My first solo trip

[MildlyWild]

Day 1 - Hitting the road eventually

So the plan was to pull away at 06:00 this morning, but thanks to all the rain in Ruimsig, I decided to wait it out a bit. Ended up only leaving just after 09:00—in the rain, of course. Not exactly the ideal start to my first solo trip, but hey, at least I finally got going.

The Tenere 700 was fully loaded for the first time, which made for an interesting ride. The first 100 km were wet, but after that, things smoothed out on the N1—until just past Kroonstad, where the wind kicked in. Proper headwinds made things tough. Given the delays and the weather, I scrapped my planned gravel route from Bloemfontein to Gariep and stuck to tar instead.

Had a little moment of smugness realizing how much less fuel the GSA needs compared to the Tenere. The Tenere had to make three fuel stops, while the GSA would’ve only started getting thirsty later in the day. About 100 km from Gariep, the wind was so brutal that my fuel consumption tanked to 11 km/l. Fun times.

Tonight is my one and only night in “luxury”—a bed & breakfast. From tomorrow, it’s all camping, all solo, for the first time ever. Looking forward to it!

Let’s see what Day 2 brings.
Gariep - Merweville

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Ooo, the mention of Merweville got my attention My uncle and aunt lived there for about 8 years I guess, afyer moving from the farm, and moved back to the farm about a year ago.
Merweville is beautiful, and the roads around it are magic. Especially that locked gate one running through Banksgate

Well done on pushing through the weather

What does day 3 hold? We might be able to point out some really worthwhile routes

 

[MildlyWild]

LOL ... just did the math now before reading your post and that sits at the same I am getting on my 950 with the LC8

Ja but you guys hurry up - I mostly ride to relax and then get around 15-16km/L
At 180 he does get thirsty though

 

[2StrokeDan]

LOL ... just did the math now before reading your post and that sits at the same I am getting on my 950 with the LC8

Now throw in that same headwind and see where the LC8 sinks to.

 

[Hairy]

Now throw in that same headwind and see where the LC8 sinks to.

I am out in Sunningdale, there must be three days a year that I am not riding into a headwind ... at least the LC8 pulls through that wind like it is not even there

 

[frikkiwitz]

Day 3 – A Short Hop to the Coast

Today was a relatively short ride from Merweville to Mossel Bay. No major stories to tell, but the highlight of the day was going up and over Swartberg Pass from the Prince Albert side—always a stunning route, even with the less-than-ideal weather.

I’ll be in Mossel Bay for the next three days for a special occasion—my dad’s aunt is turning 90. So, the bike gets a bit of a break until Monday, when I’ll be back on the road, heading towards Swellendam via Seweweekspoort.

For now, I’m settled in at De Bakke Santos and just taking it easy. Looking forward to getting back on the bike soon!

 

[ktmpilot]

I do a lot of solo trips as well, try for as much as possible dirt as possible, my rule of thumb from experience is total km’s for the day multiplied by 2, divided by 100 equals hours of riding to plan for. Eg. 400kms max dirt combined tar = 8 hrs of riding.

 

[frikkiwitz]

I do a lot of solo trips as well, try for as much as possible dirt as possible, my rule of thumb from experience is total km’s for the day multiplied by 2, divided by 100 equals hours of riding to plan for. Eg. 400kms max dirt combined tar = 8 hrs of riding.

That’s a solid rule right there. This is about inadvertently what mine was yesterday. Thanks dude

 

[Hairy]

I do a lot of solo trips as well, try for as much as possible dirt as possible, my rule of thumb from experience is total km’s for the day multiplied by 2, divided by 100 equals hours of riding to plan for. Eg. 400kms max dirt combined tar = 8 hrs of riding.

Or simplify the math and say 50km =1hr on max dirt/little tar?

 

[Dorsland]

Day 2 – Sand, Water, and Endless Nothingness

Started the day in Gariep, filled up, and hit the road—well, more like the sand road from Colesberg to De Aar. It was a beautiful stretch, proper open-country riding, and I made good time. Once in De Aar, I topped up the tank again and set off towards Victoria West.

That’s when things got interesting. The road ahead was covered in pools of water, some over 50 meters long. Clearly, they’ve had a lot of rain recently. Being solo, I wasn’t keen on testing my luck, so I turned back and rerouted via tar to Victoria West instead.

Filling up in Victoria West, what stood out wasn’t the ride, but the town itself—poverty is really evident there. From there, I continued towards Fraserburg, but I quickly realized that planned time and actual time are two very different things. Even without issues, my route was way too ambitious.

At Beaufort West, I picked up the gravel again towards Fraserburg, but it became clear that I was running out of time. Eventually, after more than 100 km of dirt, I found myself in a landscape that can only be described as the definition of nothingness. If you ever need to show someone what absolute emptiness looks like, this is the road you take.

With the clock against me, I rerouted to get to Merweville, but my GPS had other plans and spat me out at Three Sisters instead. From there, it was all tar to Merweville.

For those who don’t know, the Afrikaans series Die Boekklub was filmed here and based on the town, which is probably why I’ve got a bit of a fascination with the place—I’ve watched that series three or four times.

That wraps up Day 2—just over 700 km, with around 300 km on gravel and 400 km on tar. Looking forward to what tomorrow brings!

Day 3 - Merweville - Mosselbaai

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700km in a day looks like you are on a mission to get somewhere important. That is a tiring day for sure. I like to do around 300km max, I find my concentration wandering if I do a lot more than that.

Your pic make me miss those never ending Karoo gravel roads. Looks nice and green there, they seem to have had some rain.

 

[MildlyWild]

I do a lot of solo trips as well, try for as much as possible dirt as possible, my rule of thumb from experience is total km’s for the day multiplied by 2, divided by 100 equals hours of riding to plan for. Eg. 400kms max dirt combined tar = 8 hrs of riding.

Never thought about it like that, but yes, looking back my rides does pretty much equate like that
I like those 12hr days . But on the XC my ass does not

 

[Dorsland]

I prefer solo rides, I've only ever done 1 group ride and hated it. I try to stretch the roughly 300km across the day. I stop often to take gazillions of pix (thank you digital tech), take a break under a tree, chat to people I encounter at a fuel stop or on a farm.

When I reach my evening destination it's often a bit of an anti-climax and I can't wait for morning to get going again. Early to bed, early to rise so I can go ride.

 

[Vis Arend]

Ek ry lekker saam, dankie.

Daai 700km op jou tweede dag moes 'n rowwe dag gewees het. Ek en die vrou het so week of wat terug in daai omgewing rond gerits, ons gemiddeld was so 450km per dag, en ons was so tussen 8/9 ure in die saal elke dag. So daai som van @ktmpilot werk 100% uit.

Die armoede in al daai kleiner Karoo dorpies raak 'n groot probleem, bedelaars maak dit onsmaaklik om daar te stop om petrol te gooi of om 'n kafee in te loop, maar ja, Victoria West staan uit.
Ons het selwers lekker waterpoele gekry op van daai paaie wat die trip nogals baie interessant gemaak het, slip en slide was aan die orde van die dag, maar dit was sports gewees en ons het tyd gehad.

Nogmaals, dankie vir die deel.