BlouVark
Race Dog
So after my trip being postponed & in the end almost being complete cancelled, I finally got going on Thursday 29th. I fitted a new rear TKC & some foglights the previous day & my gps had still not arrived . I printed maps from mapsource & marked the distance to each turn off on them to assist navigation.
I
Day 1 (1 to 2)
Thursday morning around 7 I finally hit the road to Cullinan then onto
the dirt towards Sybrandskraal, a 2.5km tar section then dirt again past
Loopspruit. The road was hard highway.
Turning towards Vlaklaagte. It was a bit chilly but not too bad.
Some early morning fun.
There was even a chance for the BlouVark to was her face
It seemed like a good spot for my first smoke break.
While fitting tyres the previous day, I had the mudguard extention
fitted aswell, gave her a face lift if you like. Note the small fog
lights directly beneath the flashers.
The road down to Loskop.
At Loskop I refuelled & got going again towards Stoffberg.
This road was really boring
Farms & mountains in the distance.
Crossing a small stream.
Time for another smoke break & checking if everything was still secure.
The expedition bag I got from Krazy-Eyes with tent, matress roll,
2 x space blankets, chair, sleepingbag, hiking boots & extra jacket, performed really well during the trip.
Dullstroom in the distance.
I did not stop in Dullstroom. There was a dirt road just outside town
which turned out to be a winner. The road just kept on decending
with a nice loose stone surface & the scenery was amazing.
Decending.
Still going down.
I just loved this spot. Had another smoke break & just enjoyed the moment. Absolutely quiet.
The road started it's climb out of the valley.
When I got to this section I thought, great, a bit of technical.
A thought I would later regret.
There were small streams everywhere.
I finally got back onto the R540 at Vermont towards Lydenburg.
I basically crossed the R36 straight back onto dirt towards the
Sudwala caves. I was amazed that the fog lights still worked after
all the dirt roads.
On top of the world.
Inflating tyres as the rest of the route was tar towards Pirgrims
Rest where I would spent the night.
Day 2 (1)
I was awake since around 3 Friday morning. Why, because I froze my
freaking nuts off :shock: It was seriously cold.
As I had to work the Friday morning, I set off early towards Sabie for breakfast enjoying the road down
the mountain (tar can be fun too)
Took the Alkmaar road down towards Nelspruit.
Spent the morning at my branch till around 12 & then visited some old friends ( I stayed in Nelspruit for 7 years).
On my way back to Pelgrims visited Kaapschehoop,
sorry no photos as I just passed through.
Just before Sabie it started raining :shock: WTF, it's winter.
With the previous days cold still fresh in my mind, a cold & wet night did not appeal to me.
OK OK I'm a pissy, I rode up to Graskop & booked myself in at the Graskop holiday resort, unpacked & got some refreshments for the night & had a nice warm, dry & pissed night.
Day 3 (1-2) (race day)
The next morning looked a lot more promising.
I had a BIG moment which had me completely out of my seat
going down to Pilgrims Rest as I nearly lost the back end in the wet.
Hit the dirt again towards Bourkes Luck.
Crossing a stream
The previous days rain was just enough to make thing interesting.
This really is a beautiful country
With a head still full of wine I decided to take the road to Ohrigstad.
Reaching the tar & trying to inflate my tyres again, my compressor
sadly passed away & in the process blew a fuse on the bike. I showed
my frustrasion by burying it with one size 10 Thor Quadrant boot.
Not in the mood to limp back to a garage each time I got back on tar, I remembered that there is a Midas right across the street from Wimpy in Sabie. The route ahead would be Ohrigstad, Blyde River, Graskop &
Sabie by tar trying to reach Sabie before the shops close as it was a Saturday. The watch on my dash did not work due to the blown fuse
except when the motor was running, so it basically worked like a stop watch. Anyway, 52 minutes later I stopped in front of Midas Sabie, got
a compressor for 50 bucks & some spare fuses.
It was tar all the way down to Nelspruit, Kaapmauiden then off to Louws
Creek.
Going up the mountain pass, there was a 180 turn going up, while gearing down I selected neutral & went down with a bang
I was really pissed at myself as it was a stupid mistake.
After unpacking everything I draged the bike around & hurt my back
in the process & then I still had to get her up :shock:
There was some scratches on the handguards & the crashbar was slightly bent. Importantly it did it's job.
Scene of the crime. Note the rock that was smashed by the crashbar. Could have meant a hole in the tappet cover & an end to my trip.
Beautiful place to crash though
Sorry, I don't remember the name of this dam
The area reminded me a lot of Magoebaskloof.
If you've never been here, make a plan, awesome.
Inflating tyres again. I was surprised that the fog lights still worked.
Took the road down to Baberton to refuel then back up again on to dirt
towards Josefsdal border post.
Josefsdal border post is about 4k's from this juntion, but they refused
me taking any photos
This was my first real stop for the day (crash excluded) & took the time
to refuel myself.
What a view.
Standing at this spot looking down, the road zig-zags down into the
valley.
Just before reaching tar, I passed through Diepgezet, a real ghost town.
It was weird, as it looked like everyone packed up the day before
as everything still looked "new" but all the houses were empty & I
did not see a soul ('scuse the pun)
Reached Badplaas & while looking for a spot to pitch my tent (place was packed), I was stopped by a guy who wanted to chat about the bike. Turns out he's got
a 1200GS & suggested I take the spot next to his caravan. Bought myself
a steak, wors & 6 Amstels, I had a great evening braaiing with him & his
familly talking bikes.
Day 4 (1-4)
I slept till 7 as my back was now really killing me & could not bent down
properly. Got going at around 8 towards Carolina towards Hebron. Ufodo
suggested this road as a nice twee spoor that loops back to Badplaas.
The road started out nice.
Then turned to this.
And got worse.
Beautiful view though.
Smoke Break
The photos fail to illustrate just how steep this really was. It was
clear that I was out of my league here as I had no idea how to
handle this kind of rocks.
No way in hell am I turning back now.
It became quite clear that I was completely lost as the road ended.
The view was amazing so I had a nother smoke break & walked
around a bit.
Found this road leading down & as I could see cars in the distance below,
I assumed that it would take me back to tar. We all know what assumptions do.
This road eventually ended aswell & I ended up riding in the fire break.
A shear drop on the right & pine forest to the left. Everything was going
well (yeah right) when I hit a rock that was concealed in the grass with
the back wheel & went down hard. I ended up falling with my back on
some rocks & hurt it even more. EINA FOKKIT
I do pick the nicest spots to crash.
About 15 meters from where I fell was
a little road leading down through the forest. I unpacked everything
again & carried it up to this road. I had to drag the bike around agian to pick it up but could not get it up :shock: It took 4 attempts before I eventually got her up again & my back was now really hurting.
Incredibly the rock missed both the flasher & fog light but took a chunk
out of the mudguard.
I finally made my way down only to be greeted by a locked gate :shock: :? :evil:
You've guessed it, I had to turn around & go back the whole way.
Must say going back up was a walk in the park compared to going down.
4 hours later I was back on the tar road where I started from.
Refueled at Badplaas & took the dirt road to Chrissiesmeer.
I must admit I was a bit dissappointed. WTF it's a dam
At this stage I was now really gatvol, tired & hurting & took the tar road
all the way back to Pretoria & arrived bacvk home at 19:40 with a total
of 1975km.
I ran a hot bath, poured myself a tall glass of Arthur Bell & sons best & of to bed.I felt really content & proud of myself.
I did it alone. I did not quit. I was happy.
I
Day 1 (1 to 2)
Thursday morning around 7 I finally hit the road to Cullinan then onto
the dirt towards Sybrandskraal, a 2.5km tar section then dirt again past
Loopspruit. The road was hard highway.
Turning towards Vlaklaagte. It was a bit chilly but not too bad.
Some early morning fun.
There was even a chance for the BlouVark to was her face
It seemed like a good spot for my first smoke break.
While fitting tyres the previous day, I had the mudguard extention
fitted aswell, gave her a face lift if you like. Note the small fog
lights directly beneath the flashers.
The road down to Loskop.
At Loskop I refuelled & got going again towards Stoffberg.
This road was really boring
Farms & mountains in the distance.
Crossing a small stream.
Time for another smoke break & checking if everything was still secure.
The expedition bag I got from Krazy-Eyes with tent, matress roll,
2 x space blankets, chair, sleepingbag, hiking boots & extra jacket, performed really well during the trip.
Dullstroom in the distance.
I did not stop in Dullstroom. There was a dirt road just outside town
which turned out to be a winner. The road just kept on decending
with a nice loose stone surface & the scenery was amazing.
Decending.
Still going down.
I just loved this spot. Had another smoke break & just enjoyed the moment. Absolutely quiet.
The road started it's climb out of the valley.
When I got to this section I thought, great, a bit of technical.
A thought I would later regret.
There were small streams everywhere.
I finally got back onto the R540 at Vermont towards Lydenburg.
I basically crossed the R36 straight back onto dirt towards the
Sudwala caves. I was amazed that the fog lights still worked after
all the dirt roads.
On top of the world.
Inflating tyres as the rest of the route was tar towards Pirgrims
Rest where I would spent the night.
Day 2 (1)
I was awake since around 3 Friday morning. Why, because I froze my
freaking nuts off :shock: It was seriously cold.
As I had to work the Friday morning, I set off early towards Sabie for breakfast enjoying the road down
the mountain (tar can be fun too)
Took the Alkmaar road down towards Nelspruit.
Spent the morning at my branch till around 12 & then visited some old friends ( I stayed in Nelspruit for 7 years).
On my way back to Pelgrims visited Kaapschehoop,
sorry no photos as I just passed through.
Just before Sabie it started raining :shock: WTF, it's winter.
With the previous days cold still fresh in my mind, a cold & wet night did not appeal to me.
OK OK I'm a pissy, I rode up to Graskop & booked myself in at the Graskop holiday resort, unpacked & got some refreshments for the night & had a nice warm, dry & pissed night.
Day 3 (1-2) (race day)
The next morning looked a lot more promising.
I had a BIG moment which had me completely out of my seat
going down to Pilgrims Rest as I nearly lost the back end in the wet.
Hit the dirt again towards Bourkes Luck.
Crossing a stream
The previous days rain was just enough to make thing interesting.
This really is a beautiful country
With a head still full of wine I decided to take the road to Ohrigstad.
Reaching the tar & trying to inflate my tyres again, my compressor
sadly passed away & in the process blew a fuse on the bike. I showed
my frustrasion by burying it with one size 10 Thor Quadrant boot.
Not in the mood to limp back to a garage each time I got back on tar, I remembered that there is a Midas right across the street from Wimpy in Sabie. The route ahead would be Ohrigstad, Blyde River, Graskop &
Sabie by tar trying to reach Sabie before the shops close as it was a Saturday. The watch on my dash did not work due to the blown fuse
except when the motor was running, so it basically worked like a stop watch. Anyway, 52 minutes later I stopped in front of Midas Sabie, got
a compressor for 50 bucks & some spare fuses.
It was tar all the way down to Nelspruit, Kaapmauiden then off to Louws
Creek.
Going up the mountain pass, there was a 180 turn going up, while gearing down I selected neutral & went down with a bang
I was really pissed at myself as it was a stupid mistake.
After unpacking everything I draged the bike around & hurt my back
in the process & then I still had to get her up :shock:
There was some scratches on the handguards & the crashbar was slightly bent. Importantly it did it's job.
Scene of the crime. Note the rock that was smashed by the crashbar. Could have meant a hole in the tappet cover & an end to my trip.
Beautiful place to crash though
Sorry, I don't remember the name of this dam
The area reminded me a lot of Magoebaskloof.
If you've never been here, make a plan, awesome.
Inflating tyres again. I was surprised that the fog lights still worked.
Took the road down to Baberton to refuel then back up again on to dirt
towards Josefsdal border post.
Josefsdal border post is about 4k's from this juntion, but they refused
me taking any photos
This was my first real stop for the day (crash excluded) & took the time
to refuel myself.
What a view.
Standing at this spot looking down, the road zig-zags down into the
valley.
Just before reaching tar, I passed through Diepgezet, a real ghost town.
It was weird, as it looked like everyone packed up the day before
as everything still looked "new" but all the houses were empty & I
did not see a soul ('scuse the pun)
Reached Badplaas & while looking for a spot to pitch my tent (place was packed), I was stopped by a guy who wanted to chat about the bike. Turns out he's got
a 1200GS & suggested I take the spot next to his caravan. Bought myself
a steak, wors & 6 Amstels, I had a great evening braaiing with him & his
familly talking bikes.
Day 4 (1-4)
I slept till 7 as my back was now really killing me & could not bent down
properly. Got going at around 8 towards Carolina towards Hebron. Ufodo
suggested this road as a nice twee spoor that loops back to Badplaas.
The road started out nice.
Then turned to this.
And got worse.
Beautiful view though.
Smoke Break
The photos fail to illustrate just how steep this really was. It was
clear that I was out of my league here as I had no idea how to
handle this kind of rocks.
No way in hell am I turning back now.
It became quite clear that I was completely lost as the road ended.
The view was amazing so I had a nother smoke break & walked
around a bit.
Found this road leading down & as I could see cars in the distance below,
I assumed that it would take me back to tar. We all know what assumptions do.
This road eventually ended aswell & I ended up riding in the fire break.
A shear drop on the right & pine forest to the left. Everything was going
well (yeah right) when I hit a rock that was concealed in the grass with
the back wheel & went down hard. I ended up falling with my back on
some rocks & hurt it even more. EINA FOKKIT
I do pick the nicest spots to crash.
About 15 meters from where I fell was
a little road leading down through the forest. I unpacked everything
again & carried it up to this road. I had to drag the bike around agian to pick it up but could not get it up :shock: It took 4 attempts before I eventually got her up again & my back was now really hurting.
Incredibly the rock missed both the flasher & fog light but took a chunk
out of the mudguard.
I finally made my way down only to be greeted by a locked gate :shock: :?
:evil: You've guessed it, I had to turn around & go back the whole way.
Must say going back up was a walk in the park compared to going down.
4 hours later I was back on the tar road where I started from.
Refueled at Badplaas & took the dirt road to Chrissiesmeer.
I must admit I was a bit dissappointed. WTF it's a dam
At this stage I was now really gatvol, tired & hurting & took the tar road
all the way back to Pretoria & arrived bacvk home at 19:40 with a total
of 1975km.
I ran a hot bath, poured myself a tall glass of Arthur Bell & sons best & of to bed.I felt really content & proud of myself.
I did it alone. I did not quit. I was happy.
