Wet Elandsriver route.

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JERINOMO

Race Dog
Joined
May 17, 2010
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Location
Port Elizabeth
Bike
BMW F800GS
On a couple of occasions on this forum I read not to attempt the Elandsriver route when it’s wet!!!

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Crowley, a Gautenger  is down here in PE for a work related project. So he contacted me and wanted to do a ride. I contacted PCD and the ride was on.

The initial idea was that we do the Grootriver Poort, but we unanimously decided against it as there was rain forecasted for the Steytlerville area.  So it was decided to do the much dryer Elandsriver route.

Well , I was pleased with the fact that I did my homework. Yr.no predicted rain from Sunday morning early and will stop Sunday Morning at 08:00. With a whole Saturday of sunshine and about 0.6mm predicted for Sunday morning, I was confident that the route toward Patensie will be a breeze as I’ve done this route so many times before.

We were meeting at the Sasol garage in Disa rd. On my way there it was still raining just as yr.no predicted but the sun was already coming out so it was going to be a glorious day.

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Crowly arriving shortly after me

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PCD arriving

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We thought of waiting a bit till the rain subsides and PCD got us some Coffee

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PCD on the left and Crowley on the right

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The rain was almost gone and it was time to get some dirt under us. A beautiful day and a nice route. There were some raindrops here and there, but the sun came through and it was all set up for a great ride.

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The clowdcover over Patensie looked a bit heavy but yr.no was never wrong (so far), so I knew those clowds were moving  away.

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Our slightly fading hope for a dry ride was affirmed again by the sun sticking its neck out again.

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The road surface was quite wet at some places indicating that there was more than 0.6mm rain as yr predicted.

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And then the rain came down. I was surprised YR got it wrong but being the optimist, I thought it will blow over.

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That little road sign explained the whole trip from here on.

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I stopped and wanted to get the feeling if we must push on and hope the rain will stop. What a stupid question to ask Crowley. On his 950SE, what answer was I expecting? Hungry for a ride, he also thought we must push on.

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With a nod from  PCD we were off in the rain.

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The road was as slippery as can be. I always defended the capability of the Scout tyre in muddy conditions but today I tend to agree with the rest of the reports. The Scout is NOT a good back tyre for mud.

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I was time for a smoke break and to rethink what our plans for the rest of the trip’s going to be.

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Crowley’s work of art.

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The three bikes

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PCD and his GS

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We decided to move on. The red clay were manageable,  but that yellow and grey stuff were the ones to look out for.

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It was the start of the climb toward the tower as we were about 2.5km from the tower.

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And this is where the sh..t hit the fan

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At first I thought I did not hurt myself. I could feel a knock on my shin, but thought nothing of it.

How awesome that 950SE with its Michelin Desert  looked when Crowley passed me.

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PCD was going nowhere either. He’s bike couldn’t get enough traction to up here where we were.

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After Crowley helped me pick up the pig, we were off to PCD to assist. This is where Crowley’s experience made the difference.  I always thought that one should never ride up a “wash away”. Crowley suggested to get the front wheel into the wash away and ride it out. Well, the lights came on and it made good sense as the soft mud is washed away, leaving the harder surface protruded.

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This was the third CODESA meeting. Should we or shouldn’t we carry on. My mind was made up since I knew from here it’s only getting worse. Everybody agree that we should turn around.

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If to rub salt in the wounds, it started bucketing down again.

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At some stage PCD fell behind. His bike cut out, but he managed to get it going again.

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With a: “Take us out of here” in PCD’s eyes we were off. The rain stopped and so did we for the last time before hitting the asphalt.

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We needed food desparately, so PCD took the lead  and took us to the closest restaurant.

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Arriving 20minutes later at the restaurant in Seaview, the sun were shining as if there were no  rain since the “great depression”.

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My sleeves were still wet, not to mention the mud on my boots and pants.

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My leg was getting sensitive since I came off the bike and thought of going to the bathroom and have a look

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It was swollen. More than I expected.

A  burger and chips and hot Coffee and we felt human again.

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The bike was as muddy as I ever saw it.

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The mark on my leg had a triangle shape and was wondering where it came from.

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And soon it was ID’ed.

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My leg was getting all the more purple. The price of stupidity I should say.

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Although the ride did not pan out as it was planned, we still had a good ride.  I promised Crowley that we will still complete the Elandsriver route.  We can safely say, and agree with the rest that the Elandsriver road should be avoided when wet.
 
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