Pensioner from Secunda joins BMW-bikers on adventure ride
“My motto is mind over matter – if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
SECUNDA – Even after two knee replacements and two screws in his back, Alf Claassen still enjoys a motorbike challenge.
Retirement just gives him more time to live life to the fullest, said this 65-year-old pensioner.
Claassen with his BMW 1200 GS, joined 25 local riders on a trip to and through the Lundean’s Nek pass near Lesotho from 18 to 22 March.
The trip was organised by BMW Motorrad in Secunda and the Southern Africa Dual-sport Adventure Challenge (SADAC) training company of Marius and Romi Coetzee in Standerton to help their clients better their riding skills over tar and rugged terrain.
The trip comprised 1 831km of which 75 per cent was over dirt roads.
“The ride took a strain on my knees as most of the route had to be done standing up on the bike,” explained Claassen, who already had two knee replacements.
He is no stranger to bikes. Claassen rode off-road scramblers for many years and was for nine years also part of the former police bike squad.
“This trip was such an adventure, I would not mind going along for the next one called the Ben 10.”
Claassen said age should not keep you from enjoying your motorbike.
“My motto is mind over matter – if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
Besides sore knees and a bloodshot eye where a bug flew into his left eye when Claassen opened up his visor for a few minutes, he has no other complaints.
According to Mr Rudolf van der Merwe of BMW Motorrad Secunda, the Ben 10 Challenge is a route on which the riders scale the 10 highest mountain passes in the Eastern Cape.
He said Claassen was the oldest client to join one of their trips, and he surprised all with his agility.
