Kosmos, North West
Kosmos is a village in the North West Province of South Africa. It is situated on the banks of the Hartbeespoort Dam.
History
The first homes were built in the 1920s shortly after the Dam was constructed. It is thought that the name derives from the Kosmos which grows wild in great drifts in many parts of the Highveld, and in particular on the roads from the nearby major cities. More homes followed over the years, and the style moved steadily up market. Little development of commercial enterprises ever took place, although it is said that in earlier years the 'Sail Inn' on the waterfront was a favourite watering hole. Many Anglo-Boer War battles ranged around the area and the British built one of the blockhouses on the crest of the range above the village, in view of its strategic position.
In more recent years a restaurant immediately outside the original township, Stywe Lyne, (Tight Lines in Afrikaans) was a favourite destination for motorbike enthusiasts to gather on Sundays, and show off their bikes. This too has given way to the pressures of upmarket residential development. This breakfast run started unofficially in 1972 when Vernon Mather and Nigel Cock used to visit his parents (Nigel's) who lived in 187 Simon Bekker Street in Kosmos. Then this increased to include a number of friends who met at the Bryanston Post Office intersection at ± 10 a.m. on Sundays. Another original rider was George Blake (manager of Honda, Braamfontein) who was murdered by terrorists in the then Rhodesia in 1976 on a Trout Rally. Long before this the numbers were obviously too many for Nigel's mother, so Stywe Lyne became the meeting place. By 1975 there were ± 40 bikes meeting at Bryanston Post Office. During the years this became hundreds of bikers, Kosmos/Hartbeespoort Dam being by this time an informal random riding destination, which it still is today (2012).
Points of the compass
The points of the compass are points on a compass, specifically on the compass rose, marking divisions of the four cardinal directions: North, South, East, West. The number of points may be only the 4 cardinal points, or the 8 principal points adding the intercardinal (or ordinal) directions northeast (NE), southeast (SE), southwest (SW), and northwest (NW). In meteorological usage further intermediate points are added to give the sixteen points of a wind compass. Finally, at the most complete in European tradition, are found the full thirty-two points of the mariner's compass. In ancient China 24 points of the compass were used.
In the mariner's exercise of boxing the compass, all thirty-two points of the compass are named in clockwise order. The names of intermediate points are formed by the initials of the cardinal directions and their intermediate ordinal directions, and are very handy to refer to a heading (or course or azimuth) in a general or colloquial fashion, without having to resort to computing or recalling degrees. For most applications, the minor points have been superseded by degrees measured clockwise from North.
2006 North West 200 Races
The 2006 North West 200 Races took place on Saturday 13 May 2006 at the 8.966 mile circuit, dubbed "The Triangle", based around the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush, in Northern Ireland.
Steve Plater and Bruce Anstey both scored double victories at the meeting. Robert Dunlop also recorded the last of his 15 victories, winning the 125 cc event. The current course lap record was set by Steve Plater at 124.109 mph (199.734 km/h) during the Supersport race.
Results
New Lap Record: Bruce Anstey, 116.743 mph
New Lap Record: Robert Dunlop, 103.153 mph
New Lap Record: Ian Hutchinson, 120.142 mph
2008 North West 200 Races
The 2008 North West 200 took place on Saturday 17 May at the 8.966 mile circuit, dubbed "The Triangle", based around the towns of Coleraine, Portrush and Portstewart, in Northern Ireland. The meeting was overshadowed by the death of Northern Irish rider Robert Dunlop, the record-holder for wins at the circuit, who was killed in a practice crash on 15 May. The 47-year-old had been travelling in a group of three riders at the Mather's Cross section of the course, when his bike seized at 160 mph. He would later succumb to his injuries in a Coleraine hospital. Robert's sons Michael and William continued to race at the meeting, with Michael winning the 250cc race.
Practice
Podcasts:
