Is it just me that gets a tune in my head while riding, and then it just won't go away?
Todayâ??s tune was the old John Denver song where the chorus goes "Some days are diamonds/ Some days are stones"
Well it was highly relevant, 'cos today was one of those "Diamond Days" that had no stones in it, other than a few in the road and they were no problem - we just rode aroundâ??em.
I have wanted to do the Canal Road ever since I read about it here on the forum, and when DeepBass9 asked if anyone was keen to ride out that way I deviously, and I must concede skillfully, steered the thread in the direction of the Canals. We soon had a quorum of riders, that would have been two but ended up three, some tracks kindly supplied by messrs. Lourens.DL & Zerc, and a plan that kicked into action at Harties this morning.
Unfortunately DeepBass9 had to drop out, but the Wild Hearted Son took the bait and joined Zerc and I for the ride â?? and what a lekka ride.
The Canal road is well worth a trip. It is essentially the service road that follows one of the irrigation canals from Hartebeespoort dam almost all the way to Beestekraal â?? a distance of a little over 80Km - of which all except a few Kms are on gravel. What I enjoyed most about the trip is the variety. There are a few straight bits where you can open up a bit, a few twisty bits, a couple of puddle crossings, a bit of Brits suburbia, but most of the ride is through the farm lands that the canal serves.
I spent most of the ride in my customary last position behind WHS on his humungous Varraroodoo â??err- Veradoodoo â??err- Veryhoodoo â??err- Big Honda 1000 twin, and although the bike dwarfs him, watching him ride the mother is like poetry in motion â?? amazing!
Route Technical? I would say not in general. In fact I was thinking that it would be a great road to take newbies on, but there are a few places where I nearly made an upstake (that is a cross between a mistake and a f***-up) but then I am only slightly post-newbie myself. There are a few places where there are signs that the mud-monster has visited, but thankfully he remained thirsty today.
One thing I believe is really necessary is a GPS loaded with the track. I suspect it may be almost impossible without one as there are many intersections and turn-offs, and even with Zercâ??s Zumo, and me with two on my bars, we still had to return and re-route a few times. At one point a blerry farmer has thrown a gate through the road and, like a fool, I had ignored Lourens.DLâ??s detour and we had to blunder along a few rocky footpaths where the locals were harvesting something that looked and smelled suspiciously illegal, before getting back on the track.
Any misfortune to report? Absolutely none! No men down. No punctures, Nothing bust. No rain & mud, in fact just a lekka, low-stress, high-enjoyment day.
(Ignoring a few scary bits of sand on the way home â?? somebodyâ??s got to help me get riding through sand right!!)
Thanks to Zerc and WHS for their excellent company and a really good day.
Route and pics to follow:-
Todayâ??s tune was the old John Denver song where the chorus goes "Some days are diamonds/ Some days are stones"
Well it was highly relevant, 'cos today was one of those "Diamond Days" that had no stones in it, other than a few in the road and they were no problem - we just rode aroundâ??em.
I have wanted to do the Canal Road ever since I read about it here on the forum, and when DeepBass9 asked if anyone was keen to ride out that way I deviously, and I must concede skillfully, steered the thread in the direction of the Canals. We soon had a quorum of riders, that would have been two but ended up three, some tracks kindly supplied by messrs. Lourens.DL & Zerc, and a plan that kicked into action at Harties this morning.
Unfortunately DeepBass9 had to drop out, but the Wild Hearted Son took the bait and joined Zerc and I for the ride â?? and what a lekka ride.
The Canal road is well worth a trip. It is essentially the service road that follows one of the irrigation canals from Hartebeespoort dam almost all the way to Beestekraal â?? a distance of a little over 80Km - of which all except a few Kms are on gravel. What I enjoyed most about the trip is the variety. There are a few straight bits where you can open up a bit, a few twisty bits, a couple of puddle crossings, a bit of Brits suburbia, but most of the ride is through the farm lands that the canal serves.
I spent most of the ride in my customary last position behind WHS on his humungous Varraroodoo â??err- Veradoodoo â??err- Veryhoodoo â??err- Big Honda 1000 twin, and although the bike dwarfs him, watching him ride the mother is like poetry in motion â?? amazing!
Route Technical? I would say not in general. In fact I was thinking that it would be a great road to take newbies on, but there are a few places where I nearly made an upstake (that is a cross between a mistake and a f***-up) but then I am only slightly post-newbie myself. There are a few places where there are signs that the mud-monster has visited, but thankfully he remained thirsty today.
One thing I believe is really necessary is a GPS loaded with the track. I suspect it may be almost impossible without one as there are many intersections and turn-offs, and even with Zercâ??s Zumo, and me with two on my bars, we still had to return and re-route a few times. At one point a blerry farmer has thrown a gate through the road and, like a fool, I had ignored Lourens.DLâ??s detour and we had to blunder along a few rocky footpaths where the locals were harvesting something that looked and smelled suspiciously illegal, before getting back on the track.
Any misfortune to report? Absolutely none! No men down. No punctures, Nothing bust. No rain & mud, in fact just a lekka, low-stress, high-enjoyment day.
(Ignoring a few scary bits of sand on the way home â?? somebodyâ??s got to help me get riding through sand right!!)
Thanks to Zerc and WHS for their excellent company and a really good day.
Route and pics to follow:-
