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Race Dog
Inspired by some recent ride reports by Vis Arend, Shanti, Mother (and others), SWAMBO (ThinkPillion) and I planned and prepped to do a trip through Namibia which had to be canned at the last minute. So we compromised and I quickly plotted a 32 pass trip between JHB and Hermanus.
Turned out Freezing Cold and quite amazing!!!
24 June Day 1. JHB – Barkly East
The plan for the day was to head out of Gauteng, through the Free State and into the Eastern Cape where we would start experiencing some of the planned passes.
Ready to leave as the light trickles in for the day. We were in for a very cold, wet and maybe snowy trip!!
The temp wasn’t too bad leaving home as we headed out towards Parys on some dirt roads. Just outside Randfontein we hit the cold front coming in. The temperature dropped to +2 C prompting a hot Coffee Stop at Chevys’ in Parys.
Kroonstad NG Kerk (I think)
Just outside Winburg - Bells Pass .. Not very exciting, but never the less it was on my list.
All the way through the Free State, fields showed evidence of rains and streams everywhere were looking healthy.
We followed the contour of the Western Lesotho border (sign posted the Maloti Route), enjoying the vivid colours of the wintery landscape. Crossed the Caledon and headed for Wepner for a fuel and food stop (and a warm-up).
Wepner
Do they accept Maloti’s or not? I read this sign as “we accept Maloti currency” but only when going through the pics once home did I notice the hidden clue.
I walked into the garage shop really hoping they served coffee ( I needed coffee more than you can imaging, but more about why later). As I walked through the door, my eyes were scanning on top of the counter, behind the counter, no urn, no kettle… just a toaster and a microwave, f f f f fuck! The Tannie asked “Kan elk Help?” and I asked “Geen koffie?”
She just smiled and gestured behind me – there in plain sight was a big, help yourself R6 a cup Cappuccino machine. SORTED.
So do you enjoy pies? I do, but a few Kilos later my heart burn reminded me … BAD Choice.
TP soaking up the SUN. We had had lots of cloud cover so any Sun was appreciated!
These boys were doing Laps through the garage, onto the road, around the corner and back through, each time they passed, eyes glued on the bike.
Back on the bike we headed for Lady Grey. Malotis (Also known as Maluti) in the background. We could see snow in the distance on some of the peaks, but hey that was in Lesotho, not where we were headed.
Had to laugh at this sign. Some of the roads in the northern part of the Easter Cape were very Kak.
Lady Grey. Never been here before - very cool dorp.
We headed though to the back of town and one of the sand streets led us straight up Joubert’s pass. I don’t recall seeing a sign post, but maybe I missed it.
It was turning out to be a lekker pass, nothing hectic but lekker views.
A view of the valley looking back towards Lady Grey
TP had been taking pics on the move and could only manage with her bulky gloves off, so by ¾ of the way up, her hands were frozen. The temp was getting colder as we climbed, now around 0 deg C. After warming her hands on the cylinder, she said “see you in a few 100 meters, come fetch me, I’m running for a while, to warm up”.
The top of Joubert’s pass. The temp now was a bit below zero deg but who cares it is really worth it. If you are ever in the area and haven’t done it, it’s a must.
Joubert’s Pass - Opened in 1914
It was 16:00 at the top and I wanted to get to Barkley East by nightfall and the weather was looking ominous, which gave me the excuse to push it a little.
Having some fun on the way down the other side we passed though beautiful farms, crossing a number of drifts and streams. Water was just oozing out of the mountain all over, on the flatter sections, we crossed short stretches of mud, which was so slippery, I was glad it wasn’t raining properly.
At least there was a sign on the Barkly East Side
The light was fading quickly and the weather was coming.
Arriving at Barkly with Temps now under zero deg C, there was NO way TP was gonna allow camping (Thank God). First thing was to find a pub, have a Klippies or few and find out from the locals where we could stay the night.
By now it was dark, and we were absolutely freezing (especially me) – At Wepner I mentioned how I needed coffee – well that’s because of the cold. At this point I must admit that I missed not having my adventure pants which I guess must have shrunk over the past few months - I could just not get into them for the trip so it was a pair of thermal undies and Jeans for today.
We walked into the FC Pub and Grill. As we opened the door, we were greeted by the cosy heat from a roaring fireplace and Oom Jan the owner, his wife (who took one look at us and ordered the barman to bring us OBS each) and each of the few locals that were there came and introduced themselves.
Oom Jan has over 600 Caps (no Duplicates) in his pub. Of all of them he had bought 3, the rest have been given to him by friends and visitors.
We stayed for a few hours kuiering with some interesting characters, had some excellent pizza and then it was time to get to Oom Jan’s Guest House (FC Guest House).
Earlier we had spoken of our plans to leave early the next day and head to the next series of passes on the way to PE. The local farmers told us that it was gonna be a cold night bringing what they referred to as “die Wolwe Dood” – an icy sleet that comes with sub zero temps. Terrible for their cattle but for us, they warned of Black Ice!!!
When we walked out to the bike, we could already see the start of a cold night.
FC Guest House.
We were very glad not to be in a tent. The heater was on and the electric blanket was set to high. After a hot shower it was straight into bed.
A great end to lekker day!
Turned out Freezing Cold and quite amazing!!!
24 June Day 1. JHB – Barkly East
The plan for the day was to head out of Gauteng, through the Free State and into the Eastern Cape where we would start experiencing some of the planned passes.
Ready to leave as the light trickles in for the day. We were in for a very cold, wet and maybe snowy trip!!
The temp wasn’t too bad leaving home as we headed out towards Parys on some dirt roads. Just outside Randfontein we hit the cold front coming in. The temperature dropped to +2 C prompting a hot Coffee Stop at Chevys’ in Parys.
Kroonstad NG Kerk (I think)
Just outside Winburg - Bells Pass .. Not very exciting, but never the less it was on my list.
All the way through the Free State, fields showed evidence of rains and streams everywhere were looking healthy.
We followed the contour of the Western Lesotho border (sign posted the Maloti Route), enjoying the vivid colours of the wintery landscape. Crossed the Caledon and headed for Wepner for a fuel and food stop (and a warm-up).
Wepner
Do they accept Maloti’s or not? I read this sign as “we accept Maloti currency” but only when going through the pics once home did I notice the hidden clue.
I walked into the garage shop really hoping they served coffee ( I needed coffee more than you can imaging, but more about why later). As I walked through the door, my eyes were scanning on top of the counter, behind the counter, no urn, no kettle… just a toaster and a microwave, f f f f fuck! The Tannie asked “Kan elk Help?” and I asked “Geen koffie?”
She just smiled and gestured behind me – there in plain sight was a big, help yourself R6 a cup Cappuccino machine. SORTED.
So do you enjoy pies? I do, but a few Kilos later my heart burn reminded me … BAD Choice.
TP soaking up the SUN. We had had lots of cloud cover so any Sun was appreciated!
These boys were doing Laps through the garage, onto the road, around the corner and back through, each time they passed, eyes glued on the bike.
Back on the bike we headed for Lady Grey. Malotis (Also known as Maluti) in the background. We could see snow in the distance on some of the peaks, but hey that was in Lesotho, not where we were headed.
Had to laugh at this sign. Some of the roads in the northern part of the Easter Cape were very Kak.
Lady Grey. Never been here before - very cool dorp.
We headed though to the back of town and one of the sand streets led us straight up Joubert’s pass. I don’t recall seeing a sign post, but maybe I missed it.
It was turning out to be a lekker pass, nothing hectic but lekker views.
A view of the valley looking back towards Lady Grey
TP had been taking pics on the move and could only manage with her bulky gloves off, so by ¾ of the way up, her hands were frozen. The temp was getting colder as we climbed, now around 0 deg C. After warming her hands on the cylinder, she said “see you in a few 100 meters, come fetch me, I’m running for a while, to warm up”.
The top of Joubert’s pass. The temp now was a bit below zero deg but who cares it is really worth it. If you are ever in the area and haven’t done it, it’s a must.
Joubert’s Pass - Opened in 1914
It was 16:00 at the top and I wanted to get to Barkley East by nightfall and the weather was looking ominous, which gave me the excuse to push it a little.
Having some fun on the way down the other side we passed though beautiful farms, crossing a number of drifts and streams. Water was just oozing out of the mountain all over, on the flatter sections, we crossed short stretches of mud, which was so slippery, I was glad it wasn’t raining properly.
At least there was a sign on the Barkly East Side
The light was fading quickly and the weather was coming.
Arriving at Barkly with Temps now under zero deg C, there was NO way TP was gonna allow camping (Thank God). First thing was to find a pub, have a Klippies or few and find out from the locals where we could stay the night.
By now it was dark, and we were absolutely freezing (especially me) – At Wepner I mentioned how I needed coffee – well that’s because of the cold. At this point I must admit that I missed not having my adventure pants which I guess must have shrunk over the past few months - I could just not get into them for the trip so it was a pair of thermal undies and Jeans for today.
We walked into the FC Pub and Grill. As we opened the door, we were greeted by the cosy heat from a roaring fireplace and Oom Jan the owner, his wife (who took one look at us and ordered the barman to bring us OBS each) and each of the few locals that were there came and introduced themselves.
Oom Jan has over 600 Caps (no Duplicates) in his pub. Of all of them he had bought 3, the rest have been given to him by friends and visitors.
We stayed for a few hours kuiering with some interesting characters, had some excellent pizza and then it was time to get to Oom Jan’s Guest House (FC Guest House).
Earlier we had spoken of our plans to leave early the next day and head to the next series of passes on the way to PE. The local farmers told us that it was gonna be a cold night bringing what they referred to as “die Wolwe Dood” – an icy sleet that comes with sub zero temps. Terrible for their cattle but for us, they warned of Black Ice!!!
When we walked out to the bike, we could already see the start of a cold night.
FC Guest House.
We were very glad not to be in a tent. The heater was on and the electric blanket was set to high. After a hot shower it was straight into bed.
A great end to lekker day!
