Craig's recent rides

Some ute action in the Umfolozi River bed last Sunday - watch this space for more, as he plans to explore that area again this coming weekend.

SPLASHDOWN at Lake Sibaya, during their weekend visit there last month....

Check out all the photos of these 2 trips in our online photo album....

Zooming with Zac

Date : 27 May

Ride : Kwambo to Eteza via Moba Dam, estimated total distance 50kms

Riders : Aroon, Thaven + Zac

Bikes : Polaris Trailblazer 250, Yamaha 700R Raptor + Polaris Hawkeye 300 4x2

On a chilly Sunday morning, Zac and Thaven were the only ones brave enough to join me on a jaunt to Moba Dam and Eteza, from Kwambo.
Though the mercury was surely below 8 degrees (!), we were ready for a blazing ride.

Showing off the newly acquired Umhlatuze Off-Road Association riding vests, just before setting off on our ride.
The vest numbers are unique to each rider and the riders' details are registered on the UORA database, with signed indemnity declarations.

Zac + I, posing for a pic at Moba Dam, with a bit of "smoke on the water". It was a really fresh and pleasant start to the day.
We explored the forest tracks around the dam as well, before heading off towards Eteza.

Zac, pointing out the spot at Eteza, where he left the MX track after going over the edge of the tabletop jump.

We did the MX track a couple of times, with Thaven remarking that "we always see the potential for some serious spills when we ride this track...."

The owner is hard at work, building a clubhouse/pavillion at the side of the track, and a tunnel under the main tabletop, to allow safer access to the starting grid - should be very cool once it's all done.

Riding the outride (12-14kms) was again a pleasure, with the few small changes recently made, enhancing an already enjoyable loop around the Van Heerdens farm.

Zac managed to survive Point Roon (see previous post c.1 Jan 07) and thoroughly enjoyed riding along the river, and especially the few technical sections; Thaven, on the other hand, chose this trip to enter his name into the incident register - he flipped his bike when the RH wheels clipped an embankment during a high speed drift, throwing him off, into a nearby grassy patch! Unfortunately there were no pictures, and only 1 witness who has been sworn to secrecy....(oops!)

On the way home, we switched bikes, and I got to ride Thaven's Big Blue, the 700 Raptor - wow! The acceleration was thrilling, and the handling crisp and responsive - nearly addictive, but I will hold out until I can land the big one....

Zac, on the Trailblazer, ran out of fuel in the forest near Kwambo, so we simply....switched to the reserve tank (learned THAT lesson the hard way....see earlier post c.1 Jan07). I rode the TB home after that, and proceeded to roll it into a donga, not 500m from my front gate!

Even though we suffered 2 incidents (note that the beginner, Zac, had an incident-free ride though he spent much of the ride with the throttle pinned!!!), there were no injuries nor damaged parts. (except our pride, of course)

Honda Pinetown Fun day at Cane Cutters

Sharks Forever ! This sharkified Citroen was an eyecatcher at the Ballito petrol station. But this area was teeming with Blues supporters - while at breakfast at Mugg&Bean, I couldn't spot a single Sharks jersey....

What a heartbreaker for the Sharks, but O, what a moment for Bryan Habana - he picked a brilliant time to shine...he's surely gonna be a Pretoria hero for years to come for that winning try!

I drove down to Cane Cutters on Saturday morning, with the Trailblazer alone on the trailer, despite having advertised trailer space a couple of days before. Neville has ridden here a couple of times, and I had seen the ride advertised on the Quad Torque forum; since the rest of the crew all had other non-quad-related committments, and I was suffering from withdrawal of not having ridden for 3 weeks, I decided to give it a go....

Honda Pinetown brought along a range of quads and tweelies to demo for the day, and there was loads of interest, though I think the sales guys could have done a better job at conversing with the potential customers.

It was a refreshing change to see Red (Hondas) instead of Yammie Blue....I met Sanjiv and his son & daughter, on TRXs : 400, 90, 250 respectively. The daughter (Kim?) rode very comfortably, and stayed right on my tail while I gunned the demo TRX 250 round the 12km course. Even pinning the throttle down the longest straights couldn't shake her!

Having a view of the sea while riding was quite special, and I had to stop and take just a few photos along the way.

Even though the ride is not too technical, and there is a distinct absence of water to cross, I can reccomend the trail as a good family/novice outing.

The event was well-organised and pretty well-supported with a turnout of about 40 bikes. Refreshments were for purchase at the Cane Cutters resort, where kids play facilities were also situated, to keep the sprogs entertained.
The resort had also set up to screen the rugby, and the family-run atmosphere increases the attraction of this spot for future trips. Apparently, the resort is the final stop on the Quad4Quads event and has been expanding it's facilities to keep pace with it's popularity.

On the trail at Cane Cutters

The trail at Cane Cutters was well-signposted, with all the hazards well-marked, and sufficient guidelines for safe riding on this working cane farm.

Clive, testing out the big Rincon 680 utility - he got comfortable with this bike very quickly, and was even pushing it past the 50 kph mark in sections!

I'll be surprised if he doesn't buy one of these, or a Foreman, soon....

Preggy, on the TRX 250 EX, which is quite a capable machine, but a bit on the small and lightweight size for my taste. This guy is a superbike rider, but was quite cautious on the trail, trying to keep from losing face on some of the uneven and steep sections.

He was impressed with the quality of ride that the Trailblazer offers, but he does appreciate the value of going for a larger displacement bike, for the long run (is this a future Scrambler 500 rider? Or Wolverine? Let's wait and see...)

Now, THAT's more like it! Bring on the Americans! George had just moved to KZN, from upcountry, and is a veteran of the Quad4Quads event that takes place every September.

He rates his 2006 Outlaw as #1 for comfort, and right up there with the best for power and trail handling. Though I didn't get to ride it, since he appeared to have encountered some rear wheel bearing "issues", I couldn't stop ogling this beauty!