To Hell'n Gone Tour 2008 - Rewritten

[Jay]

Sorry it is taking so long to complete this RRâ?¦.. I hate sitting in front of the computer on my leave and spend way to much time ridingâ?¦ :ricky:

Ok letâ??s see were are weâ?¦.. ah yesâ?¦.

[size=10pt]Day 12[/size]

We left Oudshoorn the next day to go even further inland but managed only to get to Beaufort Wes. We could not get into the Hell as it was snowed inâ?¦. we could see the snow on the mountains as we left Oudshoorn.  We were now traveling in rain and severe winds gusting at what must be well over a 100km/h.  We passed some other bikers on the road which made better decisions to rather stop and see if it settles down a bit.  We decided to push on and get this over with.  Silver was in shock and in bad shape and we had to make a plan to help her get out of this wind.  Dries spotted a bakkie with a empty trailer coming from behind and with hand signals we managed to get him to stop so we could load Silverâ??s bike for the remaining 35km.  She was so happy to get out of the wind she grabbed the guy round the neck and gave him a hug for helping.  We got to Beaufort Wes and it started to kapokâ?¦. What the hell was up with the weather?

Snow all over the place

Look at the weather...... :-\

and then it started to kapok

[size=10pt]Day 13, 14 and 15[/size]

The following day the wind subsided and we left for Cape Town, Strand to be exact.  It was very cold on the road and the snow was still thick on all the mountains and koppies.  We had lunch some ware at an ultra city and the people told us to be carefull as the ice was still on the road.  We did not get the ice on the road but we could see what was left of it. We got to Strand and decided to spend an extra day so Silver Luna could get to the doctor so she could get rid of the flu.

On the road to Cape Town

[size=10pt]Day 16 and 17[/size]

My cousin invited us to Paarl and we staid there for two more days and did some sight seeing in the area.  Silver was starting to feel better as well.  :thumleft: We rode out to Franschoek, went up the mountain and back down then and visited the Hugenotegedenksmuseum.  We did some more sight seeing and stopped off and we had the most amazing Pizza.

Mandela even approved the Beast

At the Hugenotegedenksmuseum in Paarl

At the entrance to the Vroue Monument

Visiting the Vroue monument

Having a pizza for lunch in Franschoek

 

[Misty]

Wow can't believe all that snow! - nice pics again

 

[Jay]

[size=10pt]Day 18[/size]

Our trip continued from Paarl to Springbok, again we decided to give Wuppertal a miss as we heard from Dries that the weather report said things will get worse againâ?¦. It would be a loss but I could not get myself to put Silver through more of what we experienced already.  I would surely put her off biking for life  :'(  We started getting quite hot on the road and we had to get rid of most of our cold weather gear.

Our first fuel stop and to strip off some layers of clothing

Somewhere on the N7

Silver back to her old self.... full of life and smiles

As I turned to refuel in Bitterfontein I wanted to gear down but to my surprise there was nothing there to gear down withâ?¦. I Looked down and realized to my disgust and at the same time kicking ma ass in my mind for I knew this would happen.  The bold that keeps the gear leaver in place fell out.  I left Paarl knowing it was loose, but ignored it as I was tired of fixing it.  This bolt has been giving me shit from day one.  :dousing:

The gear lever not were it is supposed to be 

My support team in action  :

I rode into Bitterfontein in 5th gear and stopped at the only garage in town.  Now to find a solution for the problem....... it is Sunday and the owner I was told was on the farm.  So I started looking for a replacement on my bike.  A bolt that I could remove from a non critical place and then replace it in Springbok again.  I could find nothing and just as I sat down my support crew gave me an ice cream.  We sat eating the ice cream while contemplated our fate.  With this a bakkie pulls in and I immediately notice the dude is wearing overall pants..... as a mechanic.... ;D I say to Silver this could be our break and as I was about to get up the man asked if we needed help..... Please we need a bolt for this and I show him.  Ok he said and off he walks and unlocks the workshop :ricky: It's the owner of this joint.... what luck.  It turn's out he was on his brothers Emu farm fixing a generator and came back to drop off the tools.  He scratched around and found just the right bolt, he retreaded the hole as well  :thumleft: and gave me two nuts to put on the back.  People can say what they will but people in a small town still care about there fellow human beings.  We thanked him profusely and headed into the sun.

This is me and the owner who helped us out the shit

Here I am fitting the lost nut onto the new bolt

So everything were it should be we rode into Springbok and found a sweet spot to camp!  There was about ten other bikes there as well.

The road just outside Gurries

Getting close to Springbok

Same stop as above

At the campgrounds in Springbok

Also at the campground with some other bikes in the background

[size=10pt]Day 19[/size]

The next day was awesome and with very little wind.  We pulled out of Springbok and enjoyed some of the flowers along the side of the road.  We were now heading towards Upington for our next sleep over stop.  We started seeing the landscape change and the road straitened out for miles in front of us.  We made some good time with Silver enjoying the windless dead strait road doing 170km/h most of the way.  The Beast could finally stretch the legs a bit and I was again enjoying every moment soaking in the barren beauty of the landscape as it whizzed past.  I was home again.....

The next tree pictures were taken just outside Springbok on the way to Pofadder

Another Flower stop

The landscape started changing to barren beauty

You could feel the silence embrace you

Silver showing her agreement

We rode our machines for what they were made for and we were in agreement that this is a lifestyle no one will be able to put into word.  Soon we pulled into Pofadder, a place where I have been drawn to for many years and have always wanted a picture of the welcome to Pofadder sign.  I have never been able to explain why I needed to be there and still after being there have no idea.  We took a tour through the town and stopped at a lovely church.  We found a place for lunch, refueled and left.  My heart was filled with pleasure, but sadness fell over me the moment we left.  I now have no place to be drawn to.... I will just have to come back then some day

Pulling into Pofadder

Beautiful old church in Pofadder

The shop we stopped for lunch in Pofadder

In front of PROE-i-BIETJIE

We headed for Ougrabies waterfalls but decided it was still early enough to push through to Upington and book into â??Die Eilandâ? camp resort for the night.  We decided not to camp as Silver was getting hot..... :dousing: you remember how she gets when she gets hot...... don't you  > :lamer:.  If you have forgotten I will remind you, if you get to close she will bite you in the face......   We got a chalet with air conditioning; I felt it was now safe to approach, with caution naturally. 
We decided to take the Dakar and get some supplies for the braai, but first I saw the Dakar chain was a bit loose so I tweaked it a bit.  As we rode off the Dakar squeaked and squealed and I knew something was seriously wrong.  I dropped off Silver and went back to get the trusted Beast again.  We came back, I started a fire and proceeded to do some fault finding.  I was looking in all the wrong places and could not find the problem.  Luckily as we rode into town...... remember on the trusty Beast we rode past BMW which was literally across the river from the chalet. 

Stopped here to fill up with water..... Silver really sucks it down

The bikes parked outside the chalet in "Die eiland"

Another view of " Die eiland"

I made the bikes sleep outside on the stoep...

This is the life hey.... :mwink: ;D

 

[Jay]

[size=10pt]Day 20
[/size]
We took the Dakar to the BMW dealer the next morning and as we drove up the dealer came walking out and immediately said to just pull into the service aria.  He could hear us coming around the corner squeaking away.....  :imaposer: We got amazing service from them and we also discovered the problem.  There was a bolt working itself loose on the back break disc and was eating away at the break caliper bracket.  We replaced the chain and sprocket while we were there and the other bolts were checked and some lock tight added for good measure.  We left the dealership with the Dakar running smooth as silk.

The BMW dealer in Upington

We found the source of the sqweak

About 10km outside Olifantshoek we passed two bikers also on very dusty dual sports.  After refueling I sow the first bike coming into town and decided to have a chat and find out more about were they have been.  It turns out to be a father and daughter team that just toured Nam and did one of the walking trails there.  We had a nice chat and soon spoke about were we headed and were we intended to sleep over.  We decided to meet up for lunch in Kuruman and from there we would meet up at Kameeldoring about 6km before you get into Vryburg.  Silver and I left and headed off to where we would meet later for lunch.  Unfortunately it took them a long time to get there so we had lunch and we was about to leave they rocked up.  We told them we will see them at the camp grounds and made a quick stop at the local Spar for some supplies as we would braai that evening. 

About 10km outside Olifantshoek

John and Silver Luna in Olifantshoek

Cindy and Silver Luna in Olifantshoek

When Silver and I arrived at the campgrounds we knew this was the place to be.  It was absolutely beautiful and they had lost of tame animals walking around.  We arrived at around four and got chatting with the owner some of the staff.  We got treated by helping feed the Spring buck and Eland on the property.  We could not believe how tame these buck were and Silver of course were in her element.  It was well after six when the rest of the party arrived.  In the main house there is a Kameeldoring tree growing in the middle of the bar area right through the roof.  It is a place not to miss out on while in that area.  We made a braai with our new biker friends and the restaurant made us some lekker salads.  We had the most enjoyable stay and indeed a tremendous time. 

The main house with the bar and restaurant....

Look at the tree growing out of the house...

The garden in front of the main house

The guinea fowl sleeps in theis tree every night

The Beast letting the  Springbuck get close

Silver doing her bit....

Shoe Silver check the horing on that..... ;D

This guy calls the buck by whistling....

What a sunset to end off the last day of our adventure 

We left for home the next day and we knew the end of the most amazing trip had come.  We had up and downs good weather and the worst mother nature could throw our way.... we had lots of laughs and some tears, but we will remember this trip for the rest of our lives. 

I would like to thank all the wild dogs as if was not for them and there ride reports I would not have been so inspired to do a ride like this.  Thanks to everyone for supporting our trip and I hope to ride with you all soon!!

 

[Gryshond]

Great report Jay :laughing4:

 

[Grunt]

that trip looked lekker

thanks for report

 

[Tienie]

What a trip!

 

[GO GIRL]

Jay and SL what a super trip and even moreso the togetherness.....

SL you have to feel good, great riding and a wonderful experience.....

Good to see a WC WD join you guys..... nice one Dries.....

Going to be hard to go back to work...... ??? :

Grt RR ;D

 

[Mark Hardy]

:thumleft:

what a way to spend time together.

 

[Jay]

Ok I have done the unthinkable.......

I have rewritten my entire Ride Report as it was done in a hurry while on the road.  I have spent days on it now that I finally got some time and did it the way you guys deserve it to be :thumleft:

I added allot of pictures and told the unseen story..... Please have a look again  :mwink:

Thanks again for all the support :thumleft:

 

[lonerider]

Awesomely LEKKER!

Nice one, congrats to the both of you for pushing on through some trying circumstances.

When's the next trip...? 

 

[SilverLuna]

Thank you so much for everyone's support during this trip :thumleft: I had an amazing time and now don't even feel the wind blowing  eepwall: so once again thank you for the support and well wishes...... it helped

So Jay I'm ready for the next one.... :ricky:

 

[blazes]

Ok I have done the unthinkable.......

I have rewritten my entire Ride Report as it was done in a hurry while on the road.  I have spent days on it now that I finally got some time and did it the way you guys deserve it to be :thumleft:

I added allot of pictures and told the unseen story..... Please have a look again  :mwink:

Thanks again for all the support :thumleft:

Very nice Jay and SL. :thumleft:

Makes one think hey----Why the Hell do we have to work ??? It only interferes with our riding time. :mwink:

 

[Gee eS]

:thumleft:

what a way to spend time together.

+1

 

[Gee eS]

Good one Jay, SL
Do you know what went wrong with the 1200 and what caused it

 

[Jay]

Good one Jay, SL
Do you know what went wrong with the 1200 and what caused it

Thanks.... it got water in the motor somehow and he striped the ring gear, and had to replace the clutch plus some odds and ends I cannot remember and the obvious oil change.... all and all 15k

 

[Cane Rat]

Awesome, Absolutely awesome.  :3some: Very nice pics (Some very familiar especially around Pongola dam) and very good report. Hats off to Luna for sticking it out. It takes a lot of guts.
Some wise Moto Guzzi owner once told me: "Couples that ride together, Stay together" Hope you have many more rides like this.

 

[Plothond]

Very lekker
A real epic trip and a must do at least once in your biking career

I enjoyed the report 

 

[Chrisv]

Hi Jay and Silver

Ive re-read the report.

Thanks for sharing this trip report with us, it looked amazing.

Im planning a similar trip next year, so I will certainly keep your report close by when finalising the planning.

Thx
H

:thumleft:

 

[Jay]

Hi Jay and Silver

Ive re-read the report.

Thanks for sharing this trip report with us, it looked amazing.

Im planning a similar trip next year, so I will certainly keep your report close by when finalising the planning.

Thx
H

:thumleft:

Thanks for re-reading it  ;D

Ride safe and we hope you have as much fun as we did  :ricky: