chalsam
Pack Dog
A couple of months ago I accepted an invitation to join a group of Natal DS Riders for a long weekend trip from Durban to The Berg between Friday 24th and Sunday 26th July. I left Springs on Thursday morning and spent the night in Durban. To report on all the events and occurances of this awesome weekend will take forever, but will describe Thursday's trip to Durban in more detail.
Thursday 23rd July.
For me, excitement doesn't bode well for a good night's sleep, so to avoid further frustration caused by insomnia I get up before sunrise. On the way back from dropping kids off at school I receive a call from a customer who wants a quote asap (read NOW!). Indirectly, it's customers that pay for trips like this, so the quote gets done and I'm ready to leave at 10h30, which puts me more than an hour behind schedule. Needing to make up lost time, I hurriedly pass through Dunnotar-Nigel
and get onto the N3 at Heidelberg. It's very cold and the wind is pumping, so I decide to stop for coffee at the Vaal 1 Stop at Villiers.
Wanting to stay off the N3, I take the off-ramp just before the tollgate, and ride the R103 to Warden. From here it's back onto the N3 to Harrismith. The wind from the West is horrendous, which makes for an extremely hard and miserable ride with the bike forced at a 10 degree angle into the wind, and me leaning the opposite way to allow the wind to spill over my body. Here comes yet another truck, so it's ... straighten up - accelerate - resume strange riding position, and so it goes for the next 80kms to Van Reenen. (I now understand why my mate who lives in PE is such a miserable bastard - sorry Joe ;D).
It's now just gone 2pm and time is tight considering that I still want to ride the railway service road from Van Reenen to Besters. Having never ridden this route, and having no idea of distances and terrain, it's a good idea to get the GPS out. It's been left at home, so having no one to blame, I have a serious uitkak session with myself and proceed with my journey into the relative unknown.
The start of the railway service road - Van Reenen.
The N3 - Van Reenens Pass is to the right and below.
The skies in the distance which caused me great concern. The reason for concern was confirmed later in the day.
The track leading to the tunnel on the service road.
The surface did get better.
Approaching the tunnel.
After the tunnel.
What worries me (a lot) are the black (very very black) skies over the Estcourt/Mooirivier area to the South, which is where I'm headed. Turning back isn't an option, so I keep on towards those ominous skies in the distance. The temperature starts dropping rapidly and in no time is 4 degrees. The road surface has now improved and the gravel highway is good for speeds up to 120kph, which is good :thumleft:. My eyes are looking more towards the tempestuous skies than they are on the road ahead, which at the speed I'm travelling, is not good
.
Eventually I come across a human sitting at the roadside, and screech to a sudden halt. (ABS is off and rear wheel locks, giving a lekker slide - cewl 8) ) Human probably thinks ... what an arsehole. Man, am I relieved when this guy can speak English, and even more so that he knows where we are. Phew! only 10kms to Besters, and then tar to Ladysmith.
At 4pm I pull into the Estcourt Ultra City for bike AND body fuel. Whilst enjoying a burger and mega coffee, the wind picks up even more and nearly uproots the odd tree or two (true story). I call my mate in Durban who says that although chilly and windy, it's not raining there, so I decide not to put a rain suit on (huge mistake :xxbah
At 4:30 I'm again on the N3 fighting the wind, the cold and myself (still not over the GPS issue). Suddenly, everything slows down as my visor and spectacles mist up. Traffic almost comes to a standstill and this fluffy, puffy white stuff builds up on my visor. Wiping it off doesn't help visibilty at all because of the misted visor and specs. The wind is so strong that trucks are forced to stop, and I'm almost blown from the bike. At this stage I seriously consider stopping as well, but with no shelter decide to carry on slowly at about 30kph. The temp gauge is now flashing at minus 4 degrees. Eventually I reach the bridge just before the Mooirivier Plaza and stop to take some photos and don the rain suit which should've been put on a longway back.
Once stopped, I sit straddled on the bike for a while to regroup brain cells (if any left) and to gather some thoughts. Whilst calmly sitting here minding my own business, another gust of wind jolts us (bike and me), forcing me to stabilize by lifting and replacing my left foot. There is obviously ice on the ground, which cause my foot to slip, and down we go into the armco barrier.
"Ag sh!t man, why won't my hand come loose?"
"Becuase it's caught between the handle bar grip and the armco ... you D*#S!"
Struggle ... struggle ... struggle, my hand is free and the bike is on the center stand. (Amazing stuff this adrenaline!!). I feel no pain so all should be fine ... yeah right : The grip rubber is torn and grip heating elements are shreaded. At least my right hand will be warm this weekend.
Anyway, I remind myself that shit happens and we move on, but not before putting a rain suit on. The jacket goes on without any hassle, but getting the pants to go over my boots is difficult. Even more difficult is when they get to the knee pads of the citipants I'm wearing. They just won't fit. Me sitting on the ground kicking and fighting to get these things on must be hilarious for passers-by. After some serious rip-mods, they're eventually in some sort of position for me to proceed with this hell-ride.
Just before Maritzburg visibilty clears, and the temperature is a nice and warm 7 degrees... WOW! At 7pm I pull into the Cato Ridge 1 stop. It's here, when trying to remove my gloves that I realise something's not too lekker with my hand, and upon inspection realise that my little finger may be broken. It's swollen (really swollen), three different colours and won't bend ... but no pain yet. The coffee (both cups) was really good and I had my first smoke in three months :xxbah: Lots of people were asking if I was the guy riding through the snow.
I chuckled when overhearing a guy saying to his partner, "There's that oke we saw on the bike". She replies, "Ag los hom, hy's seker vo**ken mal of iets" :imaposer:
The rest of the trip to Durban is good and I take a ride along the beach front. I arrive at my mates place in Durban North at 8:30 pm after having been on the road for 10 hours. This has certainly been a day to remember, and another to look forward to tomorrow
Thursday 23rd July.
For me, excitement doesn't bode well for a good night's sleep, so to avoid further frustration caused by insomnia I get up before sunrise. On the way back from dropping kids off at school I receive a call from a customer who wants a quote asap (read NOW!). Indirectly, it's customers that pay for trips like this, so the quote gets done and I'm ready to leave at 10h30, which puts me more than an hour behind schedule. Needing to make up lost time, I hurriedly pass through Dunnotar-Nigel
and get onto the N3 at Heidelberg. It's very cold and the wind is pumping, so I decide to stop for coffee at the Vaal 1 Stop at Villiers.
Wanting to stay off the N3, I take the off-ramp just before the tollgate, and ride the R103 to Warden. From here it's back onto the N3 to Harrismith. The wind from the West is horrendous, which makes for an extremely hard and miserable ride with the bike forced at a 10 degree angle into the wind, and me leaning the opposite way to allow the wind to spill over my body. Here comes yet another truck, so it's ... straighten up - accelerate - resume strange riding position, and so it goes for the next 80kms to Van Reenen. (I now understand why my mate who lives in PE is such a miserable bastard - sorry Joe ;D).
It's now just gone 2pm and time is tight considering that I still want to ride the railway service road from Van Reenen to Besters. Having never ridden this route, and having no idea of distances and terrain, it's a good idea to get the GPS out. It's been left at home, so having no one to blame, I have a serious uitkak session with myself and proceed with my journey into the relative unknown.
The start of the railway service road - Van Reenen.
The N3 - Van Reenens Pass is to the right and below.
The skies in the distance which caused me great concern. The reason for concern was confirmed later in the day.
The track leading to the tunnel on the service road.
The surface did get better.
Approaching the tunnel.
After the tunnel.
What worries me (a lot) are the black (very very black) skies over the Estcourt/Mooirivier area to the South, which is where I'm headed. Turning back isn't an option, so I keep on towards those ominous skies in the distance. The temperature starts dropping rapidly and in no time is 4 degrees. The road surface has now improved and the gravel highway is good for speeds up to 120kph, which is good :thumleft:. My eyes are looking more towards the tempestuous skies than they are on the road ahead, which at the speed I'm travelling, is not good
. Eventually I come across a human sitting at the roadside, and screech to a sudden halt. (ABS is off and rear wheel locks, giving a lekker slide - cewl 8) ) Human probably thinks ... what an arsehole. Man, am I relieved when this guy can speak English, and even more so that he knows where we are. Phew! only 10kms to Besters, and then tar to Ladysmith.
At 4pm I pull into the Estcourt Ultra City for bike AND body fuel. Whilst enjoying a burger and mega coffee, the wind picks up even more and nearly uproots the odd tree or two (true story). I call my mate in Durban who says that although chilly and windy, it's not raining there, so I decide not to put a rain suit on (huge mistake :xxbah
At 4:30 I'm again on the N3 fighting the wind, the cold and myself (still not over the GPS issue). Suddenly, everything slows down as my visor and spectacles mist up. Traffic almost comes to a standstill and this fluffy, puffy white stuff builds up on my visor. Wiping it off doesn't help visibilty at all because of the misted visor and specs. The wind is so strong that trucks are forced to stop, and I'm almost blown from the bike. At this stage I seriously consider stopping as well, but with no shelter decide to carry on slowly at about 30kph. The temp gauge is now flashing at minus 4 degrees. Eventually I reach the bridge just before the Mooirivier Plaza and stop to take some photos and don the rain suit which should've been put on a longway back.
Once stopped, I sit straddled on the bike for a while to regroup brain cells (if any left) and to gather some thoughts. Whilst calmly sitting here minding my own business, another gust of wind jolts us (bike and me), forcing me to stabilize by lifting and replacing my left foot. There is obviously ice on the ground, which cause my foot to slip, and down we go into the armco barrier.
"Ag sh!t man, why won't my hand come loose?"
"Becuase it's caught between the handle bar grip and the armco ... you D*#S!"
Struggle ... struggle ... struggle, my hand is free and the bike is on the center stand. (Amazing stuff this adrenaline!!). I feel no pain so all should be fine ... yeah right :
The grip rubber is torn and grip heating elements are shreaded. At least my right hand will be warm this weekend.Anyway, I remind myself that shit happens and we move on, but not before putting a rain suit on. The jacket goes on without any hassle, but getting the pants to go over my boots is difficult. Even more difficult is when they get to the knee pads of the citipants I'm wearing. They just won't fit. Me sitting on the ground kicking and fighting to get these things on must be hilarious for passers-by. After some serious rip-mods, they're eventually in some sort of position for me to proceed with this hell-ride.
Just before Maritzburg visibilty clears, and the temperature is a nice and warm 7 degrees... WOW! At 7pm I pull into the Cato Ridge 1 stop. It's here, when trying to remove my gloves that I realise something's not too lekker with my hand, and upon inspection realise that my little finger may be broken. It's swollen (really swollen), three different colours and won't bend ... but no pain yet. The coffee (both cups) was really good and I had my first smoke in three months :xxbah: Lots of people were asking if I was the guy riding through the snow.
I chuckled when overhearing a guy saying to his partner, "There's that oke we saw on the bike". She replies, "Ag los hom, hy's seker vo**ken mal of iets" :imaposer:
The rest of the trip to Durban is good and I take a ride along the beach front. I arrive at my mates place in Durban North at 8:30 pm after having been on the road for 10 hours. This has certainly been a day to remember, and another to look forward to tomorrow
