The last scout
I had the honor and privilege of being in the Cederberg once again this weekend. We had to go plot the last of the routes as well as scout for tracks previousely missed.
Due to work commitments I was only able to get out of Nelson's Creek at 12:35 on Saturday. Making my way trough Ceres and Prince Alfred Hamlet I sped towards Cederberg Oasis. I had a brief beer stop at Cederberg Oasis, was once told its against the law to ride past there without having one. Picked my way over Eselbank and through Wuppertal to arrive just before 4pm. This just happened to be 12hours after I had started working the morning. Riding down the now familiar path to the CABC venue I had a smile on my face as well as a sence of relief. I met up with Leon, Rony and Hennie.
They almost did not allowed me to get off my bike, before it was time for the Orange route. What a ride it was!!! This was the second days ORANGE route, it will not be for the faint harted. Things to expect on this route include:
1: SAND, I kid you not when I tell you that you will be doing miles and miles of two track sand.
2: Bushes, There are loads of bushes lining the once used two track road. They knock your handlebars around and combined with the sand makes for interesting riding.
3: Rocks. The two track is very overgrown and seeing them requires constant attention.
4: Steep uphills and downhills. There are some steep uphill sections as well as downhills with the most amazing views.
This route is best described as very orange with nice obstacles. The only thing is this is orange from close to the beginning all the way to close to the end. I would presume that it would put a strain on the unfit and would be a bridge to far for riders lacking the necessary skills. What a ride!!!!
Day one's orange ride is allot easier with nice sections to rest between the technical bits. Highlights will be Kobus' favorite track and Eselbank. Things to look out for:
1: Sand, not as much as day two.
2: Loose gravel, a few interesting section that will make the bike move around a little bit.
3: A very nice decent into Wuppertal, I always find it hard to keep my eyes on the road.
4: Tar road, I think its getting longer every time I ride it.... Please prepare yourself, I will be taking my tar allergy tablets for this section.
Now for the RED routes. We scouted this on Sunday morning, I was feeling much better after a night of sleep and looking forward to this. A word of warning, some sections of this route is not suited to GS bikes. You will hurt your bike and you will struggle. A very good bash plate is needed to save your sump if it goes wrong. Things to expect:
1: SAND. The thickest meanest sand was imported by someone from the Atlantis dunes. If you don't like sand you not going to like the figure of 8.
2: Step ups and step downs. These will hurt your bike if you ride the wrong line. It would be handy to know the save the bash plate trick.
3: Uphills and downhills. Very loose uphills as well as downhills, very good bike control is needed for these.
4: Some single track. Well you will go meet the goat herders in the Cederberg. I'm sure something passed on these tracks a long.... very long time ago.
I can think of one thing needed to complete this route successfully.... camaraderie. We will have riders needing assistance on this route. It will not be possible to recover a bike with a trailer in certain sections of the route. In the scouting expeditions we have had to tow two bikes out of the red route and yes one of the was a KTM and the other a BMW. You will need to give your fellow riders a chance to clear obstacles before attempting them yourself. After a loss of tractions on certain uphills the only way forward is going back to the bottom and giving it another go. I would hate to be bike 10 through the sand, but all is fair in love and war and we will be doubling back so that every body gets to ride his and every body elses snakes. You will need to be able to ride the right lines through the obstacles. What views and scenery can be found on this route, well a select view will be amazed by it. In closing.... PLEASE CAN I RATHER LEAD THE ORANGE ROUTES, I'M SCARED.
CABC, what a ride, what great scenery and the greatest local people. I had a blast once again, thanks Hennie and Rony for allowing me to scout these routes with you. I would just like to thank Leon for all the training, my bike is now so well trained I just hang on for dear life and it carries on going. I'll have to sell her for a higher price than a new one because of the training. LOL
Cannot wait to see you all there, great fun will be had by one and all.
Lets Ride!!!
P.S. For the post with images check out https://www.bmwmotorcycleclubcape.co.za/last-scout
I had the honor and privilege of being in the Cederberg once again this weekend. We had to go plot the last of the routes as well as scout for tracks previousely missed.
Due to work commitments I was only able to get out of Nelson's Creek at 12:35 on Saturday. Making my way trough Ceres and Prince Alfred Hamlet I sped towards Cederberg Oasis. I had a brief beer stop at Cederberg Oasis, was once told its against the law to ride past there without having one. Picked my way over Eselbank and through Wuppertal to arrive just before 4pm. This just happened to be 12hours after I had started working the morning. Riding down the now familiar path to the CABC venue I had a smile on my face as well as a sence of relief. I met up with Leon, Rony and Hennie.
They almost did not allowed me to get off my bike, before it was time for the Orange route. What a ride it was!!! This was the second days ORANGE route, it will not be for the faint harted. Things to expect on this route include:
1: SAND, I kid you not when I tell you that you will be doing miles and miles of two track sand.
2: Bushes, There are loads of bushes lining the once used two track road. They knock your handlebars around and combined with the sand makes for interesting riding.
3: Rocks. The two track is very overgrown and seeing them requires constant attention.
4: Steep uphills and downhills. There are some steep uphill sections as well as downhills with the most amazing views.
This route is best described as very orange with nice obstacles. The only thing is this is orange from close to the beginning all the way to close to the end. I would presume that it would put a strain on the unfit and would be a bridge to far for riders lacking the necessary skills. What a ride!!!!
Day one's orange ride is allot easier with nice sections to rest between the technical bits. Highlights will be Kobus' favorite track and Eselbank. Things to look out for:
1: Sand, not as much as day two.
2: Loose gravel, a few interesting section that will make the bike move around a little bit.
3: A very nice decent into Wuppertal, I always find it hard to keep my eyes on the road.
4: Tar road, I think its getting longer every time I ride it.... Please prepare yourself, I will be taking my tar allergy tablets for this section.
Now for the RED routes. We scouted this on Sunday morning, I was feeling much better after a night of sleep and looking forward to this. A word of warning, some sections of this route is not suited to GS bikes. You will hurt your bike and you will struggle. A very good bash plate is needed to save your sump if it goes wrong. Things to expect:
1: SAND. The thickest meanest sand was imported by someone from the Atlantis dunes. If you don't like sand you not going to like the figure of 8.
2: Step ups and step downs. These will hurt your bike if you ride the wrong line. It would be handy to know the save the bash plate trick.
3: Uphills and downhills. Very loose uphills as well as downhills, very good bike control is needed for these.
4: Some single track. Well you will go meet the goat herders in the Cederberg. I'm sure something passed on these tracks a long.... very long time ago.
I can think of one thing needed to complete this route successfully.... camaraderie. We will have riders needing assistance on this route. It will not be possible to recover a bike with a trailer in certain sections of the route. In the scouting expeditions we have had to tow two bikes out of the red route and yes one of the was a KTM and the other a BMW. You will need to give your fellow riders a chance to clear obstacles before attempting them yourself. After a loss of tractions on certain uphills the only way forward is going back to the bottom and giving it another go. I would hate to be bike 10 through the sand, but all is fair in love and war and we will be doubling back so that every body gets to ride his and every body elses snakes. You will need to be able to ride the right lines through the obstacles. What views and scenery can be found on this route, well a select view will be amazed by it. In closing.... PLEASE CAN I RATHER LEAD THE ORANGE ROUTES, I'M SCARED.
CABC, what a ride, what great scenery and the greatest local people. I had a blast once again, thanks Hennie and Rony for allowing me to scout these routes with you. I would just like to thank Leon for all the training, my bike is now so well trained I just hang on for dear life and it carries on going. I'll have to sell her for a higher price than a new one because of the training. LOL
Cannot wait to see you all there, great fun will be had by one and all.
Lets Ride!!!
P.S. For the post with images check out https://www.bmwmotorcycleclubcape.co.za/last-scout
