Credit: https://famousdurban.co.za/des-boswells-epic-ride/
One man and his dog, one scooter and trailer, more than 8,200 km. 76-year-old Des Pistorius and his four-legged passenger set off on a 52-day adventure that took them around the borders of South Africa, meeting up with other bikers along the way.
Leaving Durban on 24th March on a 1978 Vespa 200 with a trailer in tow, Des and Boswell rode to Umtata, East London and Port Elizabeth, where their stay turned out to be slightly longer than planned. As he left PE, the scooter’s rear tyre blew, unceremoniously depositing the rig and its riders into a ditch on the side of the road.
A broken collar bone persuaded Des to stay an extra night in PE, but the next morning the pair set off again, only to experience another blowout at Plettenberg Bay. This time the rig stayed upright, but Boswell was somewhat unnerved by the incident, and Des reported that the little dog “started walking briskly back towards Durban, but I managed to get him to come back!”
On to Cape Town, where a few minor issues with the scooter were sorted out before getting back on the road to Springbok, Poffadder, Upington, Kimberley, Bloemfontein, Pretoria, Polokwane, Graskop, Barberton, and a bike rally at Pilgrim’s Rest.
They took a bit of a detour to Newcastle in KZN before heading back to Johannesburg to visit the Vespa importers who sponsored the spares that were needed to rebuild his scooter before the start. Then they were off to Bloemfontein – again – to enter the Ulysses Motorcycle Club’s National Rally and claim the prize for the longest distance travelled to get there.
The home stretch took in Bergville and Greytown, and Des and Boswell arrived back in Durban on 14th May, where an informal welcoming committee of fellow bikers and friends waited for them at Dick King’s statue.
