Ntumeni guided outride

Date : 17 Feb 2007
Venue : Ntumeni, Pedlar's Farm, near eShowe

Riders : Aroon, Thaven, Jerome, Gary, Peter (guide), Dean (guide)
Bikes : Polaris Hawkeye, Yamaha Raptor 700R, Yamaha Raptor 700R SE2, Yamaha 250 Big Bear, Honda 400EX, Honda 450 2-wheeler

Distance : Around 30kms of technical riding

We met Peter and his son Dean of Zululand Bike Adventures at the Khamba Pot Club, where we had a hearty breakfast prepared by the lovely Hayley, which set us up for a good start to a great days' riding.

Thaven, Jerome and Gary drove up from Richards Bay, leaving at around 6AM and reaching the spot about 1.5hrs later, while my family and I had booked in at the Old Mill cottages for the weekend, having arrived the night before.

Excitement was high as we offloaded the various bikes, and confirmed that all prescribed pre-ride checks had been carried out, and before long we were off, with Peter on point and Dean on flank.

The trail Peter guided us through was the most technical we had experienced to date, with a great mix of mud (ask Thaven!), uphills, river crossings (Jerome's favourite), hill climbs and cane field tracks....every bike, except Gary's, had to be assisted at some point during the ride....

In total, the trip was about 3hrs long, but ended too soon for some of us, who were having grand fun in spectacular surroundings.



Check out all the pictures in the new online photo album under the "Gallery" link....


A scenic photo shoot, just before we turned for home, very satisfied and much more trail-experienced than when we started out!

Gary's left rear wheel had stripped all 4 studs during the ride ! We only noticed this on loading the quad onto the bakkie, for the trip back to Richards Bay !
Who can say what could have happened if the wheel came off along the trail ?!!!

The dam at the Khamba Pot Old Mill Cottages is a tranquil place, filled with bass that periodically leap out of the water to catch hovering insects.

5 minutes into the ride, Thaven and his Rappie became very muddied! They spent the rest of the trail ride trying to get clean again....

Trying to use the river crossings as a bike-wash....

Jerome very nearly tested the submarine qualities of his Raptor on this river crossing - that bike is definitely FLOATING! At least this manouver helped get rid of SOME of the mud he had also accumulated earlier...

Hluhluwe and Sand track ride venue recon report

Last Sunday, I took the boys out to Hluhluwe to visit with friends for lunch - took the bikes with and got in some riding at the Horn and Thorn Pee Wee track - this trail is about 5km in length and is all flat, with absolutely no technical sections.
This ride would be good for youngsters, rank beginners (aka wives) and the like, but not worth the drive out there, even though there was no charge....

There are no ablution facilities on the premises, but one is welcome to use the B+B facilities across the road - about 5 kms away...

Greg joined me on the ride, and my impression is that he thoroughly enjoyed himself - though he sez he's getting into the car drag scene with a certain V6 Sierra, my guess is that he will be available for rides in the future....

I realised that I had forgotten my trailer ramps at the beach during loading the previous day, and drove back there to try and find em - no luck! I will have to get new ones made now, or buy some standard ones which are pretty pricey - silly feller!

Yesterday, Thaven and I took the Raptor and the Trailblazer out to the Sand Track, just off the John Ross Highway, en route from Richards Bay to Empangeni.

We found the spot to be very ride-able, with some good technical sections to practice different techniques. There is also a small tweelie MX track that is good fun, and in theory, one could ride to Empangeni and surrounds from this area so it could be used as a start-finish point for an outride or two.

The only potential downside is the non-availability of safe parking for vehicles and trailers.

Speaking of trailers, on the way to this ride, I sustained a puncture on one of my trailer tyres, and proceeded to destroy the tyre on the way to Thaven's....we had to spend some valuable riding time rectifying the situation since I did not have a spare at the time....!

Outdoor Ethics

After one of our recent trips, 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....

The following links are resources to codes of good practice to recreational activities out-of-doors...


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 - Tips for motorised activities

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!!!