h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

i forget in how many or rather how little hours you BMW guys always said you could make it in, but i remember that is was scary
Hello i noticed you're from SA, i used to work in PMB for a bit, so i say hello!

...for Patricia (or Delicia) is the best stripper in town..!
Do you know Mr Chris de Burgh then?

Howzit, Delicia!
I personally don't do the Durban Dash, but I checked with one of my colleagues at the Johannesburg bunch and they regularly leave Joeys at 04:00 and have breakfast on the beachfront in Durbs (about 580kms away) at 8:30? Tollroads all the way and stopping only for fuel, number plates are omitted on such occasions for some unknown reason?

The way back takes a few hours longer due to traffic, but J-D-J can be done in 12 hours, including stops for motion lotion and grub!

I ride a much older machine and seldom ride over 110kph. It's just that Candy (my motorcycle / mistress) has this 'sweet spot' at 4 500 rpm that just keeps going uphill and downhill at the same pace. But if I had one of the new generation, I'd possibly find a faster 'sweet spot'?

Where do you work now?

My Irish friends used to sing me this ditty and call me that name, although i rarely ever stripped in public, but that's the Irish for you
I always loathed the N3 with those masses of cars dashing by trying to avoid the minibus shootouts...I loved the Karoo, there's a wide open road!
I'm back in Germany now, family objected very strongly to my SA adventure, well you know, and the university department where i worked didn't exactly have a congenial atmosphere, just my luck, i know that is the exception in SA. But i never regretted coming.
Do you live in Pretoria then? I always used to overnight there coming from the airport, rather than Jo'burg, it seemed quieter.
I used to ride an MZ 250 in the Caribean, East German bike, it had the advantage that you could do all the repairs with a hammer, well almost and it had the disadvantage that my feet didn't reach the ground, which made starting and stopping a bit tricky, but was fine once i hit it's sweet spot.

I was born in Pretoria and, except for one year in the SA Navy for my national service in Simonstown, I have lived here all my life. I now work in J'burg and commute daily

I did a school tour of Bavaria when I was thirteen as part of our German cultural activities, but I'm afraid I only speak German when the wein is talking . I especially enjoyed Rotenburg-an-der-Tauber (sp?) as this quaint little town was the scene of the first tinme I ever got I left home a (tall) twelve year old 'mommy's boy' and returned six weeks later as a thirteen year old 'rebel' who drank and smoked and after girls...

Did you work at University of Natal? Did your family object to the politics of your adventure or the leaving home?

I have seen the MZ500, but not ridden one. They seem to be an economical bike that would be easy to repair. I would love to find a good used BMW R800 Basic from there to get out here - just the thing for riding in Africa - especially the Karoo...!

Yes it was the U of Natal. My family were unhappy with this because they thought it was all too dangerous, which of course it was. I did feel safe enough in the Karoo and such areas though ... hardly any dangerous people except me driving
I live in Northern Germany, so i haven't been to many of those quaint old towns in the South.

A fräulein alone in SA - dangerous?
I'd be scared of you too!

A very good friend of mine goes to Hamburg on business every month. Are you near there, or on the Baltic side?

Actually i did get some peculiar looks, particularly on the day i sauntered into a hotel in Springbock at midnight, asking if they had a room, after having done 1000 km without stopping, i was on my way to Port Nolloth.
But apart from sometimes looking at me strangely people were also very helpful to me on the road in me superannuated battered blue Renauld.

I'm on the Baltic side, but from Hamburg to Rostock it's a very good train connection, and Rostock is a beautiful city, they got still more of the historic part left than Hamburg has, although Rostock too has suffered grievously in WW2.

Our BMW bike club is organising a ride this year to see the flowers in Namaqualand. Actually we arrange rides to the four extremes of the country, North to Pontdrif / Beit Bridge, South to Cape d'Agulhas and East to Kosi Bay.

This year's ride is to Alexander Bay and back from Pretoria - about 4 000 kms over ten days. So I may just see Springbok this year, too!

Oh I'm jealous now.

About Alexander Bay, Namaqualand's flowers or the all-year-round good biking weather?

all three, of course that's the nearest thing to a *green-with-envy-smiley*

If I do go this year, I'll send you pictures!

Are you at the U there - I've just been browsing the website? And the city one too - Rathaushalle and sailing ship and all!

oh yes please do, i'll go so green with envy i'll photosynthesise ... Yes i'm at the University there, right by the sea, fine town, isn't it?

I'll brush up on my German and look a little deeper when I get the chance - but from what I've seen, it looks very pretty.
Must

lots of pubs too, in my street alone we have 3

Tremendous congratters...you're world heavy weight champ now... that is Corrie Sanders is, the policeman from Pretoria ... boy what an earthquake... there was i still digging myself comfortably into my armchair with drinkables and nibblies to watch the fight, and lo the tower was leaning already in the first round and not due to "lucky punch" either, oh no, clean hard left, it was lovely if brief to watch, even though i was rooting for Vlad ... 207 sec, oh boy, oh boy

And I didn't even know he was fighting
I'm not really a boxing fan, but I do support SA sportsmen wherever they compete... It does make up a little for the poor performance of the cricket team in the World Cup

Oh yes, Sanders was fighting, and how lovely, i mean it was most upsetting , but i couldn't help admiring it. It was a lesson in how the experience of an old fox wins through against an opponent taller, heavier and younger.
Do Wlad Klitschko a world of good too, all the hype wasn't really helping the dear boy any.

Hello, how is South Africa these days?
Haven't heard anything lately.
How's the Rand at the moment?
And how are you?

SA is mild to warm in places, thank you Delicia!
We are all watching BBC world and those other channels tv in the sky, at the goings on in Iraq
The Rand is doing at the moment, hovering at about R8=US$1. A year ago it was over R10! Our Revenue services have found another R257 million in taxes from the taxpayers so we can pay off some more debt and make the Rand stronger.

I'm well thank you - I was away in the Cape at a Hospital Engineering conference two weeks ago and enjoyed it immensely. I stayed on an extra night to visit my colleagues in the Western Cape Government and found to my surprise that the square in front of my hotel was the setting for a free jazz concert. I listened for some hours before retiring for the night Very Pleasant !

And how are you?