees! We decide its time to go as a bee stings Wayne in the neck, "boss you allergic to bees I ask?" We are about to find out is the calm reply as we replace the rear in record time. Suddenly I spot a roll off wire lying on the ground and decide to wire the tyre to the rim. A handy "plaastang" gets used and shortly the rear is wirebound to the rim to prevent it from spinning around and climbing off, (yes it does actually work, I have done this before). Backwheel bound to the rim we set of with dangling legs and ass planted on the airbox.We are joined by the sweeper team ,Hein Kuhm and another gent. The look on their faces says it all, "you are f@kin nuts, this just isnt possible!" No matter I am going to try cross the mountain and make it back, I have come to far to give up. What follows is near impossible to describe, I cannot get to the backbrake and have to skip back on the bike in order to change gears, controlling the cross is difficult to say the least and the route is hardcore. tyredstill tyred My body starts to complain, I dont know what hurts more my butt or arms, I am so focused I dont even know where the rest of them are, my focus is unwavering and I am constantly fighting to stay on top, at times my vision blurs out, every part of me is screaming to stop. As we approach gates the guys race ahead to open them,it takes (I am not sure) hours to break through the mountains and eventually reach level terrain. By now I am mentally and physically shattered. Flat gravel leads to tar 25 kms to go, as I get on tar I use the back of my heal to kick up through the gears to 5th. I look down at the speedo, I am doing between 95 - 100 kms per hour, the backwheel keeps trying to pass me and is running next to me. Suddenly there is a sharp sound like a guitar string snapping and something blings of my helmet, the wire is starting to selfdestruct in a serious way and bits are flying everywhere. No slowing down as I enter the mountain pass and climb to the plateau, on a hairpin I lose the back end completely and end up on the gravel on the edge of the road. Wayne pulls up and and volunteers to take over for the last bit, I am tempted but decide to push on, twenty minutes later we stop in Nieuwoudtville to refuel, as I get off the bike smoke pours out of the rear tyre. The last stretch of gravel is run in the dark with Wayne and Eddie helping light the way, this was maybe the hardest part for me, I had nothing more left to give, but we made it! I got to camp and don't remember much except that I was repeating myself like a parrot and ate, drank and virtually passed out. This was the best GS Challenge ever. The end. I RIDE THEREFORE I AM!