Spoonless
Pack Dog
A.k.a. Initiation by Earth, Air and Ice.
It was a non-dark, and unstormy night. Much preparation lay ahead of Bruce and I. Firstly, we had to raise Bruceâ??s KLRâ??s suspension which the previous owner had inexplicably had lowered. A completely safe and foolproof method to do this was devised.
Thereafter I had to remove my sexier, redder KLRâ??s topbox, and install a 12V cigarette lighter style accessory socket. Done, done and done. But now itâ??s a shade before midnight and an early morning is nigh and surely those last two bolts on top of the luggage rack arenâ??t that important, because otherwise I would be able to find the shorter pre-topbox ones I had.
Bright and early Thursday morning. Happy Womenâ??s day! By which I mean: â??Yeah! Im going adventuring on my bike instead of to work!â? Clothes, tools, air compressor, gas stove, food, sleeping bag, map, GPS, cellphone, money, passport, cable ties. Check check check! Meet Bruce at 7am(ish) at the driving range in Rooihuiskraal. Clothes, sleeping bag, other tools, tent, tire repair kit, money, cell, passport, all check. Weâ??re off!
Breakfast at the R21 One Stop Wimpy. R23 via Heidelberg to â??St Andertonâ? and time for our first ARB (Ass Relief Break)
Onwards to Vrede via the R546. Top up the Petrol, and a helpful local aides our finding our first dirt stage. The RNothing to Verkykerskop.
Now donâ??t let that initially innocent façade deceive you! This road is evil. It has a vicious camber induced by its semicircular cross section, and is liberally strewn with fist size chunks of loose rocks on layer of sand that varies from a thin dusting to tire-swallowingly thick.
So perhaps it is unsurprising that at this point my KLR decided it was time to test her crashbars. And they work! Not a scratch to any of the body work, the indicators, handlebars, or the crashbars! The total sum of damage was an easily straightened mirror, and about 200m worth of petrol that dribbled out the carb. And Bruce laughing at me.
So this 60km section of road to the four-building metropolis of Verkykerskop took us somewhere around 2 hours. A tar road to Harrismith and weâ??re at the most amazing Petrol station in the world! Featuring BOTH a Nandoâ??s and a Wimpy. ARB time, and lunch is obtained from the former restaurant. But now its 14h30 and the possessed Verkykerkop road has sapped our dirt confidence. The route is adjusted from via the Middledale pass and secondary and dirt roads via Draycott station and KwaManKonjane; to the more tar biased R74/R102 Bergville/Escourt/MooiRivier/Nottingham Road route to Lower Loteni.
Of ocurse there is the traditional stop at Sterkfontein:
But now weâ??re racing the sun, and just past Nottingham Road, it wins.
Full dark finds Bruce and I 5km onto the gravel with 50ish more to go. So now we have two nubes, doing their first adventure ride, at night, on dirt passes, illuminated only by the renowned potency of their KLR headlights. Total number of falls? An amazing zero!
This is not to say that the bikes didnâ??t take strain. On one occasion of his suspension bottoming out, Bruceâ??s standard issue Dunlop K750 Rear bit into his number plate and spat out the pieces. My KLR deemed the two remaining bolts on my luggage rack to be unworthy, and jettisoned them enroute (also thereby freeing my license disk). Only the miracle of cable ties (four thereof) was keeping my luggage rack (and 15kg kitbag) along for the ride.
But, circa 19h00, we hit the tar protruding 2km past Himeville. Borat Impression time! High Five! High Five!
On to Himeville, where we followed some of the wisdom of the forum, and stayed at the Himeville Arms. Backpacker style. Clean, dry, warm, safe accommodation, with good food, and a great local brew (pale ale) â?? all at a reasonable price!
So the next morning, and neither of our bikes are technically road worthy. Bruceâ??s KLR is minus a number plate and mine is short a license disk. So weâ??re not border-compatible, and D7 claimed that there are demons in the road to Katse from Sani. No problem weâ??ll go around Lesotho. So the Lesotho Traverse became the Lesotho Circumnavigation.
First stop: Underbergâ??s hardware store, to purchase some bolts to permanently reunite my luggage rack and bike.
Then itâ??s the scenic R617 to Kokstad, and the R56 to Cedarville and Matatiele to Mount Fletcher. The views of the Drakensberg are majestic!
Along the way all sorts of wildlife share the road with us, including sheep, goats, cattle, poultry and pigs â?? both of the bacon yielding and laser wielding varieties. Just after Mount Fletcher our map book indicates a â??main road: unsurfacedâ? to some town called Rhodes over something called Naudeâ??s Nek. Well that sounds like just the type of dirt highway weâ??re looking for!
So we turn at the monosyllabic sign indicating an un-highway-esque dirt track. After the first 5km, the informal settlement and steeps sandy rocks and boulders and rivers are left behind, and we have a winding scenic road lethargically spiraling upwards.
An hour later and more than 50km of the map-indicated 59km to Rhodes is covered. Weâ??ve taken in the stunning scenery and enjoyed the ride, and then ride smack into a Y Junction which says Rhodes is 47km down a dodgy road to the right or Maclear can be found 54km to the left.
The Rhodes road doesnot improve, but look at those pretty snowy mountains.
The road gets steeper and rockier and the snowy mountains are now the things under our tires.
We found this road very difficult, how does it compare to Sani, and what is its difficulty level in general?
However, just after the top, the road calms down and is now fast and sweeping, steeply descending the mountain with hairpins galore. 80-90kph is possible in either of the two car-made tracks in the thick loamy sand, with 30-40kph in the corners and 20kph in the hairpins.
2km before Rhodes, and there is a big signing proclaiming the famous Tiffendale ski resort is offer to our right. Bugger. Its sunset and all the accommodation has been booked for more than two months.
Eventually weâ??re directed to Walkerbouts in search of one of their campsights. Sure we can camp, but they do also have this other place. On the outskirts of town. With no electricity. And pictures of dead Afrikaans people that I slept through in history. Better than a tent in sub-zero temperatures!
The local brew at Walkerbouts is a strange saltyish dark ale. However the pizzas are good, and our tales of manly two-wheeled adventures are well received.
Day three. The road from Rhodes to the dingy Barkly East is not a dirt highway. Itâ??s a dirt Autobahn! Especially graded and smoothened so that pompous skiers can get to Rhodes in their low-profiled X5s. There is enough sand and corrugations to be fun, and the wind adds to the challenge of doing the lofty hairpins.
Unfortunately said wind only got stronger throughout the day. Not cool. Especially not on a tall, light bike such as the KLR. So, being blown all over the place, we decide not to do more dirt. We take R58 past Lady Grey, at one ARB the wind blows Bruceâ??s bike off its side stand! With his luggage mounted far back and transversely, his indicator didnâ??t stand a chance. Now its no number plate, and no right rear indicator and the front one doesnâ??t flicker anymore.
Onwards! The R392 past Sterkspruit is a surprisingly scenic road. An alternative would have been to take the dirt road from Moteshâ??s Ford (halfway between Rhodes and Barkly East) via Lundinâ??s Nek to the Orange River. We reach the Orange River anyway, and enter the Free State where the roads are straight. Enough said.
The wind is gusting, the day before 120-140kph was easy cruising. Now 100kph is scary fast. Bruce swears that he saw me lean left into the wind while doing a right hander. Wish I had a picture of that! So, Zastron, Wepener (and petrol), Ladybrand, and Ficksburg. Our overnight is in the Highlander Hotel. Real cheap backpacking here, R100 per person including breakfast, and it showed. It was not possible to increase oneâ??s hygiene level using their showers. There isnâ??t much to do in Ficksburg once youâ??ve bought your cherry liquor.
Sunday, and the wind remains. We decide to come straight back to civilization. The N3 is unappealing, too many speeding cage drivers - not fun with cross winds. Also our bikes are still not technically legal, so itâ??s the R26. Turn left just before Villiers on the R716 to detour via the Vaal Dam.
Then its over a cool bridge to the town that time forgot (Oranjeville) and onto Deneysville. Then the R549 past the Dam itself and onto Heidelburg. Circumnavigation complete, we take the R23 to the R21 and back to Centurion. The end of a long and tough, yet enjoyable and repeatable weekend.
The adventure bug has definitely bit!
It was a non-dark, and unstormy night. Much preparation lay ahead of Bruce and I. Firstly, we had to raise Bruceâ??s KLRâ??s suspension which the previous owner had inexplicably had lowered. A completely safe and foolproof method to do this was devised.
Thereafter I had to remove my sexier, redder KLRâ??s topbox, and install a 12V cigarette lighter style accessory socket. Done, done and done. But now itâ??s a shade before midnight and an early morning is nigh and surely those last two bolts on top of the luggage rack arenâ??t that important, because otherwise I would be able to find the shorter pre-topbox ones I had.
Bright and early Thursday morning. Happy Womenâ??s day! By which I mean: â??Yeah! Im going adventuring on my bike instead of to work!â? Clothes, tools, air compressor, gas stove, food, sleeping bag, map, GPS, cellphone, money, passport, cable ties. Check check check! Meet Bruce at 7am(ish) at the driving range in Rooihuiskraal. Clothes, sleeping bag, other tools, tent, tire repair kit, money, cell, passport, all check. Weâ??re off!
Breakfast at the R21 One Stop Wimpy. R23 via Heidelberg to â??St Andertonâ? and time for our first ARB (Ass Relief Break)
Onwards to Vrede via the R546. Top up the Petrol, and a helpful local aides our finding our first dirt stage. The RNothing to Verkykerskop.
Now donâ??t let that initially innocent façade deceive you! This road is evil. It has a vicious camber induced by its semicircular cross section, and is liberally strewn with fist size chunks of loose rocks on layer of sand that varies from a thin dusting to tire-swallowingly thick.
So perhaps it is unsurprising that at this point my KLR decided it was time to test her crashbars. And they work! Not a scratch to any of the body work, the indicators, handlebars, or the crashbars! The total sum of damage was an easily straightened mirror, and about 200m worth of petrol that dribbled out the carb. And Bruce laughing at me.
So this 60km section of road to the four-building metropolis of Verkykerskop took us somewhere around 2 hours. A tar road to Harrismith and weâ??re at the most amazing Petrol station in the world! Featuring BOTH a Nandoâ??s and a Wimpy. ARB time, and lunch is obtained from the former restaurant. But now its 14h30 and the possessed Verkykerkop road has sapped our dirt confidence. The route is adjusted from via the Middledale pass and secondary and dirt roads via Draycott station and KwaManKonjane; to the more tar biased R74/R102 Bergville/Escourt/MooiRivier/Nottingham Road route to Lower Loteni.
Of ocurse there is the traditional stop at Sterkfontein:
But now weâ??re racing the sun, and just past Nottingham Road, it wins.
Full dark finds Bruce and I 5km onto the gravel with 50ish more to go. So now we have two nubes, doing their first adventure ride, at night, on dirt passes, illuminated only by the renowned potency of their KLR headlights. Total number of falls? An amazing zero!
This is not to say that the bikes didnâ??t take strain. On one occasion of his suspension bottoming out, Bruceâ??s standard issue Dunlop K750 Rear bit into his number plate and spat out the pieces. My KLR deemed the two remaining bolts on my luggage rack to be unworthy, and jettisoned them enroute (also thereby freeing my license disk). Only the miracle of cable ties (four thereof) was keeping my luggage rack (and 15kg kitbag) along for the ride.
But, circa 19h00, we hit the tar protruding 2km past Himeville. Borat Impression time! High Five! High Five!
On to Himeville, where we followed some of the wisdom of the forum, and stayed at the Himeville Arms. Backpacker style. Clean, dry, warm, safe accommodation, with good food, and a great local brew (pale ale) â?? all at a reasonable price!
So the next morning, and neither of our bikes are technically road worthy. Bruceâ??s KLR is minus a number plate and mine is short a license disk. So weâ??re not border-compatible, and D7 claimed that there are demons in the road to Katse from Sani. No problem weâ??ll go around Lesotho. So the Lesotho Traverse became the Lesotho Circumnavigation.
First stop: Underbergâ??s hardware store, to purchase some bolts to permanently reunite my luggage rack and bike.
Then itâ??s the scenic R617 to Kokstad, and the R56 to Cedarville and Matatiele to Mount Fletcher. The views of the Drakensberg are majestic!
Along the way all sorts of wildlife share the road with us, including sheep, goats, cattle, poultry and pigs â?? both of the bacon yielding and laser wielding varieties. Just after Mount Fletcher our map book indicates a â??main road: unsurfacedâ? to some town called Rhodes over something called Naudeâ??s Nek. Well that sounds like just the type of dirt highway weâ??re looking for!
So we turn at the monosyllabic sign indicating an un-highway-esque dirt track. After the first 5km, the informal settlement and steeps sandy rocks and boulders and rivers are left behind, and we have a winding scenic road lethargically spiraling upwards.
An hour later and more than 50km of the map-indicated 59km to Rhodes is covered. Weâ??ve taken in the stunning scenery and enjoyed the ride, and then ride smack into a Y Junction which says Rhodes is 47km down a dodgy road to the right or Maclear can be found 54km to the left.
The Rhodes road doesnot improve, but look at those pretty snowy mountains.
The road gets steeper and rockier and the snowy mountains are now the things under our tires.
We found this road very difficult, how does it compare to Sani, and what is its difficulty level in general?
However, just after the top, the road calms down and is now fast and sweeping, steeply descending the mountain with hairpins galore. 80-90kph is possible in either of the two car-made tracks in the thick loamy sand, with 30-40kph in the corners and 20kph in the hairpins.
2km before Rhodes, and there is a big signing proclaiming the famous Tiffendale ski resort is offer to our right. Bugger. Its sunset and all the accommodation has been booked for more than two months.
Eventually weâ??re directed to Walkerbouts in search of one of their campsights. Sure we can camp, but they do also have this other place. On the outskirts of town. With no electricity. And pictures of dead Afrikaans people that I slept through in history. Better than a tent in sub-zero temperatures!
The local brew at Walkerbouts is a strange saltyish dark ale. However the pizzas are good, and our tales of manly two-wheeled adventures are well received.
Day three. The road from Rhodes to the dingy Barkly East is not a dirt highway. Itâ??s a dirt Autobahn! Especially graded and smoothened so that pompous skiers can get to Rhodes in their low-profiled X5s. There is enough sand and corrugations to be fun, and the wind adds to the challenge of doing the lofty hairpins.
Unfortunately said wind only got stronger throughout the day. Not cool. Especially not on a tall, light bike such as the KLR. So, being blown all over the place, we decide not to do more dirt. We take R58 past Lady Grey, at one ARB the wind blows Bruceâ??s bike off its side stand! With his luggage mounted far back and transversely, his indicator didnâ??t stand a chance. Now its no number plate, and no right rear indicator and the front one doesnâ??t flicker anymore.
Onwards! The R392 past Sterkspruit is a surprisingly scenic road. An alternative would have been to take the dirt road from Moteshâ??s Ford (halfway between Rhodes and Barkly East) via Lundinâ??s Nek to the Orange River. We reach the Orange River anyway, and enter the Free State where the roads are straight. Enough said.
The wind is gusting, the day before 120-140kph was easy cruising. Now 100kph is scary fast. Bruce swears that he saw me lean left into the wind while doing a right hander. Wish I had a picture of that! So, Zastron, Wepener (and petrol), Ladybrand, and Ficksburg. Our overnight is in the Highlander Hotel. Real cheap backpacking here, R100 per person including breakfast, and it showed. It was not possible to increase oneâ??s hygiene level using their showers. There isnâ??t much to do in Ficksburg once youâ??ve bought your cherry liquor.
Sunday, and the wind remains. We decide to come straight back to civilization. The N3 is unappealing, too many speeding cage drivers - not fun with cross winds. Also our bikes are still not technically legal, so itâ??s the R26. Turn left just before Villiers on the R716 to detour via the Vaal Dam.
Then its over a cool bridge to the town that time forgot (Oranjeville) and onto Deneysville. Then the R549 past the Dam itself and onto Heidelburg. Circumnavigation complete, we take the R23 to the R21 and back to Centurion. The end of a long and tough, yet enjoyable and repeatable weekend.
The adventure bug has definitely bit!
