walkaboutboertjie
Pack Dog
This will be my first attempt at a RR.
PART 1
The idea has been stewing in the back of my mind for a while, not very much unlike a good skenkel pot, but family commitments (2 young critters) means that most of my riding is a stolen moment here and there (like the Sunday morning Quarry outings with John & Co.). So when wife asked me about 2 weeks ago whether I want to go biking for a WEEKEND, the first thought that came to mind was: “What is the catch here?!”
I stared at her stupidly for a few moments, and tentatively said: “That will really be awesome!”
Whilst my inner child is doing back-flips, it was explained that she will be taking the kids to go and visit their cousins in Langebaan, and her and her sister can catch up a bit. So the kids is happy, the wife is happy, and I am absolutely ecstatic, a win-win in everyone’s books.
But let me back-track a bit, when I bought the TTR250 in December 2015, the main purpose for the bike was to be my daily commuter, whatever the weather conditions. Off course, in my mind I was riding far flung dirt roads on my little machine, but reality with 2 young ones and limited time to myself is that the long range fuel tank (which was bought beginning of 2017 on the premise of these long trips in my mind’s eye) never really been put to the test. But this was about to change, and enter the 3 stooges, the skenkel pot is about to be served!
The Cuz – CRF250L
Happy go lucky and still slightly intimidated by sand (yes, we all have our issues) …
Grappa – CRF250L
The Italian flair with lots of miles under his belt.
Friday afternoon, Grappa has filled up in Sutherland after setting off from George that morning! The man knows a thing about tackling long roads on a “small” bike.
Finally I get my inbox empty, and jump on the bike at 15:15 – we are all meeting at Cederberg Oasis tonight where 3 Foxtrot tents are booked. Progress report from The Cuz, he needs to drop some ladders off in Ceres, so he will bakkie it in to Oasis with the bike on the back. My route will take me from the office (Observatory) up the N7 and then onto the Old Malmesbury road, trying to avoid cars and traffic as much as possible. At the first gravel it all starts to feel real – finally! It is a beautiful afternoon in the prettiest Cape, the canola is in bloom and the grass is lush and green, for a Freestate farm boy such greenery during winter is still a novelty, even after 16 years in Cape Town (and just coincidentally, this trip marked the 17th year reunion moving down to Cape Town) - die Kaap is Hollands!
I sit on a comfortable 100 km/h all the way into Ceres, pushing it to 120 for occasional overtaking. Just a quick pic going up the pass with the chill starting to set in.
Fill up in Ceres, 19.47 litres at 5.07 l/100km - sitting into headwinds and pushing the bike over 100 km/h drops the fuel consumption somewhat.
Call The Cuz to see where he is at, we said we might meet in Ceres. He left his helmet behind in Somerset West and had to turn around. I decide to push on, wanting to rely as little as possible on the stock light in the dark on the gravel roads ahead. But first I need to establish why my ass is wet … bladder is leaking … stuff the bladder into a plastic bag (thanks TracMac for the sturdy / thick plastic bag).
Coming up to Dorp op die Berg I realise it is getting seriously dark, no wait, I still have my sun-visor flipped down! DOH
But sun is setting and fill up at Agrimark to carry as much fuel as possible (they close at 19:00 on Friday’s) – but the sun has set and it is now getting cold – all layers go on. Grainy cell phone photo (ISO being ramped up) tells the story of impending darkness.
18:27, last attempt at calling my wife before going incognito … no answer, she must really be happy to have me away! Final stretch to Cederberg Oasis and the little 250 is purring along contentedly sitting at a steady 90 on the gravel in the dark. But there is still a bit of a scare on the way, and the first of realisations that between me and machine, I am definitely the weakest link!
After Mount Ceder, going up the pass in the dark, coming around a bend I ran out of road and into a rock ditch alongside the road ... she soaked it all up at about 40 to 50 km/h and took me back onto the road (with a seriously elevated heart rate). The next such incident will be on The Old Postal – but more about later.
Pulling up at Cederberg Oasis Gerrit comes out to greet me and tells me my wife phoned to see if I made it (she cares after all), but I cannot get my helmet off with the cold fingers. Being the nice guy he is, Gerrit helps me with the clasp, and I am salivating at the prospect of good meat and a beer. Good news, Grappa has made it, now it is waiting on the final Stooge to arrive – and don’t mind me whilst I help myself to a beer and a steak in the meantime – thank you please.
The Cuz arrives safely around 20:30, over a few beers we discuss the plans for The Old Postal on Saturday, the intention being to do it west to east. It will be the first time any one of us has attempted the route, and we will do it circular and sleep at Oasis again for Saturday evening. Decide we will aim to get away at 8 AM, not sure what the rivers will have in store for us – and with that thought it is off to bed.
Statistics for the day's ride:
253 km covered in 3 hours 23 minutes at an average moving speed of 74 km/h, max speed 121 km/h.
To be continued …
PART 1
The idea has been stewing in the back of my mind for a while, not very much unlike a good skenkel pot, but family commitments (2 young critters) means that most of my riding is a stolen moment here and there (like the Sunday morning Quarry outings with John & Co.). So when wife asked me about 2 weeks ago whether I want to go biking for a WEEKEND, the first thought that came to mind was: “What is the catch here?!”
I stared at her stupidly for a few moments, and tentatively said: “That will really be awesome!”
Whilst my inner child is doing back-flips, it was explained that she will be taking the kids to go and visit their cousins in Langebaan, and her and her sister can catch up a bit. So the kids is happy, the wife is happy, and I am absolutely ecstatic, a win-win in everyone’s books.
But let me back-track a bit, when I bought the TTR250 in December 2015, the main purpose for the bike was to be my daily commuter, whatever the weather conditions. Off course, in my mind I was riding far flung dirt roads on my little machine, but reality with 2 young ones and limited time to myself is that the long range fuel tank (which was bought beginning of 2017 on the premise of these long trips in my mind’s eye) never really been put to the test. But this was about to change, and enter the 3 stooges, the skenkel pot is about to be served!
The Cuz – CRF250L
Happy go lucky and still slightly intimidated by sand (yes, we all have our issues) …
Grappa – CRF250L
The Italian flair with lots of miles under his belt.
Friday afternoon, Grappa has filled up in Sutherland after setting off from George that morning! The man knows a thing about tackling long roads on a “small” bike.
Finally I get my inbox empty, and jump on the bike at 15:15 – we are all meeting at Cederberg Oasis tonight where 3 Foxtrot tents are booked. Progress report from The Cuz, he needs to drop some ladders off in Ceres, so he will bakkie it in to Oasis with the bike on the back. My route will take me from the office (Observatory) up the N7 and then onto the Old Malmesbury road, trying to avoid cars and traffic as much as possible. At the first gravel it all starts to feel real – finally! It is a beautiful afternoon in the prettiest Cape, the canola is in bloom and the grass is lush and green, for a Freestate farm boy such greenery during winter is still a novelty, even after 16 years in Cape Town (and just coincidentally, this trip marked the 17th year reunion moving down to Cape Town) - die Kaap is Hollands!
I sit on a comfortable 100 km/h all the way into Ceres, pushing it to 120 for occasional overtaking. Just a quick pic going up the pass with the chill starting to set in.
Fill up in Ceres, 19.47 litres at 5.07 l/100km - sitting into headwinds and pushing the bike over 100 km/h drops the fuel consumption somewhat.
Call The Cuz to see where he is at, we said we might meet in Ceres. He left his helmet behind in Somerset West and had to turn around. I decide to push on, wanting to rely as little as possible on the stock light in the dark on the gravel roads ahead. But first I need to establish why my ass is wet … bladder is leaking … stuff the bladder into a plastic bag (thanks TracMac for the sturdy / thick plastic bag).
Coming up to Dorp op die Berg I realise it is getting seriously dark, no wait, I still have my sun-visor flipped down! DOH
But sun is setting and fill up at Agrimark to carry as much fuel as possible (they close at 19:00 on Friday’s) – but the sun has set and it is now getting cold – all layers go on. Grainy cell phone photo (ISO being ramped up) tells the story of impending darkness.
18:27, last attempt at calling my wife before going incognito … no answer, she must really be happy to have me away! Final stretch to Cederberg Oasis and the little 250 is purring along contentedly sitting at a steady 90 on the gravel in the dark. But there is still a bit of a scare on the way, and the first of realisations that between me and machine, I am definitely the weakest link!
After Mount Ceder, going up the pass in the dark, coming around a bend I ran out of road and into a rock ditch alongside the road ... she soaked it all up at about 40 to 50 km/h and took me back onto the road (with a seriously elevated heart rate). The next such incident will be on The Old Postal – but more about later.
Pulling up at Cederberg Oasis Gerrit comes out to greet me and tells me my wife phoned to see if I made it (she cares after all), but I cannot get my helmet off with the cold fingers. Being the nice guy he is, Gerrit helps me with the clasp, and I am salivating at the prospect of good meat and a beer. Good news, Grappa has made it, now it is waiting on the final Stooge to arrive – and don’t mind me whilst I help myself to a beer and a steak in the meantime – thank you please.
The Cuz arrives safely around 20:30, over a few beers we discuss the plans for The Old Postal on Saturday, the intention being to do it west to east. It will be the first time any one of us has attempted the route, and we will do it circular and sleep at Oasis again for Saturday evening. Decide we will aim to get away at 8 AM, not sure what the rivers will have in store for us – and with that thought it is off to bed.
Statistics for the day's ride:
253 km covered in 3 hours 23 minutes at an average moving speed of 74 km/h, max speed 121 km/h.
To be continued …
