That road .................

[sapaul]

So there she was, just as we turned out of Clarens. 32 kms of biking heaven on the Clarens to Fouriesburg road. The Goose was ahead of me as we made the right turn onto the road and I hang back as we go past the junction into the "O Ring" end of the town. watching her ride is always a thrill for me, but having followed her down for 350 kms the day before at her pace, now it was my turn. I shout into the Scala rider to activate the vox and as it activates I tell The Goose to have a good ride and I will see her at the end of the road. Her laughter puts a smile on my face as I open up the throttle and power past her 600 RR. This girl knows me too well.

The road is clear, not a car to be seen on this lazy Saturday morning and the 2 km straight stretch angles up gently before the first left turn. I know this road well and feel well tuned in this morning, no nerves, just calm anticipation and every other thoughts dumped at the B&B. This morning is just about me , the machine and the road.
My GS is coming up 60 000 now and is purring like a cat, I feel the same way as I throttle up to the 180km mark for the first gentle left hander. I can see a good way around this one so keep the power on and the bike tight, I set my body position with my hip pointing into the corner and the shoulder dropped, I enter smoothly and power on gently knowing that a right hander is coming next, this one a little tighter than the first. The hips are moved over and my body responds fluidly, the bike responds in kind and that thrill of executing a move at speed bumps up the adrenalin.

This section of road alternates between short sections of straight road and a mixture of long sweeps and tighter twisties leading to a plateau. I feel at peace and in control, shifting between fifth and sixth, not using brakes and just throttle control. I know I will be quicker the smoother I am but I also out of principle will not cut corners. I believe that the safest line is to stay within the lines and be smooth. The bike has yet to drop below 160 and I am using the 40 kmh buffer to set up for the corners and power around them. The boxer motor suits my riding style and I love the grunt even from fifth and sixth.

The uphill ends in a steep downhill up to a steep uphill first left and then right and then you are on the plateau. I am fluid as I hit the flat straight and the bike smoothly pulls to 220. There is a high bank on my right, but the left opens out to reveal the landscape and valley below with mountains in the background. I have stopped at the view points before and have pictures from before, so I concentrate on the road and the upcoming twisties. There is a steep series of rights and lefts, one in particular that tightens up steeply, I forget about the speed and concentrate on getting the body positioning right, staying loose and holding the line I want. The GS is a tall bike and I have developed a way of getting my knee well forward instead of sticking it out. The pegs touch just before the apex and then the power is on pulling me out of the corner onto the next straight. This repeats half a dozen times and I am on that border between reality and surreal.

The other side of the valley has long sweeping turns and a gentle undulation of ups and downs until we get the next town, the groove is well set and the bike pulls me through them between 180 and 220. My mental state is perfect, I feel at one with the bike. It just does not get better than this. I pull over, take off the helmet, light a smoke (those things can kill you, you know) and strain to hear the scream of the 600 coming up the hill. Halfway down the smoke, I hear that beautiful noise and see The Goose has seen me and is slowing down to join me.

There was no need for analysis or comments, we just stood grinning at each other while I finished my smoke. She was first up and off and you could hear that 6 hitting the 15 thou mark before she hit second. I rode around her a minute or two later on the way back, the Scala clicked on as I went past. "one day, one day, practice practice practice"
The truth is that I am going to have to stay on my game as I have seen her improve massively over the past couple of years. I also believe in letting people learn at their own pace. With this in mind I settle down for the ride back and run through my mental check list again.

Stay in the lines, get your entry speed right, make sure your body positioning is right, look through every corner ................ look in the mirrors from time to time, there may just be a 600 RR there ........

http://maps.google.co.za/maps?f=q&sourc ... 3&t=h&z=11

[sunshine229]

Interesting story!

[sapaul]

We have not had leave yet, we worked right through, so we grabbed a weekend in one of our favourite places. Clarens is about 350 kms away on the scenic route from where we live and it is not a bad ride down there. It was quiet as the holiday makers are all back and the road conditions were Ok with some sections with potholes but overall good.

That road is one of the best pieces of tar in the country. Even the cage drivers take advantage.

I was just in the mood after the stress of working through Xmas to let loose and just go balls to the wall. Damn feels good when you do that.