My first off road trip on XT660R

[NewB]

Hi All you good folk.

I'm leaving this morning, with my brother-in-law(GS1200), to the Cederberg for the weekend. I tried to ask, and think of everything that I might need on such a trip, but here we go.

I am a NewB so do not have the Go-Pro yet, or all the fancy tools and kit, but I am sooo looking forward to this trip.
We plan to do Somerset West through Wellington-Bainskloof-Ceres-Kromrivier today. This should get us nicely warmed up for the "real"experience tomorrow. I think the tarred section is a nice twisty slow road, with awesome viewpoints. We'll be filling up at Prince Alfred Hamlet for the last time before we hit the Cederberg.

Then tomorrow we plan to do Kromrivier-Wupperthal-Biedouwvalley-and then return via R355 to Skittery & Katbakkies. I hope to get fuel from Willehond for my XTR. You know these girls do not take a lot of juice. Then, if the road is too much for us, we'll just take a break with lunch, and return via the same road to Kromrivier. This is not a competition, only to start honing our skills. No problem in turning around.

Then Sunday we want to exit via the West through Citrusdal.

Anyway, thanks for all the help I got from you in planning this. I trust the Lord will keep us safe and give me the opportunity to give you a RR next week.

Keep safe you too on wherever your wheels take you on this glorious weekend.
Ludwig   

 

[Kameel]

Enjoy the trip Ludwig and safe travels  :ricky:

 

[COLES]

need lots of photo,s

 

[Oubones]

Enjoy, safe trip
Waiting for the RR

 

[MRK Miller]

They say the best way to learn is to just do it, and make the best of what comes your way. Enjoy the gift God has given us

 

[Shaun]

Looking forward to your photos :ricky:

Cederberg  area truly is an awesome place indeed.

 

[Slim Jim]

:sip:

 

[KTMvan]

In anticipation

 

[NewB]

I have no idea where to start, or where to end. How much to say, or what to leave out. Our trip was actually just plain great. The bikes worked well, for what we wanted to achieve, except for the XT fuel range. We had to alter the trip to first get more fuel in Clanwilliam.

Friday we started midday and headed through Wellington, over Bainskloof Pass to Ceres. Bainskloof was a great way to feel the bike. Nice tight twisty road, with great scenery.
We stopped at Prince Alfred Hamlet to fuel up both bikes and riders. After Op-die-Berg we started to see the rock formations and we knew it was gonna be a great weekend. And then Gravel Heaven. What a place.

We arrived around 16:00 at Kromrivier and settled in with a cold one before a lovely braai.

Saturday morning we were planning to do the Eselbank-Wupperthal-Biedouw-Tankwa route, but with Kromrivier, Oasis and Algeria without fuel, we headed to Clanwilliam instead. We knew we could get fuel by Willehond, but we did not know how long it would take to get to him. First time off road you know. But a huge thanks to Kyle for his offer anyway. You rock.

So we made it a shorter round trip and started North and worked our way to Wupperthal-Eselbank and back home. As this was our first trip into the unknown, we took it slow, very slow. The section between Wupp and Eselb was rough for the big GS, to say the least. The XT was fine all the way. The fact that myself and BIL is not anything close to athletes, and that it was not one of the coolest days out there, did not make it easier for us. When the big GS fell over in the soft sand and I had to walk back to him, we realized how hot it was. Never less, we made it home. No breakdowns and no flat tyres, is still a better day than in the office.

Sunday we really did not feel like the N7, so we made our way to Citrusdal on the gravel road next to the Olifants. From there we turned left to see the new-ish pass connecting with the Koue Bokkeveld and then back to Ceres. What a nice little pass. The veld there was burnt, but still a nice ride.

We stopped in Mitchels Pass for lunch and headed past Tulbach to connect with the R44 back to Somerset West.

So. As you can hear, nothing drastic/exciting/horrible/over-the-top really happened. Not that I wanted anything to happen on our first, or any other, trip.
There was the fact that an antelope almost went into me at full tilt on the first day, and that a snake tried the same on the last, but other than that, it was all just great. BIL brought his Dolce Agusto Coffee maker, the stars there are amazing, the scenery, the mountains, the rocks, the dams(did you ever see so many full dams), everything was just such a joy.
Here you can see Gods work in all its glory.

We cannot wait to do it again.

And yes........I did take some photos. I must say it was all done on I-Phone, but that is all we have for now.

As soon as I can figure out how to put it on, you'll be able to see it..........

 

[eberhard]

Sounds great and it appears you had a jol of a time, but  :useless:

 

[NewB]

Sounds great and it appears you had a jol of a time, but  :useless:

Yeah yeah. Not so easy for me. I'm a tourist guide, not so good with these clever boxes.

But give me a bit of time, and I'll figure it out.

Made a nice video, but too large to upload.

:-[ :lamer:

 

[whitedelight]

Glad you enjoyed it. But pics prove to us you were actually there........ :ricky:

 

[NewB]

Da Boys ready for the trip. All packed.
We finally made it to Gravel Heaven.
The house we stayed in at Kromrivier.

 

[NewB]

Sorry for the one photo on it's side. It was good before I posted it.

Here are a few more.

Enjoy. One day I'll have a Go-Pro......

 

[NewB]

Where can I go read about How To turn my photos??????

 

[KTMvan]

Last weekend whilst doing the Eselbank-Wupperthal section I was keeping an eye open for your brother-in-law's crash site. So I get to a section which looks like that on your picture.... I forget to slow down, forget to stand up, and forget to look where I'm going, so I crashed, hard... After that I decided it is not so important to see where he crashed

 

[eberhard]

:thumleft: I love the pictures. Your exciting trip has been confirmed and endorsed.

 

[eberhard]

Where can I go read about How To turn my photos??????

What I find that works is, after you have turned the picture the right way up, you feed the picture into photoscape (or similar programme) and save it there (without making changes, simply save it). Then you go back to the picture on your screen and upload it.

 

[NewB]

Last weekend whilst doing the Eselbank-Wupperthal section I was keeping an eye open for your brother-in-law's crash site. So I get to a section which looks like that on your picture.... I forget to slow down, forget to stand up, and forget to look where I'm going, so I crashed, hard... After that I decided it is not so important to see where he crashed

Ag nee KTMvan. Sorry for distracting you about the crash-site. I hope you are fine now. Were you there alone? Not a good idea hey.

All the best.

 

[NewB]

Where can I go read about How To turn my photos??????

What I find that works is, after you have turned the picture the right way up, you feed the picture into photoscape (or similar programme) and save it there (without making changes, simply save it). Then you go back to the picture on your screen and upload it.

Thanks eberhard for your endorsement, and your tip for my photos.

I took all the photos on my old IPhone 4, but one day I would like to take them on a Go Pro, or something similar with same quality. One could make nice videos when the camera is attached to you, not holding it in your hand, while riding.

Cheers