My belated feedback on Kalahari Rally 2018. It took me a while to formulate my thoughts after the information overload of a navigational rally.
It has been a lifelong dream, goal and passion of mine to one day compete in the Dakar Rally. The Kalahari Rally was the second step (buying a rally bike being the first) in that journey to see 1) if I can complete a navigational rally, and 2) if I like it. Well...I completed my first ever navigational rally and I LOVED IT!!!!
It was such a pleasure and privilege to meet and share this amazing experience with all the other competitors. I loved getting to know everybody. And if you listen hard enough or dig deep enough, each person has a story. I am honoured to have shared in only a small part of other people’s stories, as the first ever Kalahari Rally will always be remembered as something special.
Thanks Garth and team for taking on the mammoth task of picking up the baton and carrying on the story of rally in SA after the Amageza. It was a great event. Putting on an event such as this is extremely complex and VERY HARD WORK. So many things have to be in place and so many stars have to align. Thank you for your effort and vision. Thank you to all the marshals, caterers, fuel personnel, and every person who played a part in this rally.
I am still not fully recovered! At night as I fall asleep I am still fighting the handle bars and dodging "hak en steek" bosse in the sand tracks. When I turn up the street I look for a tulip & cap heading and at stop streets I stop and count quickly to ten in my head (thanks to Alex!) to avoid the dreaded penalties (until the horns start honking, because who still actually comes to a complete stop these days). Every time my WhatsApp beeps I am terrified it's another road book change!!!
In short, it was the toughest, most challenging 6 days on a bike in my life but I LOVED it and as I have been warned, I am hooked.
The days and stages all blur into one big memory for me. The mix of different types of riding was great. Not being used to racing along the edge of large fields/lands, it was a new experience for me and I had tons of fun trying to take each corner faster and faster.
I will forever have burned into my brain the horrendous loop around Baberspan. It was quite special to experience and race in a part of SA racing history!
The night of the marathon stage definitely goes down as the night of the “roaring lions” as choirs of snore harmonies filled the hall of the Baberspan motor club.
Moving more into the Kalahari, the sand was so thick that Katie did not want to pull at all in 6th gear and I was forced to mostly ride in 5th gear. The hardest part for me was doing the hard turns through the gates and losing all momentum, trying not to fall and just to pick up speed again. Charging along the Botswana border fence was epic though. Kilometres and kilometres of sand! Then heading into the areas with lots of tight turns broke me! Eventually heading into the dry river section, I was exhausted and had to dodge quite a few deep holes and many locals. Stage 3 was definitely the toughest stage for me. Having finished stage 2 at 10:30 at night, coming into the bivouac just before 9pm on the night of stage 3 broke me. I was delirious and exhausted!
My best day was definitely stage 4, the day of the rocks. The night before I was terrified by the race briefing and the inherent danger of having an off in the rocks (having had 3 offs in stage 3) However, Kalahari rocks are not a patch on Karoo klippe & koppies. The result is that I was as at home in those rocks as a jackal in a herd of sheep. Before I knew it I was back in the lower lying farm lands and managed to finish a stage before dark. I managed to mark my road book still in daylight!!
The last stage was GREAT, in my opinion a perfect mix to summarize the entire rally. It had a mix of everything with LOADS of navigation, and FAST. It was also the first time I caught up with some of the cars. What an experience to race alongside these beasts!
As great as the riding was, the thing that stands out more than anything else was the camaraderie between competitors. A group of people who are truly LIVING, people who are exercising their passion! Whenever you congregate a group of people with a common goal (in this case to finish the rally) something special happens.
Thanks to my amazing team (wife, daughter and Sybrand Swanepoel, now team Karoo Running Racing). Without you there is no way that I would have finished!
Also please spare a thought for those still in hospital and recovery, having suffered crashes. In particular, Gavin Bruce Breckle, please keep him in your thoughts and prayers!!!
Thanks also to KTM Cape Town and Trac-Mac for parts support.
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