After a great morning ride out at Eteza with Jerome and Trivina, I kept the bikes on the trailer, made my way to Richards Bay and hooked up with Joffry, who was only too happy to join me on my quest to find the Birdswood Quad Playground.
After confirming GPS co-ordinates with Mitch, and getting some bush orientation from local residents, we made our way through a really nice sandy trail, ending up at the track.
Joffer took to the air on the Hawkeye, and the Trailblazer burnt up the track something vicious - definitely a place to bring the crew.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Friday, December 29, 2006
Anxiety ? What Anxiety ?!!!
Check out Jerome, showing us how it's done....
Making the trip out to Eteza early in the AM, I met up with Jerome and Trivina for a morning of outrides.
Helping Trivina to overcome her fears after her spill with her bike, I encouraged her to ride Heidi's Trailblazer, which allowed her to handle the trail without a hassle....
Jerome and I had a really blazing lap, tearing around corners and up and down obstacles with our only concern being how to avoid the branches of the thorn trees, at top speed !
I ended the morning session with a couple of laps around the track on the Trailblazer, grabbing big air on some of the jumps.
Just before we left, we chatted with a family who brought their teenager there with his Blaster - we only stayed cos we first thought it was a Banshee, but we cut the story short when the truth was revealed....
Trivvi, giving it gas, up an incline on the Eteza outride
Monday, December 25, 2006
Xmas Eve family outride
Finally got the family out to Eteza, on Xmas eve for an outride.
We met up with Jerome and Gary, and were also joined there by Schalk and Daleen.
Much fun was had by all, especially me, and especially while catching some air on Heidi's Trailblazer....
Date : 24 December 2006
Riders: Aroon/Aziz, Heidi/Adam, Jerome, Gary, Schalk/Daleen
Bikes : Polaris Hawkeye, Polaris Trailblazer, Yamaha Raptor 350, Yamaha Big Bear 250
This was Gary's first outing, and he and the Big Bear handled themselves pretty well - the bike is quite light for a utility, and the engine is well-responsive. The transmission is semi-auto with 5 forward gears and reverse.
Other bikes at the venue included a Polaris Scrambler 500 (yummy!), Bombardier DS 250 and a Yamaha Banshee (legend !) - that Banshee sounded intimidating, and was tearing up the trail and the track!
Later on, a couple of racers joined with a Suzuki LTZ 400 and a Honda 400 - it was embarrassing to be on the track at the same time as these guys !
The trail at Eteza has a good variety of terrain, and quite a number of mildly technical sections, with loads of shady picnic spots down near the river - we will definitely be visiting this area more often! According to Jerome's chat with Leon, the owner, there are plans afoot to build a clubhouse near the track during the next year or so....
Gary and I were at the head of the pack, and took a wrong turn mid-trip and ended up taking quite a long detour, returning to the parking area over an hour later....we had fun though, and Gary appears to have been nibbled by the bug.
I am now on a mission to find other trails for us to visit in the near vicinity (+/- 100kay radius) - on the shortlist : Coastal Outdoor Adventures in Ging, River Quad Trails near Ballito, and Mtonjaneni Lodge near Ulundi.
The other mission is to find myself a Scrambler 500 (!!!)
We met up with Jerome and Gary, and were also joined there by Schalk and Daleen.
Much fun was had by all, especially me, and especially while catching some air on Heidi's Trailblazer....
Date : 24 December 2006
Riders: Aroon/Aziz, Heidi/Adam, Jerome, Gary, Schalk/Daleen
Bikes : Polaris Hawkeye, Polaris Trailblazer, Yamaha Raptor 350, Yamaha Big Bear 250
This was Gary's first outing, and he and the Big Bear handled themselves pretty well - the bike is quite light for a utility, and the engine is well-responsive. The transmission is semi-auto with 5 forward gears and reverse.
Other bikes at the venue included a Polaris Scrambler 500 (yummy!), Bombardier DS 250 and a Yamaha Banshee (legend !) - that Banshee sounded intimidating, and was tearing up the trail and the track!
Later on, a couple of racers joined with a Suzuki LTZ 400 and a Honda 400 - it was embarrassing to be on the track at the same time as these guys !
The trail at Eteza has a good variety of terrain, and quite a number of mildly technical sections, with loads of shady picnic spots down near the river - we will definitely be visiting this area more often! According to Jerome's chat with Leon, the owner, there are plans afoot to build a clubhouse near the track during the next year or so....
Gary and I were at the head of the pack, and took a wrong turn mid-trip and ended up taking quite a long detour, returning to the parking area over an hour later....we had fun though, and Gary appears to have been nibbled by the bug.
I am now on a mission to find other trails for us to visit in the near vicinity (+/- 100kay radius) - on the shortlist : Coastal Outdoor Adventures in Ging, River Quad Trails near Ballito, and Mtonjaneni Lodge near Ulundi.
The other mission is to find myself a Scrambler 500 (!!!)
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Outride essential gear - Towrope !
Yip, I actually could have used a towrope today ! To tow Thuko out of a seat-high water hazard !
He was on Aziz's 50cc bike, and we were exploring the outride/enduro trail at Eteza for the first time.
No pictures this time, since I didn't carry my camera (?!) but the entire family thoroughly enjoyed the adventure !!! We packed a picnic basket, which fitted very nicely onto my rear frame, and stopped off at the river for some juices and light snacks....
Heidi's Trailblazer handled the trail with ease, and though there were some steep sections, she was all smiles.
I was also impressed with Aziz's little no name brand 50cc - it handled all the ups and downs without trouble, and only got stuck in the bog because of it's tiny size - it started up almost immediately after being rescued from the water. Aziz's riding confidence is still increasing with each ride, and Thuko is fast warming to the riding culture - he's gonna need his own bike soon....
My Hawkeye continues to impress me as well, with the top notch ride comfort and handling, and the load carrying versatility, it's going to take a long while for me to outgrow this bike.
On the road to Eteza, I hit a bump pretty hard, and dented the rear of my trailer, and I managed to completely destroy both my stabilizer rods - luckily, we know a good panelbeater !
We're off to Eteza again tomorrow morning, for a brunch outing with Jerome and family - I will remember my camera and also pack a towrope this time !
He was on Aziz's 50cc bike, and we were exploring the outride/enduro trail at Eteza for the first time.
No pictures this time, since I didn't carry my camera (?!) but the entire family thoroughly enjoyed the adventure !!! We packed a picnic basket, which fitted very nicely onto my rear frame, and stopped off at the river for some juices and light snacks....
Heidi's Trailblazer handled the trail with ease, and though there were some steep sections, she was all smiles.
I was also impressed with Aziz's little no name brand 50cc - it handled all the ups and downs without trouble, and only got stuck in the bog because of it's tiny size - it started up almost immediately after being rescued from the water. Aziz's riding confidence is still increasing with each ride, and Thuko is fast warming to the riding culture - he's gonna need his own bike soon....
My Hawkeye continues to impress me as well, with the top notch ride comfort and handling, and the load carrying versatility, it's going to take a long while for me to outgrow this bike.
On the road to Eteza, I hit a bump pretty hard, and dented the rear of my trailer, and I managed to completely destroy both my stabilizer rods - luckily, we know a good panelbeater !
We're off to Eteza again tomorrow morning, for a brunch outing with Jerome and family - I will remember my camera and also pack a towrope this time !
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Resource - Quad biking safety tips
Some terrific safety tips can be found at the ATV Safety institute website
Particularly this document which is a pdf download with great sketches and practice tips & drills for beginners
Particularly this document which is a pdf download with great sketches and practice tips & drills for beginners
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