Friday afternoon ride out

It's been a while since we rode out. Time is really becoming a scarcity these days.
Anyway, here we go again. Sailesh managed to convince me that we needed to ride out again. We did a stint through the canefields this time. It was reallllllly hot. Riding out in these conditions, one must ensure that one carries plenty of water.



We stopped for a while at this loading zone. Just needed to take a breather.

No, we are not on the main road here. This is where we go over the N2 towards Hyde Park.

06/01/2006 - Saturday morning – 05h00. The morning came with the promise of a beautiful clear day. Sailesh, Donavan and I rode out from Stanger Manor very enthusiastic about the ride. We were headed for Bodasings beach once again but we intended to take a different route back. With this in mind we packed the following : - tow-rope - jumper leads - cellphones - medical kit - and some steaming hot coffee.

The ride to the beach was excellent (as it always is). Once there we got down to some hot coffee and sandwiches.

With our bellies full Don and Sailesh tested the water temperature for a while and then it was time to play.
Don took Sailesh’s 250cc through its paces with some impressive 360s. He also attempted ramping the quad. Sailesh also did his bit around the sand. However, I asked him to throttle back a bit until he his comfort levels on this quad was acceptable for “Quadrobatics”.

We set out from Bodasings at about 08h00. We turned into a track that led to an area called Red Water. This track was strewn with branches from the recent Pine tree felling.
A word of caution . . . . .BE EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS when riding in conditions like this. The branches tend to pick up and lance past your feet; sometimes just missing you. The nerf bars provide a bit of protection but the danger is still there.

We hit our next challenge at a makeshift bridge that had washed out and partially sunk – leaving a ditch approximately half a metre deep. My ATV200 made it through with the front wheels airborne. Donavan followed with the same effect on his quad. Sailesh was a bit skeptical so I decided to take his quad through. The wider wheel base caused the quad to eventually sit on the undercarriage. With a bit of manhandling we got it out and were back on track.
From Red Water we headed towards Nonoti Mouth. We encountered the next challenge up one of the hills where quite a bit of the track had washed out with the rains last week. Sailesh’s bike superior handling got him up quite easily. My ATV200 took a bit of convincing to keep the front wheels on the ground as I roared up. Donavan’s smaller 200cc proved to be quite a mission going up. The lighter mass made it very difficult to manoever between the drains on the track. Took us a while, but we eventually got to the top.

Here we had to take a detour because the local farmers cows refused to get out of our track. Not wanting to antagonize them we submitted and cut our own track through the meadow.
We were back in New Guelderland at about 10h30. We stopped of here for quite a while before setting of back to Stanger Manor. Got back home at about 14h30, reaaalllllly satisfied with an excellent ride and totally tired.

Riding through the canefields

Most of the roads were quite badly
eroded and washed out as a result
of the torrential rains earlier in the
week. This made the ride that much
more challenging.
This is one of the routes we take
through the canefields about
7 kms out of Stanger.
Although this 200cc has good
power and acceleration, it was not
built for comfort that Sailesh's 250cc
offers.
Had to take it easy here because of
the sharp stones that were exposed
after the rain.

On the way back home

Although we couldn't make it all the way to the
way to the beach we still had an
excellent ride. Sailesh thoroughly
enjoyed this, being his first ride
out in rain. I must admit, he handles
this 250cc quite well in wet weather.

Catching a couple of ZZZZZs ???

No, he is not sleeping. Sailesh is just checking fuel levels. We started of very early in the morning on new year's eve. Holding quite a fair pace we were approximately 2 kms from the beach in about 30 minutes. However, with the rain drenching the coastline we could go no further and we were forced to turn back.

The New Year Is Upon Us. . . . . .

Well, the new year is upon us. The old year did offer many surprises, good times and not so good times. It was indeed a time of learning. Armed with this knowledge we should embrace the new year and be prepared to accept any challenge it throws at us. I know that I certainly will.
I would like to quote the words sent to me by a very dear friend :
- Live with no excuses and love with no regrets
- when life gives you a 100 reasons to cry
- show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile

(sms'd by RITA GOPAUL - friend from Mauritius)

With this thought I wish you all a very safe, prosperous and blessed 2007.