Lord Pickleby and a brand Noob wife

[Kamanya]

Well this was an inaugural ride in two aspects; one was that it was the first time that Mrs K (Berns) had ever gone for a long ride with me. She has only ever gone on 4 rides with me and never more than 40kâ??s. The other was that it was the first multi day ride after the bikes engine was rebuilt.

As Berns had no real riding gear and I would be plagued by guilt if we fell off and she hurt herself because of this, I went a got her a great jacket and some really good looking boots the day before. I had also enlisted the help of the collective wisdom here to figure out what would be a great destination to aim for that would not be more than 2 hours away and would have some great gravel plus the ability to escape to tar if the need arose.

Greyton was the winner of that little research project. Next was to find accommodation in Greyton through the internet. If you try it, it is awash in places to stay ranging from up the high end of the wallet and caviar to the more "pitch your tent over there son, just mind the cow turds" kind of stuff. Normally I would have been right at home among the cows but as creature comfort is a great accommodator of amorous thoughts I thought that I would up the cost factor a little and picked out a place called the Lord Pickleby. R340.00 per person per night breakfast included.

So destination and accommodation was organised, just needed to get the departure time communicated and we should be all set to head off early-ish on Saturday.

This was where some variables crept in;

'Geez I am looking forward to this, we should head off at about 7.30 and so you need to be up"

"Fuck that! It's Saturday! What time do you want to arrive there, just after dawn!" She said sweetly.

Oops! I hadn't thought that that would be an issue and I had expected that she would be raring to go and we would have the day to fart about and get there by about 4pm. I was just going to have to stay firm on this and she would just have to bite the bullet and learn some of the wonderful aspects of riding on a crisp early morning.

So 11am was what we settled on.

See, I hadn't given in much.

Packing.

I had some reservations about this. But in the end my girl did me proud. My pile is on the right.

It was too good to last, just as we were locking the house she pointed to her handbag and make up case.

Hmmmm.

Ok, lets get the show on the road.

And we were off.

I took Sir Loweries, stopping to see if all was well, not too hot, not too cold, comfortable, etc?

I and turned at Grabouw and then took the great gravel to Greyton.

I thought there may have been a hassle in getting her to stand but, to my surprise she took to it like a pro.

At one of the stops.

Another stop saw one of these big boys.

And so we rolled into Greyton and found the Lord Pickleby.

Yeah Baby, groovy. Lots of comfort and style.

It is way above what I expected.

It is also run by an Ex Zim Couple; John and Joan. A nicer more fun host and hostess you couldn't wish for.

They are one of those young older people who never seem to stop. He is 80 and she is 73. Here I asked him for a photo and he said make sure you get my best side?

I can only hope I am half the amount of passion and fun when I get there.


Everything in Greyton is a stroll away, so we went a rustled up a late lunch

Great, home made and good value.

Back to the boudoir for a snooze then it was off to the Pepper Tree Restaurant.

Some arty fart photos taken on the stroll there.

Now any restaurant that has a 1930's 350cc, one of only two left in the world in the entrance can't be bad.

We had a great meal there and on the way out got chatting to the host Sergey from Croatia. He said the bike had been sold to a Scottish chap who is currently driving down through Africa and will take it back to Scotland in April next year. He insisted I try it out for size. The seat is well sprung but you have to admire the guys who raced these. The brakes are anything but and though he said it will get to 110kph it is not an experience that you'd want to try too often.

We were going to go next door for the France Argentina semi but as there was only standing space we retreated to the Lord and cracked a bottle of wine, and there after retreated to the passion palace.

Sunday morning, Mmmmmm, this beat cow turds.

Breakfast was very civilised and after having a great chat with John and Joan, headed out.

It was off to Caledon then Botriver  via some back roads and the old Van der Stel pass road. Also got her to work the camera; not a bad first ever shot whilst riding.

I had been debating with myself as to whether I should risk putting her off forever by going up the old Hoewhoek pass road. It has a bit of sand and a lot of loos stuff towards the top.

I shouldnâ??t have worried, she handled the rougher stuff and was very comfortable standing the whole way up.

Over the pass, then just before the airport the rain started and I thought that might put a damper on things as I did not have any rain gear. But as it turned out this was the only bit of her that got wet.

I think I have a convert.

Cheers

 

[growweblaar]

Nice! Next, she'll want her own bike... ;D

 

[Trailrider]

There you go! This should be made a sticky to show other bikers how it's done!  :thumleft:

 

[MrBig]

Nice 'personal' style of reporting - feels like I'm watching Big Brother.

Glad things went well and you both had a good time.
But dude - 11?
Will have to work on that one.

 

[Uiltjie]

......afterglow?

That's nice Kamanya!  I wish my wifey was as keen as this, she rides, but not dirt!  Shit!

Happy for you man!

 

[Ama ride ride]

Nice writeup Kam....I stil remember when Red Devil rode her first overnight trip with me. To Sutherland.

 

[Kaboef]

Whohoo!
Congrats Kamanya, now you will never again have the priviledge of riding alone.

Kiss your days of solo riding goodbye... >

Just kidding. ;D ;D
Nice piccies.

 

[Kamanya]

MrBig 

But dude - 11? 

Yep, she is not a morning person at all. She normally doesn't even speak before 10.

 

[Eisbein]

Good stuff !

What was her comments on the trip ?

You did the right thing.
Going for a leisurely ride with a reluctant pillion assures that you'll have a less reluctant pillion next time.

Very cool.

 

[keithk]

Hi there great report and pics , its always great to hear when a pillion (especially wifey) enjoys the ride .I think Greyton was the perfect place to start. 

 

[the_wes]

i swear that's where celeste and i spent our first night of honeymoon! that room on the right off the patio...

 

[Kamanya]

Her comments;

She really enjoyed it. I was impressed that I never once got the "dig in the ribs" message. I did do a bit of high speed on the gravel and managed to show her a bit of sliding the rear round corners. Also on the Grabouw section there are some great corners on the tar and asking her about it later she said she felt safe.

Her glasses hurt her a bit and the helmet is very new still so she can't have it on for too long before it starts to get hot spots. At one stage she had put her hair in a small bun (I missed her doing this) and not long after that asked me to stop as it was really hurting her.

On the way there, she was at the point of thinking it wasn't worth it to be so covered up and getting so warm, she was boiling in the jacket. It was only when she mentioned this to me at the second stop, not knowing any better, did I unzip the inner to the jacket. This improved her ride immeasurably from then on.

She also like my camel back water supply.

I asked her quite a few times if the seat, which I have heard is notoriously uncomfortable for the pillions, was a problem and she said not at all. She was very comfortable.

She said though, that the time on the bike was about her limit, so we'll have to work up to longer distances and earlier mornings as we go along.

 

[newguy]

Very cool K-man 
Still hoping to catch you in atlantis again.

 

[Chrisv]

Hi K

Thanks for that report, it was great.  Yeah my wife hates (read scared shitless) bikes, so that may be a good idea to ease her into it.

Cool thanks

 

[Kaboef]

You are a very considerate husband.

Me and the fiance have done a few long trips together, and the major complaint (there are not many) is that its too hot in the ATGATT.

Us riders sit in the wind, while the pillion sits behind us and boil in the sun with not enough ventilation.
And while we keep ourselves entertained with riding the bike, they often get bored at the back, just sitting there doing nothing.

So when riding with the wife/fiance/girlfiend, always keep them in mind, and cater for their wellbeing. That way the trip will be much more enjoyable. Its nice to have the better half along - you can share the beautiful things you see and experience.

Big up Kamanya! 8)

 

[JourneyMan]

Lekker Kamanya!

Same story with me. About three trips which the longest was about 120km.

You give me hope!

 

[Eisbein]

I am so blessed to have a wife that not only 'not mind' going with - she actually loves it !

She is GATVOL when I go somewhere with the bike and she can't go with.

Best thing in the world to be able to share the experience with your soul mate.

Like me she is also very comfortable with her own thoughts.

She'll sit at the back for hours on end just taking in the scenery and the moving landscapes.

She's also quite good with a camera - another plus !

 

[MrBig]

If you're serious about traveling longer distances with the missus - allow me the liberty to make some suggestions:

- Get her a tinted visor (makes a HUGE difference to the comfort of the helmet if you don't need to wear sunglasses. Seriously huge)
- Consider getting a good quality comms system. It will allow her to give you proper ride feedback and also dispel some boredom with chitchat. You can also hook up some music for the longer stints. On this - wearing earplugs might take some getting used to as a pillion but it will help tremendously with fatigue. Upside is that you can also use it solo for music, gps and cellphone.
- A proper vented jacket (like Richa Deep Summer) is a worthy investment.
- Seems like the AirHawk system is better priced than I originally thought and might be worth getting - even if only for the pillion.  An added bonus is that she'll sit slightly higher. My experience is that smaller girls enjoy that as it offers a much better view and some more airflow. Especially on these one-piece seats which tend to make them slide forward.

I have long since learned that there's only one persons comfort that's of any importance.
A happy pillion makes for a happy pilot and a happy trip.

 

[Plothond]

Now this is one lekker report
I really enjoyed reading it

I second the sticky vote

 

[Goose]

Now this is one lekker report
I really enjoyed reading it

I second the sticky vote

I too second the above....

Nice report and gives hope to other "wifey's" as well... thanks for sharing