Confession of a downhill racer

The following is the statement by Johann handed in at the local police station in order to obtain a reference number for insurance purposes:

I, Johann S ..... , identity number 460510 ......, resident at .............. George, 6530, declare as follows:

On Wednesday, 16 December 2009 at approximately 13h15, I was travelling on my motorbike, a BMW 1150 GS (CAW 21345), on the western slope of the mountain pass, generally known as Bergplaas, in the Baviaanskloof in the Eastern Cape in the direction of Patensie.

I noticed that the mountain pass, essentially a very rocky, one track road had been worked on. Sand had been put on the surface of the rocky road in an attempt to fill in the significant holes between the rock outcrops.

A Volvo 4x4, stopped in front of me to allow its passenger to disembark in order to examine the panorama. The driver noticed that he was obstructing the road and slowly maneuvered his vehicle to as near as possible to the right side of the road i.e. towards the mountain face, in order to make space for me to pass him on his left i.e. on the side of the precipitous downhill.

When he had made sufficient room for me to pass, I restarted my bike and pulled away slowly to overtake the stationary Volvo. When I was alongside the Volvo, the soft sand on the road gave way, and the bike lurched to the left i.e. towards the downhill. I was thrown off the bike. Both the bike and myself slipped over the steep incline for about 10 -15 meters until we came to a stop in the rocks and bushes below in the abyss. I was pulled out of the abyss by a colleague with a rope.

Eventually, with the help of a number of spectators and the use of 4x4 recovery equipment, we were able to extract the motorbike from the abyss. Apart from some damage the motorbike, I was still able to be ridden and I proceeded with the journey to Patensie and to my final destination.

I declare that the above statement is the truth and is binding on my conscience.



The image shows the bike after it had been towed by trailer by Blanche and Chris to our home in George. The damage is not visible from this angle and was mostly on the front - many scratches and bumps. We do not yet know the full extent thereof, as Johann is presently unable to ride the bike to the dealers to obtain a report and quotation on the damages.

After the incident, he managed to travel (together with George) a further 130km to Cape St Frances to where Chris and Blanche were on holiday.

Without much ado he was taken to a local doctor who briefly examined him, but could find no fractures or other serious injuries. At that stage he suffered a fair amount of discomfort with his breathing and pain on his chest where the bike fell on top of him.

He spent the night with Blanche and family, and discovered the comfort of a hot water bottle on his injured chest.

At this stage there was no knowledge of what the X rays would reveal the following day.