2011-10-01 Spartans Friendship Jol

The Spartans Jol was held at the same venue as the Tin 4  Tin run earlier in the year, namely Femsus on the old Brits Road.

As you can see, the Spartans Ladies were working very hard at the gate when I got there, so I took a photograph of their efforts just so that history can record the moment.

The bar, which is the main area of interest for all visitors, is decorated with some interesting old motorcycles and other memorabilia.

The pub is not just about a bar counter either. The area around the pub makes for a wonderful visiting spot, as well as witnessing the entertainment outside.

Again, like with vitrually all jols I've written about up until now, there was great fellowship, good food, "ok"-ish music and lots of fun and laughter all around.

The PBC Member Clubs were well represented, as always, and there were a number of interesting stalls, like the one where you could buy women's costume jewelry on the one side and self defence items on the other side...and just next door was a sweet stand...

Just another typical Biker Jol. :-)

Interesting as the decor and shops were, however, the day was as jam-packed as any other jol I'd been to and as enjoyable too.

Well done to Clayton and the rest of the Spartans Clan and here's looking forward to the next one.

2011-09-24 Phoenix Birthday Jol

I used to think photographers were just a bunch of happy snappers who stood around waiting for events to unfold so they could point and click with their cameras, go back to the office, download the pics they got onto a computer and hope they come across something interesting to add into an article!

After this weekend, spending some time behind the lens of my camera, yours truly had quite an awakening in this regard, because I realised that's basically what I do.

This weekend, however, was one of the first times I experienced the jol "from a distance", in a manner of speaking.

It was as if I was an outsider looking in on the world of the Biker Jol. I did not really feel as if I was part of the jol, even though I was...If that makes any sense?

Mainly this was because I  chose to use a "long" lens on my camera so that I could be further away from the subjects I was photographing. Now, before some of you get any ideas about sinister motives and whatnot...My reasoning behind this is the fact that I would rather take photographs of people being "natural", than ending with all these "posed", "let me see how I can pull my face for the camera" photos.






I also know that it feels wrong if I have to stand still and "smile for the birdie" while someonbe is trying to focus the camera and decide how much of your body needs to be in the picture! So, if people don't see you standing close to them, they tend to just carry on with what they were doing in the first place, giving you a more relaxed and natural photograph. Got it? Good!

Obviously, one has to be discerning when you take such photographs, because you don't want people to sue you afterwards for taking "compromising" photographs, so I applied my best judgement and the results can be seen in the album I posted on facebook. (I'm so proud of the fact that I didn't get any pictures with people's fingers up their noses, or something!

Part of the wonder of the day was watching the kids, and I am talking of those that actually qualify for this tag by virtue of the fact that they are still at school and not the way they act only, playing in the sand pit. The care-free attitudes. The laughter and unconditional trust in others. The belief that life was made for them to enjoy. Eish...No wonder the Bible says we have to have faith like little children!

Then, of course, there were also the bigger kids. You know? The ones that arrived on their own bikes, and would probably not be able to ride said bikes home at the end of the jol, because there was either not enough tyre left, or they just wouldn't be able to keep the bike upright long enough to make it out the gate!

But, then again, what is a jol without some smoke and mirrors? In the end, fun was had by all, even Bossie who had the misfortune of watching as his 'Busa blew a back tyre on the dyno at about 248km/h.

My first reaction was that it was a good thing it happened on the dyno and not on the way home! I know that Bossie likes to "give it some gas" when he gets on the highway with the 'Busa and apparently he had been approaching 300 the night before. As they say in the classics: "Someone up there likes him!"

Now here's a bit of something to think about...The tyre on the 'Busa had a plug in it, so how many of you still think that riding at speed with a plug in the tyre is a good thing? I must say that I am starting to have my doubts.

As I mentioned somewhere above, fun was had by all in the end and it is always nice to be among people that appreciate you, understand you and, above all, tolerate you...Can't wait fir the next jol to roll around, Smiley.

2011-08-07 Shambles Windgat Jol

Although this jol was scheduled for the Sunday, 7 August, it actually started on the 6th already.

Steven and his crew were busy with their preparations for the jol and decided to have a braai with whoever wanted to come visit the night before.

I pitched up there around 7pm, to find Steven and Juanita behind the stoves. They were preparing the curry and rice, as well as the filling for the jaffles.

Peet from Exploited was also there with his family. We were just talking nonsense and stoking the fireplace to make sure we could have something to braai on a little later.

All-in-all it was a  "lekker kuier" (great visit) and I only left there around 11.

BUT....Duncan and I arrived at the gates around 9 the next morning, got our badges and entries and proceeded to the area of the jol, which was already quite well packed by that time.

As I walked in, my thoughts returned to the night before when Steven and I had a conversation about the planning and the hoped-for outcomes.

Steven was worried, since they had never done something like this before and he was worried that people wouldn't pitch, etc, etc.

I can tell you this, though...What a Jol!




Around 10 they had run out of badges at the gate! By the end of the day, they had more than 360 people enter! You've set the standard now, Steven...Good luck with next year!

The games during the day were all similar to other jols we've had before, but there were subtle twists in all the games that made them different.

I was not there for the tyre throw, but I can tell you that the tug-of-war teams had to consist of 3 men and 2 ladies and the slow racers had to have a pillion on the bike...facing backwards. Made for some interesting poses on the bikes, I must say.

Fun was had by all and the amount of prizes they had to hand out at the end of the day were phenominal! Thanks to all the sponsors who donated prizes for the jol.

My family were all at the jol and I can tell you we had a blast! Those that weren't there...You missed out on a wonderful day and a fantastic jol. Go Shambles!!

2011-07-31 Tin 4 Tin

Every year the guys from the Brits area get together and collect tins of non-perishable foods for under-priviliged people in the area.

In previous years, a retail store pledged to match what the bikers can give "tin for tin", which is where the name of the jol originated.

Bikers being who and what we are, however, the retail store realised this is costing them a LOT of money, because the Bikers are not shy to give to a worthy cause...so they pulled out.


Shows you! Bikers can even "out-give" a Retail Store when it comes to worthy causes.

This year, the jol was, from a personal perspective, marred by the fact that one of my good mates lost his son in a flying accident the day before.

I struggled to get to grips with the jol and felt a little down most of the day, which I'm sure one can understand.

It did not stop everyone from having a good time, however, and the weather was as great as usual, allowing for a lot of fun and laughter to be had along with good fellowship...as always.


It was at this jol that I had the epiphany, which would turn my photography "career" in a new direction. As I walked through the crowds with the camera, I found myself looking for opportunities to take photographs of the people, but other than what I usually did, I found myself focusing on the families, even the extended families.

One of the things I realised was how often I had seen photographs being shown at funerals, only to see photos of the deceased only. No photographs of the guy with his wife, for instance.

Sometimes there would be only one photograph of the guy with his kids.

That's when I decided to make an effort of getting photos of people with the rest of their families.

On some of the jols that followed, I even had the opportunity of finding out who some of the guys were actually married to! (Onlyjoking!!)

On the way to the jol, there was an incident with someone apparently being knocked off his bike by a Taxi, but this was sorted out.

After the jol, Smiley ended up in hospital for a couple of days, because his 'Busa was not fast enough to pass a car that turned in front of him as he was leaving the jol. He has recuperated sufficiently to ride again, even though he had to buy a Kawa as a replacement for the Busa, but that's another story...

2011-07-16 Groblersdal Day Jol

Here's a jol I was looking forward to since 2008, when I first attended it. The main problem was that I attended the jol just after my accident in 2008, so I didn't really participate...I was just there.

Seeing other people riding their bikes while you're sitting with an external fixator attached to your leg is not as much fun as it might sound!

The jol is a unique one, because it's all about the bikes and speed.

Once a year, the CMA Chapter in Groblersdal takes over the Groblersdal air field for a day jol. They allow bikes onto the air strip and have quarter mile standing start runs to see who can get the top speed for the day.

The measurement is done via speed trap equipment that is kindly supplied by the local Constabulary. It is, of course, helped along by the fact that one of the CMA guys in the area is also the local Traffic Chief.

As I said in the introduction, the first time I heard of the jol was in July, 2008, a month after my accident. My wife was asked to take some of the CMA merchandise to the jol and set up a little shop there for people to purchase the goodies from.

I didn't attend the jol in 2009 for some strange reason, but in 2010, while working for a bike shop for a couple of months, I got permission to take demo bikes to the jol. We hitched a trailer behind the shop's bakkie and one behind my car, got some of my Chapter members to volunteer their help for the day, which was not as difficult as you would imagine, and headed off to the jol with 5 of Kawasaki SA's demo's.

So, I didn't really participate in the 2010 jol either, since I was too busy looking after the demo's. I did get the opportunity, however, to ride once or twice, but it's not really participating if you have to worry about R 400 000's worth of equipment that doesn't belong to you!

I bought my Kawa Z-1000 in October 2010 and you would not believe how much I was looking forward to the Groblersdal Day Jol since then! I was not interested in how fast the Kawa could go, because I know that there are machines out there that will go faster than my bike, because it is not geared for top speed!
All I wanted to know was whether I would be able to make it to the end of the quarter mile on the back wheel!

I asked the President of the Chapter if he would mind if I just played a little, instead of doing a top end run and he said it would be ok.

So...I played...and I played...and I played.

As far as I can remember, I only did one run with both wheels on the ground and I can't even remember what speed they measured.

Every time you finish your run, you wait at the bottom end of the runway for all the bikes to finish their runs and then, when you get the "all clear", you all head back up the runway at a nice "leisurely" pace.

Once the second guy gets there, he has heard what your speed was, so he tells you and the next guy tells him and so on...

The top speed achieved on the day was 245km/h. Just in case you think I typed it wrong, I'll say it again: "The top speed achieved for the day was 245km/h". From a standing start!

What made most of the people cringe, is the fact that this speed was achieved by a BMW! Ok, it was a 1000-RR, but still! It doesn't sound right to the guys with the Fireblades and GSX-R's and ZX-10's, does it?

The fact that the BM was being ridden by 29 times National Drag Racing Champion, Pieter de la Rey, didn't make it any easier to swallow either!

At least I could say that I held Kawa's name high on the day, because I did the fastest run on the back wheel for the day, namely 145km/h.  Only a 100km/h slower than the top speed!

I also proved that Kawa's have excellent balance, because I won the slow race, which was held on the grass next to the runway.

All-in-all I had a BLAST! I would also recommend that people should do this type of jol at least once, even if they just want to see how fast other people's bikes go!

2011-07-09 Vaal Stunt and Drag Day

Now I know the title indicates that this is a Stunt and Drag Race day in the Vaal.

I also know that the pictures show guys being hooligans on their bikes. There were even some people actually drag racing.

However, this is a story of a Father's pride in his children, more than the actual drag racing and stunt riding.

Both my kids are in the Youth Band at Bikers Church, Midrand. The kids needed to be there early so that they could help get everything set up for their first ever live, open air performance as a band.

They have performed in front of a live audience on many occasions before, but mainly in front of their friends at Youth Evenings...and then also in a "controlled" envrionment, like the Church Hall and with "proper" sound equipment.

Here, there would be some serious challenges for them. Like performing out in the open under a gazebo, to start with.

Then there is also the power supply, which would be tenuous, to say the least, because they would have to rely on a generator to supply sufficient power for all the electronic equipment, as well as the sound desk.

There was also the fact that they would be performing while the bikes were making quite a lot of noise in the background.

But none of these is as bad as performing before a live audience...which was not actually paying much attention to the band itself. No applause. No clapping of hands while you're playing. No thumbs up from some of the audience...with the obvious exception of your parents!

Hang on! Those were all MY fears! The kids just took all of this in their stride and performed as if they were playing for the Queen herself! They ignored the roaring of the bikes in the background.

The fact that the generator conked out every now and then didn't phase them in the least. The fact that the guy at the sound desk struggled to sort things out for quite some time didn't bother them.

They just got on with the business of playing their songs for whoever wanted to listen...and they did it with style!


 And you know what? There were even people (other than the parents, of course!) that actually listened to, and enjoyed, the music while they were performing!

I was so proud of the kids...and the older members of the band too! The Youth Band consists of Devon on drums, Duncan, Thinus and Jarod on guitars, Paul on bass, Marthin and Nadine on vocals.

With the exception of Paul and Jarod, all the others were still in school.

Made it worth my while to get up so early in the morning just to head off to the Vaal for a day...without even being able to take the bike along! :-)

2011-06-25 PBC Winter Bash

I think I'll start off by saying that this event can also be known as: "The most successful event which was not organised as far in advance as it could have been".

The only reason we have not actually named it as such...is because it doesn't fit on a badge that easily! :-)

Anyway...Got there early to find Shambles preparing for the selling of Curry & Rice and Jaffles.

Ever since this jol, Duncan (my son) always wants to know whether Shambles will be making Jaffles before he decides whether he'll go along, or not. Generally, if there aren't going to be Shambles Jaffles, he'll think hard and long before he decides to go along.

The venue chosen for the event was the Flying Dutchman Pub, also known as the place where the PBC Meetings were held...Until it got closed down for some unknown reason towards the end of the year.

Anyway...The fellowship was great, the sunshine was even nicer and the games were even more fun to be had on the day.

The entire parking lot, at the front of the pub, was reserved for bikes. The area at the back of the bar was the place where the fellowship, entertainment and the fun and games would be held.

The Bar itself was, of course, a nice "in-between" area where people could find the necessary refreshments while moving between the parking lot and the entertainment arena.

The visiting in the entertainment area was occasionally interrupted by "Skin and Bone", the band. The interruption was tolerable, however, seeing as it was quite...uhmmmm...interesting to watch Skin and Bone on stage.

For one thing, it was quite evident that the band's name is a very accurate description of most of the band members. The lead singer/rythm guitarist/harmonica player/bad dancer probably weighs around 35kg, as does the drummer. The Bass guitarist weighed more than both of them together, so he looked quite normal in the end.

But they could entertain! They played quite well and they played a mixture of songs that were right up most biker's alley.

The lead singer's grandson was also something worth watching, because he was running around with a small guitar and pulling all kinds of AC/DC moves, like jumping off the stage and doing the Angus Young duckwalk, amongst others.

There were other interruptions to the fellowship, but these interruptions were more physical in nature, like tyre throwing and tug-of-war. 

The tug-of-war left some of the older generation a "little" tired, but they enjoyed themselves nonetheless.

The crowd from Cougars won in the end, but as you can see from the pic on the left, there was dogged resistance from some of the other teams.

Tyre throw was an interesting challenge, seeing as it was held on an incline on what used to be the shooting range wall and there was not a lot of room to move after the throw.

If you lost your balance after the throw, you may just end up sliding down and lying with the tyre at the bottom of the wall.

Prize-giving turned out to be a bit of a challenge with numbers apparently being duplicated and so on, but everything seemed to be sorted out in the end. I may even say it was amicable, but then I don't know how to spell the word!

Thanks to all those that got involved in the day and sponsored prizes, there were nearly enough prizes for everyone who stayed for the prize-giving! CMA Brooklyn sold raffle tickets for a couple of months and the winning ticket was drawn at this bash and Bongani (ex-Emperors) "walked" away with a lazy loader style trailer.

In the end, however nice the prizes and how ever many prizes there may have been, everyone at the jol had a great time and rumour has it that a lot of people are looking forward to winter with the PBC again this year.

2011-06-19 Blood Run

A beautiful, sunshine, winter day in Pretoria. More specifically, at the Quagga Centre near Danville.

What better time to donate blood?

To be honest, considering the area where the run was held, having someone stick a needle in my arm to withdraw some blood, was a kind alternative to the other ways people could have taken some blood.

Anyway...CMA Danville held this drive with the SANBS, who are always very happy to receive any blood supplies they can lay their hands on, because at the rate we, South Africans use blood, we're always a little short on supplies.

I have donated blood a number of times before and I don't have a fear of needles...except, of course, the very BIG ones.

What does scare me, though, is the examination you have to take before they'll even take your blood.

People have told me that there is no way you can fail this exam, but I'm always worried that I may be the first!

What made this event a little more special for me, is the fact that both my kids were first-time donors, making them part of a very special community of people who are willing to help those that need blood in an emergency.

If I may make a suggestion? If you have not donated blood before, and your health allows it, please do this one little thing every two months and you could help save someone's life.

And before you think it...No! I'm not being paid by the SANBS, but I have been in Hospital a couple of times before and can only imagine what it would have been like if I had not received the blood I needed then.

As far as I can recall, this was a record day for the SANBS in Danville, but then again...it always is when the bikers are called upon to donate blood.

2011-06-16 CANSA Day (Red Star)

Every month, CANSA seems to focus on a different type of cancer and, seeing as June is Youth month, they decided to try and focus on the types of cancers that are prominent in children.

So, an idea was set in motion to get an event on the biking calendar to support the CANSA Foundation.

A lot of organising, a little bit of cooperation between a bunch of different clubs and a whole bunch of goodwill from a lot of interested parties later, and there was a day on the biking calendar called the CANSA Run for the Youth.

One of the goodwill partners in this venture was a guy by the name of Jacques, who also happens to be one of the partners/owners of Red Star Raceway. He graciously agreed that the event could be held at the Race Track.

The PBC decided to support this event and some of the members got involved in the organising committee.

However, the largest form of support came in the form of the members who turned up to actually participate in the day.

I am not 100% sure of what happened with the mass rides, as I was asked to be the "monster" of ceremonies and had to be at the venue earlier, so I was caught by surprise when I saw the number of bikes that were "suddenly" in the car park

There were a number of artists who volunteered of their time to participate in the day and entertain the crowds.

These included, among others, Mathhys Roets, who was an avid motorcyclist himself until an accident left him paralysed.

Some of the guys got together and decided to treat Matthys to a ride around the racetrack in a sidecar.

As you can see, Matthys enjoyed the time in the sidecar immensely and even allowed Frikkie (G'n Banggat) to perform a special salute down the main straight for the crowd.

The whole event went off reasonably smoothly for a first try and the organisers have seen it fit to consider making this an annual event...

...maybe even take it National.

Check the listings and events pages of the various websites for more information...


...and if it's on again this year...Try your best to support this worthy cause.

2011-06-11 CANSA Run

This run happened before the Megaforce Boob Run and was in aid of raising awareness of the CNSA Day that was going to be held on Youth Day.

The Youth Day event was going to be supported by the PBC, and since I was roped into helping with the arrangements of that day, I decided to go and support this run before going off to the Boob Run.

A bunch of volunteers from the "Kerk Op Wiele" team and myself and Johan Louw from CMA Silverton, got together at the "Kerk Sonder Mure" and headed off to the Centurion Lake Mall, where the fund raiser and awareness event were being held.

At the Mall we were allowed to park the bikes in the amphitheatre where gazebo's had already been erected by the CANSA Crew.

Having a bunch of bikes enter the Mall and park in this area always helps to draw people's attention away from some of the Shops...For a while, at least!

People were able to donate money towards CANSA's various projects. But specifically since June was Youth Month, the focus was on making people aware of some of the forms of cancer that can be found in youngsters.

As you can see, I became a bit of a "poster boy" for the cause by having my hands dipped in paint and then applying them to a big sheet that would be used for decoration in one of the homes CANSA runs for cancer patients and their parents.

I didn't stay long, but was there long enough to irritate and upset (I think some people call it encourage?) some people into donating towards the cause!

The Youth Day, which was organised by CANSA in conjunction with several other organizations and Bike Clubs, turned out to be a big success, but more about that when I get around to writing about the 16th of June a little later.