rubiblue
Race Dog
So like I wanted to do my first long trip up to Namibia for 5/6 days with some family and friends from PE on adv bikes. Needless to say the wisdom of my old man and his one mate convinced us to do something smaller, more local for our first ride. I now agree with him for several reasons: costs, getting to know people who travel with you on a more travelling level, time frames, etc.
Regardless I started planning a ride through Transkei for 5 nights and six days, leaving from PE and returning to the windy city (albeit the rainy city as proved on our return). My dad and another friend Kenny decided that they would plan the route with the help of glovebox as he recently passed that way with the princes.
The idea was to get a small tight group together that we could have fun, do some long drives on gravel with okes who have ridden before and get some knowledge about our future longer (into Africa) trips.
DAY 1
We left last week Thursday (6th Nov) from PE and hit the backs roads to Uitenhage to avoid morning traffic. Man, form the moment we set out I had a very strong assumption that it was going to be a long hot day. Soon after Uitenhage we hit the dirt and did not venture far from it from then on. All in all we probably did about 25-30% tar and the rest was gravel (from flat stuff to very rough stuff). We went via Addo area, Riebeeck East, Alice, hogsback, keiskammahoek until we reached our first pitstop for the trip just short of Stutterheim. It was a HOT HOT day, I think I recall my 800gs reading 37 up in some hogsback pass. Accomodation was ok, we got a bit ripped, but hey you win some and lose some. One of the guys that was with us, only joined us in Stutterheim later that afternoon as he had to work until lunch time. He did the trip from PE on tar and when he reached us, he abruptly ordered a new tire from some shop in East London as his KTM 990 s had eaten the fresh knobby in less than 2 hours, eish, expensive start for him. That evening we were warned that rain was on its way the next morning, not cool! Penalties were issued for slowest and fastest riders of the day as with every other day.
Total distance: 427kms (about 9 hours in the saddle) bum starting to hurt...
DAY 2
The next morning, all feeling the first days aches and pains we hit the road again, this time the temperature was around 10, very different from yesterday. This days route was marked on the GPS, but as the crows flies between towns, needless to say we got lost, after 2.5 hours of riding, we ended up within 20 kms of where we started, oops, there were some chirps that were being thrown around by now. One of the guys dumped it on a corner, however I must concede that I donâ??t think it was hit fault as the 2 leaders for the day had conveniently stopped on a sharp off camber bend â?? he had to drop the bike to avoid a moerse prang. This day was a bit blurry in terms of places we went through, but I know we went through Elliot and ugie before reaching our second pitstop in tsista falls. The accommodation was a little dodgy looking at first, but out of all the places we went this was the most special to me. We zip-lined across the falls in the late afternoon and were house bound from 5pm onwards with some inclement weather. Again, still very cold...
Total Distance: 340kms (about 8-9 hours again on the seat) BMW must make a more comfortable seat! Rims are like soft rubber as well, all the 800â??s were suffering from dented rims, the 2 ktms and 2 klrs were fine!
DAY 3
After a great nights rest and some awesome chow we hit the road again nice and early, heading back towards Maclear and Ugie for some fuel and to start our leg towards the caost. Shit, Transkei is beautiful! The temperature was once again very cold, but the rain was holding out for us. The guy with the need for the new back tire left us at early on as his tire was waiting in Mthatha. We were the first people down a new pass they are busy building just outside Ugie, of course this happened illegally, and we were threatened but it was so worth it, I have no idea what it is called, it is all concrete and it is without a doubt the best pass I have been through, possibly because there were no cars using it yet. We met up at elliotdale with â??tireâ? boy and once again started descending towards coffee bay. We made a stop at (cannot remember the name) at a famous biker watering hole right near hole-in-the-wall and then continued into coffee bay. We stayed at the Ocean View hotel, very good value for money. Fines were drank for getting is lost or for being too slow, etc and we eventually ended up at Bomvu Bar, very cool, chilled, lots of young tourists! This is Transkei...
Total Distance: 266kms (a short day in the saddle) more dinged rims for the beemers...
DAY 4
Next day was very short, a mere 160kms, but again in cold weather and very hectic winds. We made our way to Kob Inn Hotel (again, great value for money). We got there quite early so myself, my younger boet and 2 mates hit some roads for some more technical stuff. I was running a battlewing rear (90/10) so I was a little concerned, but bloody hell is that tire impressive for what it is. We did a small sand section, some loose rocky uphills (something a dirtbike would fly over, but a little more testing for a 800gs with short legs). Was a lot of fun, did some things I thought were not possible with that bike + the smooth rear. We sat at the pub which is basically on the rocks and watched a pretty hectic thunderstorm over the water. Again, fines were finished and we ended off with a few games of the usual â??lie-diceâ??, just to ensure we all fell asleep pretty quickly.
Total Distance: 160kms â?? short, nice ride nonetheless.
DAY 5
The following day was going to be quiet a long one, so everyone was ready nice and early. Only then did we find out that breakfast was only at 8am. We waited and left later. Made out way to ubuntu to bishop + Kings for fuel and quick chow, we did quite a lot of tar this road. Learnt how to wheelie the 800, a rather hard job until you get the feel of it. Did the Kei Mouth Pontoon crossing (a real typical biking adventure must). A few of us stopped at the Great Fish Point Lighthouse for a quick tour and pics â?? worth the stop. We stayed over in Port Alfred at the Royal Guesthouse, again very nice place, good chow, cool people. Again we were warned of the impeding rain along the coast which has not touched us yet (luckily). We all hit the sack pretty early due to tired minds and aching bodies.
Total Distance: 380kms (Need to get new seat for beemer!!!)
DAY 6
The next day was pretty chilled, fast gravel sections through lots of game areas. The rain started about an hour after we started, but was not too bad, again the battlewing impressed me on slick clay gravel roads. From na-naga we hit the tar back to PE in the rain and stopped off at a pub to talk crap and say cheers to everyone, I had to wash my bike as I was on a plane the next morning back to Joberg â?? and as I sit here now, I realise that I could do that forever. I have heard the saying before about adv riding from the Charlie and Ewan, but only now realised it. Only after a few days of doing it can you get what they said â?? its awesome purely because of the lack of responsibility it provides (no work, no partners, just you and the bike really â?? a kind of freedom that few other activities can give you).
Total Distance: 190kms (ass was like leather by now so not so sure about the softer seat anymore)
[NO PICS FROM LAST DAY]
All in all it was so freaking great to get away with some really cool family and friends and do what I really enjoy doing â?? riding bikes. Everyone enjoyed it, and at the last watering hole, everyone asked when I was going to start planning the next one. Soon, very soon.... but on my side of the world!
Regardless I started planning a ride through Transkei for 5 nights and six days, leaving from PE and returning to the windy city (albeit the rainy city as proved on our return). My dad and another friend Kenny decided that they would plan the route with the help of glovebox as he recently passed that way with the princes.
The idea was to get a small tight group together that we could have fun, do some long drives on gravel with okes who have ridden before and get some knowledge about our future longer (into Africa) trips.
DAY 1
We left last week Thursday (6th Nov) from PE and hit the backs roads to Uitenhage to avoid morning traffic. Man, form the moment we set out I had a very strong assumption that it was going to be a long hot day. Soon after Uitenhage we hit the dirt and did not venture far from it from then on. All in all we probably did about 25-30% tar and the rest was gravel (from flat stuff to very rough stuff). We went via Addo area, Riebeeck East, Alice, hogsback, keiskammahoek until we reached our first pitstop for the trip just short of Stutterheim. It was a HOT HOT day, I think I recall my 800gs reading 37 up in some hogsback pass. Accomodation was ok, we got a bit ripped, but hey you win some and lose some. One of the guys that was with us, only joined us in Stutterheim later that afternoon as he had to work until lunch time. He did the trip from PE on tar and when he reached us, he abruptly ordered a new tire from some shop in East London as his KTM 990 s had eaten the fresh knobby in less than 2 hours, eish, expensive start for him. That evening we were warned that rain was on its way the next morning, not cool! Penalties were issued for slowest and fastest riders of the day as with every other day.
Total distance: 427kms (about 9 hours in the saddle) bum starting to hurt...
DAY 2
The next morning, all feeling the first days aches and pains we hit the road again, this time the temperature was around 10, very different from yesterday. This days route was marked on the GPS, but as the crows flies between towns, needless to say we got lost, after 2.5 hours of riding, we ended up within 20 kms of where we started, oops, there were some chirps that were being thrown around by now. One of the guys dumped it on a corner, however I must concede that I donâ??t think it was hit fault as the 2 leaders for the day had conveniently stopped on a sharp off camber bend â?? he had to drop the bike to avoid a moerse prang. This day was a bit blurry in terms of places we went through, but I know we went through Elliot and ugie before reaching our second pitstop in tsista falls. The accommodation was a little dodgy looking at first, but out of all the places we went this was the most special to me. We zip-lined across the falls in the late afternoon and were house bound from 5pm onwards with some inclement weather. Again, still very cold...
Total Distance: 340kms (about 8-9 hours again on the seat) BMW must make a more comfortable seat! Rims are like soft rubber as well, all the 800â??s were suffering from dented rims, the 2 ktms and 2 klrs were fine!
DAY 3
After a great nights rest and some awesome chow we hit the road again nice and early, heading back towards Maclear and Ugie for some fuel and to start our leg towards the caost. Shit, Transkei is beautiful! The temperature was once again very cold, but the rain was holding out for us. The guy with the need for the new back tire left us at early on as his tire was waiting in Mthatha. We were the first people down a new pass they are busy building just outside Ugie, of course this happened illegally, and we were threatened but it was so worth it, I have no idea what it is called, it is all concrete and it is without a doubt the best pass I have been through, possibly because there were no cars using it yet. We met up at elliotdale with â??tireâ? boy and once again started descending towards coffee bay. We made a stop at (cannot remember the name) at a famous biker watering hole right near hole-in-the-wall and then continued into coffee bay. We stayed at the Ocean View hotel, very good value for money. Fines were drank for getting is lost or for being too slow, etc and we eventually ended up at Bomvu Bar, very cool, chilled, lots of young tourists! This is Transkei...
Total Distance: 266kms (a short day in the saddle) more dinged rims for the beemers...
DAY 4
Next day was very short, a mere 160kms, but again in cold weather and very hectic winds. We made our way to Kob Inn Hotel (again, great value for money). We got there quite early so myself, my younger boet and 2 mates hit some roads for some more technical stuff. I was running a battlewing rear (90/10) so I was a little concerned, but bloody hell is that tire impressive for what it is. We did a small sand section, some loose rocky uphills (something a dirtbike would fly over, but a little more testing for a 800gs with short legs). Was a lot of fun, did some things I thought were not possible with that bike + the smooth rear. We sat at the pub which is basically on the rocks and watched a pretty hectic thunderstorm over the water. Again, fines were finished and we ended off with a few games of the usual â??lie-diceâ??, just to ensure we all fell asleep pretty quickly.
Total Distance: 160kms â?? short, nice ride nonetheless.
DAY 5
The following day was going to be quiet a long one, so everyone was ready nice and early. Only then did we find out that breakfast was only at 8am. We waited and left later. Made out way to ubuntu to bishop + Kings for fuel and quick chow, we did quite a lot of tar this road. Learnt how to wheelie the 800, a rather hard job until you get the feel of it. Did the Kei Mouth Pontoon crossing (a real typical biking adventure must). A few of us stopped at the Great Fish Point Lighthouse for a quick tour and pics â?? worth the stop. We stayed over in Port Alfred at the Royal Guesthouse, again very nice place, good chow, cool people. Again we were warned of the impeding rain along the coast which has not touched us yet (luckily). We all hit the sack pretty early due to tired minds and aching bodies.
Total Distance: 380kms (Need to get new seat for beemer!!!)
DAY 6
The next day was pretty chilled, fast gravel sections through lots of game areas. The rain started about an hour after we started, but was not too bad, again the battlewing impressed me on slick clay gravel roads. From na-naga we hit the tar back to PE in the rain and stopped off at a pub to talk crap and say cheers to everyone, I had to wash my bike as I was on a plane the next morning back to Joberg â?? and as I sit here now, I realise that I could do that forever. I have heard the saying before about adv riding from the Charlie and Ewan, but only now realised it. Only after a few days of doing it can you get what they said â?? its awesome purely because of the lack of responsibility it provides (no work, no partners, just you and the bike really â?? a kind of freedom that few other activities can give you).
Total Distance: 190kms (ass was like leather by now so not so sure about the softer seat anymore)
[NO PICS FROM LAST DAY]
All in all it was so freaking great to get away with some really cool family and friends and do what I really enjoy doing â?? riding bikes. Everyone enjoyed it, and at the last watering hole, everyone asked when I was going to start planning the next one. Soon, very soon.... but on my side of the world!
