Ag Hell not again
So off I was again to Gamkaspoort, ??Die Hell?, this time for a luncheon with some Wilddog members.
I set off from Ladismith again filling up in Calitzdorp I took my usual route that runs along the mountains towards Swartberg Pass.
About three quarters off the way through the road from Calitzdorp, I noticed a bike steadily cruising way infront of me, so I started chasing it. When I finally caught it, I saw that it was Briv on his Africa Twin, he had left Cape Town the previous day on his solo trip no plans for where he was going, he had 4 days off and the open road, what a great way to travel!
He decided to do the route with us, so he and I rode to the planned meeting spot, where we would meet, Trailrider and Mrs Trailrider on their 700TransAlp, Dusty on her F650GS and Tony Varadero on his Varadero, so the Honda??s clearly out numbered the other brands on this ride!
The King of all adventure bikes, Briv??s very neat AT!
The 5 bikes
After a chat we headed to Swartberg Pass, one of those ??must see roads of South Africa?, we took it very steady up there, enjoying the views.
At the top of the pass, the most enjoyable part is the way down to Prins albert.
Sorry for all the pics of the Africa Twin (I just love that bike!!!!)
The pass was still quite, as it was early
From left to right TR, Tony, Dusty
Mrs TR at the signs, it says 2 hours 50km, in this months Top Bike there is an article about Jan ??Staal? Du Toit doing it in 44min, but I cant see the point of that? Jaaging through here is just not right, you have to take in the sights and smells!
Two very big Honda??s!
The first part of the road, there is some ??Deck riet? growing here (sorry I don??t know the English word)
Trailrider passing by
Halt?. Photo time
The road in here is magnificent, I think it was built in 1969, it is very steep and has the occasional water crossing.
The two Honda??s again, the Varadero has twin Tornado pipes on, making it sound very good, but not as good as the Africa Twin with the scorch pipe!
We had a very nice lunch in an old grasdak restaurant, they have two different menu??s one for people who booked, and another one for people that just show up, so make sure to book, otherwise you??d be stuck with salad, or salad
The old car that was carried yes carried in here before the road was built!
I??d say it??s in dire need of a service!
Poor Tony Varadero was tired as hell (no pun intended) from wrestling the Vara down here, because he had a fairly road based front tyre giving him some bad moments on the downhills.
We started the way out again, this meant lots of uphills, I was still riding behind TR when he suddenly stopped asking me if he??s rear tyre was flat, a glance down revealed the worst, a flat tyre on a uphill in this heat!
We were lucky to have Briv there, he quickly jumped in and took over the tyre changing business. A very primitive centre stand there.
Briv got the rim off quickly
Relax TR its all part of the game
Well there??s your problem
Mrs TR explaining to him how to fix the tube, Dusty thinking, Hmm?.. You sure that??s gonna work?
The tyre was fixed in really no time at all, and we were off again, but only for a while. . .
Because we came across a broken down Land Rover (very surprising
)
They poor guy didn??t really know what to do, but it was super Briv to the rescue again, he did something to the thingy ma-thing and the Land Rover started again!
We said goodbye to Dusty who had to go to Prins Albert, so the rest of us took the pass down again.
At the bottom we said our goodbyes, and Briv and I continued towards Calitzdorp he was looking for accommodation along the way, he eventually found a nice guest house, so my ride with the Africa Twin ended
I went on towards Ladismith, it was getting late and I had to get to the farm, filled up in Calitzdorp again, the bike only used 6l of fuel from Calitzdorop into Die Hell and back to Calitzdorp about 220km??s! Not bad
I arrived home just before 19:00 knackered, had been on the bike since 07:00 that morning.
Once again my bike surprised me, by not even missing a beat, it held its own very nicely among the very beeg bikes!
Was nice meeting two new Wilddog??s thanks for the planning Trailrider!
Topic: A December to Remember Minimalist touring at its best (Read 4172 times)
