The plan for the Lockdown Liberation Tour had been simple. Start in Johannesburg. Get on bike. Ride through Botswana to Swakopmund. Attempt the Iron Butt/Long Distance Riders’ “1000 in 1” – a thousand miles (1 600km) in a day – down to Cape Town. Go home. Since one wants the maximum number of hours of daylight for the endurance run, this meant late December, but the rainy season in Botswana is from November to April, with this year’s La Niña making it wetter than usual.
So, a compromise was early April. Covid added more constraints. At borders one must present a negative Covid PCR certificate for a test that was done within the previous 72 hours. The test result usually takes 36-48 hours to arrive, and while expedited 24-hour testing is available in Johannesburg, this is not possible in Swakopmund. So one needs to be tested, receive the results, enter Botswana and leave the country again within 72 hours. In Namibia one could loiter, then be re-tested there and be sure to cross back into SA within this time window. Because of the often large gap between towns in Botswana and Namibia, and especially in view of limiting the number of fuel stops on the Iron Butt attempt, I decided to carry a reserve of 10L of fuel, good for around 200km, as well as 6L of water in the panniers of my 13-year-old BMW K1200GT. My wife Claire, who usually rides pillion on long trips, demonstrated her superior intelligence by deciding not to do this one, especially in view of the Iron Butt part. So she travelled independently by car and we met up at the end of each day. The planned routine for the average day was to leave at first light, so that one could comfortably do around 700km and still arrive at one’s stopping point by the early afternoon, then kick back and enjoy the venue.
Esta historia es de la edición June 2021 de Bike SA.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición June 2021 de Bike SA.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
A Ladies Perspective What a Surprise Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX
I’m sure as everyone knows by now there is little that compares to my BMW K1200S and out of the 13 different bikes I’ve been lucky enough to ride over the 18 months I’ve been riding, I finally came across one that I’m almost certain I’d swap my bike for…
Goodwood's 79th Members Meeting - Hunting, Shooting and - Racing
For that’s what marked the 79th Goodwood Members Meeting aka 79MM, held this year on April 9-10, which this time included two thrilling motorcycle races, each with a blanket finish which in Race 1 saw less than a second covering the first four bikes home.
MIDWEIGHT PUNCH - TRIUMPH TIGER SPORT 660
The Triumph brand seems to be going from strength to strength worldwide. New models are seeing the light of day in various sectors, and here in South Africa there is a carefully planned dealer expansion program in action.
NORTON ROTARY RACERS HISTORY - Rotary Race Record
For eight successive seasons the world’s first - and so far only - Rotary-engined racebikes swept to serial success on British racetracks. Here’s a timeline on their ebb and flow.
DRYSDALE HISTORY PART 4/5: 25 YEARS ON FROM CREATION OF FIRST 750-V8
2002 1000-V8 Bruiser mega-Monster was a Naked roadster with added muscle - the answer to the question of how to out-max a Yamaha V-Max!
Unnecessarily Fast, or Unnecessarily Dangerous?
“The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” This truism comes from boxing, but applies to all walks of life. Innovative MotoGP superstar Marc Marquez, however, adds a new twist.
Wet Weather Riding
Wet roads can make you faster and smoother. They also open up a whole new world of riding possibilities.
The Perfect Surprise
Anniversary Getaway
International Female Ride Day 7 May 2022
It is that time of the year again and the ladies are coming together to promote female riders and ladies in biking. This international event is celebrated globally and in SA we are not shy to participate. Last year’s event brought together about 300 ladies on various motorbikes and we are aiming for 400 participants this year.
MotoGP Springtime for Aprilia
Don’t ask me how that happened. Aprilia, I mean. From bottom of the class to the top of the podium, in one easy move. Well, perhaps not one … it’s actually taken seven years of dogged persistence in the face of serial humiliation. But it still seems to have elements of all-of-a-sudden.
