Lone Star run to Cape Town

I jumped at the opportunity to ride to Cape Town on Spike to fetch my passport before my departure to Angola and thought I would like to share the experience and picture with you in lieu of or planned Star trek on Route 62 in the near future. It took me 5 hours on a straight run with only one refuel along the way to Cape Town, I left at 9 in the morning and after the half hour break along the way to refuel my stomach and Spike, arrived in Cape Town at 2 in the Afternoon. My butt was aching a bit and I was thirsty.

So after Picking up my Passport headed on the scenic coastal drive to Campsbay to have a cold draught and relaxing next to the beach. No problems with Spike and the wiring short I had on our previous outing was fixed before I left. I spent the night and thought I was going to leave to Angola from Cape Town in the morning only to find out the next morning my flight was cancelled from Cape Town and that my flight leaves from George at 17:45 that Friday. Who said a Cruiser is not fast, I made it back to George within 3 and a half hours and made the flight. Trusty old Spike is safely in my Garage and I am safe in Angola. If there is any of my friends out there that want to talk to me via Skype in Angola my user name is gerhardt_koch I would love to hear from you all and miss you guys and gals already.

Star Trek to Buffelsbaai 22 Jan 2012

The Star Riders went to Buffelsbaai for their monthly Star Trek and we made some new friends along the way. Bruce and his Pillion joined us on their XVS650 Yamaha and it was great intoducing them to the Star Owners Group and it was an honour having them with us. I cleaned my Motorcycle early in the morning and the one indicator was lopsided as heinz always kept pointing out to me and I decided to loosen it and straigthen it. When I tightened up the clamp I pinched a wire unknowingly and on the way to meet my fellow Stars one of the fuses blew as soon as I used my indicator I lost power to my Dash console and thus could not see how fast I was doing nor how much fuel I have left. Heinz said he would pace me while in the lead and I enjoyed the ride since he was close on my left the whole way showing  me the pace to set.  

We stopped over at some of Heinz friends that was holidaying for the weekend in Buffelsbaai and they enjoyed the unexpected visit and gave us a starter just to quell the hunger pains before we went to breakfast at a quaint little place just off the N2 at the Buffelsbaai turn off. The picnic spot and restuarant is next to the river and it was a great setting, but as the sign said at the entrance there is no rush there and the service is slow, we found out how slow when 1 hour later we swere still waiting for our food.

                                      

There setting is tranquill and if you are not rushed this is the ideal place for a family visit and a swim on a hot day. There is Canoes to rent or you can just float in the water while waiting for your food. There is overnight cabins and a place to pitch tents should you wish to camp out. A great place to concider for a weekend run.



Finnaly we all had breakfast wich turned out more to be lunch and we headed back to George via the old Kaaimans Pass. Heinz decided to visit Bruce on the Woodifields Estate. Bruce runs this Family estate for his family and what a lovely place it is. Worth a visit by the Stars for a picnic in the future and we thank Bruce for extending his welcome to us to visit the Estate at our leisure. Heinz had a nice visit but the rest of us had to push on home since it was getting late and other family obligations cut our run as a group short. Thank you Jean, Suzette, Mannetjies, Bruce, Conwill and Heinz for joining me on this wondefull Star Trek.

North meets South

This was a hectic season for the Star Riders Owners Club and we had a couple of small Star Treks in the region. We did a Beach crawl along the coast but ended up not seeing to many beaches since we got side tracked a lot and ended up in different pubs. We also had a run to the Bloukrans Bungy jump bridge to support a couple of friends jumping and Trekked back via the closed Nature's Valley Pass. What a beautifull Pass and worth the risk of running out of fuel should the Pass have been completely closed, we negoiated pass the closed barrier and took a slow cruise to avoid the fallen rocks and missing parts of the road and saw some spectacular scenery and the largest troop of baboons I have ever seen in his region. But he most memroable ride was when one day I recieved a call from Dave and Tanya from the Gauteng Chapter of the Star Riders Owners Club. Dave, Tanya and their two kids, Paul and Reinette (hope I got the spelling right) came to our beautifull part of the country for a holiday. Dave is an inspirational story in itself since he had a Tripple Hart By-pass in the later half of 2011 and after the operation decided to live life to it's fullest extend and bought him and Tanya each a Star Cruiser. He has a 1900 Midnight Star and she a 650 XVS, both white and beautifull. They joined the Gauteng Chapter of the Star Riders Owners Club in November and got my number on the Star Riders Website and decided to givre us a call. They came to our house and introduced themselves and the kids to us and we arranged for a babysitter for the kids and we got another of our members to join us for a Star Trek to the Knysna Heads. They showed up at 9 the following morning and Icy joined us shortly thereafter and we departed for our cruise taking the scenic Saasveld road to go through the old Kaaimans Pass. It was slow going since Tanya was taking in the majestic scenery and enjoying the view. In Wilderniss we joined the N2 to head to Knysna, but once again we stayed well below the speed limits so that our visitors from the North could soak up the ambiance, fresh air and beautifull country side that our region has to offer. Trafic was not to congested, but people slowed down to watch our small procession of four Star Cruisers pass. We drove through Sedgefield on the way to Knysna and then along the side of the Knysna Lake on the way to the Heads for Breakfast. Dave was generous to pay for Breakfast and what a wonderfull breakfast it was, looking over the ocean entering the Knysna Lake with Yachts entering the Lake or heading out to Sea, it was a tranquill setting and made for a most enjoyable breakfast. The company was easy going and we came to like our new found friends from the north. Thanks once again Dave for the Breakfast.                                 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

We decided to head back home the same route we came since there was a missed photo oppertunity in the Old Kaaimans Pass and we eventually arrived back home in George an hour later than we promised the Babysitter. It was a great ride and a pleasure to meet Dave and his Family and we wish them all the best for the future and wish them many happy rides and years ahead of them. With this I would also like to extend an open invitation to any other Star Owner Club Members that wish to visit our region to contact us beforehand and "Mi Casa Su Casa" my place is your place and we will host you with the greatest of pleasures. May all you Riders out there have a prosperous New Year and many safe Rides this comming year. God bless you all.

Ups For Downs Visited by Santa

The Ladies of PetroSA opened their hearts and got together 23 Gift Packs that PetroSA donated to the "Ups For Downs" School in Blanco George. Star Riders adopted the "Ups For Downs" School as their local charity in 2011 and decided to spoil the kids afflicted with the Downs Syndrome, Santa arrived at the School on the 6th December bearing the Gift Packs donated by PetroSA. George Yamaha donated R500 and two other members of the Star Riders MC matched that donation and an envelope with R1500 was handed to the Principal of the school. The other members of Star Riders MC donated toiletries and other toys to augment the Gift Packs supplied by PetroSA. To make the day even more enjoyable for the kids, Star Riders MC got snack platters to feed the kids during break time. The joy on the kids faces were evident and we were greeted with much gusto and excitement, the bikes were admired and Santa was grilled with a lot of questions of what happened to his sleigh and reindeer. It was explained to them that the motorcycles were magical and had 1700 horses in that little engine that makes so much noise and that Santa can make time drag in the different countries so that he can reach all the kids in time for Christmas. The love that these kids exhibited was amazing and an experience we will never forget. I would like to extend my thanks to PetroSA management and the ladies that got the Gift Packs together on such short notice as well as George Yamaha and the rest of the crew from Star Riders. To my wife, thanks for being my Elf that day and handing me the right gift for each kid. To the Staff of the "Ups for Downs" School I want to say what a wonderful job you women are doing and all our love and respect for doing such a wonderful job with the Down Syndrome Kids in our region. We are looking forward to assist you in the future with more fund raisers and am proud to be one of your ambassadors.

Merry Christmas and my the Lord bless all of you and the school in this coming year and the years ahead.

 
From the pictures to the left and right you can see the joy we brought to the Kids and it was a privilege to be able to share the day with them.
 

 

SWDMCA Sleepover 2011



Swartvlei Caravan Park

 The annual SWDMCA Sleepover was held on the 19th and 20th November at the Swartvlei Caravan Park and what a lovely day it was on the 19th. The wind was blowing a bit and it was difficult to get the Braai Fires lit, but eventually the fires took and we could get the meat on the grill. The morning started off with all the Star Riders meeting up at Maxi's and 5 STAR Motorcycles showed up for this fun run. The members sharing this run was: Colin, Mandy, Heinz, Jean, Suzette, Gerhardt, Linda and Kids. Conwill joined us later and we would like to thank him and his family for making the effort in his busy schedule, since ACSA was busy with a runway audit at the airport and he stole time away from his family and the audit to show his support.

Leeukop

Heinz and Linda had a discussion about the location and some locals know this spot as Leeukop and Heinz could not understand why. Look at the picture on the right and see if you can spot why we call this spot Leeukop, it actually looks like a complete Lion with the dark rocks at the back forming the curling tail. Apparently a great place for fishing and Linda's Dad used to fish there a lot during angling competitions. There is also a nice beach to swim in, but take care as there is dangerous currents.

Star Lady Suzette

The ride to Swartvlei was great and we left at 10:30 for a nice slow cruise as a club. Jean and Suzette were our sweeper at the back of the pack and they did a great job of preventing as little as possible interference of motorists to our pack. We kept a nice tight formation and it certainly looked great in my rearview mirrors to see the group of bikes in formation. Linda also commented that it looks impressive to see such a nice group of bikes in front of her.

STARS at Swarvlei

This sleepover and meeting also served as our induction and welcome to the SWDMCA group and we are the 16th MC to join the organization and it is an honor to form part of the larger brotherhood of bikers. At 14:00 the meeting took place and our Vice-President, Mandy, was certainly better received by my male counterparts at the meeting than myself. As usual the meeting was opened with a prayer and one of the reasons why we as MC wanted to join the brotherhood since God is the centre of the SWDMCA and they strive to serve the community and charitable organizations.

The day was fun and the kids had a ball, we decided not to sleepover and headed back to George at around 16:00. A good thing since the next day it started pouring down with rain and our hearts went out to our new Brothers and Sisters having to pack up and ride back to their various destinations. Well we are looking forward to the next run which is the 2011 Toy Run being held on the 27th November and keep an eye out for my next Blog about this event.

Rocktober Festival 2011

       

    Jean and Suzette getting ready for the Mass Ride

This years Rocktober Festival hosted by "Set-Free Ministries" in Great Brak was

attended by Heinz, Jean, Suzette, Gerhardt, Linda, Suzette's Dad and the Koch Kids.

There were not to many people or bikes in attendance since the event coincided with

the Rugby World Cup. There were about 100 motorcycles and plenty more spectators

just soaking up the sun and the festivities. There were plenty of activities and the morning started off with a group ride to Great Brak River where we attended the Mass Ride through town.  

                    

After the Mass Ride we all got together for

Lunch. There was Curry and rice, Boerewors rolls, Pancakes and other snacks to be had and we had a great time visiting

together and enjoyed seeing the Stars that were there. After Lunch it was time for the

Strong-man Competition, Tug-off War,

Egg Toss Competition, Miss and Mister

Rocktober and the Concourse competition.

Jasmin and myself entered the Egg Toss

Competition and we did not fare to bad. 

We must of had a boiled egg since it fell

a couple of times without breaking but

eventually the egg did break and we fell out about midway through the competition.

Aidan came second in the Mr. Rocktober

competition and was crowned the 1st Prince, we are very proud of our little Star.

Spike my trusty Iron Horse came 3rd in the Concourse Competition. This was my first time entering a competition like this and I did not know

what the judges were going to look at. Now I understand why the guys were cleaning so furiously

beforehand, luckily I got the hint and tried to make the bike shine as much as possible. In the end I got points deducted since my numberplate light did not work and the lens fir the light is broken as well as dust underneath my mudguards. All in all it was a fun outing and we all enjoyed the fellowship off our brother and sister bikers out there and look forward to the next Rocktober Festival. 

                           

Springbok Rally 2011

                            From L to R: Colin, Mandy, Heinz, Icy, Conwill

We lived up to the Star slogan this weekend ....which is ....good rides, good friends, good times ...thanks to all for an enjoyable time ...our schedules are so hectic so the timeout time  in nature was priceless ....the rest of the Stars were missed as well as the families as the setting was perfect for family enjoyment ....we used more fuel on the trip home than when we came ....( 3 guys + 3 x 500gr stetson steaks )...LOL...Thanks to the Lord for awesome weather and protecting us all ...thanks to my hubby...you are amazing and exciting  and to Conwill, Heinz and Icy you guys made the Stars shine...look forward to the next Star Trek.

From L to R: Colin, Heinz, Conwill