I woke "late" on day 21, having slept till 05.40.
So I really made an effort to rise and shine slowly.
Having a shower, coffee and three Bakers Lemon Creams (There is only one Bakers )
Then I packed the few bits into the side panniers, which had given amazing service thus far.
I had also made a very hot flask of good coffee, boiling the milk and priming the flask twice with boiling water, this way I would have hot coffee when I made my first coffee break in two hours, and the last cup would still be quite hot when I got to it.
I left the house, pushing the bike out by about 06.15 and started it in the street. Then proceeded to go to the local petrol station to fill up with LRP.
I rode onto the N1 at 06.30 just as it started to get light.
Yesterday the bike was a pleasure, and soon we settled into a nice brisk pace of around 120km/h which we maintained till we hit the first roadworks, with a sign stating 10 minute wait between streams.... BUGGERRR !!!
About 2 minutes Later I was waved through and in my rear view mirror I saw them move the barrier for the Minibus taxi that had been at the head of the stopped traffic.
I carried on and as I rode further away from Richmond, the world flattened out and the road became more and more pleasant.
I was also wearing my specialized earplugs that Harry Pienaar "Cracklin" (another friendship going back almost 30 years) had given me to try out, they reduce the harmful road noise but even with our radio comms, I could head Dozer clearly when we were riding together.
These plugs also allow you to reach your destination much less fatigued. And for me this was my third big "New Thing" since starting the ride. The radio comms, though used in France on this trip -
http://www.wilddog.za.net/forum/index.php?topic=106585.0 and then the use of a kidney belt on a longer and rougher trip, followed by the use of these ear plugs, all contributed to a much improved riding experience.
Thanks Harry, they work for sure.
Just as the sun was about to break the horizon, I reached the North Cape and Western cape border, and stopped to take a couple of photos and to just enjoy the silence.

And looking back at where I had just come from....

The morning air was what could be described as Crisp or even bracing...... I could happily just have sat down next to the road for an hour, watching the sun come up, and feeling its first rays on my shoulders, warming me through the layers of synthetic fibers on my back.

Then I dragged myself out of my short reverie and climbed back onto the Whale, who was performing more like a dolphin or a killer whale today.
Many more roadworks followed and at most I sneaked to the front, by overtaking on the left or right of the line of stationary vehicles.
I waited mostly for less than 4 minutes, and then sped off to only be caught by the next section, that said, I think I had been able to break the rhythm and thus ended up not waiting as long as some.
If you look at this photo, you will see to the right behind me, another bike approaching...... A rider on a HP2 who was putting some serious distance under his arse.
We greeted, and at the next stop, I shared my Bakers Lemon Creams some dried fruit with him. being unemployed and between jobs, he kept himself busy with voluntary work and also, like me was making good use of the time to do some really cool long distance rides.

Towns like Three Sisters,Beaufort West, Laingsburg all came and went, and we were making very good time, all I had in my vision was N1 Cape Town.
Filling up here showed me I was on the right route.

Remember mentioning the sun on my back ?
At this point I started to feel just a gentle warmth through my riding jacket which I had kept the lining in when I had left early morning. I just had to smile and chuckle inside my helmet. This would be repeated several times on the road back to Cape Town.
This country has a beauty that amazes, hypnotizes and never really leaves you.
I just wish more people could realize and experience it.

Some action and bored while riding shots.

At Laingsburg I saw this lot in the carpark.... overloaded?? Naaahhhhh...


Hex River Pass had these signs.... loved by most bikes.

Beauty everywhere you look.
Over my shoulder, vineyards, all in autumn colours and with varying degrees of leaf loss.
Again, this just made my heart shout and my head very happy, I found myself saying things like "Fuckit but this is beautiful, I wish Nicola was here" she has an incredible eye for detail with a camera.

Then you come out of the Hex River Pass, and come around a long bend to be confronted with this..... where the farm workers live.
What a contrast.


After Worcester I came to to the start of the Du Toits Kloof road, which ultimately culminates in a nice long oldskool mountain pass.

Surrounded by tall mountains, and colours as bright as what comes out of my wife's washing basket, I was really happy.
There was a time when I lived in Cape Town that I drove this road almost every week.
Then I came to the point where you have to choose, Pass or Tunnel ??

Easy choice. really
The road to the right leading to the old road, and to the left you had the entrance to the tunnel.
Details:
The Huguenot Tunnel is a toll tunnel near Cape Town, South Africa. It extends the N1 national road through the Du Toitskloof mountains that separate Paarl from Worcester, providing a route that is safer, faster (between 15 and 26 minutes) and shorter (by 11 km) than the old Du Toitskloof Pass travelling over the mountain.
Geological surveys and design started in 1973, and excavation followed in 1984, tunneling from both ends using drilling and blasting. The two drilling heads met with an error of only 3 mm over its entire 3.9 km length. The tunnel was finally opened on 18 March 1988.
Currently the tunnel carries one lane of traffic in each direction. Plans are underway to open a second unfinished tunnel, the "northern bore", to carry eastbound traffic. This will allow for two lanes of traffic in each direction, with each tunnel carrying traffic in one direction only.[1][2]
In 2002, traffic peaks occurred during Easter (a record on 26 April 18 200 vehicles) and the December school holidays (12 000 vehicles per day).
The tunnel is maintained by Tolcon, a subsidiary of the Murray & Roberts construction company.[3]

Following the old road, there was a tunnel as well, but no toll.
Many heavy hauliers still use the old road, as the cost of repeated tolls every day is prohibitive.

After a leisurely ride, with a couple of stops, I got to the viewpoint, and found some Swiss tourists who were prepared to take a photo for me before they drove off.
I also had the last of my coffee and biscuits here, as Paarl which was my destination, was literally 20 minutes away.

I then descended down the other side of the pass.
Enjoying the absolute majesty of the mountains.




It was just on 13.00 when I rolled back into the yard at Mabille engineering.

Eugene was both surprised and pleased,a as he had expected me back the next day only.
My original plan had been to do the trip over three days.

Happy to be back in one piece, I had done just over 6000km so far, and the trip was not over yet.....
I unpacked, relaxed, chatted and sorted my washing,
Later Eugene took me to the Woolworths/Marks & Spencer fudge factory shop where I bought 3kg of Fudge, Nougat and Turkish Delight. Some of it was to be consumed before I left SA, the rest was all that Nicola had asked for.
We also went to Metro Wholesale for me to buy deodorant, toothpaste in bulk..... Trust me, if I had to explain, you still would not understand.
I also arranged to see Goose the next day, to return the electrical cables and connectors he had fitted to Deon's bike for the SatNav , and to pop in at Mavericks mate Piet in Rondebosch to collect a second set of saddle bags and some more electrical kit that needed to go back to Johannesburg to Deon after I left for the UK.
That night I went to bed with a stupid grin on my face, knowing what we had done was great, and that our parents both, wherever they were would be looking down and saying something like "You bloody mad bastards"
My trip was not yet over, there was still the days in and around the Cape on the bike, and then Friday night and Saturday, Sunday on Eugene's farm, near the village of Napier.
More about that tomorrow.
Bed beckons now.