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Kradmelder |
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Kradmelder World Chat Champion
Joined: 13 Jun 2012 Karma :
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Posted: 17:12 - 19 Aug 2012 Post subject: off road to thabazimbi and vaalwater |
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Spring is on its way, and with warmer temperatures and longer days I did a 600 km gravel trip today. The trip was to Brits, then west on gravel and sand roads along teh crocodile river, to Thabazimbi, then gravel across the edge of the Marakele National park, almost to the Botswana border, then home via Vaalwater. The ride was on the margins of the Kalahari, so sand is everywhere.
The road from Brits was very sandy, which kept speed down, sometimes to below 40 kmh. The front wheel is just head shaking and snaking around, and the only way to steer is with the throttle: stand up, put weight on the rear and apply throttle to go straight.
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00325.jpg
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00328.jpg
Look how the front wheel sinks in when you stop
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00327.jpg
A white man lives here. carving something from the bush and working to feed the nation. There were 85 000 white farmers in 1994. Now there are only 30 000. 3800 have been murdered on their farms. 12% have been attacked, The rest have given up due to stock theft and crime, or moved to towns for security. SA used to export food, now we must import. What will the darkies do when their rampages result in food shortages? Starve like zimbabwe and the rest of africa. Such a fertile continent, and they cant even feed themselves.
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00329.jpg
Guess who lives here. Can you see the difference?
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00333.jpg
The crocodile river. It is fenced off due to the irrigation pumps down below. It is to stop the darkies from carrying off the pumps
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00330.jpg
Going through Marakele
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00331.jpg
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00332.jpg
Coming past the Schoongelegen game reserve. Bikes are not allowed in game reserves so I took the gravel along the border
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00334.jpg
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00335.jpg
The road is so soft the stand just sinks in and it is an effort to right the bike again
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00336.jpg
The Mokolo river coming into Vaalwater
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00337.jpg
I stop for lunch in Warmbaths, and pub and grill is infested with group riding weekend warriors on cruisers. Check my bike next to the 1200 Harley. Lol, the harley looks like a toy. His head must be at my knee
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00339.jpg
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00341.jpg
More fashion accessories. Another town to avoid on a sunday to give a miss to the weekend warrior breakfast runners
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00342.jpg
But I get a nice cold one and a 350 g T bone steak smothered in cheese and mushroom sauce
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00343.jpg
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00344.jpg
Strange to see my dirty bike next to all that shiny chrome and leather. And my boots...
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00340.jpg
Madchen needs a wash. I cant recall how I got mud on it. I thought it very dry and sandy, but some of the ground beneath must have been muddy and I churned it up. The risks of off-raod. You cant always see the mud until your bike slides under you. But it is absolutely the best riding for me.
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/thabazimbi/IMG-20120819-00345.jpg ____________________ 2011 KTM 990 Dakar
2009 BMW 1200 GS
Last edited by Kradmelder on 13:16 - 20 Aug 2012; edited 1 time in total |
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_Iain_ |
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_Iain_ Banned
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Posted: 17:16 - 19 Aug 2012 Post subject: |
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Would very much like to do some offroad touring overseas.
Money, licence, time etc mean it's not happening in the forseable future!
for an interesting read ____________________ Please be aware that the above post may be full of complete nonsense.
Riding: '07 KTM Duke II, Baotian BT49QT-20 Driving: '88 Volvo 340 |
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Kradmelder |
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Kradmelder World Chat Champion
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Posted: 17:59 - 19 Aug 2012 Post subject: |
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Regarding farm attacks, inall these cases, the attackers were young, black males, often armed with AK47s and Uzis. In only 31% cases theft was involved. So it is simply killing, not stealing. And like all theft in SA food is never taken, so they are not stealing because they are hungry.
The farm attacks come with growing hate-speech by government officials targeting white farmers. Mandela used to sing kill the Settlers, Zuma sings kill the Boers. This from state presidents.
But the darkies also suffer. The economic effect from on the emptying out the farms results in squatters moving in and the farms become disused and dilapidated in a short period of time.
The number of food-producing commercial farms in South Africa has dropped from 85,000 in 1994 to a mere 11,500 this year, according to SA tax records.
This has in turn also caused massive unemployment among farm-workers: 1,2million were employed on white-owned farms in 1994, only 360,000 now remain.
Then squatter towns grow larger every time jobless farm workers move away from desolate farms after such murders. Less than one percent of the entire South African land surface is now used for irrigated crop-production, causing local food prices to triple this past year. In 1994 about 6% of the entire SA land-surface was used by commercial farmers for irrigated crops. ____________________ 2011 KTM 990 Dakar
2009 BMW 1200 GS |
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sidewinder |
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sidewinder World Chat Champion
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Posted: 18:03 - 19 Aug 2012 Post subject: |
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again some great pics What sort of time are you doing these trips in? ____________________ "Nitrous is like a cheap hooker, you want to hit it but are scared of the consequences |
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Kradmelder |
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Kradmelder World Chat Champion
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Suntan Sid |
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Suntan Sid World Chat Champion
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Posted: 18:54 - 19 Aug 2012 Post subject: |
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Why ruin a perfectly good steak with melted cheese?
Shrooms YES, cheese NO!
Looks like you had a good ride though! ____________________ "Everybody needs money, that's why they call it money!" |
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Kradmelder World Chat Champion
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drzsta |
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drzsta World Chat Champion
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Kradmelder |
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Kradmelder World Chat Champion
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Posted: 20:38 - 19 Aug 2012 Post subject: |
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drzsta wrote: | Nice ride, shame about our Colonial Brothers and the general decline in self sufficient output.
I would not feel safe in a cage out there let alone an almost grand spanker of a Katoom.
How big a problem is Hijacking out there? |
Strangely enough, bike theft and hijacking is not common. Scooters and super bikes get stolen but it is not in large amounts.
The bike theft in the UK suprises me, as it is one crime we dont have much of.
I guess hijackers generally cant ride bikes to ride it away. And perhaps DS and off road bikes are just too tall for the average darkie, so it is not a prime target.
The black bike clubs that do exist tend to be harleys. But I have never heard of harleys being stolen either. But then again, the darkie than can buy a harley doesnt need to buy stolen goods.
Mountain bikes and bicycles get hijacked, but motor bikes, I have yet to hear of one. I have heard of them pushing cattle in the road to make you crash, then rob you, but they never take your bike.
Maybe they figure whitey on a bike is poor and not a good target. At best you can get a cellphone and a few bucks. Who knows?
Unlike asia, bikes are not a common form of african transport. they prefer minibus taxis. If they do ride, it is 125s. why blacks ride bicycles but very very few ride motorbikes, and then just delivery boys, never much tried to figure it out. I will start asking darkies I know. ____________________ 2011 KTM 990 Dakar
2009 BMW 1200 GS |
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Werny |
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Werny Traffic Copper
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Posted: 23:09 - 19 Aug 2012 Post subject: |
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That was an interesting write-up, cool pictures and interesting facts. We have nothing similar in the UK, a few areas we can go off-road but nothing like the 1000's of miles of dirt track you have. A fantastic playground for you!
And such a beautiful country so obviously going downhill due to mismanagement by the current rulers. I've worked with a few South Africans in my time, and all of them, without exception, have stories of violent crime committed to either themselves, their families or close neighbours. Except one old fella, but I don't think I ever understood a single word he said, his accent was so strong, proper Afrikaner |
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Kradmelder |
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Kradmelder World Chat Champion
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Posted: 12:23 - 20 Aug 2012 Post subject: |
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Werny wrote: | That was an interesting write-up, cool pictures and interesting facts. We have nothing similar in the UK, a few areas we can go off-road but nothing like the 1000's of miles of dirt track you have. A fantastic playground for you!
And such a beautiful country so obviously going downhill due to mismanagement by the current rulers. I've worked with a few South Africans in my time, and all of them, without exception, have stories of violent crime committed to either themselves, their families or close neighbours. Except one old fella, but I don't think I ever understood a single word he said, his accent was so strong, proper Afrikaner |
Outside of the major urban areas, I think about 90% of our roads are not tarred. So not riding off road, you would miss huge chunks of the country and just see a thin strip along the tar roads.
only 13% of the highwaysare listed as being paved. I guess if you include other gravel roads which are not highways, the proportion of tar is much less.
https://southafrica.angloinfo.com/transport/driving/types-of-roads/
another site lists Quote: | South Africa's total road network is about 754 000 kilometres, of which over 70 000km are paved or surfaced roads. | But this must include all roads, not just highways. Less than 10% paved.
Read more: https://www.southafrica.info/business/economy/infrastructure/transport.htm#ixzz245SZg4qY
So for me I dont see the point of a road bike and just going from A to B. So many nicer ways to get there with much more challenging riding. In fact riding on tar freeways bores me to tears. Not much of a challenge to just just twist a throttle and follow a bit of hard surface.Just lean now and then. Twisties are a bit better, but still hard surface. Gravel twisties through mountain passes are so much better and you avoid the hordes of group street bikers who are funnelled on to the tar. On the gravel you have to look for a line all the time, feel the surface, shift your weight, stand, correct, constant shifting and throttle control etc. Anyone who rides MX or off road will know.
I almost never see another bike riding on gravel. It is rare. Most times I rarely see a cage either. Riding bikes out on the remote gravel roads in the perserve of the lunatic fringe
It is also not a big group activity because of the dust. Even 2, you have to keep far apart. if you have 10, unless you want to see nothing but dust, you are spread so far each stop is a major time loss.
One newbie ride to get street riders to get used to gravel, I drove my bakkie behind to collect the fallen. It was horrible. 30 bikes and with all that dust and me at the back.....
It looked like the slow moving dust cloud of a Pantser battle group on the move. ____________________ 2011 KTM 990 Dakar
2009 BMW 1200 GS |
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.Chris. |
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.Chris. World Chat Champion
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Kradmelder |
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Kradmelder World Chat Champion
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Posted: 13:35 - 20 Aug 2012 Post subject: |
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.Chris. wrote: | Interesting. Here it's the complete opposite. You'll really struggle to find unsurfaced dirt roads that actually take you somewhere useful. The number of byways (i.e. unsurfaced public roads that you can drive/ride on) has diminished greatly in recent years, due mainly to pressure from groupls like the ramblers' association. There's a huge number of public bridleways, but vehicular traffic isn't allowed on these.
That said, plenty of small country lanes in more remote parts of the country have only a fairly minimal 'surface'. I used to live in Devon and plenty of the minor roads in rural areas there are little more than two strips of crumbling tarmac (where car tyres go), and a strip of grass in the middle.
Sadly, this is now a very crowded island (particularly in the south), and the sort of wilderness you have in SA is harder to find here. |
Are these what people call green lanes?
We have some of those to, but as you say, they dont go anywhere, just to a few pieces of land. So i can ride them, but they dont connect to much. Sometimes they just end. So you wont do 100 km on these.
So therefore not much point having BMWs and KTMs in the UK except for pose value? You really wont get to use the potential of the bike.
I guess smaller dirt bikes you can still bugger around on green lanes, but no need for bikes for longer distances off road. ____________________ 2011 KTM 990 Dakar
2009 BMW 1200 GS |
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Kradmelder |
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Kradmelder World Chat Champion
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Posted: 14:54 - 20 Aug 2012 Post subject: |
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Kradmelder |
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 11 years, 291 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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