Maximus partner Marc Quatember recently took part in the Quads 4 Quads annual charity motor bike ride from Johannesburg to Ballito in order to raise funds for the Quadra Para Association of SA.
Marc tells us it was a fantastic experience riding with 500 fellow enduro bikers on mainly dirt roads and taking four days to do the thousand odd kilometers. The scenery away from the normal N3 route is really quite spectacular.
The first day Marc and the group rode from Carnival City to Standerton. The second saw them reach Newcastle . The third to Weenen and finally on the fourth day the longest haul of 290kms to Ballito. Marc says that riding through the beautiful rural parts of Kwa-Zulu Natal, meeting the locals and seeing how they live, was especially memorable.
Nights were spent in tents with a bracing cold shower as the only washing facility. Marc says it quickly made him appreciate the basic home comforts we all tend to take for granted.
Of course an adventure such as this brings its problems. There were a few close calls with accidents, some bad weather along the way and on one occasion rocks were thrown at the group by locals who must have felt their presence to be a bit of an intrusion!
Nevertheless, Marc was proud to be involved in an adventure which managed to raise R700 000 for a worthy cause. To be reminded what a beautiful country this is and to meet some of the wonderful people who inhabit it was a real bonus. You could say it was the experience of a lifetime.