Botrivier & Valley road Sunday afternoon trippie

[DikZol]

Late Sunday morning Draadkameel and I decided to ride out a bit.  It was his first proper outride on his newly acquired KTM640. 

Our route plan:  Hout Bay, Durbanville, Stellenbosch, Helshoogte, Franschoek, Theewaterskloof, Botrivier, Old Houw Hoek pass, The Valley Rd, Kleinmond, Betty's Bay, Gordon's Bay and back home.

Draadkameel's first time ever in Franschoek...no we did not stop for pancakes!

[DikZol]

At the start of the Franschoek pass there were some roadworks where we had to wait a couple of minutes.  Small world and Martin-DR650 pulls up behind us.  I never met him before, but it turns out his dad bought my DR650 for his brother.  It wasn't long before his father (also Martin) and mother (Agnes) arrived on the 990.

The obligatory pic at the top of the pass overlooking Franschoek:


We had a photobomber but I forgot her name.  Also a biker but not riding anymore due to an accident apparently.


We made another stop on the way down.


From there it was onwards to Theewaterskloof and left on the gravel towards Botrivier.  There were quite a few drunk locals walking next to the road or suspiciously parked next to the road at intersections.  We had no issues, but I thought it vigilant to stop regularly and check all OK.  This "Closed" sign looked promising, but then an Isuzu bakkie with CF registration came from the front which was a sign that the road can't be too bad.  It turns out that there were no issues on it and the surface was good.

[Lem]

Yes

julle twee is gistermiddag verby my reg voor Makro Cape Gate se ingang.

Bly julle het lekker gery 

[DikZol]

Draadkameel & Martin-DR650 arriving at the same turnoff.

[DikZol]

We arrived at Botrivier and Martin-DR650 refuelled.  A quick samoosa for late lunch and off we went.  I have never bothered to stop at Botrivier, but it seems there is at least one restaurant that caters for tourists.

We proceeded to the Old Houwhoek Pass tweespoor.  I did not bother to adjust tyre pressures which made the bike slightly more nervous on the sandy patches.  Martin was constantly breathing down my neck and after a while it became evident why he will need to buy a new rear tyre soon...







I am proud to say that I now also have a friend who owns a piece of land near Botrivier...lekker Draadkameel!  Those crash bars paid for themselves on the first trip!  Sorry no pics, the incline made it too difficult to hold on to the bike and get the camera out!

[DikZol]

We proceeded to The Valley Road and despite it getting a bit late we all decided to turn off the N2 for this detour.

Martin was enjoying the gravel twisties and I was just too slow with the camera to catch him doing a lekker drift.


Taking a breather.

[DikZol]

At some point I suggested turning off the main gravel road and going on the forestry roads.  It was getting cloudy and a bit chilly.

In the forest I managed to take the pic of the day.  This one really captured the adventurous side of the day's ride:




At some point we arrived at a dead end and I had to do a u-turn in the sand.  The pig was obviously a bit tired and took a quick snooze.  No harm done and I was quickly on my way again.

The descent into the valley was scenic and the surface was rough and slippery.  We all arrived at the exit with a smile and a few whoops!
We regrouped at the Highlands turnoff and had a chocolate bar for some energy.

[DikZol]

We had the sun in our eyes as we went to Kleinmond and Betty's Bay.  It really was a beautiful evening with some clouds giving the sky a bit of a 3-D effect.  

We stopped at Rooiels for hot chocolate.


This is also where we realised that the KTM640's lights are acting up.  I had spare bulbs and fuses with me, but that was not the problem.  Draadkameel had to proceed with only his brake light working.  The dark was gonna catch us, so we needed to get going.

In the mean time I received a WhatsApp from my wife.  She was at hospital with my younger son.  He managed to get his head cut with a spade.  4 stitches later and he was all good!  I had to bring home some Bubbly chocolate since he was so brave at the hospital.  This was the third Sunday this year at hospital with one of my boys.  I should be a Platinum member soon!

[DikZol]

Last pics with the sun setting. 







Thanx to everyone for a lekker day out.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to your contributions also!

[DikZol]

Yes

julle twee is gistermiddag verby my reg voor Makro Cape Gate se ingang.

Bly julle het lekker gery 

Ons moet nog 'n pillion ride organise met ons vrouens!

[Garfield]

Nice 

[Lord Knormoer]

Daai bly 'n lekker Sondag rit

[GC]

Sounds lekker!
Anyone got that as a saved GPS route? Maybe a basecamp/Tyre/Google earth kmz?

[Lem]

Yes

julle twee is gistermiddag verby my reg voor Makro Cape Gate se ingang.

Bly julle het lekker gery 

Ons moet nog 'n pillion ride organise met ons vrouens!

Dis reg so, dankie. My kwagga gaan hierdie week in vir diens. Eks in Durbanville, watter kant toe woon julle?

[DikZol]

Yes

julle twee is gistermiddag verby my reg voor Makro Cape Gate se ingang.

Bly julle het lekker gery 

Ons moet nog 'n pillion ride organise met ons vrouens!

Dis reg so, dankie. My kwagga gaan hierdie week in vir diens. Eks in Durbanville, watter kant toe woon julle?

Sonstraal Hoogte

[Lem]

Yes

julle twee is gistermiddag verby my reg voor Makro Cape Gate se ingang.

Bly julle het lekker gery 

Ons moet nog 'n pillion ride organise met ons vrouens!

Dis reg so, dankie. My kwagga gaan hierdie week in vir diens. Eks in Durbanville, watter kant toe woon julle?

Sonstraal Hoogte

Kom ons kyk vir oor so twee weke 

[Haboob]

Sounds lekker!
Anyone got that as a saved GPS route? Maybe a basecamp/Tyre/Google earth kmz?

Will also appreciate some kind of geo location for this. I've heard so much about the old Houwhoek Pass and the Valley Road, but can't seem to place it.

Lyk altyd so lekker op die fotos, wil ook daar gaan ry 

[DirtRebell]

Lekker RR!

[Martin-DR650]

Was a lekker Ride !! Thanks Riaan

Daai kamera van jou neem nogals oraait foto's, of sal ek se die kameraman

Here's a few from my side... will get the old man to post more.

Till next time

[Briekmerk]

Nice outride.

Another hidden gem is the butchery in Botrivier, their boerewors is excellent. The hotel also is
very nice place to stop for a cold one, small hotel with something like 3 bars, it helps to never
get dehydrated.