Getting lost in 46 degrees heat and other adventures

[MellowJo]

OK, it was time for a bit of adventure.

My wife was visiting our daughter and I was free for a weekend, so I asked for leave on Friday and Monday to make my own long weekend ....

All approvals were obtained and I asked a few friends to join me but none could make it.

Eisbein did make an effort to join me for days 3 and 4.

So below the Map for day1

 

[MellowJo]

After my initial planning, I realised that it was the 1150 Bash and so I decided to join them on the first evening .....

This also made me decided to ride on old trusty ...... a little more about him later ...

After a leisurely ride to Ceres over Bainskloof and a fill up at the Wimpy, I continued to the Tankwa padstal for a quick cool drink ....

 

[eberhard]

Lekka!  :thumleft: Keep the pitchas coming.

 

[MellowJo]

After Tankwa padstal, I turned east and got to a T junction where we always turn right towards Verlatenkloof.

But I wanted to go up Oubergpas, so I decided to go left ..... 

Unexpectedly hit a mud patch in the middle of the Tankwa Karoo ...

And got lost until I asked directions from a friendly farmer and eventually (after  some gates) found the route to the bottom of the Ouberg pass

 

[MellowJo]

Check the sign on the gate ....!!

 

[MellowJo]

Now I lost some time with the detour and I had about 600kms to do, so I was pushing a bit towards to bottom of Oubergpas and did not see the first erosion bump ......

I must have hit it at 120km, luckily standing but we landed so hard that I nearly ripped off the mudguard ....

With my heart pumping I ascended and reached the top without any more scares ....

 

[Ganjora]

and then what happened?

 

[MellowJo]

I trundled on into Sutherland to fill up and......

There is a new filling station !!!!

And a whole bunch of new Honda ATs filling up ......  I bumped into the Quest guys.

Kamanya was nice enough to give me a spin on his DCT, but I did not have enough time for the computer course to ride the thing properly .....

Anyway, when Honda makes this bike with a driveshaft, I might become interested.

 

[MellowJo]

After filling myself at Jupiters, I hit the road towards Merweville .....

Again there were the gates, but made it to Merweville where I filled up just in case ....

Then it was down to the N1, left a few kms towards Leeu Gamka and eventually I made it ti the 1150 bash venue at Abrhamskraal

I got a cold one and we chatted while the sun set as magnificently as it always does on the Karoo

 

[MellowJo]

....some of us tried to sleep in the "Old School" , but the heat chased most outside on their mattresses .....

Since it was the 1150 bash I thought the "Old School"-pun hilarious

 

[MellowJo]

The next morning we lined up the old timers for a few pics .... there were 21 of them with Brian's bike at the far end with a sidecar

the Red bike, second in line, belongs to Andre (79) from Pretoria and has 340,000 km on the clock ......never opened the engine ....

 

[MellowJo]

Plan for day 2 was to go down via Swartbergpass, De Rust, Uniondale, and then towards Knysna via the Prind Alfred pass

 

[Archangel]

 

[Malibu]

*sub*

 

[katana]

Thank you.  I am enjoying it.  :ricky:

 

[MellowJo]

I tried to enjoy the incredible sights along the way up the pass  ....

I stopped near the top to look down and saw a bunch of lights coming up the pass ....

So I waited to see who this was, turned out about 6x brand spanking new 1290 KTMs, (no number plates) and a little bus as support .... :-\

After a few greetings I was on my way again.

 

[MellowJo]

After the Swartbergpass, I eventually turned left on the Kamanasie road pass the Raubenheimer dam.

Closer to De Rust, the road becomes quite narrow and twisty .....

Coming around a left turn with the mountain on my left, I suddenly see some kids on the left in the corner .....
I just manage to swerve towards the right to miss them, when a large planter/harvester kind of thing appears in front of me ....

I swerved back towards the left, braked and slid until the bike eventually got traction and we missed the corner of the contraption by inches ...
I remember the large eyes and open mouth of the driver who also jammed on the brakes ....

As I sped past him I could just shout "SORRY !!!" ......

 

[MellowJo]

After a brekkie at De Rust to calm my nerves, I took the tar road towards Uniondale.

I was surprised by all the flowers that was still along the route ...

 

[MellowJo]

After Uniondale, I started to descend down the Prince Alfred pass ....

This was a first for me on this road .....

Quite a few little bridges along the routes as you wind down the kloof ....

 

[MellowJo]

And so I eventually stumbled upon the infamous Angie's G Spot , "For warm beer and awful food"

After a nice cold coke, it was on the road again ...

Angie's is along the river ....