I can still remember that primary school comprehesion piece. The Pedestrian. A short story about a man, in the near future, who takes a walk down the road while the rest of society is glued to soft glow of their television sets (Amused to death syndrome). So out of the ordinary was his action that he ends up being arrested. ...doh...
It has been on many occasions in the past four years that I have been reminded of this story. Many faces that have joined us have beamed as the freedom of the human spirit within them has taken flight. Yes, this is Gauteng. Yes you are safer behind your burglar bars, security gates, la-la land estates. Yes there are... as Pink Floyd put it “50 channels of Sh*t on the tv to choose from!” and your biggest risk being, munching another packet of high cholestral packet chips while another hour flashes through your eyes. But then again, it might be Thursday night. It might just be that you adhered to the innate calling for adrenalin of rock gardens and singletracks. It may be that you have found yourself part of the cast for another tale of Dark and Dirty adventure. So nine of us, after packing our camping stuff in the Hardbody, rode out of the Moomall and into the sunset and cruised down the “Supertube”. A brief stop as Deekay had a phonecall and Nigel did some acrobatics in the singletrack. But we were off and cruised along the dirt roads on a happy pace. Daleen “Boe” met us on the otherside of Batman tunnel in the hardbody and seconded us along the dark way. Very Much appreciated (THANKS) and we cruised passed that ghost corner and then to the Delmas rd. Deekay was informed of a break in at their home and so luckily Boe could give him a lift to the Xtrack where he could meet his wife and they could go and sort out the criminal issues... ”en toe was ons 8gt” said Jan who was being a fantastic singlespeed sweeper. So we cruised on and Werner got a slow puncture about 1km before the end... so we pumped and went and cruised in at 50km at the Xtrack. Maarten and his wife and Eric and his Fiance Gerda (CONGRATULATIONS!!!) and Roberto (Sgt Skillz) and Boe were happy to see us finally arrive. Woohoo lekker bonfire going and coals ready to braai. So we got cooking and while watching old Knobbly camp and Swazi footage... The food was awesome and way too much... and then while sitting around the bonfire, with cake and bubbly, we celebrated D&D. I am so filled with humility when people say thank you. It has always been an honour! And without fantastic people like Thursia and Eric and Deekay, it would have felt like work. And with fantastic folks like Oupa Gerrit always inspiring us and really dedicated folks like Carine, battling 2 hours of traffic to make the rides, and EVERY SINGLE ONE of YOU that have made even one ride in the past four years. You have contributed towards this fantastic oppurtunity to enjoy the nightly trails. Dark and Dirty is a participation group. Yes you don't have to “book”... if you can make it, then just be there. And with you being there, we could have a greater safety presence, and go and enjoy the trails we love so much. Stories were told to the wee hours of the morning. Frequent Flyer and Sgt Skillz took their first spins on the trails in the dark..We were fed some apple sours and obs to try and get the smiles off our faces. And as the campfire slowly faded, we all decided to camp in the house, rather than to put up tents and stuff... everyone grabbed a spot, plonked/pumped mattresses and crashed in..snoozin and snorring away. Boe's day began early, Taking Jan back as he had an apointment to get to....The rest of us ruffled our feathers and began playing on the Xtrack... Man, Maarten is a genius... if you have ridden the trail you will understand... so much flow and entertainment... so many ssshmiles... hey now that just gels well with out shmilage motto... As everyone zooted along and leaned through the berms, Carl and Anton came and tested their photographic techniques. They will be at the world cup this weekend, getting some brilliant international shots. Can't wait to see. There were a few crashes here and there, including Force taking on the tabletop...not that it stopped him from just getting back up and doing it again... thats the way... must say I am a bit of a chicken to get soo much air :-) And after a wickedly awesome breakfast prepared by q.t., boe and a few helpers... it was time to cruise on... we took on the remainder of the 80km route and it was great having Maarten with us. He really is helpful, sharing a lot of tips from bike setup, to tyre selection and riding tecnique. So we go down those gnarly downhills... the girls dropping some of us guys … :-) and then as we make our way up the climb of greatness... and rest under a tree... (not used to riding so much in daylight :-) …. we are amazed and thrilled to see Boe, our super second, pop out with the bakkie and hands out cokes, jellie babies and ice for our waterbottle...woohoo... 5 star treatment... there were comment about Boe becoming a professional second, and also wishing her a speedy recovery, so that she can join us again on the trails. A few more hills and at last we were back at the Moomall... wow, what an awesome Party camp. Thanks everyone that could make it. It was once again, an honour to ride the dirt with you's. And special thanks to q.t. and boe for all their behind the scenes, planning and shopping and help and to Maarten for arranging all the facilities..... its always amazing how many "new" folks we bring to the track leave there with such a grin on their faces and say "man i never knew there was such a lekker track out here!" And to those that couldn't make it... no worries... there is always next year. And in the meanwhile..... See you Thursday Night!!! l8r hardy --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DarkAndDirty" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/DarkAndDirty?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
