Quads4Quads 2007 Uprun Report by George K
Rain, rain, glorious rain. 2 or 3 days of rain wet the KZN province down sufficiently that on day 1 there was no dust, yes really, no dust!! The "Both ways" crusaders were ready, a few new teams & whole lot of new faces joined us at Cane Cutters for a registration, briefing & social function. As usual, the Family Adventures (FA) crew handled this with aplomb, Paddy & his crew from Cane Cutters sorted out the innards with food, drink & efficient service & finally we were ready!
Day 1 (or day 5, for the "Both Ways") Ballito to Weenen....
.....kicked off with a mass ride out of Cane Cutters & then the usual rally style kick off. The Kawasaki sponsored KFX700 was branded by Grant "Psycho 13" Morris in Manline livery & looks great! All went great & due to a lost exhaust, Cowboy & I doubled up on my quad. The Outlaw handled this extra load with brilliance that only IRS can give you! After about 10 km I got on the back & was chauffeur-driven through the valley! Then you really have time to appreciate the beauty!
.....kicked off with a mass ride out of Cane Cutters & then the usual rally style kick off. The Kawasaki sponsored KFX700 was branded by Grant "Psycho 13" Morris in Manline livery & looks great! All went great & due to a lost exhaust, Cowboy & I doubled up on my quad. The Outlaw handled this extra load with brilliance that only IRS can give you! After about 10 km I got on the back & was chauffeur-driven through the valley! Then you really have time to appreciate the beauty!
We had very few incidents on this day & everyone was in safely to Weenen before dark. There we had the usual compulsory party in the pub & monkey on the tractor acquired a bra, from somewhere! (You had to be there.....)
Day 2 Weenen to New Castle...
....went reasonably smoothly too, for most. Cowboy took the Outlaw & we were going to swop at lunch, however, Kevin Prinsloo from East Rand Quad & Bike offered me a ride with him on the Ranger! I jumped at the chance & BOY what a ride!!!!! Needless to say, we never caught Cowboy, so he did a full 275 km on the Outlaw, riding with Kobus from Polaris (on a Predator)! I was, at times either lulled to sleep by the purr of the Rangers' motor or scared witless by Kevins' abilities with the Ranger! (Mostly scared, though). In the summary, I shall sing the Rangers' praises.
The ride was great, more technical than roads & great scenery. The sections in the forest & on the farms are brilliant! THIS is what off-road riding is all about!
A long day in the saddle, a hard day for the quads & bikes but fun, nevertheless! Arrival in New Castle where Denzil & Co really hung out for us, again. The food was great, the music was cool & the FA Auction went off with a magnificent figure of R42 000.00 raised, which beat the Down-Run Auction by R 2000.00! R82 000.00 just at the auctions, for QASA!!
....went reasonably smoothly too, for most. Cowboy took the Outlaw & we were going to swop at lunch, however, Kevin Prinsloo from East Rand Quad & Bike offered me a ride with him on the Ranger! I jumped at the chance & BOY what a ride!!!!! Needless to say, we never caught Cowboy, so he did a full 275 km on the Outlaw, riding with Kobus from Polaris (on a Predator)! I was, at times either lulled to sleep by the purr of the Rangers' motor or scared witless by Kevins' abilities with the Ranger! (Mostly scared, though). In the summary, I shall sing the Rangers' praises.
The ride was great, more technical than roads & great scenery. The sections in the forest & on the farms are brilliant! THIS is what off-road riding is all about!
A long day in the saddle, a hard day for the quads & bikes but fun, nevertheless! Arrival in New Castle where Denzil & Co really hung out for us, again. The food was great, the music was cool & the FA Auction went off with a magnificent figure of R42 000.00 raised, which beat the Down-Run Auction by R 2000.00! R82 000.00 just at the auctions, for QASA!!
Day 3 New Castle to Standerton ....
.... route had to change, due to some farmers not appreciating 300 odd quads driving past their houses to raise money for QASA! I was very happy though, as this meant that I could see the rail tunnels this year, on my first ever Q4Q ride with a quad, instead of waiting for next year!! Cowboy even paid his old dad the courtesy of letting me go through first!! It was brilliant!
.... route had to change, due to some farmers not appreciating 300 odd quads driving past their houses to raise money for QASA! I was very happy though, as this meant that I could see the rail tunnels this year, on my first ever Q4Q ride with a quad, instead of waiting for next year!! Cowboy even paid his old dad the courtesy of letting me go through first!! It was brilliant!
As we neared Standerton, the dirt started drying out a bit & dust became a factor again but was still not half as bad as going down! Once again, Pick & Pay sorted out our tummies in Standerton, the "Stannies Tannies" serving with smiles & a great all round party. Lovely drizzle to cool the dried out bodies & lotsa fun with mini "extreme" shows goin on around the rugby field. Even a Ranger climbing up a tree!
Day 4 Standerton to Brakpan....The saddest & happiest day of Q4Q!!!
As we started nearing Jhb, the rivers & mud get smellier but at least, close to Nigel there is a nice deep river crossing to play in, & did the boys (& Girls) play!!
As we started nearing Jhb, the rivers & mud get smellier but at least, close to Nigel there is a nice deep river crossing to play in, & did the boys (& Girls) play!!
We gathered about 2 km from Thunder Valley for the mass ride in.
The welcome was amazing!! The QASA guys lead us in. They ALL made it & most were first timers!! Doug from Radio 2000, a first timer, became the first non able bodied person to ride UP & DOWN!!!! At Thunder Valley, Glenn auctioned off the painting for approx R14 500.00, an aerobatic display was set up by the good people from Wip-IT & thousands of rands in donations poured in.
The welcome was amazing!! The QASA guys lead us in. They ALL made it & most were first timers!! Doug from Radio 2000, a first timer, became the first non able bodied person to ride UP & DOWN!!!! At Thunder Valley, Glenn auctioned off the painting for approx R14 500.00, an aerobatic display was set up by the good people from Wip-IT & thousands of rands in donations poured in.
The Grand Total: R1 100 000.00 raised for QASA!!!!!!!!!!!
Summary:
Q4Q '07 was a roaring success!! AS USUAL!! The monies raised, the determination of people & institutions to donate their money, time & resources, equipment, people and mostly, their hearts make this event memorable! Every time I felt like getting off, loading my quad on the Manline trailer & sitting in an air-conditioned cab of an MAN truck on a WIDE seat, I think of Ari, Jakkie, Doug & the other real brave people who we actually are riding for (& with) & that made me endure the hurting butt, eating dust & worrying about the rest of the riders, praying that we all arrive safe!
Doing this as a "Back-Up man for 2 years & this year, actually riding 1800km on my quad, not having to wait for the Hendriks' movies at night to see the fun the riders have was an awe inspiring experience. The camaraderie, the helpfulness, the waves ( & stones) from the locals - all this makes Q4Q THE off road event in the country, I think the world!!
Family Adventures: I THANK YOU for this not only for the best quad adventure in the world, but giving us mere mortals to ride with hero's like Ari, Jakkie & Doug, amongst others, and for showing us what a beautiful country we live in populated by the greatest people on earth, with deep pockets & Huge hearts & mud in their teeth!!!
Hope to see you all next year & every year after that.
PS: Even if you don't ride, or even if you don't like quads/bikes etc, please join this epic journey into the heart of the country & also into the hearts of really generous, brave people!!
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