Fishy
Pack Dog
The bike had waited almost 4 months for me to drag myself out of the Caribbean and start what has become known as a “sabbatical”.
Hadn’t been riding for about 13 years and there was a certain apprehension now that the orange beast was facing me , I had bought it unseen and hoped I had made the right choice after spending some time on this forum and picking up the titbits.
First had to take the dress off just to see how it fits. First lesson: the bolts holding the fairing are all different lengths with some different washers - keep them in order.
The plan is to ride back to East London from the Strand, mostly newbie, mostly gravel , mostly solo - a week or so.
All packed up and yes I will be the first to admit that I only needed a third of that baggage, but I have a fear of the cold.
Off I go, Tron suit on, first bit of gravel is found not long after going over Sir Lowry’s and turning right after the Grabouw turnoff , nice road
Hermanus for breakfast, then Baardskeedersbos , Elim , Vogelvlei and Agulhas.
A quick fill-up in Bredasdorp , over the pond at Malagas and on to Witsand.
Languished inside a whole guest house to myself, Breede Bay guest house , biker-friendly and just 2 Buffallos.
The bike is treating me well, I have a way to go, but am starting to feel comfortable on these dirt highways. Sundays are go-fast days for Cape Town Fortuners.
Every farmer, there were only 3 or 4, slowed down when they saw me coming.
The next day was just fun from one end to the other … getting from Witsand to George along the gravel highway to Vermaakliheid and on to Still Baai.
From here I took a turn about 10 kms - on the right trough a small suburb - and rode with whales breaching to my right at the bottom of the cliff and game on a trot on the road ahead. At times the road got a bit sandy, but I just cruised on through - all I had to do was hold on and blip it.
The inevitable locked gate just before Gouritsmond … is it bad luck is it good luck?
The alternative route
Here I am still enthusiastic about opening and closing a gate. This got me on the last day.
Arrived in George and got social … call it a rest day.
One of the reasons I had a bike when I was younger, the big guy on the right, was keen for a ride. Awesome a route that would involve something for both style bikes - or so I thought
The ultimate DS bike, the grey and black one.
7 Passes out of George , I was going to have a hard time keeping up with the CBR ,also realizing that downhill gravel corners are going to require some practice
Karatara Church: only after we had blipped throttles and hooters at the kids and shut of to take a pic of the church did we notice the choir practice inside . Oops.
What you never get lost? No phantom pass does not join with Prince Alfred, hardly a terrible detour will be back to see where it ends
Breakfast at Buffelsbaai and hook a left after Knysna.
If you have done the Prince Alfred pass and been up to Spitskop view point then that says it all for the way the CBR was being transformed into a DS bike. Being airborne was required at times to stop it from bottoming out
Quite an intimidating moment when you look at the hill you’ve come over and the mountains to come.
Great ride with a stop at Angie’s G-spot, where the day should have ended, but destination was PE, hot bath and koeksisters by Ma se huis.
We pushed on, loved the scenery, was told to move my ass on the bike and throw a shoulder into the corner, good advice that was a bit slow to sink in , slowly slowly catch a monkey
.
Fill up in Avontuur. The maths is now starting to look dire - we had been riding since 9. Sunlight and PE were not in the same bracket. Thanks Louis for waiting. I just didn’t feel comfortable on the N2 . Thanks to the flasher just before dark - scraped past the wattle branch, wouldn’t have been pretty,
I made it to PE half hour after dark with Louis on reserve and my shoulders in a spasm.
Hadn’t been riding for about 13 years and there was a certain apprehension now that the orange beast was facing me , I had bought it unseen and hoped I had made the right choice after spending some time on this forum and picking up the titbits.
First had to take the dress off just to see how it fits. First lesson: the bolts holding the fairing are all different lengths with some different washers - keep them in order.
The plan is to ride back to East London from the Strand, mostly newbie, mostly gravel , mostly solo - a week or so.
All packed up and yes I will be the first to admit that I only needed a third of that baggage, but I have a fear of the cold.
Off I go, Tron suit on, first bit of gravel is found not long after going over Sir Lowry’s and turning right after the Grabouw turnoff , nice road
Hermanus for breakfast, then Baardskeedersbos , Elim , Vogelvlei and Agulhas.
A quick fill-up in Bredasdorp , over the pond at Malagas and on to Witsand.
Languished inside a whole guest house to myself, Breede Bay guest house , biker-friendly and just 2 Buffallos.
The bike is treating me well, I have a way to go, but am starting to feel comfortable on these dirt highways. Sundays are go-fast days for Cape Town Fortuners.
Every farmer, there were only 3 or 4, slowed down when they saw me coming.
The next day was just fun from one end to the other … getting from Witsand to George along the gravel highway to Vermaakliheid and on to Still Baai.
From here I took a turn about 10 kms - on the right trough a small suburb - and rode with whales breaching to my right at the bottom of the cliff and game on a trot on the road ahead. At times the road got a bit sandy, but I just cruised on through - all I had to do was hold on and blip it.
The inevitable locked gate just before Gouritsmond … is it bad luck is it good luck?
The alternative route
Here I am still enthusiastic about opening and closing a gate. This got me on the last day.
Arrived in George and got social … call it a rest day.
One of the reasons I had a bike when I was younger, the big guy on the right, was keen for a ride. Awesome a route that would involve something for both style bikes - or so I thought
The ultimate DS bike, the grey and black one.
7 Passes out of George , I was going to have a hard time keeping up with the CBR ,also realizing that downhill gravel corners are going to require some practice
Karatara Church: only after we had blipped throttles and hooters at the kids and shut of to take a pic of the church did we notice the choir practice inside . Oops.
What you never get lost? No phantom pass does not join with Prince Alfred, hardly a terrible detour will be back to see where it ends
Breakfast at Buffelsbaai and hook a left after Knysna.
If you have done the Prince Alfred pass and been up to Spitskop view point then that says it all for the way the CBR was being transformed into a DS bike. Being airborne was required at times to stop it from bottoming out
Quite an intimidating moment when you look at the hill you’ve come over and the mountains to come.
Great ride with a stop at Angie’s G-spot, where the day should have ended, but destination was PE, hot bath and koeksisters by Ma se huis.
We pushed on, loved the scenery, was told to move my ass on the bike and throw a shoulder into the corner, good advice that was a bit slow to sink in , slowly slowly catch a monkey
.Fill up in Avontuur. The maths is now starting to look dire - we had been riding since 9. Sunlight and PE were not in the same bracket. Thanks Louis for waiting. I just didn’t feel comfortable on the N2 . Thanks to the flasher just before dark - scraped past the wattle branch, wouldn’t have been pretty,
I made it to PE half hour after dark with Louis on reserve and my shoulders in a spasm.
