Oasis , a Waterfall and a hard fall

[hando]

For a long time now I wanted to go and see the Waterfall at Eselbank. The last time I did the Eselbank Wupprthal route I saw the sign towards the Waterfall but did not give it much notice. Only afterwards did I see photos on the Forums of what it looks like and since then I wanted to go back and see for myself.

And so Saturday was the day . Originally myself and David and Hannes would leave for Oasis after work on Saturday , but eventually David could not make it and only me and Hannes set off for Wellington at around 14:30.

Not before Jemima had a frontwheel swoppomie.

On route to Wellington we I stopped to make sure that Hannes was happy and grap some pics of these Horses.

Then it was on to Bainskloof .

We filled up en Ceres and made our way up Guido pass.

At the viewpoint Hannes had a brilliant plan.

I can never get enough of the rock formations in Cederberg.

And then it was finally time for some gravel !!

With just one traffic jam on the way we were making good time

That was untill I realized that Jemima was not feeling like obeying instructions any more. Braking and turning were becoming very difficult.

I stopped to investigate and realised that my front wheel was loosing air fast.

At first I hoped that the puncture was fairly slow and that I would be able to inflate and ride to Oasis To fix the flatwheel there.

My luck was out and in the end I had replaced the tube at the roadside.

We made it to Oasis with no more trouble and pitched our tents before going to sit down for one of Gerhrard's world famous ribs

Day two to follow.....

 

[monkeyboy]

Cool RR so far. And now I'm lus for ribs.  :'(

 

[Dwerg]

:happy1:

 

[Mr Zog]

Cool RR so far. And now I'm lus for ribs.  :'(

and Windhoek...  :drif:

 

[hando]

The next morning saw me up and moving fairly early.

I arranged some coffee

and went for a stroll where I found a very frustrated Carrots. He was still in Gauteng mode and wanted to be moving. His Cape Town riding buddies on the other hand were still fast asleep and were not showing any signs of rising soon.

Carrtots came and kept me company while I repaired the punctured tube.

We packed our goodies and settled our bill with Gerhard before making our way towards Eselbank.

I was having a roaring time on the Eselbank road.

Hannes was never far behind

The views were spectacular

And the road was great fun

I stopped to admire the view and the silence. I was also feeling a bit sorry for myself , I normally do not eat breakfast but after that humongous rib the previous I was feeling very peckish.

Hannes produced more of that lekker biltong and we brewed up some coffee to go with it.

We made it through Eselbank with no issues and turned towards the waterfall.

The view was nice and I could hear lots of water but I did not get to see the views of the waterfall that I have seen on the forums before . This made me cross the river and walk onto the opposite side of the gorge to see what I can see.

And WOW, WOW , WOW !!!!! what an awesome sight it was !!!!!

The photos do not half do the scene justice !  I could have sat there all morning just drinking that view in.

At last I made my way back to the bike. At the river I took off my shirt and soaked it with cold river water before donning it and my jacket again. What a nice reprieve from the sweltering heat !

We now turned around and went back past Eselbank and towards the Algeria road.

We stopped for a cooldrink break and to admire the views of Uitkyk pass.

Now up to this point I was riding lekker and I was very focused on the road and the conditions in front me. After the break I got back on the bike and resumed my earlier pace , but sadly my focus was not all there. The result was that I was caught out badly by a sharp lefthander a few hundred meters further down the road.

The fact that both front and rear wheel tracks show clearly in the dust attests to how hard I was braking when I realized that I was now waay too fast and in very deep doodoo.  I actually thought that I had it made and was going to pull through when the bike high-sided me and spat me onto the gravel. Hard.

I got up, hit the kill switch and got Jemima back on her wheels just as Hannes came around the turn. Because it was fairly steep downhill, Hannes continued to a slightly lesser incline to stop. I think my fall rattled him a bit as He stopped at the side of the road and got of his bike. Bit without hi side stand. All I saw was the bike on it's side and Hannes' feet sticking out of the bushes.

By the time I got my camera out The feet were replaced with a helmet.

After helping Hannes to get his bike upright I went back to mine to asses the damage and lick my wounds.

This was the view from where my slide marks ended.

It does not show the long drop down or the nasty rocks at the bottom. If I went flying of the road there I would surely not have made it.

My handle bars were bent, I did not have mirrors and my body was sore and bruised. So I was not enjoying the trip anymore.

We filled up in Citrusdal and grabbed something to eat at Kardoesie in Piekenierskloof pass before heading home.

I will start repairing my poor bike today. I guess it will be a few days still before all the aches and pains in my body will start to disappear.

 

[Mr Zog]

Eish Hando. Glad you are ok.

Tip: Take 2 Panado, and 2 Ibuprofen (400mg). Not on an empty tummy. They will make most of the aches and pain go away so you can work.  :thumleft:

 

[Dwerg]

Mooi fotos. Hoop nie daars te veel skade aan die bike nie!

and went for a stroll where I found a very frustrated Carrots. He was still in Gauteng mode and wanted to be moving. His Cape Town riding buddies on the other hand were still fast asleep and were not showing any signs of rising soon.

Ek verstaan hoe hy voel en dis nie noodwendig gauteng tendancies nie  ;D

Vandat Carrots getrek het het ek nie meer 'n vroeg opstaan riding buddie nie  

 

[Jacobsroodt]

Dankie Hando. Die goed gebeur. Bly jy is OK. Goeie fotos!
NS. Konsentrasie is nogal belangrik. My sussie se 17 jarige seun het Saterdag geval en sy sleutelbeen gebreek - 'n week voor die eksmens begin!
Hy het op Tafelberg gaan stap en op die terugtog vanaf die kabelkarretjie stasie na Kloof nek besef hy is te vinnig vir die 2e draai in 'n S. Hy probeer toe rem, maar die voorwiel het onder die bike uigewas toe hy die grond tref. Hy het in 'n boom vasgegly, met die bike (125 Estom) agterna, wat hom toe tussen die boom en die bike vaspen.
Hy het geen ATTGAT aangehad nie - dit was te veel om te dra teen Tafelberg op. Hy het ook nie medies nie. Dus het die ambulans hom na Somerset Hospitaal geneem. Hy het vir 9 1/2 ure van 1200 tot 2130 in Somerset hospitaal gelê tot hulle gesê het hy kan maar gaan.
Soos met jou was sy kop net nie reg vir die draai nie. Gelukkig het jy niks gebreek nie. Sterkte.

 

[Andre.Bike]

Ai, not good, but glad you are fine..... Good luck with the recovery and repairs.

 

[Carrots]

Mooi fotos. Hoop nie daars te veel skade aan die bike nie!

and went for a stroll where I found a very frustrated Carrots. He was still in Gauteng mode and wanted to be moving. His Cape Town riding buddies on the other hand were still fast asleep and were not showing any signs of rising soon.

Ek verstaan hoe hy voel en dis nie noodwendig gauteng tendancies nie  ;D

Vandat Carrots getrek het het ek nie meer 'n vroeg opstaan riding buddie nie  

Ag nee man Thumbo....dis jammer om te hoor. Bly jy is darem OK....bike kan mens nog regmaak. En ja as jy oor daai afgrond gegaan het was dit 'n ander storie...en seker ook jou laaste storie. 

Lekker pics ook...dit was my virgin trippie Cederberge toe en ek verstaan nou waaroor al die hype gaan.

Ja Dwerg ek weet nie hoe van die mense operate nie.....ek sal skoon skuldig voel as ek tot 10:00 in die oggend le en poep ruik.  ot:

Maar ek mis jou ook!  :3some:

 

[laurika]

sjoe dis mooi daar!!! stuur carrots terug.....ons waardeer hom hier meer.... ot:

 

[Hentie bm]

:lol8:  :thumleft:

 

[Divot]

Wow thanks for sharing. It is a beautiful place to ride, but can catch you out very quickly. Great ride report 10/10. Glad you are ok like they say NO PAIN NO GAIN..

 

[subie]

Mooi RR  :thumleft:
Ek het die pad baie gery en jou fotos laat my sommer verlang.
Jammer oor jou val en skade wat n andersins lekker trip opgeneuk het.

 

[JustBendIt]

lekker RR - thank for sharing

 

[DirtyHarry]

Too much meat can turn you into a hooligan  :biggrin:
Glad you are ok.

 

[Crossed-up]

Great report!  Glad you're okay.

 

[Lem]

nogsteeds lekker gelees aan n roete wat mens nooit genoeg van kry nie,  Dankie Hanno  :thumleft:

bly jys oraait, en kon sommer terugry.

sterkte met die pyne, hulle gaan gou weg, en ek hoop jy kan vir Jemima opfix

 

[Gerard]

Thanks soos altyd vir die mooi pics. Bly jy kon wegstap van die Affie.

 

[JJL]

Hando, thanks for the RR and awesome pics.
Sorry about the small misfortune.

I was there in Sep, and took a photo at your exact spot.