I had scheduled Monday afternoon for a track session on the Triumph Speed Triple. I would have been a great day but I fell off – not on the track but on the road on my to Kyalami. It was particularly embarrassing since it was the first time that I have ever damaged a press bike.

So what happened? you are probably asking. Going too fast? An injudicious overtaking manoeuvre? Well no, none of the above. I was going around a 90 degree bend at about 30Km/h when I was faced with an array of potholes. To quote Bruce, one of our road testers, we saw a pair of ears sticking out of the pothole and thought it was a rabbit. When we got closer we realised it was a giraffe.

By the time I saw the potholes it was too late to do anything about it. I tried to tighten the line a bit in an attempt to go up the inside but with the associated sand and gravel, the front tyre gave up. The front tucked and ended up in one of the holes, which caused the bike to come to an immediate standstill. As a result of the sudden stop, I was ejected over the bars and found myself sliding along the road on my knees.

The point of this rambling is that our roads are in an absolutely appalling state and the authorities responsible seem to have no interest whatsoever. We hear stories every day of cars losing tyres and bending rims but the consequences for us bikers are a lot more serious. The fact that the freeways are being upgraded gives us hope but if anything minor roads are even more neglected.

I am going to make an attempt to claim some compensation from the local council. I’ll let you know how that goes but don’t hold your breath, I’m told that it can take more than a year.

had scheduled Monday afternoon for a track session on the Triumph Speed Triple. I would have been a great day but I fell off – not on the track but on the road on my to Kyalami. It was particularly embarrassing since it was the first time that I have ever damaged a press bike.

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