Birdswood Forest Outride - 20 Jan

Riders : Aroon&Aziz, Thaven, Jerome, Gary, Vincent, Indran
Bikes : The Usual Suspects
Date : 20 Jan 07
Ride : Birdswood Forest from Jerome's house to waterhole and back via RBM road

Despite the rain, we met pretty early, around 6AM, but due to some preparation shortcomings, we only departed after 630AM.

With a noob in our crew, and Aziz on my lap, we proceeded a little slower than usual.

I am pleased to report that we had ZERO incidents on this trip, despite Indran's best efforts to topple the Big Bear, and to run over his own foot, a la Jerome.

The rain actually presented new riding conditions, and at times the raindrops were stinging our cheeks quite painfully.

Returning to base at around 8AM, as per plan, we got on with the business of loading and transporting our bikes and weary bodies back.

Eteza to Kwambo and back

Ready to Ride : Eventually! After getting up at the crack of dawn to try to get in some early action, it was a case of "hurry up and wait", until about 8....
That's 2 700R Raptors, 1 Big Bear 250 and 1 of only 5 privately-owned Wolverine 450's in SA....Yamaha Overload? Eat your heart out!

Connor, going airborne with Jerome's new 700R Raptor SE2; according to T-man, this chap can RIDE!

During a warm-up lap, T tried to take to the air, and this "hop" was the result....no need to alert air traffic control yet :)

Jerome had great fun on the trail, throwing the SE2 into powerslides at every opportunity.


Neville and his Wolf, negotiating Point Roon, with T on his 700R Raptor, looking on, patiently.

We met Connor, of Ride High Yamaha, at the track, and he took the Raptor SE2 for a couple of scorching laps and high-flying jumps.

Heading southwards after completing half the outride loop, we meandered through the forest trails until we connected to Penicuik, and then Kwambonambi. I resisted the temptation to swing by home and show off the Wolverine, and we made our way back to Eteza via a gravel road west of Kwambo.

Neville's Wolverine was a hit with the crew, with it's sporty engine response, and go-anywhere 4x4, it is a great bike!

Jerome's new Raptor 700R SE2 was duly christened, with 2 spills in 2 days; this time he invented the "Push and Dive" technique for quad bikes.

I managed to roll the Hawkeye at Point Roon, again! Without the benefit of the "Push & Dive", I somehow managed to approach the now infamous donga at the wrong angle, and this time got the Hawkeye to sit, upside down, on top of me!
My bruises (body AND ego) bear testament to the sheer weight of a quad bike....

The day was scorching hot (+34 degrees Celcius), and this took it's toll on some....Neville was unable to drive himself to Durban in the evening, having taken insufficient liquid refreshment during the ride, Thaven worked a short day following the ride, and I was sporting a slight limp, from my wrestling match with the Hawkeye.

The day was rounded off with a pleasant braai under the trees at Eteza, with some of the ladies in our lives joining us, in part to celebrate Jerome's birthday, and wedding anniversary -
it's a wise man that schedules his wedding on the same day as his birthday - that way he never forgets his anniversary!!!

Wolverine Weekend

Neville's 2007 Yamaha 450 Wolverine 4x4, flanked by Thaven's 700R Raptor, just outside Jerome's house in Woudsig, before our Forest ride.
The styling is aggro, and gives Wolfy a commanding prescence.

We felt quite priveleged to be able to see and ride this beast, since it is 1 of only 6 in the country at this time. After the experience, we are sure that we will encounter many many more Wolverines in the coming months - it's just THAT good!

Though (?) it still uses swing-arm suspension in the rear, the ride is comfy and very stable. After following behind spacer-fitted Raptors most of the time, the Wolverine's rear footprint appears a bit narrow, but this did not impact on the riding experience at all.

Making the river crossing look easy. There was no part of the trail that really challenged the Wolverine.

Everyone who rode the Wolverine was impressed with it's handling, ride comfort and sporty, responsive engine.
Though we couldn't find a situation that really tested the 4x4, it's a nice feature to have on-demand, giving great peace of mind.

Quad terminology

On entering the wonderful world of ATV's one is often perplexed by some of the mumbo-jumbo terminology encounted, some of us even find ourselves using these terms without fully understanding them. So for all you "bar hopping", "mud packing", "lappers" please consider this your ATV demystification lesson.

Knobbies
The type of tires usually found on Quads. These tires have large knobs of rubber tread that are designed for best grab in the dirt.

Head Skate
Act of falling forward and scrapping your helmet(hopefully) along the ground.

Gumbo
Really thick mud.

Air
Height or distance of a jump.

Bicycling
Riding on two outside wheels.

Canyon double
The area between two jumps.

Dry sump
A four-stroke motor that carries oil in a tank rather than beneath the engine in an oil pan.

Goosen it
the act of applying gobs of throttle in short burst to jump the quad forward.

So...now that you guys are armed with some really cool ATV terminology, feel free to go out to the track and impress your buddies with all this fancy lingo.

PS: Pray they don't ask you to demonstrate some of these....

Nhlabane Outride

Date : 5 Jan 07
Distance : 79.3 km
Time : 4hrs 14mins
Moving time : 2hrs 38mins
Stopped time : 1hr 36 mins
Average speed : 17 km/hr
Max speed : 70 km/hr (this was my bike, but I'm sure the 700 Raptors were doing > 100km/hr)

We were eagerly anticipating the first outride with the Wolverine, but it was not to be, this time. Neville (Wolf-owner) assures us that the month will not end without him making the trip up to demo his new acquisition.

We did find the Lake, but we didn't get to quite the right spot - we landed on the West side, and couldn't make it across to the sea-side of the Lake.

Vincent, on the Trailblazer, ran out of gas - TWICE ! We MUST always pack fuel - got to get 2x10L jerry cans to attach to the Hawkeye & Big Bear - thinking about this a bit more, the bike might have a consumption problem, since 80kays on 10L is pretty poor range, methinks!
(Also, post trip, I discovered the valve for the reserve tank which holds 2L!)

The universal cellphone holder I bought on Mitch's recommendation, worked really well, allowing me to ride and navigate simultaneously and comfortably.

Just before the trip, I had bought a Camelbak 2L hydration bladder, and found that it fitted perfectly into one of my backpacks - it was a godsend!

Jerome, Gary and Thaven wore more protective gear, all of them having bought their chest armour upon my threats that no riders would be allowed to ride outrides without them....

We also used the anti-dust buffs I had bought in Jozi - they were a hit, and some people (Gary) found creative ways to wear them!

Trivi's chilled watermelon pieces at the end of the ride were mondo-refreshing! Almost enough to motivate building our clubhouse right outside her front door....

All told, this was a good trip, though I managed to flip another quad, the Hawkeye this time, in a concreted v-drain, and this habit combined with my directional difficulties earned me the nickname "Flippin Navigator" - I hope to erase this on future trips.

After the trip, one of our crew remarked that we don't all have the same habits when it comes to activities out-of-doors; we don't deal with litter in the same way, and the smokers amongst us may forget that the risk of fire after we have long left an area is a lot higher than when we are home....

I write this note to remind us that the sustainability of our newly-adopted sport is in our own hands....we should carry plastic packets to collect any litter we come across, and dispose of it properly. Also, we should carry our cigarette butts back with us.

Searching the net for guidelines for good outdoor practice, I found the following relevant sites:

Respect the Outdoors - published by the ATV Safety Institute

The 7 Principles of Leave No Trace - Outdoor tips for non-motorised recreational activities

Tread Lightly - Outdoor Recreation Tips for motorised activities

We will need to make a conscious decision to incorporate some of these principles and practices into our rides.

Photos from Nhlabane outride

6 Bikes, ready to hit the trail hard, leaving from Jerome's place in Birdswood....

The crew had been issued buffs to be used as dust masks, but Gary decided his identity needed alteration - suggestions for names for his alter-ego to be sent to gary@lost-I-am.com

A shady spot provides shelter from the blazing afternoon sun, for one of our numerous re-orientation breaks - it was noticed that not everyone drank enough fluids during these breaks....

Finally, we arrived at Lake Nhlabane, albeit on the wrong side! Must check the calibration of my GPS!

On the return trip, we stopped off at Nhlabane beach at a very pleasant-looking fishing spot, where local fisherpeople appeared to having some success at catching supper in the waves.

The Return of the Mack !

Check out this Yamaha convention under a tree at the Birdswood track !

That's 2 x 700 Raptors, 1 x 350 Raptor and 1 x Big Bear 250...all that blue in one place could be intimidating....but not to those who ride the toughest ATV's in the business...

Thaven returned to the biking scene with enthusiasm beyond his physical limitations(didn't realise a mere two and a half week layoff would result in such stiff joints and body aches once back on the bike) ....but the spirit and the crew was willing....

Date : 3 January 2007
Riders : Vincent, Thaven, Jerome, Gary
Route : Part of an existing track between Richards Bay and Kwambo covered by Jerome the day before .
Weather : Scorcher (+30deg)

The route proved to be quite enjoyable with a few technical water crossings and uneven descents. For the most part it was flat out gunning through some pretty cool forest roads.

PS. Watch out for those ominous tree stumps that lay hidden in the thick under growth. You only need to hit these things once to realise that in the world of out door quad adventure the tree stump is king.

On route home the lads decided to try out the local track at the airport were we met Aroon who was eager to get down to some serious trail blazing. After a few hectic laps on the track the lads headed home via some serious back roads while Thaven luckily opted to drive Aroon's bakkie back. It was clear from the general condition of the muddy clothing upon return that the best part of the trip was definitely saved for the last 3km home.

Quad Biking Techniques

How to jump a quad is reproduced from 4-Wheel ATV Action which is the online version of an American-based monthly magazine.

They also share tons of other ATV/Quad tips in their "ATV Tips" section - check it out to improve your ride....

Eteza outride and Track antics

Date : 6 Jan 07
Riders : Aroon, Thaven, Jerome, Vincent
Bikes : Hawkeye, Raptor 700 , Raptor 350, Trailblazer

There must have been >20 bikes there on a sunny Saturday morning.

A group of people there were having loads of fun riding two-up, with minimal protection, even on the track!

While we were there, there was a total of 4 incidents, all of which could have been serious!

We have started becoming more safety-conscious as our experience and ability levels have been increasing...

Next thing we want to arrange is a first aid course for all riders in the group.

Technical Article: 2-stroke vs 4-stroke engines

Article on DeepScience on the difference between 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines. Has a link to Howstuffworks, and uses nice graphics to illustrate.

I have already experienced the 3 main differences on Heidi's Trailblazer:

1.More smoke (burns oil with fuel)
2.More power (2 ignitions for every 1 on a 4-stroke)
3.Higher fuel consumption (see #2 above)

Eteza outride loop

Vital statistics :
Overall distance : 12.2 kms Overall area : 1.7 sq km
Time to complete the loop : 32min 44secs
Average speed : 22 km/h

Of course, we're going to try and smash that laptime a few times over, during the upcoming weekend, when we put the new Yamaha 450 Wolverine through it's paces....watch this space!

Note the point where I ran out of gas. You can also clearly see the river where it runs next to the path we followed - it was on that section of the loop that Thuko got stuck on the 50cc.

Breaking all the Rulez on New Year's Day!

How to have a donga named after you!

Happy New Year, Jedis - here beginneth the lessons:

As part of my research into the rules for safe riding, I managed to break about 3 of them :

1. Never go on an outride alone

2. Always check your bike thoroughly before leaving

3. Ensure your communication device is charged up for the trip

So, I made the run from Kwambo directly to Eteza, following my GPS. I made it to a familiar section of the outride, but promptly had 2 mishaps;

I managed to overturn the bike coming down a donga - this could have had grave consequences, if I had been injured or the bike damaged in the process.

Just a little after righting the machine and getting back on the trail, it stalled! Out of gas ! Even though I had checked the fuel gauge before riding, in my excitement I interpreted what I was looking at to be a FULL TANK, when in fact it was ON RESERVE !!!

I managed to raise Jerome, who came to my rescue with a jerry can of fuel and his 4x4 bakkie - much gratitude is owed for this act of comraderie...I am on standby to repay!

Whilst arranging this, and keeping homebase informed of the goings-on, my cellphone died! I had started the ride with only about 1 bar of battery power!
Who knows how I would have gotten out of that pickle if I couldn't make a call!

I am now wiser for the experience, and will be completing the safe riding post ASAP!