Its An Adventure Man

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wiskey throttle

Pack Dog
Joined
Dec 5, 2013
Messages
140
Reaction score
0
Location
Stellenbosch
Bike
AJS (all models)
So about a week ago I and a buddy sat down around a fire at my place with a beer in the hand and sharing war stories of some of the rides each of us have under our belts and behold another ride gets planned…

So route planning was done, camping arrangement were made, packing has commenced. But as we all know, at the last minute things change, my boss and I miss under stood each other about my off day and all of a sudden the days riding had to be shortened or done a lot quicker. Didn’t faze us at all.

Friday night I packed the bike and tried to get a good night rest in (which never happens thanks to being super excited). Saturday morning rode to work and figured this is going to be interesting because the bike is moer heavy.

After work met up with Max (not a WD yet…) at his place and set off.

First stop was at Buffelsjags for the best Roosterkoek and a cup of coffee. We cruised through to Suurbraak so that we can take Tradow up into Barrydale for first fuel fill up. After brimming our tanks, mission started to look for the Soutkloof turnoff which was the start of the gravel.

As we headed north through a deteriorated path into the bush we hit our first gate. As we were both on the other side and I was closing the gate behind us, Max asked ‘What cats do we get in this area?’ Not really bothered I told him something about I assume there are some wild cats in the area but we need not be bothered till I turned and saw him pointing to something next to our bikes in the sand. That fresh paw print made us move.

The road condition didn’t really become better and that 2 spoor was becoming a lot of work with the loaded bikes. Crossing rivers, heading through dongas, climbing rocks and dodging thorn bushes we finally came to a point where we could not go further. Stopped, had a smoke and studied the map. Found out we turned off the path somewhere approx 15km east.

Turned the bikes around and headed back. As we got back on the road we were supposed to be on we found the gate was locked and no way around it. So we sat and started to rethink our plans.

Turned back to the gate with the big cat paw print and looked for the tar road. Back on tar we decided that further toward Montagu there is another road that leads to the one we want to be on.

So off we go again.

After a couple of km found the next road and cruised to some or other nature reserve gate where they didn’t want us to go through because it was becoming dark. This really started to get to us, is it really that hard to get to our destination!?

Riding further down toward Montagu we stopped to sit and stare at the sunset and recontemplate our situation. We are not far from home but we have packed all this and the plan was camping. So off to Montagu we go. Stopped at the Caravan Park and begged for a spot to pitch a tent.

Chilling at the fire that night we were discussing how the rest of the road is going to look, for our plans have failed slightly. We had some OBS and hotdogs, some good laughs and overall a great time.

The next morning we made some breakfast and coffee on the fire while we checked and packed our bikes again for the next leg. Headed out of Montagu toward Ouberg Pass, today the fun started. Not a person in sight since we left the tar we stopped at the top of the pass just to stare at the awe inspiring views, when we heard the sound of an Iron horse approaching. Around the corner came a bike darting by and then the next, till it was a convoy heading toward Montagu direction. As the 2nd or 3rd bike passed we could see from the other side of the pass 4x4’s heading up, and plenty of them.

This started to tell us it was time to hit the road again. From here we headed out toward the Anysberg. The road was beautiful, it was a lovely day when we weren’t in the shade of a mountain.

Somewhere between the Anysberg and Pakhuispad we stopped at one of the broken down buildings to explore a bit. This building didn’t look to be very old, but it wondered us why it has been destroys and left there.

Cruised through Pakhuispad back to the R62 cause next stop is Ladysmith.

At Ladysmith we got something to munch at Steers and brim the tanks again, walking into civilization we both soon realized we most probably looked and smelled like hobos from the look of the people that stared then took a step back to catch some breath. It was almost time to head home.

As we left Ladysmith the cold started coming in as the sun got lower on the horizon. Took the road to Garcia Pass then just before the pass turned toward Gysmanshoek/Barrydale on the dirt. It was getting dark and really cold. Cruised down the dirt stretch till we hit Barrydale, no stopping time and back to Tradow Pass.

One thing I noticed going through the pass in the dark was that I enjoyed the road much more. We didn’t see much except the road and the side of the mountain that the headlight lit up that really gave us chance to concentrate on what the road does without the views distracting us.

Back in Suurbraak we said our cheers to each other because each of us was heading to our own homes straight for a warm shower and clean clothes. N2 back in Swellendam and home.

Was a great trip, awesome memories, some great laughs and some serious cursing yourself in your helmet… But that’s what makes it an awesome adventure!
 

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