- Joined
- Jan 18, 2011
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- Location
- Overberg
- Bike
- Triumph (all models)
Did a solo ride down to Zinkwazi last week. Around 700kms down on Monday, about the same distance back on Saturday with IDR and bud500.
The 'packed and ready' pic
I didn't really plan a route so I just headed east to get out of Gauteng as fast as possible.
First stop, the entrance road to the farm where my grandparents used to live just outside of Delmas
From there I just set the GPS on shortest route to Memel and it took me on some awesome tweespoor and some good gravel.
I probably did 90% gravel and only saw one town between Delmas and Memel.
I think the church was in that town. Possibly Leandra
I had a quick couple of beers at the Memel hotel and then headed for Dundee. Riding was a mix between gravel and tar.
Wish I had time for the other passes in the area
A superbiker approached me while I was refueling in Dundee and asked if he could ride with me. He then proceeded to pass me, slow right down and started giving me hand signals like he was my personal safety marshall. Even riding through the potholes on purpose didn't give him a clue. So I left him at the first stop and go a couple of kays down the road.
From there I hit the first dirt I could. I think it was somewhere after Tugela Ferry.
The riding got slow but spectacular. It was hours of this:
It's hard to believe how densely populated some of these remote areas are. Suppose it wasn't as remote as it felt. The surfaces were awesome but with the traffic/animals/kids all over the place, pace dropped right down. The only road I recall riding on for some time was the P381. Possibly, I really had no idea where I was. Anyway, it was pretty
I hit the tar about 50kms inland from Zinkwazi and loved the last twisty bits down on the newly fitted T63s. They really do tar well for a knobbly. It was also my first time riding my 690 at sea level and it pulled like a train.
For the time at the beach, I traded my bike and my buddy Natmuis traded his car for these sick puppies. It was honestly the most fun I'd had on two wheels in years
Bromance
IDR and bud500 joined us a couple of days later
We did a bit of this
And way too much this
The beach bar in Zinkwazi is by far one of my favorites in the country
So, a couple of days later I rode back with IDR and bud500. We stuck to tar all the way, not something you want to do with a 690 but still a very memorable ride on B roads with good friends.
That's me, maybe the others feel like adding a bit.
The 'packed and ready' pic
I didn't really plan a route so I just headed east to get out of Gauteng as fast as possible.
First stop, the entrance road to the farm where my grandparents used to live just outside of Delmas
From there I just set the GPS on shortest route to Memel and it took me on some awesome tweespoor and some good gravel.
I probably did 90% gravel and only saw one town between Delmas and Memel.
I think the church was in that town. Possibly Leandra
I had a quick couple of beers at the Memel hotel and then headed for Dundee. Riding was a mix between gravel and tar.
Wish I had time for the other passes in the area
A superbiker approached me while I was refueling in Dundee and asked if he could ride with me. He then proceeded to pass me, slow right down and started giving me hand signals like he was my personal safety marshall. Even riding through the potholes on purpose didn't give him a clue. So I left him at the first stop and go a couple of kays down the road.
From there I hit the first dirt I could. I think it was somewhere after Tugela Ferry.
The riding got slow but spectacular. It was hours of this:
It's hard to believe how densely populated some of these remote areas are. Suppose it wasn't as remote as it felt. The surfaces were awesome but with the traffic/animals/kids all over the place, pace dropped right down. The only road I recall riding on for some time was the P381. Possibly, I really had no idea where I was. Anyway, it was pretty
I hit the tar about 50kms inland from Zinkwazi and loved the last twisty bits down on the newly fitted T63s. They really do tar well for a knobbly. It was also my first time riding my 690 at sea level and it pulled like a train.
For the time at the beach, I traded my bike and my buddy Natmuis traded his car for these sick puppies. It was honestly the most fun I'd had on two wheels in years
Bromance
IDR and bud500 joined us a couple of days later
We did a bit of this
And way too much this
The beach bar in Zinkwazi is by far one of my favorites in the country
So, a couple of days later I rode back with IDR and bud500. We stuck to tar all the way, not something you want to do with a 690 but still a very memorable ride on B roads with good friends.
That's me, maybe the others feel like adding a bit.
