Trip report : Sunday GS day ride

Geoff Russell's picture

I hope that those on the trip post some pictures.

This was the first off road day ride for 2013 and judging by the amount of names on the list it was going to be very popular as well.

At 35 names I stopped counting as I was sure that there would be lots of cancellations, as there often are. I was notified of some cancellations and we finally ended with 30 bikes on the Ride.

I had changed the departure time to enable us to enjoy our lunch (snacks) and a swim on a farm in the Ladismith district.

On my arrival at the meeting venue I was greeted by lots of old faces as well as , very encouragingly, lots of new ones as well.

The ride departed a few minutes later than scheduled and we were soon on our way to Ceres at a brisk pace. Here we stopped for a quick "pit" stop and soon after we were on our way to the Dirt road to Maatjiesfontein. We stopped to deflate tyres just before we left the Tar.

Once on the dirt I was very happy to see that the road was in very good condition and with Hein Ehlers as my "wingman" we easily cruised at just over 90kph on a road that was begging to be ridden a lot faster.

50kms into the dirt section I stopped for the riders to regroup and relax a bit.

A short while later we were again on our way on the recently scrapped dirt road. I stopp at the tar road just outside Maaitjies and again waited for the riders to regroup.

While waiting Phillip Horstmann rode up to me to let me know that Jacky wiese had had an off and he suggested I should go back as she was not in a good state. I asked Phillip to lead the group to Laingsburg and to wait for me there and to also alert the ambulance service to our plight.

I raced back the 25kms to the scene of her fall to find that Peter o Hanlon had stabilized her and was being assisted by quite a few other people including, luckily, a nurse who was pillioning with here husband. Peter had also got in touch with with Andy Connell (a Club member) in CT he, being very involved with the NSRI and "rescues" in general, contacted the emergency services and had arranged for a Helicopter to come and collect Jacky.

Phillip Horstmann had also arranged for an ambulance to attend the scene out of Laingsburg. So in a jiffy we had an ambulance and a chopper on the way.

Confirming with Peter that there was no more I could do to help I departed the scene to meet with the ambulance and tell them where the accident scene was. I then went on to Laingsburg to meet the rest of the group.

On my arrival some of the group decided we had lost to much time (about an hour and a half) and they headed off home while the rest of us continued our ride still on really nice dirt roads.

We turned off the Ladismith road onto the road to Montagu and as the temperature headed for 40 degrees so I searched for some shade as the hot wind was like a furnace blast against our faces. Due to the accident and the time taken to get things sorted there was no time for our promised swim.

Having found some lovely shade I stopped and waited for the riders to again regroup. One of the last riders informed me that one of the bikes (800GS) had hit a rock and badly damaged his front rim resulting in a puncture. He had other riders with him so I opted not to go back the 30+ kms to assist in the repairs. It turned out however after toiling in 40+ degrees they were finally not able to repair the tyre/s and they left the bike with some farm labourers to be collected at a later stage. The owner Chris Coxwell was then given a lift home on one of the other bikes.

Our final stop was in Robertson to refuel and pump tyres before the quick ride home where I arrived at 5.30.

A huge thanks to all who assisted with the accident scene and the flat wheel. I am sure I will forget some names of the helpers but here are the ones I sort of remember;

Peter o Hanlon

Andy Connell

Hennie Botha

Phillip Horstmann

Tony Schlee

Arno Rossouw

The Nurse & her husband

David Cade

Graham Montgomery

Brent Sender

All the other I have forgotten or do not know their names, thank you very much.

Watch out for the next one.

Comments

Andyman's picture
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Joined: 2007/06/22

No trip report without photos, please load them.

Wow, sounds like an epic developed out of a gentle Sunday ride into the Karoo.

Thanks for the report Geoff.

I was thniking of you all while I sweated at home in 35ºC heat, knowing it was hotter your dies.

 

Well done to all the braves and impi's that suddenly materialise to give good help when adversity is encountered.

It's just great to see that een vir almal, almal vir een has always been and still is a deep-rooted culture in this club.

.... This is on ride I'm glad i was not on this time....

Andyman
Anyone can ride a bike fast....   But can you ride your bike real slow???

MattAsheZA's picture
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Joined: 2012/04/14

Pic2Pic3Trip report : Sunday GS day ride - A Few Photos