- Joined
- Feb 6, 2006
- Messages
- 10,606
- Reaction score
- 4,281
- Location
- Cape Town, deep in the lentils
- Bike
- KTM 990 Adventure
Marc Coma? Yeah, I rode with himâ?¦
Let this load while you are reading, then come back to it...
https://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=FQHidwsMUqo
Itâ??s pretty hard trying to sift through all the collected memories of a ride like this and then write about them. So much happens that it is just the bits and pieces that stand out, but then others come and go as you day dream. Sort of like a memory bank focus problem. Maybe it is the reason I donâ??t really feel like writing this report. I really want to just sit in my tub of memories of the experience and smile a bit with them before I plot them into a static report.
Anyway, as I said to my wife this morning when she asked why do I bother, â??one day Iâ??ll have Alzheimerâ??s and these reports will be a great help then.â? But, also I enjoy going back to them every now and then to remind me of the bits that tend to leak out of the tub over time. And if truth be told, I get a huge amount of satisfaction out of joining others on their rides and feel that it is a small price to pay to have others come along with me on mine in return.
Soâ?¦
I had not gone to any of these events before and was looking forward to trying this one on for size. I had been waiting for this ride for quite a while, the anticipation factor had risen rapidly along with the small fortune I had spent on new gear and bits and pieces â?? GPS and extra topo and recreational software, helmet cam, pants, charging system for AA batteries for the bike, a new TourX 3 helmet, not to mention doing a few upgrades to the suspension and servicing the bike. All these were costing me more than the sticker price as my wife had somehow talked me into agreeing that I spend as much on her as I do on the â??other womanâ?. So she and a friend were booked into the Arabella for two nights of pampering. My credit card was taking a hammering and I hadnâ??t even set off yet!
Riding on tar for 1000kâ??s is not my idea of fun. I was determined to try to have as much fun on the way up to the event as that promised to us at it and had spend a large amount of time and bandwidth trying to route a trip that would take in some spectacular scenery and riding. I had phoned a few farmers to ask of the conditions and about the access of some of the routes.
I was a bit disappointed to have only Debbie come back to me about riding up. I thought that there would be more takers for the ride. I had bumped into a guy in Craigs motorcycle shop, Clinton (not a forum member), who said he owned a KTM950S but he was not going up until I mentioned what I was doing and then he seemed more interested and said he would find out if there tickets left. I saw him again later at KTM so maybe he was being serious. We swapped numbers but I didnâ??t think he would do it until later in the week I got an SMS saying that he was in and would I send my GPS routes. Hmm, he said he had ridden Van Zyls pass so he should be able to take care of himself.
Being a terminal fiddler, the day before we were going to be riding up, I tried to hunt down a very slight oil leak and ended up here.
Solved it... it had nothing to do with this bit, but later on the trip another appeared. (still have not washed the bike yet so will have to wait to see where that one is)
8pm the night before we were to leave I was having dinner with my wife when Clinton phoned to say that he had had the rim changed and now he couldnâ??t get the front wheel on without the discs rubbing on the callipers. He suspected the guys who did it had somehow stuffed it up and that he was now gat full and was probably not going to be able to make it. Not bloody likely was my thoughts. I said that I couldnâ??t really chat to him, but that I would speak in an hour. I called him back and told him to try changing the wheel around to run backwards, if this worked then all he had to do was take the discs off turn them around and he would be good to go.
Half an hour later I got an SMS â?? Success! Do TKCâ??s run backwards?
Definitely I replied. I really didnâ??t know but I was not going to risk having a tire change stop him from coming now. (Now I can say without a doubt as he rode as hard as I did for 3000kâ??s with no problems)
Day 1
Kit packed to take to KTM WC
The plan was to meet at KTM WC, sling all our crap into the back of the van that Donald was going to drive up and head off to spend the first night in Willowmore.
The teletubbies are Mr and Mrs Speedi...
We all were going to ride as far as Montague and then split up, us taking the easier route on gravel and the rest doing the torture chamber thing on the tar. We peeled off onto the N1 and into crappy wet winter Cape weather. It is supposed to be Spring surely! Someone hasnâ??t paid their subscription to summer yet, buggers! The only memorable bit on the way to Montague, apart from the rain and my new heated grips to deal with that, was the tunnel. It was really warm compared to the snot on either side of it. Oh, yes, the one other bit of funny that I only found out later was the toll gates had left one lane open. With no need to be asked a second time I shot through closely followed by Clinton. Some gate keeper then nearly got themselves run over when they jumped in the way of the rest of the gang and forced them to pay.
At Motague we said our goodbyes to the other 4 and headed off.
But not before Debbie put on her think bike vest? I donâ??t know what she was thinking. We certainly werenâ??t going to run her over â?? we would be too far ahead. And considering the back roads that we took, I am sure most tractors arenâ??t that quick either. The reality was that she was just nervous and it was a comfort to her.
The first stretch was a short 20k warm up. It really was a dirt track with some technical corners. I hadnâ??t expected it to be so rough so soon and 600kâ??s was going to take a mighty long time if the rest was like this. Still it was great to be on dirt and the â??realâ? part of the ride for me started.
Next up was the Anysberg Nature reserve, again, just stunning riding. We saw the wild horses, nope we didnâ??t get a photo. At the last gate before leaving the park, Debbie didnâ??t pitch. Clinton has extra fuel tanks so he went back to look for her. After a few minutes I too turned back only to find them not more than a few kâ??s back. Clinton had found Debbie pushing her bike to Willowmore. Not a bad idea I suppose when the adrenalin is up, but 400kâ??s is a bit far to push a 950. When I arrived he was doing the last bit of electrical tape winding to sort out the side stand switch that had taken a rock to its head through the previous water crossing. A few minutes is all it took and we were off again.
I have a video of day 1. Unfortunately the second half of the day wasnâ??t recorded, I am still getting to grips with how long batteries/memory cards last. Plus it is tough juggling being a participant and film crew at the same time. For the scond part of the day the ride was just as stunning as the first.
It was a bit of a relief that Clinton could ride and so we would beetle off stopping at every T junction or after 30kâ??s or so, so as not to loose Debbie.
At first Debbie was far enough behind to take helmets off. But before long, it was just enough time to have a pee when her Leo Vinces would announce themselves. I sure wish my wife would ride. And I am sure there are more than a few guys who wish they could ride like her.
We had lunch at Calitsdorp after coming down through Seweweekport. Now if you havenâ??t done this pass, well, you really canâ??t say that you have seen some of the best DS riding in SA. It just does not do it any justice to try and describe how beautiful the place is.
We were a bit surprised to see that the time at Calitzdorp was about 3pm. It seemed like it was only about 11am. Time flies when you are flying along dirt having an absolute blast.
Originally I had planned a number of routes, I was keen to ride up the Swartberg pass, get to Prince Albert and then ride along the northern part of the Swartberg and then back down to Willowore. At the turn off to the pass, we had a pow-wow at the foot of the pass...
...and seeing that we were running a little late we took plan No. 2 and rode the Ruabenheimer dam road. Again, a really beautiful ride. It had it all tight bends, fast sweeps, water drifts and great scenery. Clinton nearly hit a pair of gigantic tortoises, I was never more than half a minute ahead of him and I never saw them. Either those big tortoises move really quickly or I was looking at the scenery at the moment I passed them. Iâ??d hate to hit one, I know who would come of worse in the event of whacking one, it would not be the tortoise. They are the size of a medium sized dog kennel.
From De Rust it was tar for the last 100kâ??s or so.
At the junction to the N9 the cold was too much so we stopped,
put a few more warm things on and by about 7 I think we rolled into Willowmore. One phone call to Donald got us to the guest house. I couldnâ??t heflp it but had to ride up the steps to the Kuier afdak to end the great day. Debbie and Clinton were soon gushing to the others about how good the day had been that it was decided there and then that tomorrow the whole group would follow me. Excellent! A good evening of story telling and drinking saw us to 11pm.
when I and my new wife - Aardt turned in. We had to share.
Distance for the day was about 600kâ??s of first class riding and riding buds.
Day 2, later.
Let this load while you are reading, then come back to it...
https://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=FQHidwsMUqo
Itâ??s pretty hard trying to sift through all the collected memories of a ride like this and then write about them. So much happens that it is just the bits and pieces that stand out, but then others come and go as you day dream. Sort of like a memory bank focus problem. Maybe it is the reason I donâ??t really feel like writing this report. I really want to just sit in my tub of memories of the experience and smile a bit with them before I plot them into a static report.
Anyway, as I said to my wife this morning when she asked why do I bother, â??one day Iâ??ll have Alzheimerâ??s and these reports will be a great help then.â? But, also I enjoy going back to them every now and then to remind me of the bits that tend to leak out of the tub over time. And if truth be told, I get a huge amount of satisfaction out of joining others on their rides and feel that it is a small price to pay to have others come along with me on mine in return.
Soâ?¦
I had not gone to any of these events before and was looking forward to trying this one on for size. I had been waiting for this ride for quite a while, the anticipation factor had risen rapidly along with the small fortune I had spent on new gear and bits and pieces â?? GPS and extra topo and recreational software, helmet cam, pants, charging system for AA batteries for the bike, a new TourX 3 helmet, not to mention doing a few upgrades to the suspension and servicing the bike. All these were costing me more than the sticker price as my wife had somehow talked me into agreeing that I spend as much on her as I do on the â??other womanâ?. So she and a friend were booked into the Arabella for two nights of pampering. My credit card was taking a hammering and I hadnâ??t even set off yet!
Riding on tar for 1000kâ??s is not my idea of fun. I was determined to try to have as much fun on the way up to the event as that promised to us at it and had spend a large amount of time and bandwidth trying to route a trip that would take in some spectacular scenery and riding. I had phoned a few farmers to ask of the conditions and about the access of some of the routes.
I was a bit disappointed to have only Debbie come back to me about riding up. I thought that there would be more takers for the ride. I had bumped into a guy in Craigs motorcycle shop, Clinton (not a forum member), who said he owned a KTM950S but he was not going up until I mentioned what I was doing and then he seemed more interested and said he would find out if there tickets left. I saw him again later at KTM so maybe he was being serious. We swapped numbers but I didnâ??t think he would do it until later in the week I got an SMS saying that he was in and would I send my GPS routes. Hmm, he said he had ridden Van Zyls pass so he should be able to take care of himself.
Being a terminal fiddler, the day before we were going to be riding up, I tried to hunt down a very slight oil leak and ended up here.
Solved it... it had nothing to do with this bit, but later on the trip another appeared. (still have not washed the bike yet so will have to wait to see where that one is)
8pm the night before we were to leave I was having dinner with my wife when Clinton phoned to say that he had had the rim changed and now he couldnâ??t get the front wheel on without the discs rubbing on the callipers. He suspected the guys who did it had somehow stuffed it up and that he was now gat full and was probably not going to be able to make it. Not bloody likely was my thoughts. I said that I couldnâ??t really chat to him, but that I would speak in an hour. I called him back and told him to try changing the wheel around to run backwards, if this worked then all he had to do was take the discs off turn them around and he would be good to go.
Half an hour later I got an SMS â?? Success! Do TKCâ??s run backwards?
Definitely I replied. I really didnâ??t know but I was not going to risk having a tire change stop him from coming now. (Now I can say without a doubt as he rode as hard as I did for 3000kâ??s with no problems)
Day 1
Kit packed to take to KTM WC
The plan was to meet at KTM WC, sling all our crap into the back of the van that Donald was going to drive up and head off to spend the first night in Willowmore.
The teletubbies are Mr and Mrs Speedi...
We all were going to ride as far as Montague and then split up, us taking the easier route on gravel and the rest doing the torture chamber thing on the tar. We peeled off onto the N1 and into crappy wet winter Cape weather. It is supposed to be Spring surely! Someone hasnâ??t paid their subscription to summer yet, buggers! The only memorable bit on the way to Montague, apart from the rain and my new heated grips to deal with that, was the tunnel. It was really warm compared to the snot on either side of it. Oh, yes, the one other bit of funny that I only found out later was the toll gates had left one lane open. With no need to be asked a second time I shot through closely followed by Clinton. Some gate keeper then nearly got themselves run over when they jumped in the way of the rest of the gang and forced them to pay.
At Motague we said our goodbyes to the other 4 and headed off.
But not before Debbie put on her think bike vest? I donâ??t know what she was thinking. We certainly werenâ??t going to run her over â?? we would be too far ahead. And considering the back roads that we took, I am sure most tractors arenâ??t that quick either. The reality was that she was just nervous and it was a comfort to her.
The first stretch was a short 20k warm up. It really was a dirt track with some technical corners. I hadnâ??t expected it to be so rough so soon and 600kâ??s was going to take a mighty long time if the rest was like this. Still it was great to be on dirt and the â??realâ? part of the ride for me started.
Next up was the Anysberg Nature reserve, again, just stunning riding. We saw the wild horses, nope we didnâ??t get a photo. At the last gate before leaving the park, Debbie didnâ??t pitch. Clinton has extra fuel tanks so he went back to look for her. After a few minutes I too turned back only to find them not more than a few kâ??s back. Clinton had found Debbie pushing her bike to Willowmore. Not a bad idea I suppose when the adrenalin is up, but 400kâ??s is a bit far to push a 950. When I arrived he was doing the last bit of electrical tape winding to sort out the side stand switch that had taken a rock to its head through the previous water crossing. A few minutes is all it took and we were off again.
I have a video of day 1. Unfortunately the second half of the day wasnâ??t recorded, I am still getting to grips with how long batteries/memory cards last. Plus it is tough juggling being a participant and film crew at the same time. For the scond part of the day the ride was just as stunning as the first.
It was a bit of a relief that Clinton could ride and so we would beetle off stopping at every T junction or after 30kâ??s or so, so as not to loose Debbie.
At first Debbie was far enough behind to take helmets off. But before long, it was just enough time to have a pee when her Leo Vinces would announce themselves. I sure wish my wife would ride. And I am sure there are more than a few guys who wish they could ride like her.
We had lunch at Calitsdorp after coming down through Seweweekport. Now if you havenâ??t done this pass, well, you really canâ??t say that you have seen some of the best DS riding in SA. It just does not do it any justice to try and describe how beautiful the place is.
We were a bit surprised to see that the time at Calitzdorp was about 3pm. It seemed like it was only about 11am. Time flies when you are flying along dirt having an absolute blast.
Originally I had planned a number of routes, I was keen to ride up the Swartberg pass, get to Prince Albert and then ride along the northern part of the Swartberg and then back down to Willowore. At the turn off to the pass, we had a pow-wow at the foot of the pass...
...and seeing that we were running a little late we took plan No. 2 and rode the Ruabenheimer dam road. Again, a really beautiful ride. It had it all tight bends, fast sweeps, water drifts and great scenery. Clinton nearly hit a pair of gigantic tortoises, I was never more than half a minute ahead of him and I never saw them. Either those big tortoises move really quickly or I was looking at the scenery at the moment I passed them. Iâ??d hate to hit one, I know who would come of worse in the event of whacking one, it would not be the tortoise. They are the size of a medium sized dog kennel.
From De Rust it was tar for the last 100kâ??s or so.
At the junction to the N9 the cold was too much so we stopped,
put a few more warm things on and by about 7 I think we rolled into Willowmore. One phone call to Donald got us to the guest house. I couldnâ??t heflp it but had to ride up the steps to the Kuier afdak to end the great day. Debbie and Clinton were soon gushing to the others about how good the day had been that it was decided there and then that tomorrow the whole group would follow me. Excellent! A good evening of story telling and drinking saw us to 11pm.
when I and my new wife - Aardt turned in. We had to share.
Distance for the day was about 600kâ??s of first class riding and riding buds.
Day 2, later.
