Is it a Ride Report?

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I'm not sure whether this qualifies as a Ride Report... It does have bikes - two in fact! It also has planes (no trains) and a lot of automobiles!

This blog has been a little less active as of late. Since I have become a motoring journalist my life has been turned on it's head! I have very little free time and the free time I do have I spend with my family. I still take photos and those times and trips will become reports, it's just that I am a little behind at the moment. This report might explain why.

A weekend in the life of a motoring journalist:

After working all week (and traveling to Cape Town to fetch two cars) I still had to take some pictures and write some articles on various test vehicles I haven't gotten to yet. Luckily these were all off-road type vehicles so we as a family decided to take these and head to the farm! What better place to get some beautiful pics?

And this is what we've got! A Mercedes Benz Travelstar High Rise Motorhome:



How cool is that?

Now Travelstar Motorhomes are built and designed to each client's specifications and requirements. Now would you believe that as it happens this particular motorhome was built to accommodate two bikes in the back!? What luck!!! It couldn't be more perfect!



I have been waiting to test the new Yamaha XT250 so I promptly picked one up. Asterix also got in on the action and decided to help his overworked dad by testing a CRF100. Having owned and ridden a CRF50, CRF70 & CRF80 he was actually quite qualified to give an honest opinion.

The Travelstar even comes with it's own bike ramp:



What a perfect setup. Imagine traveling the country like this.



Asterix and Mrs.TR jumping right in. Mrs.TR hasn't ridden in a while but she took right to this bike.



Young Kermit also got in on the action. He thought the CRF100 might be to big for him at first, but he soon got the hang of it.



Mrs.TR enjoying the XT250. This bike is perfect for her.



After playing around a bit Asterix and I went for a nice trail ride while the fires were lit back at the farmhouse for the afternoon braai (BBQ).



Some nice pics for the article:





I love riding the trails. We really should come and camp here again soon.



Come on dad! Enough with the photos already!



After lunch Mrs.TR, Asterix and Kermit enjoyed the bikes some more while my dad and I took the 4x4 for a spin. That's right, we had two bikes, a motorhome AND a 4x4 for the weekend, all of which had to be tested today. I am working myself to death!

I really like the pics I took though!



The Suzuki Grand Vitara:



I get to drive a new car every week. I have to fetch and return the cars to Cape Town and that's why I am travelling to Cape Town now on a weekly basis. This week I had to fetch two cars. More about that later...







Some random farm pics - I love it here.





The Vitara is quite luxurious and a lovely ride. It has permanent 4x4 with diff lock and even low range so it's much more capable than you might think.





Ground clearance is an issue though. And I doubt I would take a luxury vehicle like this onto a hard core 4x4 trail.



Late in the afternoon we headed back home. We had to go change the motorhome from bike transport mode:



Into camper mode:



I had to be in Knysna early the next morning so we decided to take the motorhome and meander our way in that general direction. We stopped at Dolphin's Point to look for a new Geocache. You can't work ALL the time.



We didn't find it though and only later realized we were looking in the wrong place!



We made it to Buffalo Bay where we parked and sipped on some wine next to the ocean while sharing our experiences and thoughts of the day. No TV, just quality family time for the four of us till eventually we fell asleep with the sound of the ocean in our ears.

With sunrise the next morning I took some pictures - just look at how close to the ocean we actually slept!



What could be better than this?

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