The King and I

Pre-Xmas weekend riding

Thuko and Zi tagged along with me to Eteza, and they had a thoroughly good time, especially as pillion riders on the King, when I "toured" the MX track....



Heidi joined me on a lovely Sunday evening ride in Kwambo valley. This pic was taken with the Kwambonambi airfield in the background, and the sun preparing to set....

Video clip: Quad ride at Mfuli Game Reserve

Aziz, riding the kids trail at the ZBA year-end event at Mfuli Game Reserve.

ZBA Year End Ride at Mfuli Game Reserve

Zi, in full gear, having a drinks break

What a GREAT Dad and Son outing

Counting tadpoles in the stream - I think he lost count at around 75!

The ride was filled with terrific scenery, and mud, water and rocks! The Kingquad had a rip-roaring time....

With around 150 entrants on the Sunday of this long weekend, this must be one of the busiest events in KZN this year - congrats to Peter and the team that made the ride possible - we look forward to riding with you again and in 2008.

Check out ZBA's website for ride report and loadsa photos...

Video clip: Thank God Its Mud Friday - Part 2

I couldn't wait any longer to post this sequel, so HERE it is!!!
Enjoy the action, especially Abbas' mud shower courtesy of my KingQuad...

Video clip :Thank God Its Mud Friday - Part 1

1st Helmet Cam video clip, taken at the last Mud Friday, 14 December.

Watch this space for the action-packed part 2, taken at the same outing...

Riding skills tip: Whoops !

A riding skills tip, published by QUAD Magazine, about how to ride whoops sections, properly (ie. avoiding the feeling that you're going to be bucked off at every bump!)

Sigeni Valley on a 1200GS

A Magic Moment, overlooking the Mvoti River in the Sigeni Valley, sights only seen and experienced on an off-roader

Snack Stop in Eshowe...


The captions above were submitted by Sulli, but my submission would have read differently:

There once was a Belgian in Empangeni.....
he decided to visit Sigeni....

He ran outta money, and had to settle for a bunny....
which was so good, he didn't share any!

Give us this day our daily ride 5

Can you believe that almost a week has gone past since I started the "Daily Ride" series!!!???

Check out my riding partner here, this time H wiped away the sleep and got out into the wide open, and enjoyed every minute!

We rode for around 30 fun-filled minutes, and I have it all recorded on helmet cam - watch this space for an upload, as soon as I've figured out how to edit the footage....

Give us this day our daily ride 4

Keeping the series alive, I went out in a different direction this morning, and was rewarded with a little buck in amongst the canefields. I couldn't get close enough to take his picture, since the King's growl scared him off from a mile away!

The sun was trying to peep out from behind the clouds, just above the treeline, and the world was starting to fill with the sounds of birds.

This scene is so inspiring, I now have it on my desktop as wallpaper....

Adventure Man begins

What a great adventure story! Although, I'm not that keen on SURPRISE adventures, myself, but that's just me! Who wouldn't want to be ADVENTURE MAN (or GRRL) for a weekend?
Thanks to QUAD Magazine for always publishing such fresh material....

Give us this day our daily ride 3

WHAT a great sight, early in the morn....

Found some water along the trip

Check out those treads! After fitting my new BKT Wings, I just HAD to get them dirty!!! They look and perform great!

Give us this day our daily ride 2

Check out my riding partner! Zi's quad had a modified replacement brake lever fitted, so now he can at least STOP! Also, his chain has been tensioned, and the front wheels aligned a bit better - he still reports a bit of "drift", but it's better than before...

We rode around the forest area a bit, sticking to the routes we had been on before, and not straying too far from home, since the light was fading, fast....


We had a great ride together, stopping for short breaks and photoshoots now and then, but I forgot to pack liquid refreshments, and the little one had to wait til we reached home to quench his thirst....note to self : ALWAYS pack refreshments!

Give us this day our daily ride

After a stress-ful week, I NEEDED to ride - even if it was just in my backyard....

Heading towards Eteza, from Kwambo, I wound my way through the forests and into the valley to the West of the main dirt road, and I came upon the most wonderful riding area - with forests, and valleys and hillclimbs....

I'll definitely be back here again, and again, and again - you get the picture!

Richards Bay to Kwambo - 2nd Dec

Team Vimal, Suren, Wart Hog (AKA_Bruno), Mitch - 08h00 Sunday 2nd Dec Leaving ‘Red Hill’, we headed out towards the northern section of the lake, led by Vimal.

Arriving at the spot, presents you with a picturesque view of that section of the lake, interrupted with reeds and nesting weaver birds.


After a short break to take some pic’s, we headed north towards Kwambo, following forest roads. Approaching the Kwambo area, about 1km before leaving the forest, we came across some excavation work, blocking the road. This required the team to back-track and find an alternate route to the Kwambo intersection.

Once in Kwambo, we refueled and topped up the fuel (only to get rid of the irritating 5l can on the one quad. We need to come up with a way to ‘easily’ secure a 5l fuel can as a reserve for longer trips. Clearly we did not need the fuel on this run.







Vimal led us around the houses and out the back of Kwambo, following the rail way line till we found a point across the N2 and back into the forest. From there we used the GPS to route us on some less-traveled paths to a point where the Nundwane stream source is and from there we followed the stream back to the ‘Red-Hill’ area. The stream route is easy riding with grassy sections, a must for a quiet Sunday ride.

The route mostly followed existing tracks and roads, and the GPS track is available on request.

Submitted by Mitch

Sport Quad Confidential

Click the link to view the QUAD magazine article on the common faults the manufacturers don't tell you about, when selling you a sports quad....

Friday is MUD Day! 30 November

Click the pic to view the online photo album with more photos from this outing

Venue : Rooiwalle

Participants :
Ivor, Jayshree, Suren, Vimal, Mitch, Megan, Warthog, Yolande, Roxy, Louis, Lood, JJ, Dinosaur Dad

Quads :
The King, 2x Trailblazers, LTZ 400, LTZ 250, Raptor 350, Raptor 700, Can-Am 800 XT MAX(Outty JJ), YFZ 450

I had been anticipating this outing for the entire week, and it couldn't come soon enough!

Newbies Ivor and Jayshree were very keen, and enjoyed every thrilling second of the afternoon, playing in the mud and the trails around Rooiwalle, behind the Richards Bay Airport. Ivor is wanting to buy shares in Seelan's YFZ, and Jayshree is asking about trailers and safety gear.

Mitch called his ride on The King: "the worst mistake he'd ever made!" - he had made up his mind to buy a LTZ 400, but now he's seen the future, and it's 4X4!!!

Suren cruised around on Louis' Trailblazer like a veteran, and he may very well have a 4-wheeler in his garage before Monday morning...watch this space!

This month could see our riding group expand by 4 quads, and a few trailers, which is going to make for some great events!

Carpe Diem 4 Teaser

Check out this trailer for CD 4, coming soon....

Renegade 800 : The Ultimate Quad?

Having ridden with a Renegade 800 last weekend, I thought it fitting to post this ride review from QUAD Magazine...note that the local price tag for these monsters is down by about 20%!!!

(click the pic)

Umpleby Suzuki Organised Ride at Coastal Outdoor Adventures - 25 November

Checking my gmail archives, I noted that I had first contacted Gerald Souchon almost a year ago, to try and attend one of his guided rides in the Amatikulu/Gingingdlovu area - a social ride arranged by Grant Umpleby Suzuki provided this opportunity.

After half our group cancelled on us on the morning of the ride, it turned out to be Vimal and myself making the trip down in the pelting rain.


The trip to Coastal Outdoor Adventures in Gingingdlovu took us about an hour from Richards Bay, and though it rained all the way, I was POSITIVE that the weather was going to clear in time for the ride, and I was NOT WRONG!

After getting the bakkie and trailer stuck in the mud on the approach to the parking area, I needed to enlist the towing services of Big Al's Vinson 500...

I found this picture funny, but wifey didn't - I wonder why....

Cowboy and George, getting revved up to ride - their first real ride since their epic Q4Q 2007 : they did both directions !
It was Cowboy's 13th birthday weekend, and George was keen to celebrate by taking him on a grand ride, with great company - I think the youngster was not disappointed.


In the Amatikulu : some of the sport quads needed some serious rescuing - fortunately, the King was on hand....we fished out at least 3 LTZ 400s in short order!


Nearly surfing his own bow wave, George's Outlaw cruised through the river like a jetski....I always knew those North American quads were good for SOMETHING!

All muddy smiles - with the sea as our backdrop on our last smoke break, we were all cheery just before the final stretch to the finish of a great ride through wonderful scenery and varied terrain. Thanks to Gerald and Desiree - we will certainly be back to ride with you in your area, SOON!

Check out the link on the right, for access to their webpage which has all their contact and facility details...

Kids LOVE quads

Click the pic to access a terrfic article from QUAD Magazine, about getting your kids involved in quads.

Toy Run Impressions

When we (Zi and I) arrived at just after 830AM, we were amazed at the number of vehicles, trailers, bikes and people that were already on the scene, in various stages of readiness....someone whispered that there were nearly 100 riders registered to ride - WOW!

After getting ready, and loaning the trusty Trailblazer out to Marius, we set off in group 3, right at the back, with the kids...
Though I took zero photos on the trail, due to being kept busy assisting Aziz, I can confirm there was plenty of mud, which Zi's bike seemed to have an attraction to, and loads of variety that kept us busy for the entire 3 hours of riding.

I made a mental note to get Zi his own hydration pack for next time, since he nearly sucked mine completely dry this time around! It was easy to underestimate hydration needs due to the weather being pretty overcast all morning.

This was the first long ride with the KingQuad since returning from Quads4Quads 2007 back in September (!) and we were both thrilled, though a railway spike ended up deep in the left front tyre near the finish, requiring a quick lesson in puncture repair from Petrolhead Byrne.

The family and riding community spirit was high during this event, and it's my intention to grab that registration book and increase the size of our mailing list, to attempt to recapture that spirit more regularly.

Another point to mention is that there were NO INJURIES during this mass ride, which meant the EMRS team standing by had no work to do - they were more concerned with the potential hazards around the jumping castle and the braai area than with the riding of quads!!!

Geoff and Crezelda, who put the ride together over a couple of weeks
Our hats off to them, and Craig Byrne for achieving such a great turnout on the day, and for arranging a break in the weather!

Jumping castle, supplied by Debbie (?), kept the young 'uns occupied during the morning, and a well-stocked refreshment stand was set up to fuel everyone's hungry tummies afterwards. Apparently the R5-hotdogs were sold out in record time!

Some of the quads, just before the start - check out Aziz's little 50 in the foreground - it actually finished the entire ride this time, with only 1 slipped chain incident.
Big ups to Denver for assisting with Aziz through the difficult sections - he is now one youngster's hero and role model - especially when they both took a sharp left-hander on 2 wheels!


There were a good many kids on the ride, on a terrific assortment of quads, but these Cobras looked the best....


A budding quadder? Note the cotton wool earplugs!!! Young Jinesa enjoyed her outing, while Dad Thaven filmed part of the start for us.