White Stripes
Pack Dog
It was supposed to be a ride for and with beginner bikers, but they had other fish to fry. Some of the people I really wanted to ride with could also not come with, so I was a bit bummed. It turned out to be a ride to meet new people and take a puppy for his first sleepover.
We started at the West Coast at Velddrift, meeting along the way, final meeting place Ceres. Suzbox, a new member, Subie from Velddrift and a friend of Suzbox met me at Hopefield and we left for Ceres. At Moorreesburg we were already wet. Not soaking wet, but irritating wet. I must say now, that the only reason why Suzbox was threatened to come with, is because he was an archaeology student. He can not contribute in any other way. He is just so unreliable. In his defence, he remembered to bring a tube for my front tyre.
At Ceres we were drenched. Wolf from Stellenbosch was already waiting. Suzbox started to have a hysterical moment and began calling everybody that ever owned a telephone to find a reason to turn back. Words like floods, drifts, cut off from civilisation, were doing the rounds. It seems that the biggest floods since that Noah philanthropic boat builder were on the way. It excited some of us and others wished for their wetsuits. As for me, this trip was very long overdue, so no flood was going to stop me.
We enjoyed the fireplace in the little restaurant to bits.
Next moment a wet Rovrat and Generaal showed up with Rovrat’s new F800GS and his lovely wife. The sight of a beautiful woman turned on the frenzy for Suzbox even more. The Olive festival at Riebeeck Kasteel did not help a little bit. Soon I was without my archaeology guide. I will get him one day.
Rovrat had a problem with his bike and we were in different minds on what to do. I really wanted him to go with, but in the end I realised trying to play down a fault on his bike is not the best thing to do.
In the end me, Subie and Wolf left after we agreed to look out for each other if they were lucky enough to fix the problem. It was already three hours since we arrived.
We were in high spirits and eager to get on the gravel. Some nice views started to appear around us,
We also encountered this guy. On his Vuka 200 on his maiden ride.
The Vuka was brand new and he was nursing it.
The clouds lifted a little bit, but it never cleared completely.
This sight gave me the first butterflies.
After the turnoff to Algeria, we started to encounter more rough terrain, but also very nice sceneries. This was the first time I did this part of the road. The butterflies kept on coming.
We had a few close calls with the odd unexpected water crossing and mud puddle, but generally everything went smooth.
At Eselsbank a pack of vicious dogs attacked us, until they realised we were Dawgs.
Unfortunately the weather did not improve and it was not possible to take pictures. It kept raining, frustrating reminder of Suzbox’s fear of water.
After Eselsbank we went over the ridge and down the valley to Wuppertal. The terrain was challenging, but sporty. Very, very beautiful, however. Wuppertal is a lazy town carved out in-between mountains. The remains of the ANC’s lost battle on the lampposts reminded us that this is actually the real world. I wished we had more time to get the feel of the place. It was a bit crowded, maybe because of the long weekend.
We started looking for a place to pitch our tents for the night, but no success. We decided to reach consensus and drove out of town and looked for a place in the veldt. A tree, firewood, no people around and a flat surface was the first price.
We ended up getting this:
R105 for the three of us, each our own room, bed, hot water, electricity, kettle, microwave, braai AND a big bag of firewood. R35 per person. We could not believe it, but took it with both cold hands.
It was the first real opportunity to chat with each other and like with all fires, there was no mute button.
We talked nonstop. Wolf is my sister’s son, so we know each other very well. I am to a certain extent responsible for his upbringing and to set the wrong example. Just to teach him what not to do. During our evening of exchanging of life experience, I once again realised two things: It is never to late to start over and that guilt is a worthless, sickening emotion that strips you from everything that you can be.
Warmth brings healing not only to the feet, but also to the heart. We must just be prepared to reach out to other people and stop putting people in boxes.
We started at the West Coast at Velddrift, meeting along the way, final meeting place Ceres. Suzbox, a new member, Subie from Velddrift and a friend of Suzbox met me at Hopefield and we left for Ceres. At Moorreesburg we were already wet. Not soaking wet, but irritating wet. I must say now, that the only reason why Suzbox was threatened to come with, is because he was an archaeology student. He can not contribute in any other way. He is just so unreliable. In his defence, he remembered to bring a tube for my front tyre.
At Ceres we were drenched. Wolf from Stellenbosch was already waiting. Suzbox started to have a hysterical moment and began calling everybody that ever owned a telephone to find a reason to turn back. Words like floods, drifts, cut off from civilisation, were doing the rounds. It seems that the biggest floods since that Noah philanthropic boat builder were on the way. It excited some of us and others wished for their wetsuits. As for me, this trip was very long overdue, so no flood was going to stop me.
We enjoyed the fireplace in the little restaurant to bits.
Next moment a wet Rovrat and Generaal showed up with Rovrat’s new F800GS and his lovely wife. The sight of a beautiful woman turned on the frenzy for Suzbox even more. The Olive festival at Riebeeck Kasteel did not help a little bit. Soon I was without my archaeology guide. I will get him one day.
Rovrat had a problem with his bike and we were in different minds on what to do. I really wanted him to go with, but in the end I realised trying to play down a fault on his bike is not the best thing to do.
In the end me, Subie and Wolf left after we agreed to look out for each other if they were lucky enough to fix the problem. It was already three hours since we arrived.
We were in high spirits and eager to get on the gravel. Some nice views started to appear around us,
We also encountered this guy. On his Vuka 200 on his maiden ride.
The Vuka was brand new and he was nursing it.
The clouds lifted a little bit, but it never cleared completely.
This sight gave me the first butterflies.
After the turnoff to Algeria, we started to encounter more rough terrain, but also very nice sceneries. This was the first time I did this part of the road. The butterflies kept on coming.
We had a few close calls with the odd unexpected water crossing and mud puddle, but generally everything went smooth.
At Eselsbank a pack of vicious dogs attacked us, until they realised we were Dawgs.
Unfortunately the weather did not improve and it was not possible to take pictures. It kept raining, frustrating reminder of Suzbox’s fear of water.
After Eselsbank we went over the ridge and down the valley to Wuppertal. The terrain was challenging, but sporty. Very, very beautiful, however. Wuppertal is a lazy town carved out in-between mountains. The remains of the ANC’s lost battle on the lampposts reminded us that this is actually the real world. I wished we had more time to get the feel of the place. It was a bit crowded, maybe because of the long weekend.
We started looking for a place to pitch our tents for the night, but no success. We decided to reach consensus and drove out of town and looked for a place in the veldt. A tree, firewood, no people around and a flat surface was the first price.
We ended up getting this:
R105 for the three of us, each our own room, bed, hot water, electricity, kettle, microwave, braai AND a big bag of firewood. R35 per person. We could not believe it, but took it with both cold hands.
It was the first real opportunity to chat with each other and like with all fires, there was no mute button.
We talked nonstop. Wolf is my sister’s son, so we know each other very well. I am to a certain extent responsible for his upbringing and to set the wrong example. Just to teach him what not to do. During our evening of exchanging of life experience, I once again realised two things: It is never to late to start over and that guilt is a worthless, sickening emotion that strips you from everything that you can be.
Warmth brings healing not only to the feet, but also to the heart. We must just be prepared to reach out to other people and stop putting people in boxes.
