The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
Technical Discussion => Ride Reports and Event Reviews => Topic started by: Danie on April 25, 2008, 02:59:50 PM
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Well, everything has been packed, the bike has been , serviced, polished, etc. Tomorrow morning at 5.30 am. the bike will be fired up - for a trip of about 400 miles - from Durban to Johannesburg.
Our granddoughter is eight months old now, and waiting another four months for her birthday just became too difficult ! Since she was born, all visits took place by car - this time I took a few days vacation for a relaxing motorcycle ride and visit, and we will return to Durban on the 4th of May.
Our previous ride to Johannesburg (on a motorcycle) was about four years ago - on the R65. This time
we will go on the Kawasaki - my R65 still has to be re assembled.
The trip will be on one of the best highways in our country........open roads.........lovely wheather........beautiful scenery..........many restaurants along the road........enough time for stops to stretch legs ..........
I can't wait !
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Sounds great! What year is the GPz?
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Congratulations on that first grandchild! Love 'em, spoil 'em, treasure them.
Best regards from a Grandpa in Texas
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Rob, the Gpz is a 1982 model - still in very good condition - with just over 57 000 km on the clock.
Thanks Montmil - it really was one of the most memorable weeks of my life.
I hope to put a ride report (with pics) together later during this week.
Regards
Danie
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Back in 1985, I think, we bought my ex-wife a 1984 GPz550. It was the model with the 1/2 fairing. A real nice bike...
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So here is my ride report - I do realize that my English and writing skills are not perfect, so please - I do apologize.......
We left Durban on Saturday, 26 April, at 7.15 am. The weather seemed to be perfect for motorcycle riding, and after about 25 km, I thought that we were a bit "overdressed" - it was already quite warm for tat time of the day. We were very exited, and looking forward to a wonderful ride and fulfilling experience during the next week.
Then, after another about 40 km, the weather started changing, and it became much cooler - I realized that we were probably too optimistic about weather conditions during the ride. Having passed the tollgate near Mooiriver - about 160 km from Durban, we were cold to the bone. We gladly stopped for petrol and a nice cup of coffee, and discussed the rest of the trip.......our optimism has disappeared, and we were worried. Noneteless, the coffee boosted our energy levels and moral, and we were back on the highway.
Having reached the heights near Estcourt, about 50 km away, I noticed tat the weather started changing again - and I became more and more optimistic. It became much warmer ! By the time we reached the next petrol station - just before the next tollgate - after another +- 70 km, we stopped for another cup of coffee, just to share our exitement about the positive change of weather conditions !
From there we have had a wonderful ride for the next +-120 km. ..........then faceing the wind which became stonger and stronger.............passing another two tollgates, stopped for a nice meal and petrol near the last tollgate.
We reached my daughter and son in law's house - between Johannesburg and Pretoria - at about 2pm - very surprised to see how big the little one became since the last time that we have seen her - about two months ago.
The visit during the next couple of days was absolutely wonderful........quality time with our daughter and son in law........and desperately trying to absorb the priviledge of having a gift from Heaven between us - a healthy , and (obviously :) beautiful granddaughter.
On Wednesday all of us decided to visit my 83 year old mother - who lives in Hertzogville, a small village in the western Free State (central South Africa) - about 430 km from Johannesburg. My daughter and her husband still attended a wedding the next day, and my wife obviously offered to do baby sitting during the wedding ceremony.
So I left the Johannesburg -area early on Thursday morning for the 430 km solo ride - a wonderful experience. The rest of the family would follow much later during the day.
The first +- 110 km was a very nice ride - still on a tollroad, in very good condition. Near Parys (Free State) I left the toll road, and from there on I became more cautious.........always aware of the possibility of hitting an unexpected pothole..........
To visit my mother is always a wonderful experience, and this time was no exception..........I just became a bit sad when I realized that time is passing by............and life is actually very short .........
I also visited two old personal friends in the area . We have been friends since we were kids, and all of us grew up on different farms in the area. Things still seem to be the same...........except, they seem to think I am a bit mad to ride all the way from Durban.........to Jo' burg........then Hertzogville ........and back to Durban......on a bike.
Early Friday morning when I watched the weather forecast I got a huge shock - we were facing a ride of 830 km on Sunday - back to Durban ..........and the prediction was .......an 80 % chance of rain for the next couple of days !
To say goodby early on Sunday morning was something which could not be avoided........as life obviously goes on..........When we left, the road was very wet. It rained a lot during the previous night, and conditions did not look too good.
The first 80 km was a bit of a nightmare. The road was in a very poor condition......with hundreds of potholes.........which was full of water. Three or four times I did not have any choice other than to ride through the potholes (to avoid oncoming traffic). So we often had to come almost to a standstill - not knowing how deep the potholes would be..........
Just as we stopped at Bethlehem, (Free State) for petrol (about 350 km from Herzogville) it suddenly started raining heavily . We could not beleive our luck - we were under shelter, and if we stopped one minute later, we would be soaking wet !
We waited for more than an hour for the weather to clear, and then we were back on the road. Conditions were still bad, and it could start raining again any moment. The next +- 120 km became a race to stay ahead of thick clouds who seemed to follow us ......
It was a huge releive when we reached the toll road at Harrismith ,(eastern Free State) and at Van Reenens Pass (Kwazulu Natal) the battle against mother nature was over - the weather started to clear !
The +- 250 km ride from Van Reenens Pass to Durban was by far the best part of the trip. To be honest, I have never appreciated a toll road , as much as I did during this stage of the ride. The Kawasaki was heading home........and I was constantly under pressure to tap the throttle down ........... trying very hard to be a law obeying citizen .
We reached home at about 6pm - and I thanked the Good Lord for many blessings and an experience which I will never forg
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First fuel stop
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My wife with granddaughter
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Near Hertzogville (Free State)
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Hey! She's a cutie!
Your granddaughter's not bad, either! ;)
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Great Ride report Danie! What was the total mileage on the trip? What you have just done is a POR trip (Press On Regardless). My Helmet is off to you.
Your pictures remind me of being out in the western US. <sigh>
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Hi Bill
The total milage was just over 1 800 km (about 1130 miles).
Fuel prizes are getting insane in this part of the world - I am already thinking of more trips like this in future.........far cheaper than travelling by car.
Regards
Danie
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Excellent ride report, Danie! [smiley=thumbsup.gif] And I would give you a 95% grade on spelling and grammar (which is better than the vast majority of American students these days)! ::)
Do you drive on the left hand side of the road as in the United Kingdom countries? It sure looked flat in that one pic you posted! If you have any other photos from the ride, we'd sure like to see 'em!
I just love reading about riding in other countries. Do you ever encounter any wild animals when you're out there in the vast stretches between towns?
Can't wait for your next ride!! ;)
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Thanks for the comment about my English John - I grew up in the central part of our country (Free State), where most people are Afrikaans speaking.
Yes, we do drive on the left hand side of the road - and the cental part of our country is indeed very flat.
No, we do not encounter wild animals between towns. Unlike some of our neigbouring countries, and elsewhere in Africa, our country is actually very "civilised"- it actually compair very well with any other civilised country in the world. We do have several nature reserves (government controlled) where wild animals are being kept in its natural habitat. Many farmers are also involved in nature conservation - but the wild animals are not free roaming.
I do have more pics from the ride, which will be loaded on Photobucket as soon as possible. (Today is my wife's birtday, and if I spend more time in front of my computor now, I might find myself in serious trouble ! )
Regards
Danie
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You tell your cute wife that a guy in Indianapolis says "Happy Birthday!" ;D
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Thanks Rob - I will tell her ;)
Sorry about all the bad spelling and grammar above , I was actually in a hurry when I typed the message yesterday - was on my way taking my wife out for dinner.
For some or other reason I do have problems with loading the pics on Photobucket - hopefully it will be OK if I do place them here:
The first two pics have been taken near Johannesburg - while we were driving around with my son -in -law's truck.
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Johannesburg area
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I tried to send more pics, but it seem to be too large - will try later again on Photobucket.
Regards
Danie