Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

In Dec 2010, 5 adventure riders - James, Justin ,Wayne, Clayton and Andyman took off on the MIDDELPOS DASH.

An overnighter, camping at Oasis.

What a special ride. A must do again we said.

And we did.

2011 it was the MALGAS DASH - an overnighter at the Malgas Hotel on the Breede river.

Better known for the hand drawn pont used to ferry vehicles across the river. Thirteen rond per bike.

This time it was James, Clayton, Andy and Pete.

 The route Eastwards from Cape Town and back again

Clayton watches Pete drop tyre pressures at Houwhoek

The bikes look so clean: Shortly to zip down the rail-road track to Botrivier

At De Bos dam, we took the first rest stop: Karwyderskraal road is superb, but phew.... a lot of small cars on this road.

 De Bos dam, on the Karwyderskraal road is now summer empty...until the winter rains

The Klein rivier bridge, Hemel en Aarde vallei, still plagued by many tourist vehicles: although now they were morphing towards SUV & 4x4

From the Klein, the fun really began on umpteen minor roads: no more cars, just beautiful roads, through farmsteads, farm yards, wheat fields

The South Wester generally took our dust tails well clear: Was this another factor of good planning.. or just the luck of the day?

Chasing Shadows: Our shadows grew gradually longer and longer as we chased them Eastwards.

Bang on schedule, 18H15 we pulled into Malgas: ...and were soon beering down in quiet comfort in the garden

Pete starts on his naval stories..: after 4 yrs I have not yet heard him repeat one story, he just draws them up from his well of experience..

As he drinks, so they become more risque.. lock up your daughters.

The guy mom warned you about is on the loose.

Round about 19H10 we repaired downstream to The Boathouse.

Maybe we shoud have gone by boat, but as noone was watching we rode on the bikes....

$#@%^& *&^%  <>?: (edited) as what happens on tour, stays on tour!

The Boathouse on the Breede River, 5 km downstream of the hotel

The parking lot at The Boathouse

We sat on the deck, drinking our sundowners, then eating our lekker pizzas and chatting to Mel who owns the pub.

We planned an early night so headed back at nine thirty. Long day ahead.

But while pouring ourselves a coffee at the self-service table, Clayton spotted the library lounge up on the mezzanine.

So we retired upstairs, lounging in the comfy chairs, and chatted the next hour away in lazy comfort.

Totally relaxed and at one with our world, still reminiscing over the plethora of roads, vistas and farmyards, and how absolutely amazing the bikes are in this roll. It certainly is more pleasant riding in small groups of similar skills levels.

At 06h00: tha ubiquitous rooster got up with the morning glory and crowed.

Someone please sort out that rooster!

Nothing like a quiet cup of coffee on the waters edge while the sun elbows itself up and over the opposite ridge and the river life wakes itself into lazy routine of the day. 

The naval stories were technical and clean.

The pont runs from sunrise to sunset and was by Murphy's law, seemingly always on the wrong side. Reclining in our deck chairs we lazily observed the  pont over the rim of a coffee cup

The poor mules were pulling across dry to collect a fare and the next fare would pull up on the other side ... so another dry haul back.

Ho Hum, but they did not complain.

early dawn at Malgas Hotel

The historic 1856 Church at Malgas: Malgas or Malagas, the signs are not consistent.

The forecourt area of the hotel

So with brekky at 07H30 we were ready and fueld to head Estwards after crossing the Breede by pont.

 The   mule ; draws the pont across, step by step..

It;s early morning, we are still clean. a day of gravel roads lies ahead..

 We werent in a hurry but the pont sure took its time

The opposite bank beckons invitingly. Lets RIDE!!

The 4 muskateers pose for a group photy

The Blue feather rides again

James says good morning to mommy

Pete also nets in with mommy

Then the network of roads leading us towards Vermaaklikheid

There is something about riding in a small good company on excellent roads out in the cuds that defies description.

I was singing in my helmet and as so often on such trips found my myself expressing the sheer joy at the top of my voice. Often it is hymms that come into my head and I laud them out on high as we skim the road surface watching our shadows grow ever longer out before us.

“Then sings my Soul...” was one hymm that really expressed the feeling of the ride for me.

Riding through some of the farm yards got a bit tricky, as I could only see if I had taken the correct of many tracks after a while of riding.

I mis-judged a one or two, which meant wheeling the column around, back through the farmyard and onto the correct track.

Some roads were just so exceptionally good we breezed along at 130kph with no dust track at all.

Others were so gravely that each bike lifted a rooster tail of dust in its wake. My bike is on duals tyres which meant a significantly lower rooster tail than the other three shod with knobblies.

Through pastures and herds of cattle &and sheep

We came upon abandoned homesteads and then more empty farms houses

Mulberries on the tree, peaches on the trees, no one at home.... ever

Well it's all speculation, but it seems the farmer is faced with the choice of costly restoration or just building his homestead all over on a better location.

You see, 150 years later, with new technology and better water devining, etc, the old location is not as well sited as alternatives.

And there's the reality that farms are bing swallowed up by bigger companies and farms, which is part of the erosiion of our farming stcock from 22 000 farmers 12 yrs ago to 9 000 now.

Really lekker roads. good condition, low dust factor

 Fertile fields and then andadoned mansions

and still more empty homes..

Low water bridges in the valleys, very little traffic

Justin n Andy take a short break and chat about the lekker roads

a windmill and shady tree gracing the close cropped wheat field

abanded homestead in Vermaaklikheid

a quiet break on the road

something really intriguing about these homes. who lived there?: where did they go? why did they leave, whats their story...

quiet pastoral scenes in the village

lekker roads, clear skies

We arrive in Swellendam for lunch

We were the only patrons for quite a while

Clayton gets arty

The Robertson - Steenboksvlakte junction

We arrived at the Strykhoogte pass climbing up out the Bree river valley

A short stop to confer over the mountains and the roads..

Some lovely roads running up vineyard ,lined valleys toward the Rooihoogte pass

 And then the photo records dry up...

Yup we just got on with the business of riding up the Rooihoogte, then through Villiersdorp, then over the big water they call Theewaterskloof.

And through vyeboom, waving greetings at the friendly well soaked locals.

Then another climb up the Viljoens hoop pass and onto the Eikenhof plateau.

Riding through Grabouw, and onto the N2.

And then the bikes smelled home, dropped their heads and swept on up the N2 and over the Sir Lowry's pass........ and home.

We split up and went our ways, confirming by phone later that we were all well received, safe at home.

Another DASH behind us to round off an awesome year or adventure riding.