I subscribe to the school of thought that says, ‘I don’t want to arrive in heaven with this perfectly preserved body, but rather slide in sideways shouting “Whoo, what a ride!”’. ZA Bikers, and more recently ZA Lifestyle have done much to help me fulfil that wish. Just over 10 years ago the idea of starting an online motorcycling entity was birthed.
In 2014 there were literally no online motorcycling platforms in South Africa. At best there were the odd social media clips that got posted online in support of articles in magazines. Our conviction was that there would come a time when ‘digital publications’ would become the norm. We were competing with long-established motorcycle magazines who found our idea amusing at best, but certainly never considered us a threat. Fast forward ten years and our beliefs have been totally vindicated.
Visionaries in the motorcycle industry bought into our vision and supported us. The rest is history. By God’s grace, we have grown from strength to strength with an ever-growing consistent following which eclipses the readership of any of the magazines in their heyday by a huge margin. The longest-standing magazines of a decade ago are no more. The internet is quite simply what drives the modern media world. Looking back on some of our experiences highlights what an amazing journey it has been! When Simon asked me to reflect on our journey, I browsed our archives to refresh my memory (One of the advantages of a digital platform).
Perhaps a good place to begin is to give you a glimpse of where the fun began for me as a motorcycling newbie around 55 years ago when the internet was not even a consideration. ‘Damn! Was my face red!’ is a blog that tells what happened to me when ego and reality collided. The lifetime of motorcycling that has followed has been life-defining. That too is best explained in ‘A motorcycling journey through life’. This will help you to understand the mindset of a serial biker.
Highlights must be attending overseas International launches and events, as well as our local epic trips to our surrounding countries. Riding Harleys from Marseilles to St. Tropez and back, as well as at a Harley world media event in Croatia, which culminated in riding Harley flat-trackers under the guidance of World Superbike star Rueben Xaus, was unforgettable.
KTM world launches in Peru (1290 Super Adventure R) and Morocco (790 Adventure S and R) were particularly spectacular.
Exploring the phenomenal Spanish countryside around Almeria at the world launch of BMW’s F 900 R, XR and revamped S 1000 XR, was truly amazing. The Spanish roads were clearly built with motorcyclists in mind, undulating a sweeping in a manner that makes for hours of high-speed motorcycling frivolity.
Most recently, attending World Ducati Week at the Misano Moto GP circuit and visiting the Ducati factory museum in Bologna was also unforgettable.
Road-tripping with some close mates is one of life’s great pleasures. Botswana has hosted many such trips. One of the earliest, and most memorable was riding through Botswana to Victoria Falls in Zims on a bunch of 160 and 180cc TVS motorcycles (‘Apache Indian Raid on Victoria Falls’, ‘Motul Memories’, ‘Biking Brotherhood’, ‘A Tale of Triumph over Botswana’, ‘Botswana SYMmetry’ and ‘Botswana Odyssey’ are just some of the blogs that tell these stories).
One of the standout projects we’ve been involved with over the years was when our good friend Riaan Neveling, who back in 2016 was the Marketing Manager for KTM South Africa, asked us if we could help put together a Dakar fund-raising campaign for a guy named Joey Evens “Para-to Dakar”. Joey had overcome a horrific motorcycle accident a decade earlier that had left him paraplegic, and his lifelong dream was to finish a Dakar Rally (we all know how that story unfolded). Being involved in this project right from the beginning and being able to say that we ‘made a difference’ is one of our proudest moments at ZA Bikers.
Similarly, our involvement with the Cancervive organisation has been a journey that has enriched our lives in so many different ways. Over the years we’ve developed a strong bond with our soulful sisters at Cancervive. I had the pleasure of joining the 2018 ride in Capetown and its surroundings which was spectacular!
Then, filming Blindman Jacob Kruger as he rode his motorcycle around Redstar Raceway—aided by his lifelong friend—was truly inspiring and a memory that we will never forget. Still to this day, Simon our Online Editor receives annual birthday wishes from Jacob, which shows how tightly-knit the biking community is here in South Africa.
‘Living the ZA Lifestyle’ documents my first trip to Botswana in a Suzuki SJ410 back in the 80s, which was wild, literally and figuratively! With the advent of ZA Lifestyle, we have opened the door to so many more of these overland adventures where we get to take our families to the out-of-the-way places that we have discovered by bike.
Who knows what the next ten years will bring? Our expanded offering opens so many avenues of adventure that we are drooling with anticipation! With many new friends that we are partnering with to market their wares, we are so excited by what the future holds.
Maybe a quote that I used at the end of one of my blogs, with slight paraphrasing, would best sum up where we are at. “When it comes time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes, they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over in a different way. Live your life to the full, so that you can sing your death song like a hero going home”. – Chief Tecumseh.
