hando
Race Dog
Riding a dual purpose bike on a glorious dirt road between beautiful mountains must be the most fun one can have while keeping your clothes on. That was the conclusion we came to somewhere during a chat stop on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.
But let me start at the beginning as I would need to answer some questions. Like - who are 'we'. And where is this dirt road. And where are these mountains that are mentioned.
It all started when World of Accessories decided to take some of its customers on a weekend trip to Koedoeskloof.
We all met up at WOA on Friday afternoon.
The bikes that would go out was myself on a BMW F650GS. Herman on a BMW 1200 GS. Hentie and Mineke on a KTM 990. Ian(aka Boere) and Christa on KTM 990 and Stefan on his new Yamaha 1200 Super Tenere. Stefan's wife Lizelle would bring up the rear in their off road kitted Toyota.
We left just after 2pm and had to negotiate the usual Friday afternoon Cape Town traffic. It takes some tar roads to get to the good stuff and we made haste to get away from the rat race.
Then at last just after Villiersdorp it was time to make right turn onto the first Dirt road.
We stopped at the river crossing close to the Breede bash site for a chat and a rest.
My trusted little cement mixer.
Stefan's New Super T with the Rumbux crashbars and pannier brackets I fitted for him the day before.
Herman's 1200 GS
Ian's KTM 990
And Hentie's KTM 990
We made some dust and got to Montague via Robertson and Ashton. In Montague we filled with juice and then set of towards Ladismith via Ouberg Pass. One of three Ouberg Passes in South Africa. I have ridden the other two and finally I could tick off this one from the list as well.
We stopped again for a quick chat and look around near the top of the pass
And then with the sun starting to sit low in the sky we made dust towards Ladismith and the famous Koedoe burgers that was waiting for us.
I did stop now and then to catch some photos of the scenery
One last stop was made
and then we made haste with the last 30 km or so being done in the dark.
The evening was spent chatting like old friends and laughing till my our stomachs ached.
I learned a few things that evening. From Boere I learned that it is no use putting up warning signs on electrified game fences. Because buffaloes can not read anyway.
And from Christa I learned that a woman should not use Gill anti dandruff Menthol shampoo as a body wash. Apparently it burns the daylights out of you when it gets into uhhhhmmm..... Lets leave it there.
We went to bed with huge grins on our faces and stomaches filled with excellent food provided by Debbie and Eugene of Koedoeskloof.
DAY 2
Saturday morning saw us enjoying a scrumptious breakfast before setting of on a dirt road loop that would eventually bring us to the entrance to Seweweeks poort. Where Eugene would be waiting for us with some goodies to fill our stomachs.
But first we needed to get some dirt under our tires. And what glorious dirt it was.
We went up and over mountain passes and crossed big open Karoo plains
We met up with Eugene, Christa and Lizelle at the old building at the entrance of Seweweekspoort where Eugene already had the fire going and was ready to braai some boerewors for some very lekker boerie rolls.
After that lekker lunch Eugene and co. set of back to Koedoeskloof while the rest of us went down into Bosluyskloof to look at the Gamkapoort Dam.
Going down into the valley was spectacular but it was also very very hot and we did not spend too much time in the heat.
Going back out of the valley I was right at the back with Stefan in front of me.
Riding right behind Stefan I could see that he was enjoying the Tenere very much.
I was last out of the valley and stopped to close the gate at the Bosluyskloof entrance.
I then proceeded to wring Jemima's neck to catch up with the others. As neared the corner I spotted Stefan and his bike on the side of the road and something did not look right. I braked hard and slowed down just before entering the corner. This was my saving grace as I ran into the driffie at a manageable speed. Stefan had not been so lucky and had been caught out by the bad driffie with bad step up right in his line.
This caused the man to bottom out the Tenere and loose the back wheel as it rocketed skywards. He was lucky and low sided the Tenere and skidded off the road and into a bush next to the road.
Stefan was unhurt but sadly the Tenere was not so lucky. She slid into a huge rock next to the road that caused one of the bashplate mounting screws to be knocked into the engine case . This meant the Tenere leaked out all her oil.
We managed to get hold of Veldtie who set off with the Kombi and a trailer to come and fetch us. Meantime Herman came back to see what was taking us so long.
We told him that all was ok and the the three of them should proceed while we waited for Veldtie and recovery.
Once the bike was loaded and tied down I set off on my own through Seweweekspoort with Eugene and Stefan following in the Kombi.
Saturday evening was spent around the fire where we braaied and enjoyed another fantastic meal discussing the day's happening . And so yet another awesome day came to an end.
Day 3
Sunday morning saw us bright and early. After another breakfast we said goodbye to our hosts Eugene and Debbie.
Hentie , myself and Herman set of on the bikes direction Touwsriver. Stefan and Lizelle followed in the Toyota with Ian and Christa first heading off to Barrydale .
We made haste to get home and I did not stop for many photos
In Touwsrivier I had to do some repairs as both my tooltubes had decided to break off. I guess I should not complain as they had been on the bike for the last 60 000km and had taken some serious knocks in that time.
Luckily , being an adventure biker we are always prepared and a few cable ties later saw us back on the road.
What a fantastic weekend we had. I hope to get to do this real soon again.
But let me start at the beginning as I would need to answer some questions. Like - who are 'we'. And where is this dirt road. And where are these mountains that are mentioned.
It all started when World of Accessories decided to take some of its customers on a weekend trip to Koedoeskloof.
We all met up at WOA on Friday afternoon.
The bikes that would go out was myself on a BMW F650GS. Herman on a BMW 1200 GS. Hentie and Mineke on a KTM 990. Ian(aka Boere) and Christa on KTM 990 and Stefan on his new Yamaha 1200 Super Tenere. Stefan's wife Lizelle would bring up the rear in their off road kitted Toyota.
We left just after 2pm and had to negotiate the usual Friday afternoon Cape Town traffic. It takes some tar roads to get to the good stuff and we made haste to get away from the rat race.
Then at last just after Villiersdorp it was time to make right turn onto the first Dirt road.
We stopped at the river crossing close to the Breede bash site for a chat and a rest.
My trusted little cement mixer.
Stefan's New Super T with the Rumbux crashbars and pannier brackets I fitted for him the day before.
Herman's 1200 GS
Ian's KTM 990
And Hentie's KTM 990
We made some dust and got to Montague via Robertson and Ashton. In Montague we filled with juice and then set of towards Ladismith via Ouberg Pass. One of three Ouberg Passes in South Africa. I have ridden the other two and finally I could tick off this one from the list as well.
We stopped again for a quick chat and look around near the top of the pass
And then with the sun starting to sit low in the sky we made dust towards Ladismith and the famous Koedoe burgers that was waiting for us.
I did stop now and then to catch some photos of the scenery
One last stop was made
and then we made haste with the last 30 km or so being done in the dark.
The evening was spent chatting like old friends and laughing till my our stomachs ached.
I learned a few things that evening. From Boere I learned that it is no use putting up warning signs on electrified game fences. Because buffaloes can not read anyway.
And from Christa I learned that a woman should not use Gill anti dandruff Menthol shampoo as a body wash. Apparently it burns the daylights out of you when it gets into uhhhhmmm..... Lets leave it there.
We went to bed with huge grins on our faces and stomaches filled with excellent food provided by Debbie and Eugene of Koedoeskloof.
DAY 2
Saturday morning saw us enjoying a scrumptious breakfast before setting of on a dirt road loop that would eventually bring us to the entrance to Seweweeks poort. Where Eugene would be waiting for us with some goodies to fill our stomachs.
But first we needed to get some dirt under our tires. And what glorious dirt it was.
We went up and over mountain passes and crossed big open Karoo plains
We met up with Eugene, Christa and Lizelle at the old building at the entrance of Seweweekspoort where Eugene already had the fire going and was ready to braai some boerewors for some very lekker boerie rolls.
After that lekker lunch Eugene and co. set of back to Koedoeskloof while the rest of us went down into Bosluyskloof to look at the Gamkapoort Dam.
Going down into the valley was spectacular but it was also very very hot and we did not spend too much time in the heat.
Going back out of the valley I was right at the back with Stefan in front of me.
Riding right behind Stefan I could see that he was enjoying the Tenere very much.
I was last out of the valley and stopped to close the gate at the Bosluyskloof entrance.
I then proceeded to wring Jemima's neck to catch up with the others. As neared the corner I spotted Stefan and his bike on the side of the road and something did not look right. I braked hard and slowed down just before entering the corner. This was my saving grace as I ran into the driffie at a manageable speed. Stefan had not been so lucky and had been caught out by the bad driffie with bad step up right in his line.
This caused the man to bottom out the Tenere and loose the back wheel as it rocketed skywards. He was lucky and low sided the Tenere and skidded off the road and into a bush next to the road.
Stefan was unhurt but sadly the Tenere was not so lucky. She slid into a huge rock next to the road that caused one of the bashplate mounting screws to be knocked into the engine case . This meant the Tenere leaked out all her oil.
We managed to get hold of Veldtie who set off with the Kombi and a trailer to come and fetch us. Meantime Herman came back to see what was taking us so long.
We told him that all was ok and the the three of them should proceed while we waited for Veldtie and recovery.
Once the bike was loaded and tied down I set off on my own through Seweweekspoort with Eugene and Stefan following in the Kombi.
Saturday evening was spent around the fire where we braaied and enjoyed another fantastic meal discussing the day's happening . And so yet another awesome day came to an end.
Day 3
Sunday morning saw us bright and early. After another breakfast we said goodbye to our hosts Eugene and Debbie.
Hentie , myself and Herman set of on the bikes direction Touwsriver. Stefan and Lizelle followed in the Toyota with Ian and Christa first heading off to Barrydale .
We made haste to get home and I did not stop for many photos
In Touwsrivier I had to do some repairs as both my tooltubes had decided to break off. I guess I should not complain as they had been on the bike for the last 60 000km and had taken some serious knocks in that time.
Luckily , being an adventure biker we are always prepared and a few cable ties later saw us back on the road.
What a fantastic weekend we had. I hope to get to do this real soon again.
