Riebeeck Wes round-trip. Sat's CT ride report, at last!

[the_wes]

At long last, I have a gap (still at work though) so here's the ride report you've all been waiting for. it's long, so you'll understand why i only got round to it now :roll:

(Hermanator already posted a bit of it on the original thread, and, being so impressed by his writing skills, I thought the best way to report this ride, was to build on his post with a few comments of my own, and some pics)

But before we get to that, the route:

We headed out of Durbanville on the Vissershok road, turning right at that 4-way and taking that short bit of dirt at the end of it. Then we turned towards Malmesbury, getting there via Occultdale road. Once in Malmesbury we headed up past the traffic dept. and onto the dirt, all the way to Riebeeck Wes. After walking around the Olive festival a bit, we found our way to the pub and chilled for a while over a couple of cold ones. At this point Lihan and his better half parted ways with us, and we headed on, via dirt, to Tulbagh, where we grabbed lunch at the tree house bush pub (or something like that). (Unbeknownst to us, there was a massive bike rally going on in Tulbagh, it was filled to the brim with bikers. we seemed a little out of place at the pub, since the only leather i was wearing was on my gloves!). After that we headed back, via Bainskloof. We then stopped at that little restaurant just outside wellington for our afternoon tea, after which we headed back home. The scenery all the way was fantastic, and every time we sat and "kuier-ed" it was awesome, what great company. probably the highlight of my whole day was heading home, watching the guys peal off 1 by 1 as we got nearer to home and headed our seperate ways, a hoot and a wave signalling how much the company was appreciated, while a beautiful sunset formed. a little dramatic perhaps, but it proves just how quickly friends are made.

(side note: this is the first time i have EVER driven on Bainskloof pass. ever. car or bike. and considering my Dakar is the first proper bike I've ever owned, and i've only had it a short time, and i had the_wife on the back. well, let's just say it was interesting. in fact, i had no idea of how scary it was going to be, until i asked the guys "so is it like Franshoek pass?". "worse". "ok what about chapman's peak drive". "worse"."o no". Kudos to Mark and Hermanator, they dissapeared into the distance the second we hit the pass )

And now, Hermanator's poetic take on the day, with my commentry added in:

In a car park, far far away, sat all the little boys and girls waiting for the day. There, on the tarmac, sat a couple of Dakar's, a 650GS, a stunning Tiger and the Katoom.

growweblaar, the_wes (+1), mountainboy, Lihan (+1) and Mark Hardy (-1 as poor EV was feeling a little under the weather)

At 8,30ish, we gathered our stuff,

...after some serious espresso...

pointed out of the car park with the Katoom in the lead, we skirted the barriers, bet the attendants were in a huff. Stand aside I called, we're British don't you know!

a standing joke. get it? standing! har har.

And soon we hit dirt, a short bit at first, but in a little while, the rear wheel was slithering with every little burst.

and boy was it. enough to make my poepol as tight as a miggie's every now and again!

Yes, we had finally reached the gravel, upon which smiles grew broader as pounding hearts grew louder.

See, these were the Noobies, the new disciples of dust, seeking adventure and experience with abundant lust.

We rode and we ate, we spoke and we laughed, but most of all, for me, I've made friends today, and that's just great!

so true, i will ride with the dogs anyday!!

The Strom did me proud, while in company of a great crowd.

man was that strom impressive! even if it was slightly confusing, what, with the rider wearing a BMW rally2 suit and all

The riders grew more confident, that one day in the future, they'll find Noobies to nurture.

Mark Hardy, a great man, led the trail , while all day reigning in his KTM. His generosity and patience made the day memorable for all riders, thanks Mark.

...and once, while following Mark on the dirt, I noticed him going of to the right in the distance, far away, heading 90 degrees away from the road i'm on, have i missed a turn? i looked ahead again, as the dust settled it revealed a sharp right!! aaaaargh, brake, brake, turn, turn.... i made it, phew!

To all the riders today, thanks for the greatest time. I'm still grinning

me too

And lastly, some pics. i didn't take many, but i'm sure the other guys have some to contribute as well:

the first short stretch of dirt:

filling up in malmesbury:

about to head out of malmesbury:

parking off in riebeeck wes:

"I say, you over there. Young man!" Herm too good to park with the rest of us i think it's the BMW suit:

my bike yesterday. starting to look like it should 8) :

lastly, and i almost forgot this one: so there we are, heading down a dirt road, casually cruising along (man i love the Dakar. I really do) when a small locust decides to kamikaze into my chin. serious. not onto the helmet, he curved, that little bugger. i swear he aimed for me. he dipped and then came up at the last minute, thwack! onto the skin of my chin. and as i wondered where he had gone to, suddenly there he was, inside my helmet, flapping frantically against the inside of my visor - needless to say i karked myself, here i am handling the bike with one hand, opening my visor with the other and trying to shoo him away, all the while the_wife merrily parking off on the back of the bike wondering why her hubby feels the need to do a rain dance with his left arm while riding the bike

that's it for me!! now get off my case and hassle the other guys for more pics!! :wink:

 

[Mark Hardy]

:hello1: :thumbleft: :hello1: :thumbleft: :hello1: :thumbleft:

Nice one wes....now we wait for the rest rotest:

 

[GIDEON]

Nice very nice. I like the lady's pink toppy, what make is it , is it nice to wear. IM SHOPPING OK :shock:

 

[Buzzlightyear]

Leka! I see the new wilddogs are showing the older ones what to do with their bikes

 

[growweblaar]

Yes, it was an awesome ride - probably because it was my first Thanks to all the Dogs, and the two ladies - who were model pilions .

Here are some more pics...

First dirt encounter:

Almost in Riebeeck-Wes (Hermanator, mountainboy, the_wes, the_wife, Mark Hardy, Lucy (Mrs Lihan), Lihan):

That was great :shock: - after Bain's Kloof (the_wes, Mark, mountainboy, Hermanator, growweblaar):

On the way back to Stellenbosch via the Klapmuts road - I just had to stop and take a picture (now I just need to upgrade to the Pro version of my software to get that "Photographer Shadow Removal" tool):

 

[JourneyMan]

May this be the first of many!

Stunning pic that last one GB. 8)

 

[mango]

"I say, you over there. Young man!" Herm too good to park with the rest of us i think it's the BMW suit:

Hmmmm, short memory Wes my friend? :twisted: Remember the parking arrangement at the Dros?

Looks like you guys had a good run....I think the pub is called the Calabash, protected by those two massive Boerbulls....

 

[michnus]

Very nice, may there be many more reports


PS:
Hoi you lot CP moffies why do you deflate tyres for those dusty tar roads? :twisted: :wink:

Basteds those dirt roads is better than the EC's tar roads :lol:

 

[Eisbein]

Hermanator, no offence meant, but I think you must be the only rider I know of that gets on a suzie with full BMW kit on.
The lifestyle/chequebook riders' fathers must be spinning in their graves.
10/10 !

Very nice, may there be many more reports


PS:
Hoi you lot CP moffies why do you deflate tyres for those dusty tar roads? :twisted: :wink:

Basteds those dirt roads is better than the EC's tar roads :lol:

Sorry for the photo hijack, but this might be what Michnus is talking about.
Remember, this is a public road (with a 'R' and a number...)

Road leads to Alice.

Them are some potholes ...

 

[Ama ride ride]

Lekker lekker...Looks like you enjoyed it mucho...Keep up the good work and from now post a ride report a week....

 

[Oppad]

At last. Way to go, Wes and maats. See you around.

 

[Clockwork Orange]

Nice going guys be very careful of the Calabash its has the same effect as "Hotel California" in the words of the Eagles...."but you can never leave" :shock:

 

[Hermanator]

Thanks for the write up Wes.

If there's one thing that I remember, and it is an image imprinted in my mind:

The sight of six bikes riding into the sun, a dust cloud hangs yet, through the dust the silhouette of the bikes ahead squirreling on the dirt road and oozing the dust out beneath their tyres while you know that beneath the helmets the riders are grinning with the elation of freedom and adventure.

I'm kinda sold on this DS riding malarky!

Here's a few more images.

You need a Strom as a foot up to the Katoom. (He wouldn't be wanting to topple Ma Strom now, would he?)

Strom Gear

 

[lihan]

sorry guys tried to post some pics. will get the hang of it and try again.

cheers

 

[Clockwork Orange]

Nope...nothing there :evil:

 

[MrBig]

I know squat-all about facebook - except for that it's the buzzword of the moment.

But I'm guessing those links can only be viewed by facebook users that's part of your group. IOW they must be 'logged on'.

You'll have to post those pics on another image hosting site like imageshack or the like.

 

[lihan]

yes i thought that might be the problem. i just dont feel like uploading pictures on so many different sites. looks like i dont have a choice.

thanks will try and do the imageshack thing

 

[the_wes]

Nice very nice. I like the lady's pink toppy, what make is it , is it nice to wear. IM SHOPPING OK :shock:

gideon, it are an IXS. but it are a girly toppir - they won't have it in your size :roll:

 

[lihan]

Some more pics,

wow what a mission hope it works now......!!

Mountainboy "gooi kole" on the tar

the_wes, the_wife, growweblaar and the hernimator

The one and only Mark Hardy - our gps for the day

All the dogs

 

[lihan]

YAY

Thanks for the help Wes