Father & son ride to Anysberg - extreme adventure

[DikZol]

I was planning to ride to Koedoeskloof near Ladismith on 6 January with my 8 year old son.  This was to be his first overnight bike trip and I was hoping for some good father-son bonding.



We made it to Greyton, thoroughly wet and the rain coming down in buckets.  We checked the weather and it was only going to get worse.  I made the unpopular decision to rather turn back home.  He was not happy at all!

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[DikZol]

So we were watching the weather every day and after checking out some highly motivating RR and vids Friday. I thought I should check the weather reports on yr.no again.  Turns out it was going to rain again on Sunday in the Barrydale/Ladismith area so we would have to postpone yet again.  I then realised that Friday and Saturday were going to be our only chance.  We hastily repacked and by 12:00 we were on our way.

We stopped at the N1 Engen and my son was doing OK so we pressed on.  Next stop top of Du Toitskloof.



We went via Rawsonville making our way to the R62.  My son tapped me in the side and said that he was feeling a bit tired so we stopped for some Powerade.  I thought the sugar rush should keep him awake!



We made a quick stop in Robertson for the obligatory pic at Klipdrift



We made it to Montagu for a pie and a coke and last chance to fill up.  We then proceeded to the gravel road just after Montagu to make our way toward Ladismith.  It was soon clear that the heavy rain did some serious damage as seen here where it seems that some sort of dam wall gave way next to the road.





The road was looking good though and we proceeded.  We took the alternative route via the farm where the tweespoor was wet and muddy, but still OK.

[DikZol]

It was handy to have a cameraman on hand to cover our first "watercrossing".

[DikZol]

There were some interesting patches and this one seemed quite daunting.



Having a "hekbooi" is a bit of a luxury I can get used to!



Yet another muddy and slippery watercrossing.  I am not used to seeing this much water on this route, so still thought it peculiar enough to take pictures of these little streams.



We had our first sidestand incident at this crossing.  All went well until just before the exit where the front wheel lodged into a hole and we slowly went down.  I shouted at my son to jump as we are going down!  I quickly got the bike back up and running again.  We both had water filled boots so we sloshed on.



We stopped on Oubergpas where we tried to pour some of the water out of the boots.



We took a breather next to the only windpomp that is close to the road.



I looked over at another section of the road which seemed to have some damage, but did not look too bad.



I clearly underestimated it!

[DRAZIL]

I remember doing trips like these with my daughter,the best rides ever
more please

[DikZol]

Here you can see the line we took starting on the left hand side of the pic and cutting across.  Note the significant damage on the side of the road.  Talking to some local farmers later this is apparently an accident hotspot on this road.





I spoke to one of the farmers earlier that I met on the road about Anysberg nature reserve as a detour option.  He said that should be a good route to take since my son would be able to view some game up close in the reserve.  I have ridden the gravel road to Ladismith many times, so thought it should be a nice diversion to go through Anysberg and add a bit to the treat of the trip for my son.  This was to be my first bad call of the day...

We turned left on the road to Touwsrivier and went past Hoek van die Berg farm.  There were a few watercrossings on this road, but nothing serious.



We turned right on the Bloutoring road starting to make our way toward Anysberg reserve.  We notably have not encountered another vehicle since about 5 km after Montagu.





We got to this watercrossing which was preceeded by a very muddy section.  After taking the picture I thought things look good enough and we weaved through the mud.  About halfway through the water we nearly got stuck in the mud and we only just made it through.  I told my son that there is no way we return that way again.  This was to be my second bad call for the day.



Thankfully the road got significantly better and I got the feeling that we are starting to really get into this trip now.  The Karoo looked beautiful and I was glad to have my boy with me to experience this.

[DikZol]

We got to a farm and I encountered this fellow "biker".  We stopped to have a chat and ask advice about the road ahead, telling him of our plans to get to Koedoeskloof.  This twat told me that many vehicles have already passed through and that I should have no problem getting through the reserve to Ladismith. 



We had our second off for the day, luckily in first gear, going through some red mud.





This watercrossing looked worse than it was and the flat stones provided more grip than I expected.  I kept enough momentum and made it through easily.







We then got to the entrance of the reserve and the road looked good.

[DikZol]

We stopped for a bit of a rest since my son's head was itching.  Yes his hair is too long, but will be cut in time for school!





We happily rode on and enjoyed the scenery.  I was getting a bit worried about the time since we left Montagu at 13:40 and it with the cloudy weather we might lose some daylight.  What came next was a bit shocking and should have been a proper wake up call.  I made my third bad call for the day to not turn around and go back.  I realised that if we go down this step I will not be able to make it back up with the pig so would be forced to make it through whatever lay ahead.



So I made the wrong choice and packed a few stones, making my way down this precarious step.  I knew if the bike went down at this stage it would damage badly.











I crossed the rest of the river bed wrestling with the steering and working the clutch and throttle.  Despite letting down the tires to 1.5 bar, the rear wheel struggled for grip for the most of it.



As my son was carrying the helmets over he slipped and fell in the snotty mud.  He thought it was very funny.  I did not see the humour at that point because I realised I might have bit off more than I can chew, worrying about what lay ahead and knowing that there is no way to return.

[DikZol]

Surely the worst was behind us and it could only get better from here.  Time to press on as we were running behind schedule to make it to Koedoeskloof before dark.  And then we came to this bit where the road totally washed away.  Yet another warning sign that things are not going to get better, but there was no way that we could make it back up that cement section, so we had to find a way across this mess.









We scouted the area and went upstream to try and find a way across.

[DikZol]

We found a spot to cross and I started to work the bike down the slope.  Unfortunately the front wheel slipped and I nearly lost it.  I managed to man handle the bike down to the riverbed and went across.  Getting out on the other side was more difficult than anticipated...how I missed a TKC at the back now!!!

[Difflock]

Goeie genugtig maar die wêreld het baie water daar gekry, jy't jou eie Dakar saam met seun gehad deur die driffies. Well done, baie intresant.

[arno]

Ja julle doen Dakar en dit met n swaar 1150 !
Respek maat !

[Bliknêrs]

Epic!
Julle is ysters!

[>>Thump°C]

Lekekr dikzol.
Mommie must get nervous when she she's these pics, haha.
 keep em coming

[Bokveld]

    Jy maak beslis nie bang kinders groot nie.

[DCR]

Lekker, maak my lus om daardie paadjies te gaan soek.

[Fransd]

Dit lyk goed man. Moet ongelooflik lekker wees saam met jou seun.

[Dutchman81]

Dit lyk na n lekker trippie , veral as jou seun dit saam met jou kan doen en so geniet ook 

[woody1]

Pragtig man.  Geniet dit saam met daai laatie... lyk my hy is REG VIR AVONTUUR.  
Hy het sekerlik iets om te vertel as die skool begin.

[ExploreSA]

What a ride! What a report.

Best company you could choose. I like his posture in the pics.