Giro dei Canali di Brits

[LeonDude]

Well seeing as the other dogs seem to be sleeping already I'll post some of the very few pictures I did take. It was a short but really pleasant ride, although here and there the sand and mud monster did lie lurking for the unsuspecting one. On the green route there was only one minor incident that was quickly taken care of, then it was lunch at Beestekraal, which was much more of an incident and took rather longer. Sorry that the pics are so few, I was just enjoying the ride.

 

[LeonDude]

The first two pics are the by now famous GundaGunda coffee stop. That is followed by the rather sad photo of a locked up bottle store.   
The next pic was taken during lunch, and we're still waiting for GundaGunda to explain just how he did manage to get his foot through that part of the chair.

GundaGunda, thanks for organizing this great ride, and sweeping. Jules, thanks for leading, and the rest thanks for coming along on what was a great ride in Malgat's backyard. Damn that AT sounds good!

Uncle

 

[Lourens]

We missed you guys with a few minutes.  You all came from the front about 10kms from Beestekraalstasie.  Hope you had a good time.

 

[GundaGunda]

Thanks for kicking off the thread Uncle â?? you right â?? took an early night â?? one helluva weekend of Bosberaads, rugby (yaay Sharks!)  riding and MotoGPs â?? and thatâ??s not where it stopped !

And to talk about foties and not post them is mean !!

Met at the Wimpy at Harties. In retrospect a bad call on my part for a meeting point because that place is chaos on a Sunday morning with hundreds of Roadies and Non-dog DS riders, and to try to Marshall the Green and Red troops was a bit of a mission - made a bit harder by not having met more than half of the many WDs who pitched.

Bikes represented on the green ride were a mixed bag. If I remember right were:-
BMW â?? quite a few 1200/1150 and 650s
Suzuki -  Vstrom
Honda â?? Transalp and Africa Twin
Kawa â?? KLR/KLR08 & KLE
KTM â?? 990 & 640

What did I forget?

Think the BMs were the â??most-representedâ? brand.

Two lady riders â?? Tulip and Li â?? always nice to have the ladies along â?? more next time okay? 

It was fortunate that the red group seemed to know each other and the group collected and headed on its, taking a couple of the green group in their wake.

I think the final numbers were about six for the red route, and about seventeen for the green route. As the original poster I was thrilled with turnout, and a huge thanks to the folks that made it, and hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. 

Once the ride got underway the confusion of the start was quickly forgotten as Jules led the greenies out like the head of a comet with a long tail of bikes and dust. 

I donâ??t need to document the Canal road as that has been done in quite a few previous ride reports. This time it was a little drier and dustier and the puddles from my last visit had mostly shrunken to mud-patches. Bits of road seemed a little looser under my tyres but it may have been the lingering effects of the maglies bosberaad on my coordination. 

Track we took was as per the "Planning a ride" track.

I donâ??t know how fast the guys up front were moving, but at the back it was a pleasantly relaxing cruise. Thanks to Jules for taking lead duty - Enjoying the GPS Jules?

Only one mishap to report â?? A TransAlp taking an unplanned horizontal detour through some long grass, but no visible harm to bike or rider.

I must apologize for the menu misunderstanding. When I phoned the lady at Beestekraal stasie to warn her of the pack, she asked if we wanted to pre-order anything fancy or special. I said â??No. We are more Hamburger and Chips typeâ? she took that to be a fixed order for burgers and chips and thatâ??s what we got. My burger was good, but sorry to the guys who wanted something else.

So, what were my lessons for the future?:-

1. If the party is two sub-groups pick a less crowded meeting point.
2. Ride may be a bit short for most â?? Malgat and I already scheming about a follow on ride that goes a bit further and takes in some game farms.
3. If you are on the heavy side at â??the stasieâ? rather sit on the benches.
4. Watch out for the chairs at â??the stasieâ? â?? they turn into bear-traps and can gobble off-road boots.
5. Donâ??t use the expression â??Burger and Chips typesâ? when discussing the easy-going nature of WDs.

Apart from that a seriously pleasant ride from my side â?? great to meet new dogs and thanks to all for coming along â?? hope to see you all on the road in the future. 

 

[Kykdaar]

3. If you are on the heavy side at “the stasie” rather sit on the benches.

;D ;D Those chairs are about as soft as the Funduro's suspension. I managed to brake both. Happy to report that the shock was successfully removed late yesterday afternoon. It is a good thing that I did because I discovered that the head of bolt holding the top of the shock has sheared completely off.

Lesson for me - Do not jump a Funduro, it is not an MX bike.

Perhaps it is also time to go on a diet  > 

Thanks to all for a very pleasant ride and good company.

 

[shark_za]

Lekka guys, I saw the inside of my bedroom and bathroom the whole day.
Spuitpoep is die vyand!

 

[Franswest]

Thank's to all for a lekker ride!!!

Respect for the Anakee riders like Frog on those slippery gravel roads!!! I had a couple of moments in  the tight turns!!!!  Jules an Splash , maybe the roof nextyear?

See all next time ;D

 

[Splash]

A great ride - had no idea that the canals were so long. Thanks to GundaGunda for putting it all together. Did some of the West canals on the way back. Jules kept me on the throttle and brakes - got wrist cramp!
Some pics:

 

[Madala]

Thanks again Gunda. Enjoyed the outing with the dogs. Nice ride, nice company.

 

[Splash]

And some more:

 

[Jules]

We had a very lekka day out!

I really enjoyed the route.

Being in the front and navigating from your GPS on an unknown route brings a whole new dimension to adventure riding
I'm glad to say I'm getting on well with my Garmin

Meeting some new dogs was as nice as seeing some known dogs
Hope to see you all on the next ride out!

My Pictures were much the same as the others took so Ill only post a few


Jules

 

[Frog]

Thanks Gunda for another well organized ride and all the WD's that contributed to a great day. Also thanks to Jules for leading and navigation (I think your GPS worked overtime on this route!)
Sorry I had to leave early. Even though the estimated time of 1 hour to get home was actually 1 hour 25 minutes (including an unscheduled detour around Zandspruit squatter camp due to violence there) I just managed to make it home 5 minutes before our guests arrived. So close to being in the dog box!!!
Thanks Frans for accompaning me on the ride back home.
Looking forward to the next one!

 

[iep_kruger]

my take:

i dunno why but everytime i ride them canals its different,,,,and always pleasing on the soul,,,the crisp winter air and the open spaces

also the people make a difference,,,a huge difference,,,,,lekker seeing the usual faces and of course a pleasure to madala and his friend that came all the way from kempton,,,

the idea was great,,,having the red and green route  is a great idea,,,
and having lunch afterwards at beestekraal is the cherry on the cake of a great sunday

thanx gunda gunda and like you and i discussed,,,lets have a giro part 2,,,

this time we start on the west canal and approach beestekraal from the west,,,we can then skip across the tarroad and do the rest of the remaining north canal and then do the run back to lunch at beestekraal

the red guys can plan something likewise and we all meet again,,,,

lourens,,,,i did see you guys as we were returning and by the time i managed to turn around you's were far gone,,,,it was a pity we missed you and next time we must communicate better and plan to accomodate wd's who come later and not doing the run,,,i know of other people who also just wanted to come by cage to beestekraal and join us,,,,i think thats a great idea,,,

or am i getting ahead of myself again as usual???

so what about giro canal part 2 in 2 weeks????

 

[Frog]

Giro Canal Part 2 in 2 weeks times sounds good to me. Gunda I think you are going to have to take up route planning as a full time profession!

 

[OX]

I will post pics of red route later today

 

[GundaGunda]

Giro Canal Part 2 in 2 weeks times sounds good to me. Gunda I think you are going to have to take up route planning as a full time profession!

I think it is team effort. Malgat knows the area, Jules and I work well together - I do the route prep and he does the up-front navigation - worked in Newcastle and Yesterday

 

[Attie]

I will post pics of red route later today

OX. Thanks for taking us on the RED. I'm working on my "sand" issues. Will be back in the river bed for more....soon.

 

[drewdza]

Many thanks Gunda and of course Jules - great ride (apart from my unplanned "farming" episode of course - steep learning "curve" for me ) and nice to put faces to names. Look forward to the next trip.

 

[shark_za]

Well done, looks like a great day, good organisation GG and all helpers.

Thanks for taking over the red stuff Ox, I was in no state to ride.  I hear hhusky also joined with Attie and mates so it worked out ok.

 

[Li]

Thanks again Gunda for once again a wonderfully planned ride and fun day. 
Thanks to my hubbie leading the pack, he did a sterling job and was well supported by Splash and the other faster riders. ;D

It was great seeing old dogs and meeting new ones. 
Lunch was great, Gunda even though it was a slip of the tongue, the burgers were tasty.
Looking forward to the next one.