Right I have another 10 minutes spare to finish this very short report
Sunday morning another great breakfast spread from the Lodge kitchen.
@Fudmucker recommended the trip back to Prince Albert via Ladismith and some tar. I have a natural apprehension for bikes and tar and prefer to travel as little via tar as possible. Farewell's and last minute tips and jokes out of the way we were ready to go
Looking at the Walvis "aptly named after a Kaoko trip and lying down in the sand.....alot" I realised the time has come to give the GS a good old fashioned make over in the months to come. It is still perfectly good for getting me from A-Z via J but it deserves a bit of special treatment and not just a dust covering
Richard ready and visible......from Mars
We made our way out towards Van Wyksdorp and headed onto the R327 towards R62 and Ladismith
Long open spaces and wide gravel roads
Onto the tar and a fair amount of traffic coming from the KKNK in Oudtshoorn heading back to Cape Town
Ladismith for a quick fill up and on our way towards Calitzdorp
I suppose not all tar roads are dreadful if you have stunning scenery around
Deserted Caitzdorp on a Sunday
I was taking Richard via Lategansvlei towards Swartberg which runs next to the very dry Wynandsrivier. I have done this route a couple of times as it is incredibly scenic with farm land and old farm houses. I did not realise how bad the drought has affected this area and sadden to see everything begging for a bit of water.
Picked up a local dice with another two wheels on dirt
As we turned right onto the road following Swartberg from Lategansvlei I stopped quickly getting rid of the 1/2 liter coke that's been hassling me the last 30km's. Richard turned around and stopped when his bike died suddenly. We managed to get it bump started and headed off to the Swartberg pass. He overtook a car on the pass very slowly and as I was about to overtake the car I just saw him riding in the ditch on the drop side of the mountain and thought ohhhhh F%$! but he managed to get out of it only to then nearly highside with the rear of the bike bumping over the rocks. How he managed to save it I don't know but VERY relieved as it wouldn't of been pretty
On Prince Albert side as we stopped at the T-junction heading to town and the other way where we stay his bike cut out again and would not start.
By pure chance my wife came past that very moment and took him to his car and trailer whilst I waited. Bike loaded and strapped Richard had a long drive back to Pretoria and myself dusty and still smiling of enjoyment getting out on a gravel trip for a weekend headed the 5 minutes down the road back home.
Great event, soul food in many respects with friends, bikes and nature. Can't wait for the next one
Topic: GKG 2019 - Rooiberg Lodge - Van Wyksdorp (Read 1081 times)
