feature
d-j rally ride
P76
March, this 1909 Humber caught fire at the
top of the long climb up Laing's Nek. Rider
Samantha Anderson jumped off safely as
the bike burned out under the shadow
of Majuba Hill, the site of the epic battle-
ground in the Boer War in 1881.
There are hills aplenty on the route. It
starts just inland of the port city of Durban,
then climbs a series of deeply valleyed
escarpments. Laing's Nek (5500 feet) is the final
ascent before slogging across the flatter High-
veld to the finish, at the Classic Motorcycle Club
among the Jo'burg mine dumps. The first
day spans 216 miles to an overnight stop
at Newcastle, the second 183 miles to the
Johannesburg finish.
There were 62 finishers out of 90 en-
trants.
First-time winner Ralph Pitchford chuffed
all the way on one of the older machines,
a 1926 Triumph Model P "flat tank"—a side-
valve 494cc single in a flimsy cycle frame.
"Next year I want something with more power
to help me get up the hills," he said. He dropped
Samantha
Anderson on
the oldest bike
on the rally, the
mainly pedal-
powered 1909
Humber.
