Staffie
Race Dog
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2008
- Messages
- 794
- Reaction score
- 328
- Location
- by the /\/¯¯¯¯\/\ @ the 'C'
- Bike
- BMW F800GSA
I'm the proud father of a fantastic little pup! She's my whole life and I love her to bits.
I recently decided to take the pup on a bit of an adventure for some daddy-daughter time... She had not seen her best friend who relocated to Langebaan since before Covid hit. So there was a stop. We wanted to stay over somewhere so we AIRBnB'd some places and found a cabin on a farm which seemed like a good idea. Something less conventional.
We departed from home on Saturday, 28 Jan 2023 and headed toward Malmesbury via Philadelphia. Arriving at Malmesbury, breakfast/burgers at McDonald's are customary. And teenagers who MUST check their messages...
And so the adventure starts. Passing through Malmesbury and then taking the N7 towards Hopefiled on the R45. You had to stop and admire the wind/energymills (don't know what they're actually called).
and then depart. We briefly stopped at die Plaasmol Padstal for a break, ice cream, and a smoke (me, not the pup!) and posed again for some pix.
A brief history lesson (read about the plane) and some more pix...
yes, that is the actual size of a "blade" on one of the windmills. She's almost as tall as me...
I tried to wiggle myself out but dad has to also stand for a phodie.
there are all kinds of weird and wonderful stuff at this padstal and I'm glad we stopped here again.
and off we were to Langebaan.
It was an extremely windy day, so much so that I almost wanted to cancel the rest of our trip. I dropped the pup off at her friend and went into town where I eventually ended up at the Rooftop Bar - just above Roxies.
Spent about 3 hours there contemplating my next move as we had to be in Het Kruis (yes there is such a place) by dawn. I spoke to the owner of the AirBnB cabin we booked who confirmed the route... Being this one as I made it clear to him that I have a kiddo as a pillion and wanted to avoid gravel (since I only (re)started riding gravel again a few weeks earlier and have never had a pillion on gravel - let alone my own child)
Click the image to view - he said there's about 25km gravel but it is a fantastic road and small Hyundai Atos' ride on it so it should be as good as tar...
I then drove around a bit to test the wind which I thought would be at its worst near the beach... Assumptions... Assumptions... We'll get to that in a bit....
Picked the pup up at 17h30 and headed towards Veldrift en route to Het Kruis and the AIRBnB cabin we had booked.
At first, my GPS (dam google maps!) deviated from the above route I selected by trying to take me to Moreesburg as first stop... Fixed that and selected the route above again and on to Veldrift.
There was wind, strong gusts but I assumed (once again) that when we depart Veldrift, the wind would subside as we were heading inland... Assumptions... Assumptions again...
We took the R399 and assuming (there it is again) the GPS was sorted now - I mean what else could go wrong, it SHOULD take me straight there.
The wind was terrible, I have ridden a lot of wind before, a lot! But this was different. STRONG gusts which literally pushed me from the middle (white line) right over to the yellow line.. I stressed! Really stressed. Here I am taking my kiddo on her first trip and now this! I focussed on the road, battling to keep the bike upright and never noticed that GOOGLE GPS/MAPS yet again deviated from the planned route and said "Turn left" onto the Goedverwacht road. Assuming (I won't say that again) that we were now heading in the right direction we followed the road, nice road, nice scenery, wind from behind, and ended up in a quaint little dorpie with friendly people, a cafe, and a rugby field and it was obviously rugby day as the whole town was there to watch the match.
One good thing, the wind had died down as we were behind - actually in between two mountains... Once again following Google but soon realized that the road stops... No more road!!!
Swearing like a pirate at damn google again I re-entered the endpoint and google said "make a u-turn then turn right".
Now the farmer/owner of the AIR BnB cabin did state that there was a good quality gravel road to his place so I turned onto the "gravel road" which went alongside the mountain and seemed okay... So the first 3 km was good, seemed weird that the gravel road runs along a mountain but hey, never been here, and looking forward to reaching our destination before it was dark, now being 18h45
The pup was not too happy initially but accepted the fact that we had to travel on a bit of gravel and started taking thousands of photos and videos again... Teenagers and phones...
now this "about 25km good quality gravel road a small Hyundai Atos could ride" started to look a little bit trickier... Trees, a bit of sand, sharp turns, and I then realized, GOOGLE had stuffed it up YET AGAIN! Supposedly being Januariesfontein pass, not a kindergarten-level gravel road for someone who had not been on gravel (except once in December) should attempt - especially not with a pillion...
Eventually, we hit a tar road again and decisions, decisions... "Turn right" said google and it looked right, so right it was. We were now on top of a mountain, not knowing which one yet but on top we were.
Followed the road to a T-junction and google said "turn left". Everything that goes up, must come down. I knew the cabin was close to a dam and saw a dam about 300m down the (left) road on the right. Turned left and the tar pass seemed great. 1km down the road and no entrance gate. Google said, "make a U-turn". HUH??? Maybe I missed the gate and made a U-turn. Back up the pass back to the T-junction and google again said "make a u-turn" ????? The pirate in me came out again and I called the farmer who said that we were on top of Piketberg. Why? No-one knows.
We should have taken the Aurora turn-off on the R399... WHAAAATTTT??? Ok so now I have two options, down that same pass back to the R399 or find a way down. Google still being as useless as... I decided as I knew it will be completely dark in the next 35mins so head back south and it was the right decision. Ended up on the Versveld pass and down to Piketberg. Called the farmer again and he said at the T-junction turn left onto the R366 and follow the road for 35-40km until I see a white bridge... Just before the bridge, there's a gravel road I need to take and follow for about 25kms and he would meet us at the turn-off into his farm. I shared my live location and off we were.
By now it was dark... On a road I have never been on before and getting colder by the minute. 1.) my eyesight at night is not great. 2.) my kiddo was gatvol of sitting. 3.) I now know why Alfie said the OEM spots on the F800 GSA are not great. and 4.) we're hungry, frustrated and tired.
So we rode and rode and eventually ended up where I could see the 'white bridge' and the gravel road. Pup was hesitant as her first experience on gravel was on a mountain pass but at least then it was light and there was very little to no wind then, but now, the wind was back - not terrible but here I am about to go onto a dark, unknown gravel road with wind... So we followed the gravel road. It was not too bad, except for the cow in the middle of the road which I almost hit, and the occasional corrugated iron sections. I rode slowly never exceeding 40kms as visibility (actually my eye sight) was not great and I had my kiddo on the back with no way of knowing what the road would look like next.
Eventually, we saw the farmer's bakkie and followed him on a narrow road, under a farm sign that reminded me of the entrance to some of those western movies like the one at the entrance of Yellowstone or Heartland series. Slowly, very slowly almost to a standstill... Why you may ask... IT WAS A SAND PATH! SAND people, I have never ridden in sand nonetheless with my kiddo as a pillion and in the pitch dark!!! We won't go into the specifics but the farmer then took the pup in his bakkie toward the farmhouse from there onwards.
We arrived at the farmhouse and Roderick (the farmer / AIRBnB cabin owner) invited us in. We thought to get the keys to the cabin which was apparently another 5km down the road - which he assured me had no sand... But, his wife had made us Pizzas for dinner and offered us a cold coke which I don't think even hit the sides as it went down. The first thing we had to eat since Malmesbury and it was after 20h00 by now. Had a lekker chat, saw pictures of the leopards they had seen on the farm, laughed about google and the like, and then the Pup went back into the bakkie (unknown, dark road) and Roderick drove in front towards the cabin around 21h00. 2 x sand patches later, which I managed - and we were at the cabin. The wind had since we left the farmer's house, started to blow at full force again. We were exhausted!
Roderick showed us where what was and we went straight to bed. No shower, no coffee - nothing. About midnight I could hear the wind gusts and knew the bike was parked directly in its path in front of the cabin. So I got out of bed and decided to move the bike but not start it as that would wake the pup... So now I'm battling a bike, on gravel "klippies" (the ones they use in concrete), with no boots in the wind. What a dufus! Eventually got the bike moved and admired the stars - millions of stars! But still, wind!
I got back into bed and slept like a baby...
I woke up on Sunday morning at about 07h00 with the sound of birds chirping and walking on the tin roof of the cabin. Got out of bed and went outside to see if the bike had survived. Then it hit me... The absolutely gorgeous sight of pure nature. No noise, no pollution, just a picture-perfect quiet and tranquil 'view...
I made a cup of coffee, lit a smoke and just sat for about 20mins taking in the pure beauty of my surroundings.
'Woke up the pup and did my shower thing. She chatted to the boyfriend as the cabin has an inverter and wifi. Up at the farmer's house, there is wifi but no cell reception. She went for her shower and we walked around a bit admiring the surroundings.
These are all pics I took - see the listing here, what you see on the listing is exactly what you get! It's not ultra-modern, it's not "glamping" - but it's clean, neat and everything works!
You even get some homemade soap, coffee, tea, and firewood should you want to braai.
So, after a walk-through around the cabin and the stunning nature, I contacted Roderick to check out and find out if there was a better route back to Piketberg or at least the main tar road. And here's where I realized that in my stress and concentration the night before, I never looked at my fuel levels and never saw the fuel light... S-H-A-A-I-T!
I'm at least 50km away from Piketberg... Luckily Roderick came to the rescue and gave/sold me some of his generator's fuel and we were off taking another route, presumably with less sand but the GS (Geen Sand) needed to take a brief "rest" in the last patch of sand for probably 100km. Again Roderick to the rescue and loaded the pup into his bakkie and drove her all the way to the tar road.
Anyway. We reached Piketberg, refueled, and had a celebratory waffle and ice cold drinks to celebrate our trip and headed home via Malmesbury. Clearly, the sand and dust were visible...
I'm so proud of the pup for enduring 574.6kms in two days with me. Here's our actual route - a bit longer than the planned one but a hell of a lot more fun!
Yes, we got lost and added a couple of unnecessary km, but it was an adventure, one this dad would never forget.
For the record; Roderick is the friendliest, most accommodating, and most patient person I have met in a long time. We were received with open arms into this house and given a meal - remember this cabin booking was bed only. No meals. Also, where/who else would someone give you their fuel if you've been the *****?
The best part is Roderick only started renting out the cabin approx 3 months ago. He and his family are super cool people and I would most definitely go back again. I think in hindsight doing gravel alone with the pup was not such a brilliant idea but I learned a lot, no one got hurt and we had an awesome adventure. She also agrees.
The roads to and from this cabin are actually very good - barring a few sand patches which I would not recommend to a FIRST-TIME SAND RIDER, but now that I have done them, I'll take them on again - this time just with more speed and confidence. There have apparently been some other bikers at the cabin too and they made it without "resting" their bikes... Obviously more experienced riders than this dufus.
But guys/gals, if you're up for a nice adventurous ride that includes scenery and very friendly people call Roderick directly to book a night/few nights in his cabin. There are loads of routes from there to other places you can take, but best of all the hosts are genuine people with a passion for their land.
Roderick: 084 442 1502
Staffie out 'till the next time round.
I recently decided to take the pup on a bit of an adventure for some daddy-daughter time... She had not seen her best friend who relocated to Langebaan since before Covid hit. So there was a stop. We wanted to stay over somewhere so we AIRBnB'd some places and found a cabin on a farm which seemed like a good idea. Something less conventional.
We departed from home on Saturday, 28 Jan 2023 and headed toward Malmesbury via Philadelphia. Arriving at Malmesbury, breakfast/burgers at McDonald's are customary. And teenagers who MUST check their messages...
And so the adventure starts. Passing through Malmesbury and then taking the N7 towards Hopefiled on the R45. You had to stop and admire the wind/energymills (don't know what they're actually called).
and then depart. We briefly stopped at die Plaasmol Padstal for a break, ice cream, and a smoke (me, not the pup!) and posed again for some pix.
A brief history lesson (read about the plane) and some more pix...
yes, that is the actual size of a "blade" on one of the windmills. She's almost as tall as me...
I tried to wiggle myself out but dad has to also stand for a phodie.
there are all kinds of weird and wonderful stuff at this padstal and I'm glad we stopped here again.
and off we were to Langebaan.
It was an extremely windy day, so much so that I almost wanted to cancel the rest of our trip. I dropped the pup off at her friend and went into town where I eventually ended up at the Rooftop Bar - just above Roxies.
Spent about 3 hours there contemplating my next move as we had to be in Het Kruis (yes there is such a place) by dawn. I spoke to the owner of the AirBnB cabin we booked who confirmed the route... Being this one as I made it clear to him that I have a kiddo as a pillion and wanted to avoid gravel (since I only (re)started riding gravel again a few weeks earlier and have never had a pillion on gravel - let alone my own child)
Click the image to view - he said there's about 25km gravel but it is a fantastic road and small Hyundai Atos' ride on it so it should be as good as tar...
I then drove around a bit to test the wind which I thought would be at its worst near the beach... Assumptions... Assumptions... We'll get to that in a bit....
Picked the pup up at 17h30 and headed towards Veldrift en route to Het Kruis and the AIRBnB cabin we had booked.
At first, my GPS (dam google maps!) deviated from the above route I selected by trying to take me to Moreesburg as first stop... Fixed that and selected the route above again and on to Veldrift.
There was wind, strong gusts but I assumed (once again) that when we depart Veldrift, the wind would subside as we were heading inland... Assumptions... Assumptions again...
We took the R399 and assuming (there it is again) the GPS was sorted now - I mean what else could go wrong, it SHOULD take me straight there.
The wind was terrible, I have ridden a lot of wind before, a lot! But this was different. STRONG gusts which literally pushed me from the middle (white line) right over to the yellow line.. I stressed! Really stressed. Here I am taking my kiddo on her first trip and now this! I focussed on the road, battling to keep the bike upright and never noticed that GOOGLE GPS/MAPS yet again deviated from the planned route and said "Turn left" onto the Goedverwacht road. Assuming (I won't say that again) that we were now heading in the right direction we followed the road, nice road, nice scenery, wind from behind, and ended up in a quaint little dorpie with friendly people, a cafe, and a rugby field and it was obviously rugby day as the whole town was there to watch the match.
One good thing, the wind had died down as we were behind - actually in between two mountains... Once again following Google but soon realized that the road stops... No more road!!!
Swearing like a pirate at damn google again I re-entered the endpoint and google said "make a u-turn then turn right".
Now the farmer/owner of the AIR BnB cabin did state that there was a good quality gravel road to his place so I turned onto the "gravel road" which went alongside the mountain and seemed okay... So the first 3 km was good, seemed weird that the gravel road runs along a mountain but hey, never been here, and looking forward to reaching our destination before it was dark, now being 18h45
The pup was not too happy initially but accepted the fact that we had to travel on a bit of gravel and started taking thousands of photos and videos again... Teenagers and phones...
now this "about 25km good quality gravel road a small Hyundai Atos could ride" started to look a little bit trickier... Trees, a bit of sand, sharp turns, and I then realized, GOOGLE had stuffed it up YET AGAIN! Supposedly being Januariesfontein pass, not a kindergarten-level gravel road for someone who had not been on gravel (except once in December) should attempt - especially not with a pillion...
Eventually, we hit a tar road again and decisions, decisions... "Turn right" said google and it looked right, so right it was. We were now on top of a mountain, not knowing which one yet but on top we were.
Followed the road to a T-junction and google said "turn left". Everything that goes up, must come down. I knew the cabin was close to a dam and saw a dam about 300m down the (left) road on the right. Turned left and the tar pass seemed great. 1km down the road and no entrance gate. Google said, "make a U-turn". HUH??? Maybe I missed the gate and made a U-turn. Back up the pass back to the T-junction and google again said "make a u-turn" ????? The pirate in me came out again and I called the farmer who said that we were on top of Piketberg. Why? No-one knows.
We should have taken the Aurora turn-off on the R399... WHAAAATTTT??? Ok so now I have two options, down that same pass back to the R399 or find a way down. Google still being as useless as... I decided as I knew it will be completely dark in the next 35mins so head back south and it was the right decision. Ended up on the Versveld pass and down to Piketberg. Called the farmer again and he said at the T-junction turn left onto the R366 and follow the road for 35-40km until I see a white bridge... Just before the bridge, there's a gravel road I need to take and follow for about 25kms and he would meet us at the turn-off into his farm. I shared my live location and off we were.
By now it was dark... On a road I have never been on before and getting colder by the minute. 1.) my eyesight at night is not great. 2.) my kiddo was gatvol of sitting. 3.) I now know why Alfie said the OEM spots on the F800 GSA are not great. and 4.) we're hungry, frustrated and tired.
So we rode and rode and eventually ended up where I could see the 'white bridge' and the gravel road. Pup was hesitant as her first experience on gravel was on a mountain pass but at least then it was light and there was very little to no wind then, but now, the wind was back - not terrible but here I am about to go onto a dark, unknown gravel road with wind... So we followed the gravel road. It was not too bad, except for the cow in the middle of the road which I almost hit, and the occasional corrugated iron sections. I rode slowly never exceeding 40kms as visibility (actually my eye sight) was not great and I had my kiddo on the back with no way of knowing what the road would look like next.
Eventually, we saw the farmer's bakkie and followed him on a narrow road, under a farm sign that reminded me of the entrance to some of those western movies like the one at the entrance of Yellowstone or Heartland series. Slowly, very slowly almost to a standstill... Why you may ask... IT WAS A SAND PATH! SAND people, I have never ridden in sand nonetheless with my kiddo as a pillion and in the pitch dark!!! We won't go into the specifics but the farmer then took the pup in his bakkie toward the farmhouse from there onwards.
We arrived at the farmhouse and Roderick (the farmer / AIRBnB cabin owner) invited us in. We thought to get the keys to the cabin which was apparently another 5km down the road - which he assured me had no sand... But, his wife had made us Pizzas for dinner and offered us a cold coke which I don't think even hit the sides as it went down. The first thing we had to eat since Malmesbury and it was after 20h00 by now. Had a lekker chat, saw pictures of the leopards they had seen on the farm, laughed about google and the like, and then the Pup went back into the bakkie (unknown, dark road) and Roderick drove in front towards the cabin around 21h00. 2 x sand patches later, which I managed - and we were at the cabin. The wind had since we left the farmer's house, started to blow at full force again. We were exhausted!
Roderick showed us where what was and we went straight to bed. No shower, no coffee - nothing. About midnight I could hear the wind gusts and knew the bike was parked directly in its path in front of the cabin. So I got out of bed and decided to move the bike but not start it as that would wake the pup... So now I'm battling a bike, on gravel "klippies" (the ones they use in concrete), with no boots in the wind. What a dufus! Eventually got the bike moved and admired the stars - millions of stars! But still, wind!
I got back into bed and slept like a baby...
I woke up on Sunday morning at about 07h00 with the sound of birds chirping and walking on the tin roof of the cabin. Got out of bed and went outside to see if the bike had survived. Then it hit me... The absolutely gorgeous sight of pure nature. No noise, no pollution, just a picture-perfect quiet and tranquil 'view...
I made a cup of coffee, lit a smoke and just sat for about 20mins taking in the pure beauty of my surroundings.
'Woke up the pup and did my shower thing. She chatted to the boyfriend as the cabin has an inverter and wifi. Up at the farmer's house, there is wifi but no cell reception. She went for her shower and we walked around a bit admiring the surroundings.
These are all pics I took - see the listing here, what you see on the listing is exactly what you get! It's not ultra-modern, it's not "glamping" - but it's clean, neat and everything works!
You even get some homemade soap, coffee, tea, and firewood should you want to braai.
So, after a walk-through around the cabin and the stunning nature, I contacted Roderick to check out and find out if there was a better route back to Piketberg or at least the main tar road. And here's where I realized that in my stress and concentration the night before, I never looked at my fuel levels and never saw the fuel light... S-H-A-A-I-T!
I'm at least 50km away from Piketberg... Luckily Roderick came to the rescue and gave/sold me some of his generator's fuel and we were off taking another route, presumably with less sand but the GS (Geen Sand) needed to take a brief "rest" in the last patch of sand for probably 100km. Again Roderick to the rescue and loaded the pup into his bakkie and drove her all the way to the tar road.
Anyway. We reached Piketberg, refueled, and had a celebratory waffle and ice cold drinks to celebrate our trip and headed home via Malmesbury. Clearly, the sand and dust were visible...
I'm so proud of the pup for enduring 574.6kms in two days with me. Here's our actual route - a bit longer than the planned one but a hell of a lot more fun!
Yes, we got lost and added a couple of unnecessary km, but it was an adventure, one this dad would never forget.
For the record; Roderick is the friendliest, most accommodating, and most patient person I have met in a long time. We were received with open arms into this house and given a meal - remember this cabin booking was bed only. No meals. Also, where/who else would someone give you their fuel if you've been the *****?
The best part is Roderick only started renting out the cabin approx 3 months ago. He and his family are super cool people and I would most definitely go back again. I think in hindsight doing gravel alone with the pup was not such a brilliant idea but I learned a lot, no one got hurt and we had an awesome adventure. She also agrees.
The roads to and from this cabin are actually very good - barring a few sand patches which I would not recommend to a FIRST-TIME SAND RIDER, but now that I have done them, I'll take them on again - this time just with more speed and confidence. There have apparently been some other bikers at the cabin too and they made it without "resting" their bikes... Obviously more experienced riders than this dufus.
But guys/gals, if you're up for a nice adventurous ride that includes scenery and very friendly people call Roderick directly to book a night/few nights in his cabin. There are loads of routes from there to other places you can take, but best of all the hosts are genuine people with a passion for their land.
Roderick: 084 442 1502
Staffie out 'till the next time round.
