Day 04 - Richards Bay to Ramsgate

I woke up at 05h45 and decided to start packing so I could leave by 07h30, the latest.

It had rained during the night so the tent and groundsheet were wet, however I packed them.

At about 06h30 a number of other campers started packing. Thinus, my friendly neighbor from Montana Pretoria, offered me coffee and rusks. I gladly accepted the coffee and declined the rusks as I needed to finish the last 2 of the rusks I had brought along.

Another camper, John, arrived on his scooter to inspect my setup and ask questions about the bike and the tour. I eventually managed to leave at 08h09, much later than I planned.

As I left the camp site, I felt the suspension on the bike was very "bouncy". I stopped to check the rear mono-shock absorber. It was leaking badly. The many kilometers or bad roads, potholes, corrugations, ruts and speed bumps had taken their toll and I think the last lot of speed humps in Richards Bay were the final blow. Considering the bike's age and the 119000 kilometers of wear and tear, it was bound to fail at some point.

I took the safe option and cancelled the 3 battlefield sites planned for the day and took an easy ride back to Ramsgate along the N2. I could not take chances on unpaved roads with a faulty shock absorber.

After about an hour of riding, I stopped at a fuel station for breakfast before continuing to Ramsgate.