Home › Forums › Ride Reports › Aussies go Riding in Africa with Alfie Cox
This topic contains 33 replies, has 0 voices, and was last updated by 
-
AuthorPosts
-
April 22, 2010 at 1:48 am #176598
Day3 (…continued)
[attachment=1630]DSCN3126small.JPG[/attachment]More open trail, more grassy ridges and then through a eucalypt forest with the trail changing to moist slick red clay. Charlie soon discovered that his 525 with the squared off rear knobs was no match for Ross and Gordon on the 400’s, who both roosted past him. What a difference tyre pressures make. [Sorry, no photos here as we were all having too much high speed fun!!]
Smoko stop was at a picturesque inlet where a small remote backpacker’s village was being operated. The boys were soon admiring the local talent especially the gorgeous girl who served us, who was later nicknamed ‘Medusa’. (I guess you had to be there). Peter was the favourite with the local kids after handing out a few miniature fluffy toy koala bears.
[attachment=3912]DSCN3080small.JPG[/attachment]Rain began to fall and jackets were dragged out of the backpacks. The afternoon trails were an awesome mixture of forest and village paths.
[attachment=1631]AFRICA_BIKE_056small.JPG[/attachment]The slippery hills caught out Neville as he slowed on a black soil hill climb. His rear knobby turned into a slick and as a result kept us all amused for the next ten minutes while he attempted to progress further.
[attachment=1632]DSCN3138small.JPG[/attachment]We returned to ‘Hole in the Wall’ by mid afternoon and were glad to get out of our wet riding gear. Another post mortem was initiated while sitting back, taking in the scenery and consuming a few Millers.
[attachment=1633]DSCN3149small.JPG[/attachment]Day4 next …..
April 22, 2010 at 2:57 am #176773Absolutely awesome you lucky bugger. :laugh:
Congrats on making it happen.
April 22, 2010 at 10:55 am #176599Day4
The rain had passed, blue sunny skies above and the bikes were all cleaned and prep’d to go – thanks to the efforts of the “bike master” once again. Another perfect day for riding so everyone was keen to get going. Gordon started off a bit slow while waiting for the pain to turn to numb.
[attachment=3911]AFRICABIKE009small.JPG[/attachment]Only a few minutes out and Alfie was soon throwing together some great sections with challenging hills and numerous slippery creek crossings. Ross was the first to get a flat, which Alfie fixed while the rest of us entertained the local African kids, who appeared within minutes of us stopping.
[attachment=1636]IMG_0642small.JPG[/attachment]Alfie arranged for us to take a look inside the mud huts nearby. A true glimpse back in time with only the basic necessities of life. The kitchen hut had a cast iron pot sitting on an open fire in the middle. There was a pile of maize corn from last summers crop on the one side and a few young goats tied up on the other side. Three families lived in these 2 huts yet they all looked very happy and were very friendly to us.
[attachment=1637]DSCN3100small.JPG[/attachment]Later Alfie led us off into a slippery rain forest trail with a winding hill climb that topped out on a slate shelf. Chaos followed as Charlie first stopped, creating a bottleneck and the greasy slate caught out Ross, Brian & Nev. Much creative criticism was offered by those that made it first go. Slippery shit that slate!!
[attachment=1638]DSCN3070small.JPG[/attachment]More to follow …..
April 22, 2010 at 11:35 am #176600Day4 (…continued)
The final challenge for the morning loop was “King Hill”. A short switchback clay goat track through a dense rainforest with no run up. But the first challenge was that the hill was on the other side of the river. And the riverbed consisted of boulder sized rocks. Ross boiled the ‘billy’ well and truly while Brian showed us how to operate a submarine. As a result the 200 had to be carried out and drained of its belly full of water.
[attachment=3910]DSCN3135small.JPG[/attachment]Tyre pressures were lowered for the final assault and blood pressures were at maximum levels, by the time we reached the top. “King Hill” ended amongst a few Xhosa huts with the residents looking on and perhaps wondering why we do this stuff.
[attachment=1640]DSCN3044small.JPG[/attachment]We returned to base for a quick lunch and refuel. The afternoons ride, over the best of the best trails, suddenly bought out the racer in Nev, and Alfie had to quicken up the pace to keep him at bay.
[attachment=1641]AFRICA_BIKE_087small.JPG[/attachment]Another absolutely brilliant day, topped off by a few more Millers, a few yarns and a great seafood dinner. This was our last night in the Transkei before our trip up to Zululand for another three days of riding.
[attachment=1642]IMG_0695small.JPG[/attachment]Day5 next …..
April 22, 2010 at 10:38 pm #176825More please :cheer:
Great Stuff
April 27, 2010 at 3:38 am #176589Day5
Bikes were loaded early for the sedate transport at mach1 through the Transkei to Alfies farm at Cato Ridge in Kwazulu-Natal.
[attachment=3909]IMG_0602small.JPG[/attachment]This was a 6hr drive with a stop for a hearty breakfast along the way.
[attachment=288]DSCN3216small.JPG[/attachment]After settling into the cosy little cottages on the property we made our way down to view the collection of Dakar bikes and trophies.
[attachment=1649]100_0107small.JPG[/attachment]That afternoon we were taken up to a nearby game reserve for the remainder of the day and evening. The reserve provided brilliant sightings of Rhino, Hippo’s, Giraffe, Zebra, Wilderbeest and many other native African animals.
[attachment=1650]AFRICA_045small.JPG[/attachment][attachment=1651]AFRICA_061small.JPG[/attachment][attachment=1652]AFRICA_064small.JPG[/attachment]The day was topped off with drinks and a feast at the luxurious game lodge.
Day6 next …. (riding in the land of the Zulu people)
April 29, 2010 at 1:18 am #176601Day6
Today’s ride was set in the hills around the town of Pietermaritzburg, in the homelands of the Zulu tribe. The flowing trails led from one technical section to another, challenging the boys to keep it upright in the slippery conditions.
[attachment=3908]AFRICABIKE088small.JPG[/attachment]The old “green moss on red clay” trick caught Charlie, who went down hard and sprained his thumb. Further on the trail entered a damp forest section and climbed and climbed up through the clouds, where the mist provided a good camouflaging effect for the boiling KTM’s and smoking tyres from spinning on numerous tree roots.
[attachment=1656]DSCN3200small.JPG[/attachment]This climb became known as Pete’s hill due to the amount of time he spent lying down on it.
[attachment=1657]DSCN3197small.JPG[/attachment]Nev got the second flat of the ride, but blamed it on Ross for pushing up the pace a bit too much. A quick stop at a local shop for smoko and we were off again.
[attachment=1658]IMG_0713small.JPG[/attachment]Alfie’s sense of humour was once again experienced as he directed us up a grassy hill on the side of a very large dam. Half way up we all sank to the axles in a bog hole much to the amusement of our trusted guide, and all caught on video of course.
[attachment=1659]DSCN3206small.JPG[/attachment]On the way home we called in at the towns Supa Motard track for a few high speed hot laps, with Alfie starting at the back but soon showing us his rear tyre. Another days riding finished with smiles all round.
Day7 next ….
April 29, 2010 at 1:22 am #177146Avid Wilbur Smith readers would recognise some of the names of places you rode.
Mate top stuff.
April 30, 2010 at 6:52 am #176602Day7
A quick trip down to one of Alfie’s KTM shops to pick up Brett’s bike which had been given an overnight tune up. (Two stroke riders can’t ride four strokes properly).
[attachment=3907]DSCN3278small.JPG[/attachment]A short drive north and we were soon in trail racing mode once again. Today was mostly a forestry ride with the pine needles and exposed tree roots providing interesting moments.
[attachment=1669]DSCN3202small.JPG[/attachment]We approached the hill aptly named “Widowmaker” with much reservation. This was a steep downhill that bottomed out into a vee gully, then a long shaley climb to the top. Alfie blasted up, followed by Nev and Brett who both made a clean run to the top. Ross however popped out of the gully off line, clipped the tree roots coming to an abrupt stop. Charlie followed Ross’s line, to his peril, while the others reached the summit with various degrees of dignity. Pete’s run was self-proclaimed to be “close enough” as he highsided one metre from the top.
[attachment=1670]AFRICA_BIKE_118small.JPG[/attachment]Numerous hill climb challenges followed, with escape routes available for those that couldn’t make it.
[attachment=1671]DSCN3210small.JPG[/attachment][attachment=1674]DSCN3211small-20100430.JPG[/attachment][attachment=1673]DSCN3212small.JPG[/attachment]More to follow ….
May 5, 2010 at 2:42 am #176603Day7 (…continued)
A fast sixth gear section had the adrenalin pumping again, as those with apparently jammed throttles passed the others like they were standing still.[attachment=3906]PDVD_002.JPG[/attachment]On the way back to lunch we did a few laps on a private motocross track. Nev did his utmost to try and pass Alfie over the huge doubles …. Mad!!!
The afternoon ride brought our 3rd flat tyre as Brett hit a low stump in the forest. A quick repair and we were off again. The racing quickly resumed with lines being challenged and blocking moves across the trail.
[attachment=1685]PDVD_007.JPG[/attachment]The fun had to end as Neville threw his KTM to the ground, to avoid t-boneing Brett, while Pete headed for the bush.
[attachment=1686]PDVD_009.JPG[/attachment]Luckily no injuries but the pace did slow for a minute or two. Some more great trails finished off the day.
[attachment=1688]PDVD_010-20100505.JPG[/attachment]And now only one day left …. In the “Valley of a 1000 Hills”!
May 6, 2010 at 11:48 am #176604Day8
[attachment=3905]DSCN3237small.JPG[/attachment]The “Valley of a 1000 Hills” area backs onto Alfie’s farm at Cato Ridge, and as the name suggests, it is not flat! In fact, I think we probably rode up and down the majority of those 1000 hills.
[attachment=1703]PDVD_012.JPG[/attachment]The day didn’t start well for Charlie as his alternate line through the first creek got him well and truly bogged. This was after Alfie having just briefed us to follow his line, and so as a result a barrage of “advice” was forthcoming from our leader.
[attachment=1704]DSCN3229small.JPG[/attachment]The single trails wound up and down the ranges, passing through many Zulu villages.
More to follow ….
May 7, 2010 at 9:24 am #176605Day8 (….continued)
[attachment=1742]PDVD_016-20100510-4.JPG[/attachment]One hillclimb started at the valley floor and finished at the ridge top following a deep rut through thorn bushes all the way to the top, with a couple of switchbacks thrown in. Those in the group with short leg syndrome dominated this section. No casualties, although a strong smell of boiling coolant was present at the top.
[attachment=1743]DSCN3236small-20100510.JPG[/attachment]A short break to take in the views and then down the other side, and down and down, into another series of single trails in the valley.
[attachment=1744]DSCN3230small-20100510.JPG[/attachment]Later on we rode through an open cut sand quarry and no sooner had we arrived than the excavator operator started building a circuit for us to play on …!!!! We love Africa!! … where else in the world would that happen?
More to follow ….
May 10, 2010 at 9:47 am #176606Day8 (….continued 2)
[attachment=3904]PDVD_017.JPG[/attachment]Now it was serious race time. Alfie sent us up a trail that led to the top, saying that he would start from the back and race us all to the top. And that he did, picking us off one by one until he regained pole position only metres from the top. Local knowledge rules, well that’s our excuse anyway!
Almost the end of the day but still a couple more adrenalin sections.
[attachment=1746]DSCN3241small.JPG[/attachment]Then a quick briefing to jump over a boggy creek with part of a car body protruding from the mud. “You need to bounce your rear wheel off the chassis part to get across this one” was Alfies instruction and then off he went. What the …..! With the video running and carnage expected, we all gave it a go, with 100% success. Then the race for home was on. Boys will be boys.
[attachment=1747]PDVD_022.JPG[/attachment]More to follow ….
May 10, 2010 at 10:42 am #176607Day8 (continued 3)
Back at Cato Ridge we convinced Alfie to let us take out his 1998 Paris Dakar KTM 700 Adventurer, for a blast down the dirt road – awesome!.
[attachment=1750]DSCN3246small.JPG[/attachment][attachment=3903]PDVD_027.JPG[/attachment]
This was the bike that Alfie finished the Dakar in 2nd place on. An amazing factory spec machine, having started out as a KTM 640, this huge engineering excellence was surprisingly easy to ride. The power delivery was brilliant with 5th gear power drifts resulting in much adrenalin.
[attachment=1751]DSCN3259small.JPG[/attachment]Another night of beer and seafood celebrated the best adventure ride ever!!
Day9
Well the riding was over but we still had another week to saviour the African culture. We spent the next seven days traveling down the east coast to Cape Town enjoying the amazing scenery. Highlights included the world renowned Jeffrey’s Bay surf, playing with lion cubs, interacting with elephants and their calves, whale watching, sand tobogganing, quad racing, Cape Point coastline, Table Mountain and the nightlife of Cape Town’s waterfront. And so we head home after an experience that more than exceeded our expectations, loaded with memories, hundreds of photos and hours of video coverage – never to be forgotten.[attachment=1752]IMG_0724small.JPG[/attachment]…. Well that’s all guys, hope you enjoyed the yarn …. now its time to plan the next one !!!
May 10, 2010 at 8:18 pm #178697That will take some beating as far as ride reports go. What an epic adventure!! It gives us all something to aspire to. Congratulations.
Cheers
mick -
AuthorPosts
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.