" ONS GAAN NOU RY ". EC-Bash and beyond

[DirtRebell]

Trek daai Spotlight nie die Motor dood nie?
( Does that Spotlight not pull the Motor dead?)

I love that spot.

Nice RR btw!

[Jakkals]

Jakkals?

Die afgetrede ducktail het ook niks respek vir die dooies,    maar hy gaan nie so maklik van die Jakkals ontslae raak nie, ek en sy dogter gaan nog lekker ons erf geldjies spend.

[woody1]

Daai spotlight is om Jakkals se kind te jag.
That spotlight is to chase Jakkal children

[woody1]

Back from shopping.  Speedo gear picked up at Honda. R302.88.  No news from Honda about the availability of the side panels

Day 3 I leave Matatiele early.  Today its over Naudes Nek on to Rhodes and try and find a spot near Elliot.

The roads are in relatively good condition and on top of Naudes Nek I stop for a photo or two.

Eish I don't know but some Kroonstad HOOLIGAN and Big Dom plakked their stickers on the bord...

Down the other side to arrive in Rhodes to find that the Hotel has closed down.  Was planning to have brunch at the Hotel.

Went over to the INFORMATION office and the guy told me to go to Walkerbouts Inn down the road.

Had a lekker toasted sarmie and 2 cups of filter coffee.  Some interesting things on the walls and in the display cabinets to take you back to your youth and even before my time.

 

[woody1]

Had to do a selfie at the top. 

[MURPHY]

Hell my boet that XL looks flippen smart .
[ hell my boeta daai XL lyk sommer befok ] 

[woody1]

Left Rhodes and hit the road to Elliot.

Man oh man.. if you want to practice riding on MARBLES this is the section to go and do it.  

Suddenly I see the sign  Bastervoetslaan Pas. I have heard that this is not an easy pass to do and with my mule packed I shot past the turnoff.

When I hit the tar road to Elliot I see this nice white Hotel in front of me. So I decided to go and treat myself to a cold beer.

I entered the Mountain Shadows Hotel and was amazed by the place.  It looks so homely and attractive with those deep plush red carpets and all the REAL wooden furniture.

So I have one beer, then another and after the third beer I asked what the rates were...... R 535.00 weekend rate dinner bed and breakfast...... WOW compared to the crappy place in Matat that wanted to rush me R 450.00 just for a room this was a bargain.

Decided to just unwind there for the night because I am sure I would not get a better deal in Elliot.

That night I had a nice dinner with soup,  2 meats and all the veggies my wife likes to make me eat and even a desert..

Talking to the owner he suggested I do Bastervoetslaan the next morning.... Why not.

Next morning I go for breakfast, leave all the luggage behind and shot off to do this famous pass.

Cruising along the farm roads I enjoy the early morning ride.  Only problem is the sun directly into my eyes.

I come around a bend over a low water bridge with the sun DIRECTLY into my eyes and suddenly this nice farm road becomes a rutted bolder mountain pass.  I open up and the willing Honda jumps and jumps across this 'ROAD'.  It carries on for a while and suddenly I am on the top.

I stop at the top next to the sign that says LAPA Munnik Pass..... happy that I survived this famous pass by myself and in record time.

Pull out the cell phone and phone Jupiter to tell him I did it... just to get pissed on my battery when he told me that the Bastervoetslaan pass is actually further along this rode and that you should enter from Ugie side to do the REAL pass.

Well old age taught me not to do stupid things and alone by myself I decided it was not safe to attempt the rest of the pass down the other side.  So I turned back and headed for the Hotel to pick up my stuff.

[subie]

 
Wonder waar is die res.   

[woody1]

Hell my boet that XL looks flippen smart .
[ hell my boeta daai XL lyk sommer befok ] 

 

[woody1]

Packed the mule and off I went.  Still had to get via Kei Mouth to BarryC in Morgans Bay and I know the Transkei roads are not the best.  Did hit some tar sections, but man the section from Kentani to Kei is absolutely the worst road I have ever seen.

Just before Elliot I went down the Barkley Pass and saw the  nice rock formations.  The one is called the Turtle or is it the Camel.

At the Kei River I waited for the ferry to arrive.  R30.00 later and a small donation for 'BREAD' I was on the other side.

Rode to Morgans Bay to meet up with BarryC and his lovely wife.  Wow what a place to live in.

Went for a stroll on the beach with the dogs, then up to the hotel for a beer and a coffee and later to the cliffs for a sundowner.

That evening we had a nice BBQ.... fok man Braai... and went to bed early as usual...

[BEN TAP]

Nice R/R Woody

[woody1]

Dankie Ben... dit was een van my beste trips nog ooit gewees.

[woody1]

Next morning it was off to East London.

When I started a thread on my 1958 BSA Bantam restoration some Wild Dog told me about a retired chap in East London doing a 1952 D-1 model.  We became friends swapping parts and info.  I christened his bike as SHREK because of the green color it came in back in 1952.
They insisted I spend a night with them.

But first I popped into our EL office to say hello to my colleges.   Old Wicus was not happy that he had to work and I was having the time of my life out on the open road.

Poor Neil, he drove me around town getting oil to service the Honda.  Back to Honda to see if they have the speedo gear available.
Available in JHB, but they do not do overnight spares anymore.  Please get it to PE then... sorry sir that is also seen as overnight.
So Plan B was to install a bicycle speedo so that I could keep track of the distance covered and know when to fill up with petrol.... and to make sure I do not exceed the speed limit.. 

Messed oil all over his garage floor and just checking all the things are still on the bike after some rough roads.

Another early night for OLD people.   

[Lem]

lekker report 

[woody1]

I was alway told that people get coffee in Fort Beaufort, so I left East London and got to Fort Beaufort ...NOT TO GET COFFEE.....
From there I shot back down to Grahamstown, but just outside Fort Beaufort the Honda died on me... no indication nothing... just DEAD.

Coasted to a halt and wondered what now.  It was a bit sluggish this morning with the starter not spinning the motor as usual.  In Fort Beaufort I had to kickstart her.

Yesterday with the service in East London I took the battery out and topped up the water, but I did not clean the terminals.  So I decided to give it a nice clean on the side of the road.  Put it back together.... no electric start.  But on the first kick she roared into life.

Off to Grahamstown and popped into the Wimpy for my annual Waffel and Ice Cream.

Then as I left Grahamstown she backfired and she is DEAD again.

Checked that I have fuel... undid the spark plug lead and pushed it back on.... first kick she is alive again.... and that was the last of the problems I had.  Now the battery was kaput and I had to kickstart her all the time, but even on a cold morning nothing more that 2 kicks to woke her up.

Got to Jupiter place where he was busy fitting his new stater motor brushes to the BIG Blue machine.

[Frannarossi]

Hel ma dis nou 'n lekker reprot om te sit en lees op so koue Vrydag middag

[woody1]

Original plan was to go via Steytlerville and camp down at Hadleys pont before doing the Grootrivierpoort pass and then onto the Baviaans.
Jupiter decided we go for a DAY RUN and come back to PE to sleep.

So off we went with just some tools and puncture repair stuff.

Somewhere on the road to Steytlerville I noticed that my right hand side cover was missing.  Jupiter wanted us to go back and look for it, but with all the traffic that passed us and the fact that it was some kilometers before the last stop I was sure that it will be a waste of time and that we would run into time problems getting over the Grootrivierpoort pass and back to PE.

Coffee time at the Steytlerville Hotel and then back to the Grootrivierpass road.

The section down to Hadleys was a brezze as some contractors were finishing off the new water pipe installation  and some roadworks made this section easy to ride.

Took some pictures down at Hadleys and then through the water onto the REAL part.
I must say that that first 3km climb was relatively easy, but some sections further along made me break a sweat every now and then.

Got to the radio towers in one piece and with no mishaps.

Thanks Jupiter for being an excellent guide on this one.

We stopped at Patensie for coffee and chocolate cake for myself and rode back to PE via the old road.

Jupiter always stop at the bottom of Van Staadens bridge to end his trip with another PUFF..  

[Dorsland]

Het jy toe enige vliegtuie met daai soeklig van jou raak geskyn?  Daai fiets lyk lekker Woody, dis nou regte adventure riding.  Ek sien sommer vandat jy terug is, is die "load shedding" minder, dankie dat jy weer jou pligte nakom  

Blerrie lekker rit, ek is baie jaloers

[woody1]

Next morning up early.... Today is EC-Bash time.

Off back to Patensie.  The usual breakfast at the usual place.  Then top up with petrol and into the Baviaans.

Real men enter Baviaans via Patensie.  Moffies en dogtertjies from Willomore side  
Hooligans across the mountains  

But the road is BAD... Again the little Honda is happy to take all the punishment I can throw at her.

Through Smitskraal and then we had to stop to have some coffee.  My mug is packed into my big bag, so I take a plastic bottle and make myself a glass to enjoy some of Jupiters finest.

We got to Doorkraal first and just as we stopped 2 BMW riders came to a screeching halt next to me.  I got such I fright the Honda toppled over to the right hand side and there she is on her side.

It was Jmol and BarryC.  Old Barry helped me pick up the bike and get it on the side stand.  He was worried that the tank have a big dent in it.  Only the front brake lever had a nice bend in it.

Saturday I had to do some washing, but just sitting around and listen to all the stories was great.

Then we sat... and sat and talked and talked.  And eat and eat... and went to bed early.
Old friends, new friends and sommer cool okes.

What a JOL.

I loved the joke that Twe-Twes husband Andries told:

Die jong troep kom by die basis aan vir diensplig.  Elke keer as iemand na hom kyk dan skree hy.... WAARSHY... WAARSHY....
Na die hele dag se rondlopery op die basis met 'n WAARSHY... WAARSHY ... is die korporall toe  oortuig daar is iets verkeerd met die mannetjie.

So hy vat hom na die doktor toe.  Daar is dit weer... WAARSHY... WAARSHY.
Die doktor neem sy boekie.  Skry daar in dat die man medies ongeskik is vir militere diensplig. Stmple hom en handig die papier aan die troep.

Die troep bestudeer die briefie aandagtig.  Lees hom nog 'n keer deur en skreeuw........ DAARSHY... DAARSHY.

We had a great time at the Bash.  Thanks Jupiter  

[woody1]

Het jy toe enige vliegtuie met daai soeklig van jou raak geskyn?  Daai fiets lyk lekker Woody, dis nou regte adventure riding.  Ek sien sommer vandat jy terug is, is die "load shedding" minder, dankie dat jy weer jou pligte nakom  

Blerrie lekker rit, ek is baie jaloers

Ons het jou gemis Johan.. jy moet jou dinge beter reel volgende jaar.  Ek ry nie verniet so ver vir my plesier nie.  Ek hou daarvan om my vriende te sien.