Baked Beans
Pack Dog
After I had done this trip, Buks asked me when will I do the ride report. Well here it is finally...
How or where it started I don’t know, but before long I was planning on a trip that will take me form George westwards along the coast to Cape Point, up the west coast to Alexander Bay. From there I follow the Orange River to Upington and then heading back towards George. My aim was to follow the coastline and the Orange River as closely as possible. First goal was to make it to Alexander Bay, from there onwards everything was a bonus. And of course, to avoid tar as far as possible. That was the plan in a nutshell.
So I decided to take two weeks leave including the Easter weekend and my plans were set in motion. Not much to plan, the route was more or less fixed, I will sleep where I get tired or where it get dark. I take a look at Tracks for Africa to see where I can refuel and phone the Namaqua Coastal National Park just to make sure that I may pass through the Part and maybe stay over. Thanks to Buks I bought a 18,5 liter long range tank earlier. Besides that I have decided to make a panier that can take 5 liters of fuel and 5 liters of water. All the people I spoke to and the map warn you about the bad and deep sand sections, and the last thing I want to do is to run out of gas in the middle of nowhere.
Some of the things I took with me (in no particular order)
• tent
• mattress
• sleeping bag
• headlight
• rain clothes
• camp stove
• cellphone and charger
• sat phone – i bought it because none of my buddies could join me and I often ride where there is no cellphone reception
• spanners
• tire lever
• compressor
• patch and solution
• two days dry proviand
• first aid kit
• camera
• extra back tube
• tire weld/jack
• chain lube
• matches
April, 21st
Time for me to saddle up and hit the road. Since I had quite a lot of stuff to load, I load and unload the bike several times. Near midnight I was still not happy how the load sits and decided to call it a day...
April, 22nd
Load, do a practice run, unload. Unpack and see if there is anything that I can leef behind. Repack, reload and do a practice run for the rest of the day. Although this was not my first time doing a overnight trip, this was the first time that I will be away so long and also be on my own. Eventually everything fits well and the bike handled ok with all the added weight. Time to go to bed…
Tip: Rather delay your departure and sort out your gear than to be in a hurry to hit the road and ending up wasting time on the way trying to manage your gear. That can be a real bummer.
George to Struisbaai - April, 23rd (+/- 375 km)
Finally I can hit the road. I decided to load the pannier and give it a test run. If it wants to brake it must do so while I am in a situation where I can alter my plans. As I left George behind the last two days worries start to disappear and I more look forward to the adventure that waits on me. By the time I hit the gravel at Gourits I was smiling form ear to ear. The bike handled well on the gravel road and my gear seem to sit ok. Look a bit top heavy, but is the mattress and sleeping bag at the back and top. There was a bit of a delayed reaction when I suddenly turn, but I got used to that. At Stilbaai I was satisfied that the pannier is ok and empty the fuel to reduce the load. From here I take the back road pass Blombos, Puntjie and Vermaaklikheid to Witsand. I just had to go over the pond at Malagas, from there to Waenhuiskrans. I planned to stay over, but the Municipal campsite were fully booked and the other places were to price for my liking. They said that there were sites available at Struisbaai, so I decided to try my luck there. Arrived at Struisbaai and put up my tent. Went for a pizza and something to drink at the local restaurant. Fall asleep with the sound of the see in the background. This is life…
How or where it started I don’t know, but before long I was planning on a trip that will take me form George westwards along the coast to Cape Point, up the west coast to Alexander Bay. From there I follow the Orange River to Upington and then heading back towards George. My aim was to follow the coastline and the Orange River as closely as possible. First goal was to make it to Alexander Bay, from there onwards everything was a bonus. And of course, to avoid tar as far as possible. That was the plan in a nutshell.
So I decided to take two weeks leave including the Easter weekend and my plans were set in motion. Not much to plan, the route was more or less fixed, I will sleep where I get tired or where it get dark. I take a look at Tracks for Africa to see where I can refuel and phone the Namaqua Coastal National Park just to make sure that I may pass through the Part and maybe stay over. Thanks to Buks I bought a 18,5 liter long range tank earlier. Besides that I have decided to make a panier that can take 5 liters of fuel and 5 liters of water. All the people I spoke to and the map warn you about the bad and deep sand sections, and the last thing I want to do is to run out of gas in the middle of nowhere.
Some of the things I took with me (in no particular order)
• tent
• mattress
• sleeping bag
• headlight
• rain clothes
• camp stove
• cellphone and charger
• sat phone – i bought it because none of my buddies could join me and I often ride where there is no cellphone reception
• spanners
• tire lever
• compressor
• patch and solution
• two days dry proviand
• first aid kit
• camera
• extra back tube
• tire weld/jack
• chain lube
• matches
April, 21st
Time for me to saddle up and hit the road. Since I had quite a lot of stuff to load, I load and unload the bike several times. Near midnight I was still not happy how the load sits and decided to call it a day...
April, 22nd
Load, do a practice run, unload. Unpack and see if there is anything that I can leef behind. Repack, reload and do a practice run for the rest of the day. Although this was not my first time doing a overnight trip, this was the first time that I will be away so long and also be on my own. Eventually everything fits well and the bike handled ok with all the added weight. Time to go to bed…
Tip: Rather delay your departure and sort out your gear than to be in a hurry to hit the road and ending up wasting time on the way trying to manage your gear. That can be a real bummer.
George to Struisbaai - April, 23rd (+/- 375 km)
Finally I can hit the road. I decided to load the pannier and give it a test run. If it wants to brake it must do so while I am in a situation where I can alter my plans. As I left George behind the last two days worries start to disappear and I more look forward to the adventure that waits on me. By the time I hit the gravel at Gourits I was smiling form ear to ear. The bike handled well on the gravel road and my gear seem to sit ok. Look a bit top heavy, but is the mattress and sleeping bag at the back and top. There was a bit of a delayed reaction when I suddenly turn, but I got used to that. At Stilbaai I was satisfied that the pannier is ok and empty the fuel to reduce the load. From here I take the back road pass Blombos, Puntjie and Vermaaklikheid to Witsand. I just had to go over the pond at Malagas, from there to Waenhuiskrans. I planned to stay over, but the Municipal campsite were fully booked and the other places were to price for my liking. They said that there were sites available at Struisbaai, so I decided to try my luck there. Arrived at Struisbaai and put up my tent. Went for a pizza and something to drink at the local restaurant. Fall asleep with the sound of the see in the background. This is life…
