NorthCape-SouthCape:
060212
Vanity
Today I managed 743 kms, around Lambert’s Bay and
Cape Agulas and then on to Cape Town.
To ride to Cape Town is natural, but to then continue another
200kms to sit on a rock on the last piece of land before
the South Pole felt vain. The magazine Vanity Fair looks
like a trade magazine in comparison. But then again, like
I always say : “You ride till you get there.”
The feeling of sitting on that rock, looking across the
sea trying to make a conclusion of the whole trip from Cape
North to South Cape is impossible to describe in just a
few words.
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There is one incident, though, that immediately strikes me, a situation
between Dilla and Moyale in Ethiopia. Everything could have gone seriously
wrong already that day. The road turned, Ian didn’t. After a
very long straight there followed a sharp corner and Ian wasn’t
prepared for it. He decided to brake, instead of just leaning over
and trying to take the turn.
The outside was steep and deep, but he did have enough sense to leave
the bike in time. I found him above and a bit before the bike.
His helmet, shoulder and elbow had reduced his speed and acted as
a brake. My biggest worry was that he had been hit in the stomach
by the mirror, leaving the bike. I have injured my spleen that way.
After 40 minutes I found a doctor in the next village and he even
had a blood pressure measuring device. For 100 money I got him to
take Ian’s blood pressure and it was 140 through 100 –
phew!!! What a relief. With inner bleedings we would have had problems
getting him out in time to a capable surgeon.
The next day Ian served as assistant and got to ride in the Chevrolet.
Mikko rode his bike and I decided to cover up the whole incident simply
because I know how media works.
A summary in figures tells us the following. I have ridden 21,272
kms on the bike from North Cape to South Cape. In Europe it was 8,463kms
bike and two ferries of about 200kms. In Africa it was 12,809kms on
the bike and a 400kms long boat trip.
To me, the world has become a smaller place. It feels strange to know
that it is possible to ride at a sedate pace from the North of our
globe to the South in only 44 riding days. We actually managed it
in 13 days less than planned, and I had thought the riding schedule
was tight as it was.
Finally I have to report that the bikes have been as reliable as atomic
clocks. Consumption has been as low as 4,3 litres per 10 kilometres
and the highest figures were 6,7 litres per 10 kilometres. The only
mechanical problem, that we didn’t cause ourselves was a broken
rear shock.
Mikko and Stefan have done their jobs perfectly and better travel
companions than Ian and Lukas you have to look for. Thank you, Lukas,
for making the trip possible and I have to finish with the constant
reminder that Lukas always shouted at me, often with his dark visor
closed: „Gas it, PG, gas it!“
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High
Performance Riding
www.pgdakar.com |
Per-Gunnar
Lundmark
Fjällbonäs 15
933 91 Arvidsjaur |
Per-Gunnar
Lundmark
Eva.PG.Lundmark@swipnet.se
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Updated
2006-02-17
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