** Dark and Dirty Ride Report 20 May 2010: Rock and Roll. **
The day started like any other. My alarm clock woke me at 03h35. And at 03h38. And at 03h45. I did what any normal human being does at that point. I got up, switched off the house alarm, and went to my study and started working on the messaging application. Since I’m not normal, MY normal actions would be to continue sleeping after briefly rationalising why I don’t really have to get up and work yet. Which brings me to the real reason for joining the D&D crowd for a Rock and Roll ride. Once again I found myself having had several consecutive excuses and reasons for not riding, and weeks quickly turn into months. This not only affected my nightly activities on Thursdays, but also my lethargic attitude to Saturday mornings and life in general. I realised that I needed a kickstart. Or a kick in the … uhm … somewhere to get me going again. There. What better than a tough, fun, Rock and Roll Dark and Dirty ride? So after my 07h30 meeting at home (to demo the work I did from 04h00), I got on my current ride of choice (two wheeled yes, but sadly not human powered) with my squash kit in my backpack for my 16h30 game. Work was more fun than usual, with me having made the move to being a “Java developer”. Which means that I have to ask questions like “how do you deploy this” and “how do you change that value in the report” and “why did everything crash again”? The squash date never realised due to my colleagues’ chronic sinus problems, so I got home early enough to be able to wash off the Parys 24 hour race mud (from 3 weeks ago) and wash and sterilise the bladder (that hadn’t been used in probably 6 weeks) At the Moo Mall I entered following this Colt double cab that I would recognise anywhere… YAY Dirt Rider is also here! Hooting at Dirt Rider for turning and not using his indicator had the desired effect: a lot of waving arms and finger language saying sorry or something … hmmm. So as we got out Daemon also arrived (he was a doubtful started what with being married and all…) and he gave me the long promised carbon look-alike stem for my GT. I thought after almost 7 years it’s about time to change the stem. Brakes are next (www.ChainReactionCycles.com<http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/>here I come!). Thanks Werner … I’ll try not to break it… Now being in the poor fitness state I’m in, I volunteered early on in the day to sweep. The reasoning behind that is at least three-fold: (1) I can’t chicken out of the ride because I’ve got a job to do (2) I get to ride at the back where I would be anyway and (3) I get to ride at the back and do stupid things and huff and puff on my own where no-one can see or hear or smell me. The ride started with Oupa Gert welcoming one D&D newbie (dragged along by Mark, one of my Parys 24h team mates), and announcing that the ride will be tough. The ride went like any other. Pretty lights in the veld, bushes scratching legs and arms, tight turns taken too quickly, wheels sliding out and making dust, sporadic radio confirmations that the sweeper is still with the groups, accompanied by obligatory “whoop-whoops” (otherwise QT will klap us or tell Hardy to…). Up to the top of the asteroid belt was rather uneventful. Getting the start of Vetseun was not so easy. Overgrown bushes and overoptimistic memory from our leader accounted for the group splitting up into three grouplets and people trying their own lines with varied amounts of lack of success. Some hike-a-bike ensued, DOWNHILL. We eventually found Vetseun’s trail, but the awesome rain we’ve had the trail is well-washed-out and the front wheel got stuck too many times to mention, surely causing close calls for many riders. Wheeeee!! I think it was here somewhere, on the way back to Nellmapius that Dirt Rider’s experiment with controlling gravity failed. I followed him down a rocky, steep trail when he suddenly earned the hypothetical right to write the ride report by performing a fluent manoeuvre that would make a 14 year old Russian gymnast cry. I first saw the back of Dirt Rider’s custom Morewood bump up into air, then his bum went even higher, then his feet went even higher, then I got blinded by his light that was now pointing back to me somehow. Then everything went dark. Well, my light was still working, but in comparison, it went dark. A minute later, DR’s light was re-cabled, and we went on our merry way to catch the group again. Next up was getting to the bottom of Nellmapius, and back up via the bumpy awesome trail next to it, to get us to the start of the Cornwall Hill Downhill R.U.S.H. Of late, the RUSH didn’t live up to its name, with the dirt road having received attention from some earth moving equipment. However the rains, once again, brought change. No more powdery dust and covered holes. Just lots of gravel and holes and rocks. Sorry Adri-Ferrari for suggesting THAT line, but at least you stopped before the barbed wire proved that your blood was blue… Adri and I cautiously followed the trail to the bottom amid talks of collar bones and shoulder blades… The RUSH is BACK. It’s GNARLY again! So we crossed the tar, did a speed zone taking the sho’t left up that climb, found the light at the top of the hill (1.3km according to Nico, feels more like 5 miles…), found the dust at the bottom of the next one, and cruised back up to the billboard. On the way to the billboard, I had some cool fun in the way of me chatting with Mark and not looking where I was riding (I tend to do that) and managed to hit one of the only water-filled holes in the trail full-on. Somehow my front wheel emerged on the other side, but the damage was done. My left foot (remember that movie?) was evidently at the bottom of its pedal stroke when I hit the water since I was completely dry except for a completely soaked left shoe and, consequently, sock and foot. Brrrrr. My foot only thawed again after the Milo in the Spur, hours later. We continued up to the billboard (that’s gone now I think) and went down the other side, next to the highway, where earth moving things made it impossible to ride down from the bridge, to we couldn’t ogle at Oupa Gert doing funny things NOT FALLING down there again… We finally got down, went up to St George’s hotel, went up THAT climb (by now my lack of fitness turned into a serious lack of speed) and I swept no-one in particular a couple of hundred metres behind the group. Finally at THAT top, we hit Smuts downhill, which also changed. Very powdery, having been under the knife of earth moving equipment as well. I didn’t trust it and took it easy. The Quad buster waited for us (shortly after all the other people waited for ME) and about a third up the climb one chap with the Commençal had an issue with his pedal. I really appreciated the rest, and shortly thereafter, Mark waited for me AGAIN. At the top we cruised around to the Python. Mumbling to myself I took the lead (he who will be last, will be first, and all) and gunned it (well more like an old lady with a walking thing would gun it) down the single track. At least I got to entertain Nico on my tail by hitting my left pedal hard on THE RED ROCK and creating some pretty sparks. At least no-one overtook me getting to the top, but I think they were too busy chatting and looking around… So the tour-de-tar started past Smuts House, and at the back Daemon, Adri-Ferrari and I cruised along fine (well behind the group that all took part in the “tour” when we heard a disconcerting rustle in the bushes. Two suspicious individuals were noticed getting up but we didn’t stick around to ask them what they were getting up for. Or what they were up to, even. One radio call later Oupa Gert was back with us and we hit Nellmapius again, time having caught up with us … We just cruised back to the Moo Mall, and amazingly found the Spur to still serve food and drink, at 22h30, after around 31km of pure wowness. Thank you all… Now, sadly, I must send this along through cyberspace and prepare to attend the memorial service of our friend and D&D and AR buddy Hans Wolvaardt who passed away last week due to the Liberian air disaster. Yours truly, The not-always-so-honorable, DeeKayotic. -- 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.
