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MATAT FEES 2011 FEEDBACK
The Matat Fees has come and gone in a flash! 7 Tents was pitched set out and
Due the bike ride starting only at 10�Oclock it gave many visitors from afar time to leave on Sat for Matat. Bacon and egg rolls were enjoyed by all for breakfast. Each biker / quad participant received a long sleeve �Matat Fees shirt; and a R250 voucher from Startline. At 09:50 the Matat Mayor, Ms. Nkopane gave all bikers a warm welcome speech, and ± 120 pigeons were released by Mr. Wim Conradie and Mr. Lappies Huysaman of Matat. 106 Biker/Quads (50% lower in number from last year)  departed at 10h00fortheir respective laps For those who missed out, bad luck, because you really missed out on one of the best rides Matat has offered. I rained in the rest of Natal but we had a heat wave. We were honored to have S.A No 1 rider Jade Gutzeit riding with S.A No 1 junior rider Wade Young. Other celebs that rode, were Blake Gutzeit, Bradley Van Aswegen and Geoff Wolhuter. Not to forget the Bushwhackers, �They had a joll,�and really enjoyed getting around; my cousies� and the very well-marked 43 km track in 4 hrs.
Zululand Bike Adventures Peter Huysamen also came to ride with old Matat Boy�..Gary �KD� Peddler. Numerous other ex Matat old boys, Chris, Danie and Thomas also came down for the Fees. (The 43km loop had 7 extreme sections added to it which was a good test for the riders). 
There was no follow my leader like all our previous rides, and I personally feel that is the way to go, a marked route. The route had everything to offer and was not dangerous with any high side riding etc. The route had jeep tracks, single tracks, drop offs, dry river sand beds, Fanie�s diner and some good rocky hill climbs. The track was very dry because of no rain but not very dusty because the speed was very slow. Good spectator viewpoints were easily assessable with cars and very close to Matat. The 2 wheelers stuck to the high-lands route, whilst the 4 wheelers, beginners and Jnrs stuck to the lowlands route. I was a bit fast for the quads but the 6.5km sand donga was lots of fun. Yamaha S.A came to the rescue as I have a hand injury and supplied me with a demo Rhino. Thank you very much to Mr. Mike De Vos. How can the �Induna� not be part of the festivity?
At 16h00 both rides stopped and many cold drinks/ beer were consumed of the heat! Whilst the bikers were having their fun, the flea market was going full swing. At 10h30 a well-attended Ballot Show in the Clubhouse. Motibe a gospel singer sang, and D.J. The Fat Cat Rory was MC for the day took place and played some good music. The steel drum band was and is always a big hit, thanks to Brian Clark and his band. Mr.& Miss R56 Beauty Pageant also went of very well in the clubhouse. We really do have some talent in our midst, and the winners were seen partying on Sat. night. At 12h30, the SAP Dog unit of Kosktad gave a very good display of their dogs. They demonstrated sniffing, drugs, and explosives that were hidden on motorbikes and yet they still managed to smell and point it out even if there is petrol and oil involved. A clear warning to the would be offenders. At 13:30 the annual Gyro Copter Sweet drop took place and the kids loved running to pick up these sweets. This year we had two Gyro�s doing the sweet drop and thanks to Neville Viviers and Rudolf Erasmus. Kids enjoyed the pony rides, paint ball, kiddies face painting, slush puppy and the giant slide whilst the adults had some tee and cake in the tea garden served by the Methodist Church. Mark Rawlins showed some Fat Sheep and Criterion Yamaha had a stand selling clothing and had some demo bikes on display. Eskom was giving away free energy saving Shower heads. (In total 78 flea market tables was registered).
V-Café handed a cheque of R10 000.00 to the Chairman of Route 56 Matat Tourism Ass Mr.
Natures Creation and Karen Ferreira entertained the party goers until midnight. Thanks to Paul and Rene� Kok for decorating the Stage in pink and white which is the colours for Cancer. Cancer was also present during the day at the club, raising funds.
On Sunday morning breakfast started at 06:30 and Mountain Bikers and Horses registered respectively with 88 cyclist and 25 horse entries. Hatton�s Cycles had a bike and part display. At 08h00 the Mountain bikers set of for the 33km Goat route and 10min later the 17km Sheep route set off followed by the 23km Horse fun ride and the 6km Lambs cycling route. The 33km Goat route speaks for itself and it went winding its way up on 8km hill climb from
Thanks to Garrun Ins. Brokers / John Riley for manning a water table and to Jacobs family for S.H.O.E.S was the main beneficiary, �Sportsman Helping Others to Enjoy Shoes�. I did request entrants and fees goers to donate me a pair of kiddie�s shoes between the sizes of 5-11 which I will in return donate to the needy ones in the villages which we rode through.
Power Fashion Wear of Matatiele donated 88 new pairs of shoes to the S.H.O.E.S
329 pairs of shoes were collected and will be handed out in due course so the lucky kids and they are in for an early Christmas? (Photo�s to Follow)
The feedback I got from the Motorbike riders was as follows.
The Mountain Bike rider�s comments were as follows.
Horse
My 2 helpers David and Dudu, cut ± 40km with 2 weed eaters. 300 x1.2m marking poles were used to mark the different routes, not to mention all the spray cans. Thanks to Faan for some of these poles and big thanks also to Faan who was the X-Treme route setter with great assistance from Brian and Charles who marked the route with GPS. Also thanks to Neil and Chris who also assisted and Kenny for plotting and printing the map. My thanks to Bunty Viviers of Prestige Security for a job well done. Thanks to Build It Matat for donating some the spray. Also thank you to the local SAP and Matat and District Traffic Dept. They controlled all the Last but not lease the biggest thanks to our Main Sponsor Matat Local Municipality. Without your sponsorship the Matat Fees could not have gone ahead. We have set a standard and with all the positive feedbacks, the Matat Fees can grow, yes, we have put Matat on the Map. All the business houses and flea market vendors benefited from the Fees. If anyone is interested in a Matat Fees DVD contact Many Francis on 083 330 1115. I have watched it and it is great. (It shows the Bikers, MTB�s, Horses and 4X4�s) If anyone wants to give me some input as to how we can go bigger and better or even keen to become a sponsor feel free to give me a ring of email me. Thank you to all the business who donated prizes for lucky draws etc. Each entrant to the Matat Fees walked away with a prize and got more back in rand value as what they paid to enter. Thanks to Fever for all the advertising via their newspapers and also to Orion Auto Tires and Fever for the use of their Start Finish Blow up Banners. A big thanks to Kokstad Advertiser for making the tickets for the raffle of the MTB. I know that if sponsorship is available I would like to keep the Sat party / prize giving at same venue Matat Country Club. 329 Lucky kids will be wearing S.H.O.E.S. Go Big Go Home.
SAKKIE MAARTENS EVENT ORGANISER ROUTE 56 MATAT BIKE ADVENTURES MATATIELE 4730 TELEFAX:- 039 737 4486 / 039 737 4486 Email: sakkie@bergnet.co.za |
ready. Friday
At 18:00 everyone went to the local Old Matat Town Hall for supper and prize giving. Every biker who was present at the Hall received a lucky draw. The values of the lucky draws ranged from R20.00 up to R4000.00. (Steak, Chops and Wors were for braai with a variety of many salads and potatoes served by Matat Methodist Church). The Round Table ran the pub.
P Rawlins.
Pick & Pay to Matat Mountain Lake, down Baboons pass to Portershoek, back past the 2 plantation and back to town. The MTB ride was a fun ride so it was neither a timed event or neither a race.
Thanks to Hatton Cycles who were the main sponsor for MTB�s. There were two special prizes for Hot Spot King of the Mountain for �He Goat� and �She Goat�. The�He Goat� was Tyronne Bird and the �She Goat� was Zoe Lambert- Both received R500.00 each sponsored by Berg Signs Matat. The R9000.00 MT Bike Raffle was won by Johan Schoeman of PMB. An entry level bike was also up for grabs as a prize, and it was decided by the entrants that it be donated to Cross Roads Childrens 
allowing us to use and marking Porterhoek Guary.
A Big thank you to Shaun from Thumpers MC who did not participate in the event. After seeing my article in the Oct edition of S.A. Bike, he sent me 9 boxes of clothing and shoes. He as an outsider saw my plea and came to the party. A few visitors to the Festival as far as East London also contributed some shoes. Big thanks must also go to Natures Creations who also donated many pairs of shoes and clothing.
beneficiary and the riding shirts of Jade Gudzeit and Scott Boverie were auctioned and raised and amount of R2700 which in return bought 90 pairs of shoes. Not all participants contributed to S.H.O.E.S and for those who did I say a big thank you. Some clothing was also given instead of shoes.
Some interesting info regarding the event.
tar road crossings on both days and the competitors had right of way.