WeeStrom
Pack Dog
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2009
- Messages
- 244
- Reaction score
- 14
- Location
- Port Elizabeth
- Bike
- Suzuki DL 650 V-Strom
The trip started out of the need to get to Vioolsdrif for a rowing trip on the Orange river. I have had standing invitations to visit friends in the Cape for a while and decided it was time to cash in all those rain cheques - and go ride some Cape passes while I am at it!
I left Pretoria on Wednesday 27/3 around noon to get out of Gauteng before the mad Easter exodus. I had to be at Noordoewer the next afternoon, so I stuck to tar to get some good distance in. I made it to The Ranch just beyond Kathu a little after dark, where I got seriously ripped off for a little room for the night. The mozzies kept me out of sleep so at 5:30am I was on the road again. Breakfast in Upington and then on to Ariamsvlei and a nearly deserted borderpost.
With my early start, I could afford to cruise a little slower and enjoy the scenery. At Karasburg I took the gravel road (M22) to Noordoewer where I met up with the rest of the rowing crew, mostly from Cape Town.
If you want to get away from traffic jams, do not go rowing the Orange over Easter. The low waterlevel required lots of getting out and dragging canoes over the rocks in the shallow runs:
Taking advantage of a tailwind with my ground-sail:
My fly-rod travelled with me the whole way - here I had a double hookup with a beautiful smallmouth yellow and a juvenile largemouth yellow.
After an early finish on the river on Monday morning, it was back on the bike and heading south with a very strong tail wind. I had lunch on a domed rock next to the N7 just south of Springbok:
The rain started at Vanrhynsdorp but I made it to my cousin's farm on the Clanwilliam Dam shore still in good spirits. I never visit him without him taking me for a flight, so the next morning I was treated with an exhilarating flip in his RV8 around his "practice pylon-racing track". Screaming around dead trees and rocky outcrops at 300km/h, we only ever gained more than 20m height when he pulled up to do the obligatory victory roll before zooming down the next valley.
I only had to make it to the Strand by afternoon, so a scenic gravel route was just the ticket. I wanted to take the Wuppertal route, but travelling alone and not knowing what to expect in terms of stream crossings with the recent rains, I followed the old gravel road on the east of the Olifants River to Citrusdal and headed over the beautiful Middelberg Pass to Op Die Berg. Following that came the Gydo Pass, Michell's Pass and the unforgettable Bain's Kloof Pass, as I made my way through Ceres and Wellington to the Strand.
Leaving Gordon's Bay behind for a visit in Kleinmond and stop-over in Gansbaai.
A beautiful but chilly day saw me leave Gansbaai and head up to Montagu from where I took the gravel backroads through the Langkloof to Ladismith.
From Ladismith the scenic R62 took me through Oudtshoorn and then it was time to open the taps and push for Aberdeen before nightfall. The Pagel House B&B was a pleasant surprise with Dinner, Bed and Breakfast (we're talking Karoo Lamb feast for dinner and The Works for breakfast here) for R345!!
By now I was starting to suffer from get-home-itis and headed for Colesberg to hit the N1 and push for home, but stop-and-go roadworks quickly changed my mind for me and I took the Reddersburg exit, parked under a tree and pulled out the map. I could go gravel all the way to Ladybrand - where I grew up - and visit my mom. So I set off on some of the most amazing packed gravel surfaces:
With plenty of time before nightfall, I took the not-so-direct route past four major dams in the area: Rustfontein, Groothoek, Armenia and Newbury Dams.
Just south of Thaba Nchu, I came across this track that was indicated on both paper and gps maps as a gravel road. It soon vanished into a donga and I had to bundu-bash my way through some deep mud and a stream or two to the next road a few km's away. This is ex-homeland territory, so there are no fences or farmers with shotguns for miles around. I had the "vlakte" to myself - I could not believe my luck!
The next morning I took the Tandjiesberg road out of Ladybrand, hugging the Lesotho border all the way to the Peka Bridge border crossing. It is a very scenic road but very bumpy.
At Rosendal I turned off the R70 and took the gravel shortcut to Arlington on this very enjoyable road:
One last little detour to Parys got me there just in time to see the P51 Mustang take its turn in the Pylon race at Parys Airfield. That V12 going balls-to-the-wall is one awesome sound!
The 4000km of freedom pushed my Strom's odo to over 129 000km, I am very proud of my girl! Those Heidenau tyres handled the gravel superbly, even in the rain. They finally got squared off a little form some of the long tar sections, but then again, I can not even remember when I had them fitted. Truly exceptional mileage.
I left Pretoria on Wednesday 27/3 around noon to get out of Gauteng before the mad Easter exodus. I had to be at Noordoewer the next afternoon, so I stuck to tar to get some good distance in. I made it to The Ranch just beyond Kathu a little after dark, where I got seriously ripped off for a little room for the night. The mozzies kept me out of sleep so at 5:30am I was on the road again. Breakfast in Upington and then on to Ariamsvlei and a nearly deserted borderpost.
With my early start, I could afford to cruise a little slower and enjoy the scenery. At Karasburg I took the gravel road (M22) to Noordoewer where I met up with the rest of the rowing crew, mostly from Cape Town.
If you want to get away from traffic jams, do not go rowing the Orange over Easter. The low waterlevel required lots of getting out and dragging canoes over the rocks in the shallow runs:
Taking advantage of a tailwind with my ground-sail:
My fly-rod travelled with me the whole way - here I had a double hookup with a beautiful smallmouth yellow and a juvenile largemouth yellow.
After an early finish on the river on Monday morning, it was back on the bike and heading south with a very strong tail wind. I had lunch on a domed rock next to the N7 just south of Springbok:
The rain started at Vanrhynsdorp but I made it to my cousin's farm on the Clanwilliam Dam shore still in good spirits. I never visit him without him taking me for a flight, so the next morning I was treated with an exhilarating flip in his RV8 around his "practice pylon-racing track". Screaming around dead trees and rocky outcrops at 300km/h, we only ever gained more than 20m height when he pulled up to do the obligatory victory roll before zooming down the next valley.
I only had to make it to the Strand by afternoon, so a scenic gravel route was just the ticket. I wanted to take the Wuppertal route, but travelling alone and not knowing what to expect in terms of stream crossings with the recent rains, I followed the old gravel road on the east of the Olifants River to Citrusdal and headed over the beautiful Middelberg Pass to Op Die Berg. Following that came the Gydo Pass, Michell's Pass and the unforgettable Bain's Kloof Pass, as I made my way through Ceres and Wellington to the Strand.
Leaving Gordon's Bay behind for a visit in Kleinmond and stop-over in Gansbaai.
A beautiful but chilly day saw me leave Gansbaai and head up to Montagu from where I took the gravel backroads through the Langkloof to Ladismith.
From Ladismith the scenic R62 took me through Oudtshoorn and then it was time to open the taps and push for Aberdeen before nightfall. The Pagel House B&B was a pleasant surprise with Dinner, Bed and Breakfast (we're talking Karoo Lamb feast for dinner and The Works for breakfast here) for R345!!
By now I was starting to suffer from get-home-itis and headed for Colesberg to hit the N1 and push for home, but stop-and-go roadworks quickly changed my mind for me and I took the Reddersburg exit, parked under a tree and pulled out the map. I could go gravel all the way to Ladybrand - where I grew up - and visit my mom. So I set off on some of the most amazing packed gravel surfaces:
With plenty of time before nightfall, I took the not-so-direct route past four major dams in the area: Rustfontein, Groothoek, Armenia and Newbury Dams.
Just south of Thaba Nchu, I came across this track that was indicated on both paper and gps maps as a gravel road. It soon vanished into a donga and I had to bundu-bash my way through some deep mud and a stream or two to the next road a few km's away. This is ex-homeland territory, so there are no fences or farmers with shotguns for miles around. I had the "vlakte" to myself - I could not believe my luck!
The next morning I took the Tandjiesberg road out of Ladybrand, hugging the Lesotho border all the way to the Peka Bridge border crossing. It is a very scenic road but very bumpy.
At Rosendal I turned off the R70 and took the gravel shortcut to Arlington on this very enjoyable road:
One last little detour to Parys got me there just in time to see the P51 Mustang take its turn in the Pylon race at Parys Airfield. That V12 going balls-to-the-wall is one awesome sound!
The 4000km of freedom pushed my Strom's odo to over 129 000km, I am very proud of my girl! Those Heidenau tyres handled the gravel superbly, even in the rain. They finally got squared off a little form some of the long tar sections, but then again, I can not even remember when I had them fitted. Truly exceptional mileage.
