hando
Race Dog
As I sat in Nando's in Uitenhage waiting for my Chicken and chips I sent my Ride partners for the day an sms to say that I am home safe. The reply SMS I got said :"Home too. Thanks. Was Awesome."
And that pretty much sums it up.The two words that got uttered inside my helmet the most today was either :'WOW!' or "Awesome".
Having to still do three hours at work before I could go and ride meant that I was up this morning by 4:30. By 5:30 I was at work and by 8:30 I swiped my clock card and made a bee line for my bike. Since I had more than an hour to spare before we needed to meet I decided to take a quick ride to Van Stadens Pass. My friend Daven joined me on his road bike.
We stopped down on the bridge for the compulsory photo session and met up with three other bikers on some very neat R1200 GSA's . I recognised Coles and Mike R .
We chatted a bit and then made some tracks to Uncle Freddies where 214 and Tyger were already waiting. Daven was asked if he planned to do Elandsrivier road with his road bike for the second time in one morning and so he decided to get home and leave the DS guys to go and play.
We kitted up and got going - first stop the Sand rivier Dam.
214 and Tyger were bemoaning the cold , while I was probably to excited (read nervous) to feel the cold.
We hit the road again with 214 in the lead and me running sweeper with Tyger riding like a pro in between. At some point Tyger stopped and asked to try 214's bike , which she rode admirably for someone who is a bit shorter than the rest of us.
We stopped at the top by the towers and were just getting into some snacks when Wolweseun came sliding to a stop next to us on his new ride. A Honda XR650. Very nice bike , I must say.
We saddled up and 214 and Wolweseun developed horns and went flying down the pass towards Patensie with me and Tyger and me following at a much more sedate pace.
We eventually caught up with the other two as they sat around waiting for us.
Next stop was Kouga Dam where we were hoping to see some of the 4x4 owners attempt the water crossing towards the picnic site, but alas , no one seemed too keen on being the guinea pig.
I convinced my scoot to pose nicely for a pic.
From Kouga Dam we decided to go into Baviaans for a short distance. Once in , 214 decided to go and show us the waterfall.
We stopped by the poortjie sign and then slogged about a kilometer up the valley towards the waterfall. I must say that the walk in heavy riding gear was absolutely worth and all the walking forgotten when we saw the waterfall.
Our souls refreshed we hiked back to the bikes where 214 assisted Wolweseun with some mid trip refueling before we could hit the road again to go and look at some Bushmanpaintings further into Baviaans.
The section towards the paintings was surely the most technical that I have had to deal with and it expanded my experience curve rapidly. On the way back I found that I was not riding well and that my bike was taking unnecessary punishment. I realized that this was due to the fact that I was getting tired and that I was not ride fit and was starting to look right in front of me. Once I made a point of looking up things improved dramatically.
We had to get a move on as the sun was setting and so we beat it back out of Baviaans. After a quick fuel stop in Patensie we got down to business and dodged the traffic on the highway back to PE.
This was an awesome ride and I will surely go back to Baviaans to go and experience more of this awesome place.
Thank you 214 , Tyger and Wolweseun. It was nice to meet you and share this ride with you.
And that pretty much sums it up.The two words that got uttered inside my helmet the most today was either :'WOW!' or "Awesome".
Having to still do three hours at work before I could go and ride meant that I was up this morning by 4:30. By 5:30 I was at work and by 8:30 I swiped my clock card and made a bee line for my bike. Since I had more than an hour to spare before we needed to meet I decided to take a quick ride to Van Stadens Pass. My friend Daven joined me on his road bike.
We stopped down on the bridge for the compulsory photo session and met up with three other bikers on some very neat R1200 GSA's . I recognised Coles and Mike R .
We chatted a bit and then made some tracks to Uncle Freddies where 214 and Tyger were already waiting. Daven was asked if he planned to do Elandsrivier road with his road bike for the second time in one morning and so he decided to get home and leave the DS guys to go and play.
We kitted up and got going - first stop the Sand rivier Dam.
214 and Tyger were bemoaning the cold , while I was probably to excited (read nervous) to feel the cold.
We hit the road again with 214 in the lead and me running sweeper with Tyger riding like a pro in between. At some point Tyger stopped and asked to try 214's bike , which she rode admirably for someone who is a bit shorter than the rest of us.
We stopped at the top by the towers and were just getting into some snacks when Wolweseun came sliding to a stop next to us on his new ride. A Honda XR650. Very nice bike , I must say.
We saddled up and 214 and Wolweseun developed horns and went flying down the pass towards Patensie with me and Tyger and me following at a much more sedate pace.
We eventually caught up with the other two as they sat around waiting for us.
Next stop was Kouga Dam where we were hoping to see some of the 4x4 owners attempt the water crossing towards the picnic site, but alas , no one seemed too keen on being the guinea pig.
I convinced my scoot to pose nicely for a pic.
From Kouga Dam we decided to go into Baviaans for a short distance. Once in , 214 decided to go and show us the waterfall.
We stopped by the poortjie sign and then slogged about a kilometer up the valley towards the waterfall. I must say that the walk in heavy riding gear was absolutely worth and all the walking forgotten when we saw the waterfall.
Our souls refreshed we hiked back to the bikes where 214 assisted Wolweseun with some mid trip refueling before we could hit the road again to go and look at some Bushmanpaintings further into Baviaans.
The section towards the paintings was surely the most technical that I have had to deal with and it expanded my experience curve rapidly. On the way back I found that I was not riding well and that my bike was taking unnecessary punishment. I realized that this was due to the fact that I was getting tired and that I was not ride fit and was starting to look right in front of me. Once I made a point of looking up things improved dramatically.
We had to get a move on as the sun was setting and so we beat it back out of Baviaans. After a quick fuel stop in Patensie we got down to business and dodged the traffic on the highway back to PE.
This was an awesome ride and I will surely go back to Baviaans to go and experience more of this awesome place.
Thank you 214 , Tyger and Wolweseun. It was nice to meet you and share this ride with you.
