One dog and a bitch, TW's to the sea..

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Jerrycan

Race Dog
Joined
Nov 22, 2007
Messages
645
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0
Location
JHB
Bike
Yamaha TW200
It was largely an impulsive trip, Pgpatrick dropped by the evening we were cleaning our TWâ??s after the Kommandodrift trip to collect a riding jacket stating that heâ??s on his way down to Umhloti on his TW, Linda reconed it sounds fun and he offered us place to stay.  So we decided to follow him down after the Christmas ethics with the family was taken care of.  He scooted down in a day but we decided to be kind to our butts and make it a two day trip, after all, we were in no rush.
So yes, hardly just back from our 735kms Kommandodrift expedition it was back in the saddle again, the TDubs rearing to goâ?¦
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Asked the GPS to avoid toll roads so it was the Heidelberg/Standerton/Newcastle/Pomeroy/Tugela Ferry/Stanger route that came up.  Cluster housing on-a-fence.
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Standerton district, checking out the results of this yearâ??s good rains while happily riding the ruts in the tar road with a middelmannetjie high enough to strip many a low profile tyred cage from itâ??s manlyhood.
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The cosmos was breathtaking and we simply had to leave the road at the first open gate to go for a â??flower rideâ?.
Just outside Volksrust before the Majuba turn-off we spotted some riders with machines parked outside a biltong shop and gave them the royal wave, looked just in time to see them grabbing Katooms and such to prevent them from getting blown off their stands by our tremendous slipstream wake doing a whopping 95kmh as we passed them on the TDubs, turned out to have been Plothond and co busy with their Wakkerstroom trip, be shure to check out his lekker ride report.
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Arrived in Newcastle with plenty daylight to spare and booked into the Newcastle Inn, liked the joint for I could see my Tdub from my bed the size of a rugby field.  Linda doing the â??take boots offâ? routine, â??n groot gespartel with rest pauses/coffee breaks in between.  Harley Davidson may know how to build bikes but those boots donâ??t part with feet easily..
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Pomeroy/Tugela Ferry area we had to leave the tar a bit to scout around, plenty material for an extended trip in future.
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A cage wreck wrapped around a tree below one of the passes.
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Times like these that I appreciate the TWâ??s inability to tempt me to go faster than 95km/h on uphills, I see them, count their legs, devide it by four, clean my visor and then slow down just in time to see them disappear into their kraalâ?¦
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People donâ??t mind walking around here, well those not sitting under trees.
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One of the few trees without somebody sitting under it doing what he does best, and that exclude keeping livestock out of the roads.  Goats and donkeys and minibus taxi drivers have a good understanding here, I checked a taxi pass a grazing donkey with itâ??s arse in the road with such speed and proximity that the donkey missed a bite as the slipstream made him waver like a leaf, then just grazed on without even looking up.  The motorbike sound makes them act erratic though, being a 200cc and all it might resemble a tsetse fly in attack mode.
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Refuelling stop before Stanger and to check my tyres after crunching a beer bottle in a mountain pass, luckily no damage, winding roads, up hills and down hills, the first bike ever that I could take through the passes at full throttle..
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Refreshing night swim after the dayâ??s ride, Linda and Creepy.
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One of the contributing factors on deciding to do this trip was the Bunny Chow at the Blue Mango restaurant in Umhloti, so we dragged Pgpatrick down there with us for a chow.
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Next day, me & Lin took a seaside ride to the Gateway shopping center for brunch, then lazed the day away by-da-sea and scouted for a spot to do a bike by-da-sea pic.  Also, the compulsory biker girl in bikini by the sea shot.. 
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We found an old abandoned house on the beach which we dubbed the Graffiti house.  I managed to ride the Tdub into the house for some nice pics.
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We called Pgpatrick who was visiting friends in nearby Ballito to bring his Tdub for a threesome Tdub by-da-sea pic just before sunset.
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Coffee at the Blue Mango the last night before turning north back home.
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We left for home rather late and decided to sleep over at Dundee.  We battled to find any of the marked accommodations as per Garmap info and after circling town for the fourth time in boiling heat cursing the okes supplying waypoints that does not exist to Garmap we headed out of town onto the battle route to find B&Bâ??s that might be operational.  After the third try we stumbled upon one that was open and crashed for the night.  Farm cat inspecting the newcomers.
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Last day of the year, last leg of the trip, stopped at Oâ??Neillâ??s house just behind Majuba, put on the map for the historical talks that took place there while the Boere and English moered each other.  Saw a grave there of a namesake and schemed if I could link this oke to my family tree I might have a â??forefathers graveâ? case and open a bikerâ??s inn/pub & grill/free to Wild Dogs typeâ??o place there on a sideline.
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Last wee before home, and I stood there looking up in awe and felt rather small and guilty for weeâ??ing against such a magnificent treeâ?¦
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Kilos: 1420, added to the Kommandodrift trip a total of  2155kms for December on the TWâ??s.

We averaged 27km/liter and could have done it without extra fuel but took the jerrycans just in case, the TWâ??s tank only holds 7.5liters.

Planning to go back to the Dundee/Pomeroy area for an extended trip, thereâ??s kilos of dirt to be explored there but will do it out-of-season, itâ??s dicey to find unbooked accomodation during peak season.
 
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