ZA ad for offroad adventures

Not to shill for the South African tourism industry but I caught a beautiful ad on the BBC this morning that featured a group of dual-sport BMW motorcycle riders touring the Little Karoo, an historic road that winds through the Western Cape Province between Klaarstroom and Montagu. The video is very polished and it captures nicely the appeal of touring that spectacular country on two wheels. 

But please note some key differences between the ride portrayed and the Enduro Africa trip I'll do later this year. The video shows 4 - 6 riders on BMW GS 1200 Adventures and GS 1200s, which are remarkable 550 lb. works of art and engineering designed to permit one to complete 400 mile days on asphalt and gravel roads in complete comfort. Oh, and they cost $20k, and that's before adding the panniers, gadgets (GPS, camera mounts), and $1.5k rider suits shown in the clip!

By contrast, the bombproof Hondas or Yamahas we'll be riding and donating for EA2009 will have engines one sixth as big, weigh in the mid-200 lbs, and are designed to forge creeks deep enough to fill the tanks with water and mud if one were oblivious enough to leave the filler caps open.

But just hearing those boxer engines turnover and seeing some of the sights in the clip get my heart racing.