Tankwa - it will take your sole

[Grootseun]

I joined this forum in January 2006, shortly after I bought my first motorcycle. A BMW 650 dakar. This Bike I rode to approximately 110 000kms before selling her on.

During this time, Ride reports on this forum showed me many amazing places this country has to offer.

One of the places that always had an allure was the Tankwa Karoo. I needed to experience of the vastness, and of course, the fabled Karoo dirt highways…this in all this time never came to fruition, due to many factors I’d like to call life.

After many years of “life”, I recently decided to buy my 3rd Motorcycle (The PGO I bought from IceCreamMan doesn’t count) After much looking and deliberating, and having my heart set on a 12GS LC I realised the majority of these bikes were above my price range ( this is where “life” comes in handy, as before I may or may not have made some dubious financial decisions to facilitate said purchase of a 12GS LC), and the ones that was within my range got scooped up before I can say BMW.

While Browsing this here forum, I happened upon a 8GS ADV, for sale in Hout Bay…The price and the bike was the perfect compromise, I am more than familiar with the Rotax twin, I have put it through it’s paces(having owned one that has another 100 000 kms on, done by me), and the added fuel capacity and carrying ability, made a whole bunch of sense suddenly. The location of the bike (which would also enable whole list of buckets to be ticked off my list - thats how it works, right?)

The deal was done before I knew it, just after Christmas.

I had to wait an agonising week before I could take delivery of the bike. Sleep was alluding me…



Finally the day arrived of my flight down to CT, I experienced true hospitality from Friends I made on this forum. Friends that I have for life.



Eisbein picked me up from the airport, after a delayed flight, I crashed at his place, and we would pick up the Bike in Hout bay the following morning.



More erratic sleep…



New Bike Day Finally arrived (Friday)


Matt had everything set up, ready for me to roll. We did quick admin, he handed me a bunch of extra’s and off I rode…


Day 0 (still friday)

The route:

Chappies (of course)

And Clarence drive ( bucket list bike ride)

I accidentally forgot my gloves at Esbein’s house, and my hands got burned faktap.

You may have noticed that there is only one photo of Clarence drive, but really, who would stop the pure rush and awesomeness that is this road, to take photos… maybe next time.

I carried on after clarence drive, and took a loop back to Cape town, via theewaterskloof dam.
this photo from on the way there..

From there I rode down Franschoek Pass on to Kraaifontein to pick up my stuff ( and gloves) from Eisbein’s house. I had a lot of stuff, because the bike has a full set of panniers, which had to be filled)

Destination from there was Biesie’s place in the Pêrel (of Paarl, as jy van Gauteng af kom)

Stand by for day 1 ( which still has to be written)

 

[ROAD HOG]

Sub

 

[Crankshaft]

Sub

 

[XRRX]

In the mean time - congrats and many blessings with your new bike!!

 

[NoRush]

sub

 

[Patrol]

lekker man

 

[Noneking]

Looking forward to the rest

 

[Grootseun]

Day 1



The Itinerary…( Seems simple enough)

I left the route planning to Biesie, I have never been to the Karoo other than in a cage on the N1, which doesn’t count. My brief to him was simple “ek wil bike ry in die karoo”

I had no idea what I was in for, I just knew it was going to be amazing.



We packed our stuff, and set off to Bainskloof Pass. This has been tarred over and fixed since I last traversed it in a Nissan 1400 bakkie circa 1996, and it had me smiling from ear to ear all the way to the top, and back down.

The balance between enjoying the road, and enjoying the scenery is a tricky one. After we stopped Biesie mentioned that the panniers ( Which I am not used to on a bike) came really close to some of the sides of the road… I was blissfully unaware.

After Mitchell’s pass we stopped for brekkie in Ceres at the Wimpy, without a Wimpy brekkie, it would plainly not be a real bike ( or road) trip.

From here the next great piece of road out of Ceres was Gydo Pass. We stopped at the top of the Lookout where another DS rider was enjoying the the view.

We spent a short while there, enjoying the view, and set off to our fuelstop at op die berg. I was enjoying myself immensely thus far and at that stage, nothing could prepare me for what was still to come.

The changes in the landscape was staggering, the rocks jutting at weird angles out of the earth had me appreciating the insignificance of the humans existence in comparison to the age of mountains, rocks and boulders.

After a while, we took a right onto some dirt.

It looked like someone took all of boulders and swept them to the side, so the farmers could plant on the right. I wish I was a chameleon, so that I could look at the road, and the landscape at the same time.

I have not been off the tar for any substantial amount or distance for a very long time, and the remembrance curve was steep. This was the perfect time to get aquainted with the bike’s “ enduro” rider mode. According to the interwebs, it delays the use of traction control and ABS till it’s really really needed.
In all honestly, I was too nervous to cause the bike to engage any of the rider assistance, and all went well.
We rode the tarred Katbakkies, and once again stopped for more photos, and a general appreciation of the view.

From there the road starts meandering down, and at one stage, the absolute magnitude of the Tankwa is evident. I have seen it from Aeroplanes while flying to CT, but man oh man, to see it as one slowly decsends ever closer to it, really is on a other level. I wish words and photos were enough, but nothing comes close.

We ride some spirited dirt, and the temps on the display quickly shoots up, we are in the Karoo. Before I know it, we hit Tankwa Padstal, I have seen so many photos, heard such good things, It was surreal to finally be there.

We relax, over some beers, it’s still early in the day, and Beaufort should be forthcoming in no time. This is after all the fabled home of the Karoo dirt Highway….



TBC….

 

[uyster]

Lekker

 

[Ama ride ride]

Ek volg..


Its been awhile since I rode that roads, memories are fading a wee bit so your report (so far) is a real lekker refresher. Dankie.

 

[ROAD HOG]

Ek moet se vir n Grootseun, waarskynlik n boerseun ook, skryf jy baie goed in hoër graad ingels

Ek geniet jou verhaal ontsettend baie en kan nie wag tot jy al jou bucket list goeters af gemerk het nie

 

[Rynet]

Congrats on your new bike, she is a beauty

Those are such lekker roads, make me want to go ride, especially where you left off, Katbakkies, lovely

Looking forward to the rest.

 

[OomD]

What a way to start a relationship with a new bike. Lekker, man! Hope to hear of many more endeavours, including the rest of this one, of course.

 

[Black_Hawk]

Baie geluk met jou nuwe fiets. Mag jy nog vele veilige kilometers en avonture hê. Die Tankwa bly maar 'n plek wat mens se hart steel en wat jy nie aan ander kan beskryf as hulle nog nie self daar was nie.

Ons sien uit om die res van jou avontuur terug huis toe te sien.

 

[Mikie]

Many Happy sMIles on that beauty. I still want to own one of those as well. Gooi nog, ons volg nog steeds

 

[Grootseun]

The inserting of photos etc is a bit tricky, so please bear with me.

Day 1 continued.

After spending some time at the Padstal, admiring both the natural, and human scenery, we hit the road. Our destination for the night is The Sutherland Hotel, via the fabled Ouberg Pas.

Now, we have heard some reports of the flood damage, seen the pictures of the vast amounts of water that came down there in a short amount of time, but only after riding a while, we saw how bad it really is.
Initially the road is pretty good, and then, at one stage, it became tricky very quickly. (Photo above shows a vehicle from the front, lots of whoops, loose sand and some exposed rocks - a taste of whats to come)
Neither Biesie or myself has had a lot of recent dirt riding experience on our new to us steeds, as mentioned, and I had more than my share of “oh-no” seconds.

I soon settle into some kind of rhythm ( think of a 5 year old, trying to play drums on a coffee tin) and I remind myself to keep a steady pace, no sudden direction changes, and a bit of throttle when it seems to go wrong…
The akra on my bike makes satisfying sounds as I accelerate out of the drifts.

The drifts…
The roads were fine most of the way, there is a distinct spoor where previous vehicles have made their way, and it best not to deviate. In Some sections one can build quite a bit of speed, only to be caught out by a washed away drift…
I hit one or two quite hard, convinced I must have removed my bashplate.
The bike handles it so much better that I do.

It’s slow going, the dirt highways we came here to ride, is nowhere to be seen.
What there is plenty of is vast nothingness. It is stunning, I stop to take photos, hoping in some small way this captures what I am seeing.

We stop a couple of times to regroup, and to rest a bit, it’s tiring, wrestling these bikes on the roads. The temperatures are hanging around 36°C
While packing for this trip, I initially took my camelbak out of my cycling kit box, and then I put it back, thinking it will probably not be needed.
At the last minute before closing my bag to leave for the airport, I took it out once again, and at this stage I’m glad I did. We share the water at every stop. It is warm-tea temperature…
One forgets easily how soon dehydration happens at high temperatures in bike kit.
I think all those survival stories I watched sunk in, I made sure we had water in case something happens.
I noticed before the stops, Biesie’s boots’s sole’s delaminating, flapping about under his footpegs while riding. First only the one.
we stop on a section with exposed bedrock, where there is a small waterfall.
I admire the erosion of the rock, in a semi-desert, for the rock to be shaped like this, did not happen in a week.

The road winds on towards ouberg, at the water crossing, I walk it to gauge the depth, which is over my boots. The surface feels firm enough underneath, and Biesie goes through while I take a video. The Pig parts water like Moses with his staff, and he aces the crossing.
My turn, I almost botch it. Not enough power, almost missed the exit. 5/10 for effort. 2/10 for form. (Video in seperate reply)

Our average speed for the whole ride thus far from Paarl, was about 52kms/h. Which meant we hit the bottom of Ouberg pass at around 3 pm. It’s a lot cooler now, at 35°C.
I am in front, and the going soon gets tricky, there are some off camber sections with dirt and traction on the right, and the accumulation of rocks and stones on the left.

Made it through there, and then it became real hairy, real quick. My fully loaded bike gets tossed from rock to rock, and I somehow make it up to a flatter section.

Not before I got stuck and almost dropping my new bike. (Photo as we know does not do it justice)
Biesie gets stuck where I did, He tries to walk the bike a bit, but it’s not making any progress.

I walk down towards him. We take a bit of a breather, and share some water.
We had to make a decision, carry on, with no knowledge of the current road conditions further up, or turn around.
We decide to turn around, Biesie mentioned the pass gets a lot steeper, to the top with some tricky switchbacks that most certainly will be washed away, making it difficult to traverse. Given the condition of the road where we got stuck, it was a no-brainer really.
It was also 30mins from reaching the bottom of the pass, till the decision was made. It was slow going, and at this rate, we would have been caught without daylight If we proceeded. It’s here where Biesie’s boots lost their soles… well they were hanging on by the metal tips in front.

We wrestled the pig around pointing it downwards.
I walk back up towards my bike, and my watch tells me I should take a moment to relax, perhaps do some guided breathing….
My bike makes it though the rocks where We got stuck, I had very little input from my side, mainly from fatigue and heat exhaustion.

We ride the sandy patches, like there is no sand, crossed the water again.
This time my score looks a bit better. 6/10 for effort 4/10 for execution.

We backtrack where the road took us left towards Ouber Pass, and head towards Tar. It’s a while away, and we keep on getting slowed down by washed away low laying sections of the road. Some have biggish step-downs, some smaller with just some sand and rocks at the bottom.
We eventually make it to the tar and hit a left towards Sutherland.
There is an unexpected road pass with some nice sweeping corners, the bike goes through like its on rails.

We Finally hit Sutherland, I was quite happy to get off the bike. It’s been a long day.

Walking towards our rooms, the soles on Biesie’s boots makes a clopety-clop sound, like I’m leading a horse to stable….

We have supper. A lekker lamb curry, and a couple of beers. If you ever find yourself in Sutherland, eat at the Blue Moon Restaurant.

Day 2 to follow.

 

[Eisbein]

Subscribing to this one
Enjoying it very much so far

 

[OomD]

Yeah Blue moon in Sutherland makes awesome food, and they have the friendliest dog snooting around there.

 

[JacoScott]

Congrats on the new bike, many happy and safe km's!!!!!!

Like the ride repprt

 

[Fuzzy Muzzy]

Lekker man.. you sure chose the hottest time of the year to do it.. well done and congrats on your bike