To Hell'n Gone Tour 2008 - Rewritten

[Adventurer]

Good to hear that all is well.
Tip for SL, ride to the next town, then the next, then the next, do NOT ride to the destination of the day in your mind, until the destination IS the next town. (Does this make sense? ;D)

 

[milkybar]

Thank for the nice pics.....keep them coming. Ride safely, and rest when you're tired SL. Luckily trips like these teach our hubbies patience!

 

[Jay]

[size=10pt]Day 4[/size]

The next day was a beaut and we took the N2 down to Durban.  We were making good time so we stopped often and I decided that we will stick to the N2 and not ride the coastal road as I planed.  We will do it some other time.  At one of the tollgates we stopped and I felt my side stand did not feel quite right so after inspecting it I realized one of the bolts holding it on was working loos.  I had every possible size spanner except the right one, Murphy voetsek now.  We decided to stop and the next place that sells spanners and get a ring flat set just for the sake of having it.  Well we did just that but no-one had.  I borrowed a spanner from a spares shop that happened to have the size i was looking for but we could only get a set of our own other side Durban.... I forget the name of the place. 

We were doing well and darted toward Kokstad to get to Sani Pass.  It was one hell of a hot day and the heat was making me scared of Silver.....  I think if I got to close she would bite me in the face  :dousing: We saw the weather was changing and a storm was imminent.  We stopped at Kokstad for gogo juice and while there is started raining.  The weather came from where we were heading so I told Fang Luna we would sleep in Kokstad and give Sani a miss.  Sani pass will have to wait for another time and the plan was to go straight to Rhodes the next day.  Turned out to be a good call.

Cruising down the N2

Toll Gates.... hate them

Resting a bit and fixing my side stand

This looks stupid I know.... we were having a jol none the less

Just before the last Toll Gate

N2 on the way to Kokstad

 

[Buzzlightyear]

Looking good so far, keep em coming!

 

[Jay]

[size=10pt]Day 5[/size]

We awoke to a beautiful day and left Kokstad for Rhodes at about 8am.  The road was in a much better condition that I was expecting.  All along we passes small settlement, looks a lot like the Trankei actually.  The road was nice and quiet and we merely cruised along.  We had a short stop just before the Naudea's Neck turnoff and enjoyed a biltong break in the middle of nowhere.  I think two vehicles passed us in the 20 odd minutes we sat there.  We greated an old man herding cattle then set off and soon got to the turnoff to Naudea's Neck pass going to Rhodes.  The road started off nice but soon changed.

On the R56 heading west

A nice rock formation next to the road on the R56

Fueling up in anticipation for the road ahead

Our Biltong break

Tried my hand at some arty photos

We hit the dirt nice and early and it looked promisingâ?¦.. We could see there was resent rain but thankfully it was dry.  I was very happy with the condition of the road and remember thinking this 100km should not take long at all......  :

Start of the 100km to Rhodes

Our 1st water crossing  :imaposer:

Lovely small waterfall within the first couple of km into the dirt section

Road was really good still

A quick stop

The Beast having a look at the road to come

Silver was doing well and enjoying our excursion

We made lots of stops at the beginning but the road soon turned to shit and we realized that the fun is only starting.  Silver rode away from me with the Dakie and I was impressed to see how she handled the gnarly sections.  She rode like a pro I tell you :thumleft:

First bad section with some sandy bits

Not so bad if I only had more than a 55 rear profile..... my poor rims

He heeee sweet

Later that day we got some serious wind and the higher we went up the mountain the worse it became... not long and it was pumping and became unpleasant to ride those winding roads.  We were still doing ok but I could see Silver was getting tired fighting the wind from blowing her off the cliffs.  The scenery did make up for it though.

Resting, the wind was really howling 

The fun was now over for Silver with 47km remaining  eepwall:

Thanks to Adventurer and Blazes it was smooth sailing until a 90 degree very rocky steep downhill turn and forgetting to disengage the ABS  :eek7: she took the Dakar for a mud bath.

Splish slash...... 

Oops ???

Silver was OK, giggling as she was explaining what happened.  No need to explain to me she came flying past me and I could see it happen before it even did.  My heart stopped for a moment as I cringed and thought....... eina.....  We got the bike out of the mud and had a good laugh while checking for serious damage.  The bike and Silver was fine but her confidence got shattered :'(

We continued at a snails pace

 

[JJred]

Beautifull stuff guys ... keep em coming

 

[IceCreamMan]

lekker lekker ....next please

 

[edgy]

Awesome stuff,say howzit to Dave Walker in Rhodes from Andre in Grahamstown

 

[Doringboom]

Very, very bakgat Jay and SL; beautiful pictures :thumleft: Have a safe ride and enjoy :ricky:

Ek laaik daai Uly kwaai!!!

 

[Misty]

SL nice slide there â?? you showing off this time?  :biggrin:

Looking good so far â?? you guys are inspiring!  :thumleft:

Waiting in anticipation for the next part

Ride safe

 

[Tienie]

Ride safely guys!

 

[blazes]

Cool Jay and SL. Take it easy guy's :thumleft:

 

[Big E]

Ek wil ook!!

 

[Goose]

Keep it coming!!!!

:thumleft: :thumleft:

 

[LeonDude]

Great stuff - have a safe journey and please keep on posting.

 

[Jay]

[size=10pt]Still Day 5[/size]

Ok so let us carry on. Hopefully this connection will be better than the one I had in East London.  : ???  We arrived in Cape Town today with some major stories to tell.  So lets get back to Rhodes and carry on from there shall we....  :thumleft:

Naude's Nek was not difficult or scary just for Silver being a noob it was very long.  It took us 5 hours to ride the 100km.  I would think if someone had more experience it could be dome in much less time, depending on the photo stop of course.

About 15km before we got to Rhodes 

It was here where I was riding shotgun with Silver.  As we approached a large stick in the road she went left missing it by millimeters and I opted to go right.  As I got to the "stick" it stood up at least n half a meter off the ground and looking strait at me  :eek7: I lifted my leg up and gased it past what turned our to be a moerse cobra light brown in color.

Can you spot Silver

The town of Rhodes.... this is the main street and the town only have 25 permanent residents. There main money spinner is tourism and spin offs from Tiffendale Ski resort only 20km from there.  They even offer a shuttle service from the town to the resort.

The main street in Rhodes

Silver Luna having a much needed G&T after a hectic 5 hours of rough dirt and cliffs with strong winds  :mwink:

The Beast and its master having a drink at the Rhodes Hotel

We arrived at around 2pm that afternoon, I remember because we had just gotten our drinks when the F1 started on the TV in the bar.  I was starving as the biltong we had did nothing for me.  We ordered some lunch and sat outside at the tables on the grass.  I remembered reading in one of the bike magazines that there was a BMW GS thing on the go in the area.  I asked around and was told it is on the farm we passed 5km out of town, about 34 bikes.

Having lunch at Rhodes Hotel

The next thing on our agenda was to find a place to kip.... There is more places to stay in Rhodes than residents and with exuberant prices you cannot believe we opted to camp.  We had the whole camp grounds to ourselves and at R45 a stand... right in my price range :thumleft: We set up camp and went looking for supper.  The shops and fuel pumps close at 12 on a Saturday afternoon and only open again at 9am Monday.  One of the guest lodges makes pizzas and we decided that is exactly what we need.  The hotel makes a set menu but charge R95 per person

Lekker kamp spot for only R45

The shop and fuel pumps in Rhodes

[size=10pt]Day 6[/size]

The wind through the trees put us to sleep quickly.  The next day awaited us and we were ready to tackle the 60km to Barkley East where we met some of the rude BMW GS dudes.  I think only one had the decency to greet us as we were refueling.  Silver dropped her bike making a U-turn outside Barkley and was not happy with me as I over reacted as she did not get herself out of the road quick enough for my nerves. >

Leaving Rhodes the next morning

Me as seen by Silver

On the way to Barkley East

Very nice farm

From Barkley we took the shortcut to East London and did not stop for a lot of pictures.  This was a very hard piece of road for me to travel as it is the same road were I lost my best friend Garry Bezuidenhout who was shot and killed during a botched cash in transit robbery. RIP my Friend till we meet again  :'(

Thinking about it now I think that is why a must have barked at Silver earlier that morning.  Silver was still  > and we were looking forward to getting some time off and have a good rest.  The road is very scenic with the Amatola mountain range showing of with fantastic rock formations.  The road was quite and in a very good condition.  I can recommend a trip in this area to everyone it is well worth it.

The Amatola Mountains as we headed to East London on the R58

We stopped for a Steers lunch at the shell built on the old Transkei/SA border post on the Great Kei River.  This pass is called Kei Cutting as known by the locals, nice pass to ride, try to avoid it at night as there are lots of stray animals about.  We pulled into Beacon Bay at my sisters house at around 3 and later left for my Mom's house in Cove Rock on the other side of town.  We drove all along the coastline and Silver got to ride on a real race track for the first time.

Steers on the Kei River

 

[Jay]

[size=10pt]Day 7 & 8[/size]

We had an extended stay in East London as I decided to skip Graaff-Reinet as Silver Luna got the flu (puncho).... We took the opportunity to have a good rest and went for walks along the beach and just chilled.

The view from my moms house in Cove Rock

On our way to the beach

SilverLuna acting silly...... Travel can you relate?

This is Cove rock.... the tribes in the area still see it as a very sacred place and they use to do human sacrifice here by throwing people from the top into the water and rocks below  atch:

[size=10pt]Day 9[/size]

Man we had some good rest at the Fam.  Now my ass was itching to get back on the bike and continue this trip.  I was oblivious to what was to come weather wise but thinking back I should have known something was up.  I was telling Silver it must be some of the biggest waves I have seen in my 20 odd years living in EL.  Never once did the obvious cross my mind. 

It is now the 28th of August and we set off to meet Dries at Patensie just before Baviaans.  We took the more scenic coastal road down to PE, passed through on the N2 and took the petensie turnoff.  The road has lots of construction going on and will be realy nice once they complete it.

We had about 4 of these stop and go things and we did not wait to long.... about 5min or so

On the R72 on the way to Port Alfred

The bridge grossing the Fish River, also used to be the border between SA and Ciskei

One of the many rivers you cross on the way to PE

As you enter Port Alfred from the EL side you get a nice view of the marina

Some more of the marina yacht club

This is a landmark for Port Alfred

We made a detour to the river mouth where Guido's is situated

From Port Alfred there is really not much to see and quite boring.  We arrived in Patensie at 15:30, literally 2 minutes after Dries.  We said our hello's and gave him a quick highlight of the trip update while we refueled.  Couple of min later we headed off into the Baviaans.  Stopped off at the office and got the key for a sweet spot called Bergplaas about 22km in.  On the Info board it said 22km = 50min so we started chasing the sun.  We were having a ball and I wanted to stop and take pictures but Silver Bullet was on the ear of that Dakar.  So Dries and I stopped and then caught up again.... eventually Soon the lovely sections of road turned to Shit, narrow cliff on the left and the abyss on the right.  The rocks where more like large steps but I had a jol.  Silver on the other hand was stressing and having some moments of hesitation.  Like all of us know the throttle is your friend but Silver opted for the break instead.  She had a rethink all by herself and all of a sudden stopped...... not just anywhere sommer at the karkest part where a little momentum will get you a long way.  Dries was to the rescue and showed her the line to take.  She got to where I was waiting for them and lost the plot and stopped again.  Shame she was in tears and saying the drop off was freaking her out big time.  Here I was thinking it's the rocks in the road  : Myself and Dries (bless him he got sworn at for trying to talk some courage into Silver) I was trying to hide my smile and almost burst out laughing.  So I took the Dakar and went bouncing, hooting and waving past the two of them.  This must have helped as Silver wiped the tears and blasted up the hill.  We had to race to chase her down as she missed the turn to Bergplaas  ;D

Dries full of smiles as we left Patensie

The Office as you enter the Baviaans kloof

One of the info board in Baviaans showing ETA's and distance

Silver was flying so we maar stopped for a kiekkie

Dries was slower than Silver so I got him in  :imaposer:

The Beast doing me proud and showing off  :ricky:

Dries and the rocks.... boet are you peddling ???

Yes sir that was when she lost it.... Love you my brave Angel 

"When I get out of this I'm gonna kill that F%$#%%^^^&&&&*^$% OK lets go :dousing:

Just missed Silver doing her first water crossing..... dammit slow down girl >

Hee heee we made it and it was all worth it  ;D

Silver reflecting on her conquered fears..... well done gogga :thumleft:

This is the life mmmmmm 

How about a "skaap tjoppie"..... :mwink:

 

[albert smit]

ot: ...sien Dries meng al weer in met jou braai Jay!!!!  Hy wil ook nie leer nie!!

...geniet die res vd rit!

Allie.    :thumleft:

 

[Jay]

[size=10pt]Day 10[/size]

The next morning we awoke to a fantastic day and set off early further and deeper into the Baviaans.  Everyone was holding up well then Silver had her first off. Nothing serious just unnerved her a bit but we were off soon again.  The second time the Dakar got a bit tired we lost a mirror and we had to do some bending on the gear leaver.... :-\

The view from Bergplaas over the mountains

Section of the steep decent into the valley

The 1st off....

Bending the gear leaver... after the second off... :

Nice rocky section in the valey

A small taste of what was to come

Silver crossing in style.... :mwink:

I knew from the forum there was a very long water crossing somewhere ahead and it was constantly on my mind.  Would I drop the Beast, will the tires not be to smooth, how will Silver handle it.... all sorts of things.  Well it soon lay in front of us, calling its victims to dare cross it.  I only stopped for a moment so not to have time to think about what could go wrong.  I moved at a steady rate and knew with the pipe under the bike I had to keep the beast purring.  I had a moment as the pipe submerged under the water and that familiar sound dissipated.  I did not have time for that to bother me as I disappeared into a moer of a hole in the cement path. I gave a twist on the ear and out I shot out the other side.  I kept my cool and wobbled to the middle and slipped and slid on the green slimy rocks to the other side.  Silver was hot on my heals and I just managed to get a picture of her exiting the water. Silver and the Dakar, Jay and the Beast got through fine and then :ricky: :imaposer:

Dries and the BMW could not get out without resting....

 

[Jay]

ot: ...sien Dries meng al weer in met jou braai Jay!!!!  Hy wil ook nie leer nie!!

...geniet die res vd rit!

Allie.     :thumleft:

hehe ja ek kan hom nerens heen vat nie.... jy moet hier dop hou dit raak beter  :imaposer: :imaposer:  eepwall: