Strompie
Race Dog
When we still had our camping trailer, it was named MODJADJI, the rain queen. It seems that at every camping weekend, Modjadji would summon rainclouds like a demon possessed. I am starting to feel the same about Strompie. If I as much as think about a ride, it rains. I woke up last night with a heavy rain falling, but this morning, things were looking up. Today was about confidence building, and trying out the new shoes on my bike. I decided to do a few geocaches too, while I'm at it. So all in all, a longish ride with boxes to tick and points to prove.
I identified Breedtsnek pass as the proving ground for the Karoo 3's and my own ability. With a geocache conveniently placed at the top, it looked like the ideal place to start. I located two more around the same area, just for good measure. One of the caches was an old rusted Hudson Commodore. These old cars fascinate me, because I always want to know the story behind them. At some point each was a clean, brand new car and someone was very excited to take delivery of it. The places it has been, the laughter shared...
From here, I retraced my track, and hit the gravel. The Karoos bit and even managed to kick up a bit of dust. At the start of the pass, I saw this sign :
Challenge accepted! I took a gingerly pace, fearing that I will drop my precious bike at any moment. The Anakees I had on before were all over the place. These things, however made the bike stay true. Even through the twisty bits.
On my way there, I came across a mountain biker. He looked exhausted, pushing his bike. I thought he might have a flat, but HE was just flat. He was also a fetching shade of lobster. I pushed on and at the top I quickly searched for the cache, before heading down myself. It is a very tricky road, but the Strom handled it.
Covered in dust, and sweating like a pig, I headed home. Only a 250-odd km trip, but it needed doing.
I identified Breedtsnek pass as the proving ground for the Karoo 3's and my own ability. With a geocache conveniently placed at the top, it looked like the ideal place to start. I located two more around the same area, just for good measure. One of the caches was an old rusted Hudson Commodore. These old cars fascinate me, because I always want to know the story behind them. At some point each was a clean, brand new car and someone was very excited to take delivery of it. The places it has been, the laughter shared...
From here, I retraced my track, and hit the gravel. The Karoos bit and even managed to kick up a bit of dust. At the start of the pass, I saw this sign :
Challenge accepted! I took a gingerly pace, fearing that I will drop my precious bike at any moment. The Anakees I had on before were all over the place. These things, however made the bike stay true. Even through the twisty bits.
On my way there, I came across a mountain biker. He looked exhausted, pushing his bike. I thought he might have a flat, but HE was just flat. He was also a fetching shade of lobster. I pushed on and at the top I quickly searched for the cache, before heading down myself. It is a very tricky road, but the Strom handled it.
Covered in dust, and sweating like a pig, I headed home. Only a 250-odd km trip, but it needed doing.
