Wow, but JonW’s ride in the Impendle area looked hectic, and I must say I am pleased that I did not put my hand up for that one.
Great one and well done guys!!
But while those brave guys were out there impersonating dassies, hippos and klipspringers there was ole Gunda in the same area just chilling and cruising about solo in the midlands getting much needed saddle time and having a good old time doing it.
I did not plan to ride on Sunday, ‘cos everyone was either doing JonW’s ride, was sick, or could not get their pass-books stamped, but when I looked at the dry cool weather, and after about fifty-six consecutive wet Sundays the pull of the bike was just too strong.
Also, a ride I did with Haplo, Stephen and MadDog a few weeks ago gave me a bad dose of Iwonderwherethatroadgoesitis, which, if untreated, can have complications like insomnia and ingrown toenails,.
So off I went. First stop was at the BP Oasis in Camperdown where a couple of very noisy XRs – I assume on the way to Hilton – almost made me spill my coffee.
On to Richmond and Byrne Village, and then up through the forests on the Elandskop road. It’s marked as a dotted line Garmin Topo & Rec, but it’s actually a gravel freeway.
The beautiful old oaks of the very pretty Byrne Village.
Approaching Elandskop.
I headed for the Pickle Pot for second breakfast and found this fella and his wife on the grass. I thought he may have a problem, but the only problem was that it was not quite opening time of 09:00. I had not realized how early I had left Durban North.
A scone the size of a Durban Bunny Chow.
I took the tar towards Impendle intending to take the D522 past Tilletudiem, but hit a locked gate with a “Prior Arrangement” sign – I thought all D roads had public passage servitude.
The road to the Dargle with Nhlosane in the background. I believe “Nhlosane”describes a maiden’s breast – needs a bit more imagination than I have.
Edit: My Zulu colleagues tells me the word is closer to "puberty" . . .
Near the Dargle.
A short detour to Fort Nottingham. This was built in 1850 something. Apparently when Queen Vic annexed Natalia, most of the Boers who had settled the area got pissed off and headed back over the Drakensberg leaving no buffer between the naughty natives and the Brits, so they imported a whole bunch of settlers – mainly Scottish – to the area. Unfortunately the local San guys took a liking to British beef and lamb, and so the Brits brought in some guys from the Nottinghamshire Regiment to act as San chasers, and cow and sheep guards, and built this fort in 1856. Many of the farms and locals have Scottish names like MacDonald, MacTavish, Makatini, and Makanye.
I had a good laugh at the thought of this metrosexual guy with the nifty red jacket chasing San hunters around the Drakensberg foothills. I have to say my sympathies lie with the San guys. :
And then to Michaelhouse School.
I found my old 1972 Hewlett Packard Scientific calculator in a box, and decided to renovate it and donate it to the school maths department. It’s a bit of a collector’s piece as it was the first electronic scientific calculator, and marked the end of the slide rule and log tables. I spent about half an hour discussing the evolution of calculation technology with the Maths teacher.
I hope it survived the trip in my top box.
I got to crossways a long time before JonW’s gang, but no problem – a great pie and an ale brewed on site.
This is an attempt to photograph hail. It was amazing – one moment it was brilliant sunshine, then a few thunder claps and a bit of marble-sized hail, and then brilliant sunshine again for the ride back with stops on the way to buy Belgian Chocolates for my landlady and raw Peel's honey for a guy called Mnelisi who works with us and was whingeing when he saw "China" as the country of origin on some honey he bought at the P&P.
The route from Richmond to Nottingham Road. A very newbie and pillion friendly track. About 50/50 tar and easy gravel.
Great one and well done guys!!
But while those brave guys were out there impersonating dassies, hippos and klipspringers there was ole Gunda in the same area just chilling and cruising about solo in the midlands getting much needed saddle time and having a good old time doing it.
I did not plan to ride on Sunday, ‘cos everyone was either doing JonW’s ride, was sick, or could not get their pass-books stamped, but when I looked at the dry cool weather, and after about fifty-six consecutive wet Sundays the pull of the bike was just too strong.
Also, a ride I did with Haplo, Stephen and MadDog a few weeks ago gave me a bad dose of Iwonderwherethatroadgoesitis, which, if untreated, can have complications like insomnia and ingrown toenails,.
So off I went. First stop was at the BP Oasis in Camperdown where a couple of very noisy XRs – I assume on the way to Hilton – almost made me spill my coffee.
On to Richmond and Byrne Village, and then up through the forests on the Elandskop road. It’s marked as a dotted line Garmin Topo & Rec, but it’s actually a gravel freeway.
The beautiful old oaks of the very pretty Byrne Village.
Approaching Elandskop.
I headed for the Pickle Pot for second breakfast and found this fella and his wife on the grass. I thought he may have a problem, but the only problem was that it was not quite opening time of 09:00. I had not realized how early I had left Durban North.
A scone the size of a Durban Bunny Chow.
I took the tar towards Impendle intending to take the D522 past Tilletudiem, but hit a locked gate with a “Prior Arrangement” sign – I thought all D roads had public passage servitude.
The road to the Dargle with Nhlosane in the background. I believe “Nhlosane”describes a maiden’s breast – needs a bit more imagination than I have.
Edit: My Zulu colleagues tells me the word is closer to "puberty" . . .
Near the Dargle.
A short detour to Fort Nottingham. This was built in 1850 something. Apparently when Queen Vic annexed Natalia, most of the Boers who had settled the area got pissed off and headed back over the Drakensberg leaving no buffer between the naughty natives and the Brits, so they imported a whole bunch of settlers – mainly Scottish – to the area. Unfortunately the local San guys took a liking to British beef and lamb, and so the Brits brought in some guys from the Nottinghamshire Regiment to act as San chasers, and cow and sheep guards, and built this fort in 1856. Many of the farms and locals have Scottish names like MacDonald, MacTavish, Makatini, and Makanye.
I had a good laugh at the thought of this metrosexual guy with the nifty red jacket chasing San hunters around the Drakensberg foothills. I have to say my sympathies lie with the San guys. :
And then to Michaelhouse School.
I found my old 1972 Hewlett Packard Scientific calculator in a box, and decided to renovate it and donate it to the school maths department. It’s a bit of a collector’s piece as it was the first electronic scientific calculator, and marked the end of the slide rule and log tables. I spent about half an hour discussing the evolution of calculation technology with the Maths teacher.
I hope it survived the trip in my top box.
I got to crossways a long time before JonW’s gang, but no problem – a great pie and an ale brewed on site.
This is an attempt to photograph hail. It was amazing – one moment it was brilliant sunshine, then a few thunder claps and a bit of marble-sized hail, and then brilliant sunshine again for the ride back with stops on the way to buy Belgian Chocolates for my landlady and raw Peel's honey for a guy called Mnelisi who works with us and was whingeing when he saw "China" as the country of origin on some honey he bought at the P&P.
The route from Richmond to Nottingham Road. A very newbie and pillion friendly track. About 50/50 tar and easy gravel.
