Day 5: After a good night’s sleep, we were ready to take on the road again. Our route for today was from Kuruman to Pofadder, with a stop in Upington to meet up with Frieda Steenkamp and George Simpson from Age-In-Action and the Morning Side Service Center for Older Persons. We had a late start from Kuruman and thus we needed to make all haste towards Upington. Little did we know what was in store for us? The road out of Kuruman was quiet and it seemed to be a nice ride out. Everything went well up and until about 170km from Upington. It was HOT! 40 degrees hot. Not only that, the wind started blowing. Now on day one I had some crosswinds, but this was a whole new ball game. For the next 170 km I battled the elements. I had to continuously fight to keep the bike in a straight line. At one section it felt as if the wind was going to blow me off the bike. I held on for dear life. I was like a dog with a bone, I was not going to let a bit of wind get the better of me. Kilometre after kilometre the KTM and I fought with the wind. My steel horse it seems, was just as stubborn as I am. We were not giving up! Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, we saw the Upington skyline. The ordeal left me tired, aching and drained. I used up all the energy I had to get there. But then, as we drove into Upington my bike started playing up. As soon as I accelerated, it seemed as if the throttle just closed and the bike began to stutter. I could not go faster than 6o km/h. This had me seriously worried. We were pressed for time as we were already late. We rushed at the break neck speed of 60km/h to the SuperSpar in Upington. Once there, I spoke to the manager and got the R1500 voucher that was once again sponsored by Johan from sector5.org. I just have to say this. Johan, your donation has been a godsend. These vouchers have made such a difference in people’s lives. However, the need is GREAT. We need more people to donate… Please visit our donation page at doit4charity.co.za/silver.boomerang Ok, so I get back on my bike. I was really worried that there might be something seriously wrong. It would not have been a good advert for KTM. The bike is only about a year old. It had a major service just before we set off… I start it and drive out of the shopping center. It must have been some divine intervention because I opened the throttle and my steel horse was back in all is glory. I roared down the street just to make sure :) So, on to the Morning Side Service Center for Older Persons. The older persons were patiently waiting for us with Frieda and George under a large shady tree. We were introduced and we started by telling them what we do and what we were aiming to do, i.e. raising awareness for the plight of the elderly and the amazing work that Age-in-Action does. We then proceeded to hand over the voucher and took some pictures. What wonderfully warm and loving people they are – and so appreciative of our visit. However as we started talking to them, we come to realise that they have not had anything to eat. It felt as if someone had ripped out my heart and stamped all over it. How is this possible? In this day and age where food is in abundance, we have old people who have not eaten yet. That R1500 voucher has just fed these old people. I wish we could do more. Alas we had to leave for Pofadder. I have to say that as we drove away, I was left with such sadness. I knew that when I took on this adventure that I will come back a changed man, I just did not think it would have such an effect on me. Pofadder was still a 200km drive away. As we drove out of Upington I knew we were in for a rough ride. The wind was howling. Again my trusty Iron Horse and I battled the elements. If it was not crosswinds, it was headwinds. It was energy draining. To add to that, all that I could think of was these poor old people that we left behind. I really hope that they had a nice hot meal tonight. As we do our planning for tomorrow, all I can hope and pray for is some miracle that we can help in our small way and make sure that our old people are taken care of. Tomorrow we ride for Port Nolloth. I can’t believe we are reaching the halfway mark… P.S.: We were approached by some guys in Upington who recognised us from the Expresso show this morning and had to take some pics together! How cool is that?
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 20:27:40 +0000
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