- Joined
- Feb 6, 2006
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- Cape Town, deep in the lentils
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- KTM 990 Adventure
Ok, this is half a ride report because I only had my phone camera with me. My wife had some business stuff that she had to do with mine and so I was stuck with the phone. So its mostly words and very few photo's, then I recon Mark will put his story and ton of photo?s that he took.
As it was so wet I only pulled the phone out in the dry spots, of which as you can see there were relatively few. Lastly as Mark takes really good pics I stopped bothering to take. These are my excuses and I am sticking to them.
I had a fairly late night but for some reason I was up at 4am, checking out the insomnia forum and generally surfing without intent. Finally it was time to suit up. I considered pulling on my drysuit that I use for white water paddling, but chose to wear my Musta sailing dungarees with Lookwell jacket with the rain insert and a few Heli Hansons. I was feeling a bit of a Michelin man by the time I fired up Silver and left Claremont. It was light showers all the way to the Strand and pretty nippy, clouds over the mountains looked like they meant business though; they were that cold gunmetal grey.
On the way to Sir Lowry?s I filled up and called Wesley but he chose the sane option and stayed in bed. He did say that only Mark sounded like he was going to pitch so it looked good that at least I was not out on my own for the day.
I was expecting it to be howling at Sir Lowry?s but it was pretty quiet, I rode over the pass to check out a side road that I have taken before and thought that it may become an option if only Mark pitched as it was a little hectic but the gate was locked so I headed back to the lookout point and waited.
The sun made an appearance so it looked like it there was an outside chance that it was going to be a great day.
Mark arrived at 8.30 on the dot in his washing up gloves, (they really do work under riding gloves in the rain if you don?t have heated bars). I was keen not to hang around too long and said we should wait for just 10 minutes and then bolt.
It was only about 5 minutes after that that we heard what sounded like an Akrapovic shod KTM coming up the pass. We could just make out 2 bikers coming up. It wasn?t a KTM but a great sounding 1100 GS! With a 650 GS in tow. Welcome to Adrian and Shamiel. Shamiel is none other than the Cedarburg conquering Vespa Rider ? Mountainboy, (Rather than the trailer hitched to the back of his GS that I expected to see, he had a tank bag to carry his serious set of nads). Adrian is Big Red, and he has the best sounding GS I have ever heard.
Ok so lets wait 5 more minutes and then getouta here.
A double rainbow heralded the day?s ride up there, it was a good omen.
Right then, let?s bolt. The ride to Grabouw wasn?t too bad on the tar but from there towards Villiersdorp was pretty grim. The rain was pelting down and it was bitingly cold. I have TKC 80?s on both ends and though they are pretty good in the dry they really do move a lot in the wet. They are almost as easy to slide on tar as gravel. So I was happy to get to the Old Van der Stel Pass road just before the Theewaterskloof Dam.
Stopped just long enough to let the BM?s get the ABS off and a quick thumbs up and ?tally ho!?
The road is very scenic, the gravel was very wet but tons of grip was available and to make things immeasurably better the rain had stopped and the sun peaked out every now and then. The first minor puddle of the day was deemed a photo stop and we all made the obligatory mud stomp. Shamiel seemed to be very comfortable and Adrian looked like he had done this before. This was great as it opened up the possibility of adding in a section later that is very pretty and though slightly more difficult than open gravel not that hard.
The last 3 or 4 k?s into Botriver has roadworks and had a bit of mud but again the grip was very high.
Then it was up the old Hoehoek pass road. It is very pretty with a good view of the river and some great tracks to ride on.
Ok, so the options from here were either to the Paul Cluver Wine Estate for a sip of their Paul Cluver Pinot Noir 2003 or as it turned out the better option, the HouwHoek Inn. We were in need of some warmth and getting it from the bottle seemed less attractive than a hearth. (though I summarily did all the deciding as Mark, as he has admitted recently, may have taken the Pinot Noir Option
)
The Inn had a great little fire going and a steaming cup of coffee later we were ready to brave the weather again.
We did get a few raised eyebrows and comments to the effect that there had to be something seriously wrong with us going out in this weather. Its called adventure riding dummy!
Adrian nearly saw his arse pulling out of HouwHoek, too much throttle on Maxxis on grass. Maxxis look good and did well but grass will take out most. Not far up the road is the turning to the The Valley, it is a great road that does a loop on the way to the Safcol forests. The road is very hard sandy gravel that is great to ride regardless of the weather. There is a great twisty uphill section that is just perfect to for a series of fast sweeps to the top. You can really lay into the turns. The TKC?s were doing their job so well infact that I beaned Mark on the helmet earlier on the ride giving his helmet a good gong.
The road from there is tar for a short section then it is into the connecting gravel road that comes out not far from Arrabella. Water was pouring off the mountain and flowing in big waterfalls down to the valley. I thought everone was riding really well and seemed up to the next little bit where I deviated from the planned route. I don?t know if the forestry department are that keen on having us up there but the opportunity was too good to miss. I had been up there a few times but knew from looking at Google earth that there must be a slightly easier route up to the old forestry station. I asked all and they were keen so near the top of the mountain I headed off to find the forestry station. The track is really cool to ride on, fairly good solid sand or gravel interspersed with a few puddles.
On one of the puddles that looked no different form the rest I hit it with my visor open. I nearly drowned. I managed to get the biked stopped with my eyes stinging from the impact of the dark fynbos tea like water. Mark made it through and then Shamiel made an effort at doing a his seaman impersonation. He hit the puddle but as he still has the rubbers on the pegs his feet where ripped off the pegs and he ended up nearly being washed overboard and only grimly held on. Adrian dived in and stopped next to me alternatley gigling and gargling and accepted my beanie to dry his face as he had also been riding with his visor open.
Just past the old forestry station that is now derelict is a slight track that got us to the look out. After a short walk we could see Kleinmond to the right the lagoon ahead and Arablla to the left. It is really quite amazing how many good views we have right here.
The weather was raining on and off and it was not the time to sit back and relax. I offered the option of going back the way we came or going down a slightly more difficult route that has some switchbacks and sand. All were keen so I headed off. Over the first rise I waited a bit, just as I was about to head back and take a look Mark came along saying there was a bit of a hassle with the turning around. I thought he said someone had dropped their bike but I?ll let whomever it was own up to that.
The track heads off down the mountain in a series of switchbacks that with the cold fingers can catch one out. Almost at the bottom I stopped just over a small river and waited. Mark was right behind so it seemed a good place to take a photo. We waited in the rain. Nope, no one was coming so I rode back up and not far up I found Shamiel and Mark picking their way down. Adrian stopped briefly to say that Shamiel had dropped it and had taken his time getting it up again, apparently he and a bush were getting intimate. No, that didn?t come out right, anyway?
Once back on the road we surveyed the damage ? just a light scratch or two. They will looked on fondly in the years to come. The sun come out for a bit as we were parked on the road and then incredibly it began to hail! There we were having a good chin wag and we were being hailed on with the sun out in middle of nowhere. It was pretty funny standing in a deserted road having a great chat with hail pinging of your helmet. A car drove past and they politely waved and then stared as you do when you are not sure of the mental health of those you are waving at.
The choice from here was down to the tar and then either back to the N2 and home or right to Kleinmond and back via the Betty?s Bay Road to Gordons bay or Back the way we had come and stop at the farm stall for a coffee. The Farm stall just before Grabouw got the vote.
On the way I stopped for all to catch up and then nearly wiped Mark and Adrian out with a poorly executed drag start. We stopped at the waterfalls for a photo and then again after we passed a KTM 950 and Black Super Tenere coming the opposite way. We met with Dave and a buddy whose name I forget, they were from the Stand and we should have them up on the Forum in the not too distant future.
Our timing could not have been better; just after we had wolfed down a good meal in front of a really hot fire did the owner of the place turn the TV on so as to catch the start of the Le Mans French GP. 10 minutes in with the pole sitter Edwards in last place we said our goodbyes and left to head home. It was fitting that it was still raining most of the way. It really was a really great day of riding, I enjoyed meeting you guys. I look forward to doing something again in the future.
The last I saw of the other 3 was waving cheers to them as I was filling up at the Shell.
The rest of you who didn?t pitch missed a great day.
I did take a long hot bath to get the ends of me warmed up though, with a glass of Pinot Noir to make sure.
Cheers
As it was so wet I only pulled the phone out in the dry spots, of which as you can see there were relatively few. Lastly as Mark takes really good pics I stopped bothering to take. These are my excuses and I am sticking to them.
I had a fairly late night but for some reason I was up at 4am, checking out the insomnia forum and generally surfing without intent. Finally it was time to suit up. I considered pulling on my drysuit that I use for white water paddling, but chose to wear my Musta sailing dungarees with Lookwell jacket with the rain insert and a few Heli Hansons. I was feeling a bit of a Michelin man by the time I fired up Silver and left Claremont. It was light showers all the way to the Strand and pretty nippy, clouds over the mountains looked like they meant business though; they were that cold gunmetal grey.
On the way to Sir Lowry?s I filled up and called Wesley but he chose the sane option and stayed in bed. He did say that only Mark sounded like he was going to pitch so it looked good that at least I was not out on my own for the day.
I was expecting it to be howling at Sir Lowry?s but it was pretty quiet, I rode over the pass to check out a side road that I have taken before and thought that it may become an option if only Mark pitched as it was a little hectic but the gate was locked so I headed back to the lookout point and waited.
The sun made an appearance so it looked like it there was an outside chance that it was going to be a great day.
Mark arrived at 8.30 on the dot in his washing up gloves, (they really do work under riding gloves in the rain if you don?t have heated bars). I was keen not to hang around too long and said we should wait for just 10 minutes and then bolt.
It was only about 5 minutes after that that we heard what sounded like an Akrapovic shod KTM coming up the pass. We could just make out 2 bikers coming up. It wasn?t a KTM but a great sounding 1100 GS! With a 650 GS in tow. Welcome to Adrian and Shamiel. Shamiel is none other than the Cedarburg conquering Vespa Rider ? Mountainboy, (Rather than the trailer hitched to the back of his GS that I expected to see, he had a tank bag to carry his serious set of nads). Adrian is Big Red, and he has the best sounding GS I have ever heard.
Ok so lets wait 5 more minutes and then getouta here.
A double rainbow heralded the day?s ride up there, it was a good omen.
Right then, let?s bolt. The ride to Grabouw wasn?t too bad on the tar but from there towards Villiersdorp was pretty grim. The rain was pelting down and it was bitingly cold. I have TKC 80?s on both ends and though they are pretty good in the dry they really do move a lot in the wet. They are almost as easy to slide on tar as gravel. So I was happy to get to the Old Van der Stel Pass road just before the Theewaterskloof Dam.
Stopped just long enough to let the BM?s get the ABS off and a quick thumbs up and ?tally ho!?
The road is very scenic, the gravel was very wet but tons of grip was available and to make things immeasurably better the rain had stopped and the sun peaked out every now and then. The first minor puddle of the day was deemed a photo stop and we all made the obligatory mud stomp. Shamiel seemed to be very comfortable and Adrian looked like he had done this before. This was great as it opened up the possibility of adding in a section later that is very pretty and though slightly more difficult than open gravel not that hard.
The last 3 or 4 k?s into Botriver has roadworks and had a bit of mud but again the grip was very high.
Then it was up the old Hoehoek pass road. It is very pretty with a good view of the river and some great tracks to ride on.
Ok, so the options from here were either to the Paul Cluver Wine Estate for a sip of their Paul Cluver Pinot Noir 2003 or as it turned out the better option, the HouwHoek Inn. We were in need of some warmth and getting it from the bottle seemed less attractive than a hearth. (though I summarily did all the deciding as Mark, as he has admitted recently, may have taken the Pinot Noir Option
)The Inn had a great little fire going and a steaming cup of coffee later we were ready to brave the weather again.
We did get a few raised eyebrows and comments to the effect that there had to be something seriously wrong with us going out in this weather. Its called adventure riding dummy!
Adrian nearly saw his arse pulling out of HouwHoek, too much throttle on Maxxis on grass. Maxxis look good and did well but grass will take out most. Not far up the road is the turning to the The Valley, it is a great road that does a loop on the way to the Safcol forests. The road is very hard sandy gravel that is great to ride regardless of the weather. There is a great twisty uphill section that is just perfect to for a series of fast sweeps to the top. You can really lay into the turns. The TKC?s were doing their job so well infact that I beaned Mark on the helmet earlier on the ride giving his helmet a good gong.
The road from there is tar for a short section then it is into the connecting gravel road that comes out not far from Arrabella. Water was pouring off the mountain and flowing in big waterfalls down to the valley. I thought everone was riding really well and seemed up to the next little bit where I deviated from the planned route. I don?t know if the forestry department are that keen on having us up there but the opportunity was too good to miss. I had been up there a few times but knew from looking at Google earth that there must be a slightly easier route up to the old forestry station. I asked all and they were keen so near the top of the mountain I headed off to find the forestry station. The track is really cool to ride on, fairly good solid sand or gravel interspersed with a few puddles.
On one of the puddles that looked no different form the rest I hit it with my visor open. I nearly drowned. I managed to get the biked stopped with my eyes stinging from the impact of the dark fynbos tea like water. Mark made it through and then Shamiel made an effort at doing a his seaman impersonation. He hit the puddle but as he still has the rubbers on the pegs his feet where ripped off the pegs and he ended up nearly being washed overboard and only grimly held on. Adrian dived in and stopped next to me alternatley gigling and gargling and accepted my beanie to dry his face as he had also been riding with his visor open.
Just past the old forestry station that is now derelict is a slight track that got us to the look out. After a short walk we could see Kleinmond to the right the lagoon ahead and Arablla to the left. It is really quite amazing how many good views we have right here.
The weather was raining on and off and it was not the time to sit back and relax. I offered the option of going back the way we came or going down a slightly more difficult route that has some switchbacks and sand. All were keen so I headed off. Over the first rise I waited a bit, just as I was about to head back and take a look Mark came along saying there was a bit of a hassle with the turning around. I thought he said someone had dropped their bike but I?ll let whomever it was own up to that.
The track heads off down the mountain in a series of switchbacks that with the cold fingers can catch one out. Almost at the bottom I stopped just over a small river and waited. Mark was right behind so it seemed a good place to take a photo. We waited in the rain. Nope, no one was coming so I rode back up and not far up I found Shamiel and Mark picking their way down. Adrian stopped briefly to say that Shamiel had dropped it and had taken his time getting it up again, apparently he and a bush were getting intimate. No, that didn?t come out right, anyway?
Once back on the road we surveyed the damage ? just a light scratch or two. They will looked on fondly in the years to come. The sun come out for a bit as we were parked on the road and then incredibly it began to hail! There we were having a good chin wag and we were being hailed on with the sun out in middle of nowhere. It was pretty funny standing in a deserted road having a great chat with hail pinging of your helmet. A car drove past and they politely waved and then stared as you do when you are not sure of the mental health of those you are waving at.
The choice from here was down to the tar and then either back to the N2 and home or right to Kleinmond and back via the Betty?s Bay Road to Gordons bay or Back the way we had come and stop at the farm stall for a coffee. The Farm stall just before Grabouw got the vote.
On the way I stopped for all to catch up and then nearly wiped Mark and Adrian out with a poorly executed drag start. We stopped at the waterfalls for a photo and then again after we passed a KTM 950 and Black Super Tenere coming the opposite way. We met with Dave and a buddy whose name I forget, they were from the Stand and we should have them up on the Forum in the not too distant future.
Our timing could not have been better; just after we had wolfed down a good meal in front of a really hot fire did the owner of the place turn the TV on so as to catch the start of the Le Mans French GP. 10 minutes in with the pole sitter Edwards in last place we said our goodbyes and left to head home. It was fitting that it was still raining most of the way. It really was a really great day of riding, I enjoyed meeting you guys. I look forward to doing something again in the future.
The last I saw of the other 3 was waving cheers to them as I was filling up at the Shell.
The rest of you who didn?t pitch missed a great day.
I did take a long hot bath to get the ends of me warmed up though, with a glass of Pinot Noir to make sure.
Cheers
[/UR
