Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

Seven brave souls were prepared to join this ride.  In the end only 3 made it to the start line: Cecil, Clayton and James.

The weather perfect, the riders competent.  The dunes - not ready for us.  The sand was very soft.  Like powder, at 8:30 am in the cool of a September morning.

The entrance proved tricky and Cecil and I needed a hand to crest the entrance dune.  We quickly rode away from the entrance to harder sand and fewer crowds - but the hard sand proved elusive.  The only benefit of the powder was that ruts had no effect on the bike - they were soft and of no consequence.

Lunch stop

Thankfully James wanted to leave early, and we decided to ride another half-hour after lunch and make our way back to the entrance.  With the sand already soft, and the sun moving overhead, conditions were getting steadily more tricky.

Table Mountain, Nuclear Power, Mr. Badger

The exit was the most difficult I have ever experienced.  Just getting to the exit was taxing.  Perhaps it was because by Sunday the dunes are totally churned up near the entrance, and certainly the soft sand played a part.  Then it was the unstructured riding of various 4x4s and beach buggies. 

The 4x4s were struggling to enter the dunes, and nobody was controlling the traffic jam.  In order to make it, the 4x4s were racing up the dune and posing a hazard for us trying to come the other way over a blind rise.

Eventually, we were safely out - Cecil and I again needing some manhandling.