Since the ride organizer, StaalBurger, had his plans change and left us after breakfast, Malgat asked if I could kick of the report and pic placeholder - happy to.
Riding DS bikes is strange.
Wonder if you folks feel this way? I get back an hour after dark last night. My hands were frozen. My butt and back ached, and my shoulders felt like I had swum a few KMs. My eyes were burning from the dust of over 120Kms of gravel, but I lay like a hippo in the bath thinking "Man, that was another great ride in Africa!"
What started as a proposal for a gentle ride and a bit of fishing by StaalBurger, and a request for a GPS track of the canal road by GSAsterix ended up getting sidetracked, hijacked and rebranded as a full-blooded Sunday group ride, with the Mugabe-style vote going for a ride on the North Canal route as a majority who had not ridden it. Malgat and I, who had both done it a few times, were very happy to do again.
I never expected to be appointed ride-reporter, so I never noted the riders names and bikes, but I think there were eleven bikes and twelve people that met at the Sasol Delite at Broederstroom for a gentle tar ride to the Brekkie spot at the Emu restaurant (S25 43 13.4 E27 49 06.6) for breakfast. Good choice from my viewpoint. Not as hectic as Umfula, and they have a good breakfast menu and the coffee was good - I'll certainly visit again. The do actually have some emus there - funny little Aussie ostrichs with feathery necks and serious attitude.
Picked up another bike somewhere and twelve bikes (I think, we lost Staal to other commitments) headed out. Brands were the usual suspects - AT, Beemers (1200 & 650) KLRs, KLE, 690, 640. Nothing unusual.
Was was nice was some new faces, and a special welcome to (oro?)Nick on his 640, as it was his first ride in Africa - Hope you all join us on many more, and may the big bad bike bug bite all of you !
The riding was easy. Malgat up front, me at the back and three or four stops along the way. Unhectic. No rush. Just the way I like it.
I think it was Jules who said that it is not an adventure if no k@k hits the fan. Well there was no serious k@k, just two small dried cow-turds and no fan. First was a back-wheel flat on the JustBiking's 990 near BakGat store and the second was a nail in the same wheel - discovered after we left Beestekraal. Both were strange. First one was a piece of glass that somehow got itself between tyre and heavy-duty tube and had cut through in two places. The nail was strange 'cos it hit the same tyre we fixed earlier in the day, and the tyre is a very respectable Pirelli in good condition.
We chose right not to use that foamy s#@t. I dont think it would have worked in either case - the glass-cuts were too big, and the nail was 15mm right through the tube.
Puncture tally on rides I have been on is now.
640 rear - 2
690 rear - 3
KLR rear - 1
AT rear - 1
Lets hear it for KTM !!!
Strange, but I actually enjoyed the punctures. A chance to chat and joke, especially with the two lovely ladies who were in good spirit, and no-one seemed to wish they were somewhere else. Suspect the non-puncture group enjoyed themselves as well as they were zamalekking up ahead at Bakgat and consulting by phone.
As for the rest of the ride it was a pretty standard canal run except we did a 60Km detour through the game farms North of the canals and did our statutory stop at the Stasie approaching on rhe R511 from the north. I must admit at one stage I was expecting to see the red hills of Thabazimbi, but we did not go quite that far.
Thanks to all - hope to see you all again on the road.
Pics to follow:-
Riding DS bikes is strange.
Wonder if you folks feel this way? I get back an hour after dark last night. My hands were frozen. My butt and back ached, and my shoulders felt like I had swum a few KMs. My eyes were burning from the dust of over 120Kms of gravel, but I lay like a hippo in the bath thinking "Man, that was another great ride in Africa!"
What started as a proposal for a gentle ride and a bit of fishing by StaalBurger, and a request for a GPS track of the canal road by GSAsterix ended up getting sidetracked, hijacked and rebranded as a full-blooded Sunday group ride, with the Mugabe-style vote going for a ride on the North Canal route as a majority who had not ridden it. Malgat and I, who had both done it a few times, were very happy to do again.
I never expected to be appointed ride-reporter, so I never noted the riders names and bikes, but I think there were eleven bikes and twelve people that met at the Sasol Delite at Broederstroom for a gentle tar ride to the Brekkie spot at the Emu restaurant (S25 43 13.4 E27 49 06.6) for breakfast. Good choice from my viewpoint. Not as hectic as Umfula, and they have a good breakfast menu and the coffee was good - I'll certainly visit again. The do actually have some emus there - funny little Aussie ostrichs with feathery necks and serious attitude.
Picked up another bike somewhere and twelve bikes (I think, we lost Staal to other commitments) headed out. Brands were the usual suspects - AT, Beemers (1200 & 650) KLRs, KLE, 690, 640. Nothing unusual.
Was was nice was some new faces, and a special welcome to (oro?)Nick on his 640, as it was his first ride in Africa - Hope you all join us on many more, and may the big bad bike bug bite all of you !
The riding was easy. Malgat up front, me at the back and three or four stops along the way. Unhectic. No rush. Just the way I like it.
I think it was Jules who said that it is not an adventure if no k@k hits the fan. Well there was no serious k@k, just two small dried cow-turds and no fan. First was a back-wheel flat on the JustBiking's 990 near BakGat store and the second was a nail in the same wheel - discovered after we left Beestekraal. Both were strange. First one was a piece of glass that somehow got itself between tyre and heavy-duty tube and had cut through in two places. The nail was strange 'cos it hit the same tyre we fixed earlier in the day, and the tyre is a very respectable Pirelli in good condition.
We chose right not to use that foamy s#@t. I dont think it would have worked in either case - the glass-cuts were too big, and the nail was 15mm right through the tube.
Puncture tally on rides I have been on is now.
640 rear - 2
690 rear - 3
KLR rear - 1
AT rear - 1
Lets hear it for KTM !!!
Strange, but I actually enjoyed the punctures. A chance to chat and joke, especially with the two lovely ladies who were in good spirit, and no-one seemed to wish they were somewhere else. Suspect the non-puncture group enjoyed themselves as well as they were zamalekking up ahead at Bakgat and consulting by phone.
As for the rest of the ride it was a pretty standard canal run except we did a 60Km detour through the game farms North of the canals and did our statutory stop at the Stasie approaching on rhe R511 from the north. I must admit at one stage I was expecting to see the red hills of Thabazimbi, but we did not go quite that far.
Thanks to all - hope to see you all again on the road.
Pics to follow:-
Pity - cos it's pretty.
